785 Thieving Inala
The Ravaged Federation was where Ravaged Tribesmen killed each other in the border of Sanctuary to devour their genetics through Nectar. This was a prolonged process, one without any guarantee of success.
Very few will manage to train hard and influence their genetics to the extent it would create a synergic result, allowing them to eventually enter the Life Stage, which is when they would be instantly brought into the Influenced Region of Sanctuary.
After entering the Sanctuary, the Ravaged Tribesmen, now existing as Clansmen, cultivated peacefully. They drank Nectar like water and cultivated plainly, focusing on improving the harmony of their genetic makeup so that they could gradually build a stable stack through the Life Stage.
Not many experienced success here. After all, if the genetic composition wasn't stable enough, they'll implode even at the lower levels of the Life Stage, not to mention at the high levels such as the 8-Life Stage and above where even a minor defect resulted in major consequences.
However, they had plenty of options to grow stronger. First was to patiently consume Nectar and harmonise their genetic foundation better. Second was something even the Ravaged Federation did.
Give Birth!
Since they had plentiful access to Nectar without having to fight for it, they could casually consume and have children, in large numbers. Natural selection alone will create a more efficient genetic foundation than what they could accumulate through centuries of meditation and training.
This resulted in a population spike within the Sanctuary, similar to the Ravaged Federation, birthing tens of thousands of geniuses who constantly improved their abilities.
Best of all, even as Clansmen, even with different genetic backgrounds, since the core of their accumulation was Nectar and the influence generated by the Major Treasure of Pet, they could all successfully cultivate through a single cultivation technique.
Gold Ravaged Art!
Since they practiced the same cultivation technique, every Clansman in the Sanctuary could transfer information through the same Information Slip, allowing for further progression of knowledge.
The land was bountiful, with resources constantly funnelled into it from the various river streams feeding into the Ravaged Federation from across Sumatra Continent. As a result, the population of the Clansmen in the Sanctuary was consistently maintained at an all-time high.
960 Million!
That was the number of Clansmen present within the Sanctuary, with the population oftentimes touching a billion throughout their long history. Moreover, despite having such a massive population, conflict was minimal within the Sanctuary.
The reason was simple—Transcendents!
The Ravaged Federation had a total of 11 Transcendents, with each of them making a significant mark in their history. And unlike most Transcendents, they were extremely active in terms of communicating with the Clansmen in the Sanctuary.
They did that because they had to. Whether it be the Mammoth Clan or the Cooter Clan, they had a singular genetic makeup, which meant that the overall quality and disposition of Mammoth Clansmen or Cooter Clansmen fell within distinct groups.
Mammoth Clansmen prayed to Empyrean Tusks, lived and supported their Deities. The Chief of the Mammoth Clan communicated with the Mammoth Ancestor primarily and took actions. However, they had a set tradition to follow, which was what they did primarily.
Before the arrival of the Empyrean Boar King, the Mammoth Clan at most conversed once a century with the Mammoth Ancestor. After all, they had no reason to.
Even while roaming across Sumatra and braving immense dangers, there were losses to the Mammoth Clansmen. But their foundations were never harmed. After all, no existence on Sumatra was capable of harming a large herd of Empyrean Tusks.
So, they never had a need to communicate. At most, it was to discuss a plan to enter the Mystic Grade, which took significant time and resources to experiment with.
At least, the Mammoth Clan were nomadic in nature, so they faced countless situations, which prompted them to occasionally talk with the Mammoth Ancestor. The Cooter Clan, on the other hand, were rooted to their water bodies, governing them since their emergence.
Forget an Empyrean Snapper dying, the deaths of even Cooter Clansmen were extremely low. So, their frequency of communication with the Cooter Ancestor was even lower. It was because both Clans had a fixed culture that they followed autonomously.
However, the Ravaged Federation had no such culture. It was an amalgamation of cultures from across Sumatra that made no sense to an individual. As a result, it could quickly spiral into chaos and result in the destruction of the place.
Massive wars could easily occur as the Ravaged Tribesmen, with predispositions according to their genetic makeup behaved in every-which way, offending everyone, everywhere. This went true to the Clansmen in the Sanctuary too, which was why the Transcendents were actively involved in their lives.
The Transcendents constantly gave orders to those that had reached the 10-Life Stage, using them to further pass down the rules to the other Clansmen. And eventually, using their established channels, the Clansmen would pass down orders to the Tribesmen beyond the Sanctuary.
"A year before the First Major Disaster occurred, the Extreme Iron Transcendent briefed us about the Sumatra Chronicles and how this would rapidly shape the future of Sumatra." The old man at the lead spoke respectfully, "He avoided giving us the details, saying it would only fuel the growth of Renduldu. But we were given a certain instruction."
As he spoke, his slumped back arched further, flashing a respectful bow towards Inala, "We were told to test the first Mystic Path that arrives here before the Fourth Major Disaster. And if the Mystic Path were to pass our test, we're to hand over the Major Treasure of Pet without resistance."
'As what Resha has sensed, anyone who is aware of Sumatra Chronicles will become a part of whatever Renduldu has weaved. And all the growth we're achieving is fuelling his growth somehow.' Inala thought based on what the old man said, 'This must probably be related to the soul aspect of Prana. He did transport our souls to Earth and back, so he must have gained a fair deal of understanding about it after becoming a Transcendent.'
"What kind of test are we talking about?" Inala stared at the old man, instantly deciding to use Flight's power to vanish from their vision if their test seemed like it might waste his time or resources.
"You see…" The old man trailed off as he spoke, "There are countless factions among the Transcendents, but they are primarily divided into the three of Free Humans, Pranic Beasts, and Clansmen."
"The Pranic Beast faction is pretty much composed of the Mystic Tentacles and is the strongest. The Free Humans are the most numerous, boasting more than ninety nine percent of our Transcendent population. And finally, there are the Clansmen." He pointed at himself, "Even though our numbers are very less, and most of us are young as compared to some of the Free Human Transcendents and Mystic Tentacle Transcendents, at the individual level, we're the strongest."
"Clansmen possess the power of both a Pranic Beast and a Free Human. So, we represent the pinnacle of cultivation." The old man chuckled, "The Clansmen faction is subdivided into Mammoth Clan, Cooter Clan, and the Ravaged Federation."
He patted his chest proudly, "And the Ravaged Federation is the strongest force on Sumatra, both here and in the Transcendent Worlds."
'It makes sense, since their population is insane.' Inala nodded, not surprised by the fact. After all, the Ravaged Federation had close to a billion Clansmen.
The closest second used to be the Cooter Clansmen, ranging between five to six million, followed by the Mammoth Clansmen at a bit over a million. This was before they were both targeted by the Celestial Boar.
Their numbers had fallen even further now, causing a change in the ranks.
Running second now was obviously the Quip Clan, nearing a population of 14 million and expanding rapidly. Third was the Cooter Clan, four was the Mammoth Clan, fifth was the Wean Clan, and running at the last were the Mystic Humans.
A few more decades later, the Wean Clan would reach fourth spot, which was terrifying, because every Wean Clansmen was a Gold Grade existence, unlike the rest of the Clans. And they were on a rocket track to being the strongest Clan.
However, from an overall perspective, the Ravaged Federation was stronger, as they had a higher number of Gold Grade existence, each of whom not only was extremely terrifying, due to their compound Nature, but also had high cultivation at the Life Stage.
There were eight Clansmen standing before Inala, all of whom were Gold Grade existence with cultivation at the 10-Life Stage. They were just the faction serving the Extreme Iron Transcendent, which was the newest faction.
"So, what do I have to do?" Inala asked upon hearing the old man's long narration that went on for more than thirty minutes.
"In around six decades, the Sanctuary would be completed. When its work is done, the Major Treasure of Pet would naturally leave the Sanctuary and appear in the Ravaged Federation, so it's not something us Clansmen could own anyway." The old man continued as he stared at Inala, "So, you simply need to fulfil that condition."
"Finish building the Sanctuary and we'll give you Pet." The old man stated with respect, "You can do that, right?"
"I can," Inala nodded as he turned around, beginning to walk towards the walls of the Sanctuary, "I need to make preparations for it."
"Sure, take your time…" The old man's words trailed off, unable to be finished as Inala's figure vanished from his view. He hurriedly looked around and asked the people next to him, "Where has he gone to?"
"Isn't he only at the Silver Grade? How can he avoid our senses?"
"Even if he has a special ability, as hinted by Torq, how can this be possible?"
"I knew something was up. He seemed too casual in our presence. That didn't seem characteristic of someone at the Silver Grade."
As the group clamoured, Inala's figure hovered above them in the air, listening to them. He paused for a few seconds before flying in a certain direction. After all, during the long speech given by the old man, he had used Perfect Biome Domination to secretly gather information about Pet's location.
'I'm at the 10-Life Stage now. There's not many who could detect my actions if I chose to stay subtle.'