Hanya was at the 4-Life Stage, a powerful opponent. But despite possessing superior cultivation, she was having a hard time facing Inala alone.
The reason lay in the Grades of their Primary Natures. Hanya's Primary Nature was at the Silver Grade, as evidenced by the mineral used to forge her Human Avatar.
In contrast, Inala had three Natures.
His Primary Nature of Royalty was at the Silver Grade, being on par with Hanya. But his Secondary Nature of Internal Inertial Gravity was at the peak of Gold Grade, for it was the Primary Nature of an Empyrean Tusk.
That wasn't all. His Tertiary Nature of Spatial Immune System was also Gold Grade, for it was derived from an Empyrean Tusk's relationship with the Mammoth Clan. It wasn't as potent as Internal Inertial Gravity but was still in the Gold Grade.
With two Gold Grade Natures, Inala was no different from a Gold Grade Pranic Beast. This was the primary reason he had been gunning for the Zinger Queen's power all along.
Yes, technically, he wasn't a Gold Grade Pranic Beast. His Prana values were only on the level of a Beginner Silver Grade Pranic Beast, a far cry from Gold Grade Pranic Beasts. But that was only in terms of absolute comparisons.
Inala's Prana recovery was unrivalled, either through the use of a Prana Bomb or a Prana Hand. Therefore, for someone who could constantly regenerate their Prana, the total value of their Prana wasn't important.
Thereby, Inala was able to exercise the strength on the level of a Gold Grade Pranic Beast while only having to cultivate like a Silver Grade Pranic Beast. In terms of trade-off, this was the best.
It was why he was confident in being able to threaten the Boar King once he reached the peak of cultivation, because he had the confidence in getting there first.
A sludge ball stealthily drilled through the walls and burst out from a location right behind Inala, aiming for his head. But, perched on the back of his head was a miniature Empyrean Zinger Scout. It detected the sludge ball and threw a Prana Bomb its way.
The Prana Bomb ended up melting upon contact but also managed to neutralise the sludge ball. There were ten such miniature Empyrean Zinger Scouts, perched all over Inala's body, taking charge of his defence.
As they were part of his immune system, they weren't targeted by the Prana absorption capabilities of the Prana Bomb armour covering him.
Without needing to defend himself, Inala had enough free space in his mind to focus on attacks. This was why he, someone at the initial phase of the Body Stage was able to fight on par with a 4-Life Stage cultivator, Hanya.
Mystic Bone Art—Puppetry!
Four Prana Bombs revolved around him as they elongated into spears. He grabbed one and threw it with force at Hanya, controlling its flight trajectory through psychokinesis.
He repeated the same with the other three spears, causing them to fly around in varying arcs and target her.
"How are you able to control four Spirit Weapons?" Hanya shrilled in shock as she evaded the attacks, watching craters form wherever the Prana Bomb spears make contact. A second later, they flew out of the crater and arrived before Inala who chucked them once again.
Swoosh! Feuhh!
Soft whistling sounds echoed in the area as Prana Bomb spears rained down from the skies. An Empyrean Zinger glided in the air, forming circles. Standing atop its back was Inala, using the advantageous foothold to rain down attacks.
"Argh!" Hanya shrieked when Prana was rapidly absorbed from her legs. She stared down and noticed a greyish layer covering the ground. She increased the strength in her legs and stomped, melting the layer.
Her heartbeats were loud enough to mask her hearing. Hanya expanded the range covered by her Prana, elevating her detection range. Her skin pricked at the elbow of her left hand. She swerved around and stared in the respective direction, observing three Empyrean Zingers perched on a pillar closer to the ground.
They were spilling Prana Bombs on the floor. And upon coming into contact, the Prana Bombs spread out like water, forming a layer on the floor.
The walls, the floor, and even the ceiling were quickly covered by the Prana Bombs, creating a terrain unfavourable to her. Anywhere she touches them, her Prana would end up being stolen.
"Hanya, why don't you surrender?" Inala said, "You'll be killed by the Centingers anyway. So, I don't wish to dirty my hands if possible. I'll simply beat you up until I'm satisfied and be on my merry way."
"You wish!" She growled and unleashed a sludge tsunami, drowning the region. The moment the sludge poured over the Prana Bomb floor, she felt a searing headache as her Prana was being stolen on all fronts.
Enduring the pain, she continued casting her Skill until the region was filled with her sludge, ending up melting through the Prana Bomb surface.
"Haah…hah!" She chuckled a moment later, stationing herself at the bottom of the sludge reservoir. She pushed the sludge away from her immediate vicinity, erecting a sphere of air-filled zone around her, spanning a couple metres in radius. Following that, she expanded her One-Storey Storage Lantern to its original size and took out a bunch of medicines from it, pouring their contents into her mouth.
"Phew!" She groaned and sat cross-legged, activating her cultivation technique in an effort to quickly recover her Prana. She was already down to half. And considering how Inala didn't even seem to be phased by the fight, she was in a hurry to recover to her peak as soon as possible.
"Hmm…as expected of a master," Inala muttered as he leaped onto the back of another Empyrean Zinger that had taken flight to glide higher. As it circled around, its altitude gradually reduced. Staring at the massive reservoir of sludge surrounding Hanya, he commented, "It's trickier to kill someone like her."
Hanya's abilities were a hard counter to him. As a result, it took him time to corner her. But that was the only issue. In terms of Prana consumption, Inala had actually recovered twenty Prana more than what he consumed.
Hence, his reserves were at their peak.
"There's a faster way," He muttered after a minute of observation. Followed by a leap, he landed on the terrace of the City Lord mansion farther away from the sludge reservoir. Once all the Empyrean Zingers returned to him in their miniature forms, Inala grabbed one of them and threw it in the air, watching it reach hundreds of metres high up.
He followed suit by throwing more Empyrean Zingers, watching them begin gliding as they reverted to their original sizes. Twelve of them were in the air now, circling in unison, resembling a helical strand.
"Heup!" He grunted and leaped, landing on the closest Empyrean Zinger. Without a moment's delay, he jumped and leaped onto the Empyrean Zinger that was gliding higher. One after another, he climbed up and quickly reached the back of the Empyrean Zinger which was at the highest point, reaching an altitude of six hundred metres.
Stage 1—Jaw!
Inala opened his mouth and let out the remaining Empyrean Zingers. They reverted to their original sizes and glided in the air, forming a circle. Following that, all of them condensed Prana Bomb spears and raised their weight to the maximum.
"Now, shoot!" Inala roared as he threw the Prana Bomb spear, watching it continue to accelerate sheerly due to the effects of gravity. Due to its needle shape and high density, the air resistance it faced was minimal.
Moreover, he added groves along the sides of the spear, causing the air to flow along them, creating an effect similar to the grooving in a gun's barrel. Using the air resistance, he caused the Prana Bomb spears to spin at terrifying speeds.
Like a bolt of lightning, dozens of Prana Bomb spears slammed into the sludge reservoir, breaking the speed of sound at the moment of impact and, as a result creating a resounding explosion.