"It ended just like that?" Inala asked once he listened to Gannala’s recount of the whole situation.
"Of course, not." Gannala chuckled, "The Quip Clan targeted you, and I took action to bring you here."
She casually coughed up a bunch of Nature Weapons, "Whether it be the Quip Zingers or the Zinger Aristocrats with only one Nature, I collected them all."
She had the Mystic Grade Nature Weapon of Tunnel, containing the Nature of Drifting Tunnel. With it, she could pop in and out of the ground as she pleased. Hence, Gannala only needed an instant to bring the group away.
"If you took action in an instant..." Inala looked towards the nearby cave, "You turned them all into Nature Weapons?"
"Yes, that was the fastest method to ensure I could save you without having to reveal myself." Gannala smiled wryly, "It won’t make sense after everything you did in the past if I were to just reveal my existence to the world once again."
Ganala had equipped herself onto the Tertiary Nature slot of Inala, unleashing the influence of Cultivator to give him human form. She then grabbed his human form alongside Shuwrak Zahara while the Panger and Knell Clansman were turned to Nature Weapons.
She then jumped into the tunnel to flee from the place, emerging at a faraway location before she reached the cave they were at present.
"Thank you for saving me," Inala said towards the end, "I wouldn’t have liked getting captured by the Quip Clan."
"What’s your plan, Dad?" Gannala asked, "The Quip Clan will be trying their everything to kill you. Every other force will also be searching for your whereabouts."
"I’m like this now," Inala said and flexed his human form, "That’s plenty enough I say. By the time I reveal my Brully form, I would have already attained a State of Unity."
"I don’t mean that," Gannala didn’t even have any doubts about Inala reaching a State of Unity, since he had already reached it once, "I’m asking how long you intend to block the Royal Zinger?"
"If you need me to, I’m ready to stop the Quip Clan for however long I need to." She said in confidence, "I can move and target them at speeds beyond their response capacity."
If she so wanted to, every Quip Clansman without two or more Natures was spontaneous prey. She could turn an army of them into Nature Weapons with a single unleash of a Dance of Annihilation.
She had a plethora of abilities to take care of the rest. With a bit of prep time, Gannala could even take on the Zinger Representative, "Maybe I’ll struggle a bit against Zhya, but that’s it."
"Are you sure you’re not underestimating the Quip Clan?" Inala asked in surprise, "You’ve seen their State of Harmonies, right?"
"Dad, I’m your daughter." Gannala chuckled savagely, "I’ll be hitting them where it hurts, not facing them openly on a battlefield. Besides,"
"I have accumulated everything necessary to create Internal Astral Cultivator." She announced.
"...seriously?" Inala was stunned for a moment before bursting out in laughter, "Then you can indeed take on the Quip Clan without issues."
"How are the Empyrean Zingers I left with you?" He asked next.
"Great!" Gannala grinned, "I extracted the secondary Natures of them all. I now have a large number of Internal Inertial Gravity and Subtle Terrain Domination."
"It seems you have everything," Inala turned silent for a few seconds before stating happily, "I’m proud of you."
"Of course," Gannala chuckled, "I know you don’t want me to simply join the Quip Clan. So, I’ve been forging a new path. And when the Fourth Major Disaster starts, I’ll take advantage of the Indigo Mystic Path to gain Celestial status."
"I have been working towards it."
"Celestial?" Inala frowned upon hearing the word, let out a sigh, and shook his head, "Don’t do that, Gannala."
"Why?" Her expression plummeted upon hearing her father’s rejection of her idea, "Don’t you want me to become powerful?"
"I want you to become as powerful as you can." Inala nodded.
"Then what’s the issue?" Gannala stomped the floor in anger, minimising her strength usage, "With everything I have accumulated, I only need to have a solid plan to have a shot at reaching Celestial status. If even Brangara could do it, I could do it better. We’re two sides of the same coin, but I’m more capable."
Brangara and Gannala had a complicated relationship of predator and prey. The growth of both sides involved consuming the other side. And hence, it wasn’t strange that Gannala claimed she could do better than Brangara.
"No, I’m sure you can." Inala nodded as his eyes hardened, "There are two reasons why I want you to avoid hitting the Celestial Status."
"First, you’ll be the number one target of the Continental Invaders, whether you live on Sumatra or become a Transcendent. You’ll be hunted for the rest of your life." Inala sighed, "I don’t want you to live through that face once again."
"Are the enemies that strong, Dad?" Gannala expressed her worry, "Enough for even strength on par with the Celestial Boar to not be enough?"
"Problem isn’t from strength," Inala sighed, "When they arrive, they won’t request to face you on-on-one. It’ll be a war."
"You’ll be targeted by multiple Mystic Grade existences from multiple continents, all the time." He said, "Even if you are stronger, you’ll be worn down eventually until you’re consumed. Besides, it’s war."
"They will hit you where it hurts the most, similar to what I did to Brangara."
"I can be prepared..." Gannala had just begun speaking when she stopped, flinching instinctively upon being glared at by Inala.
"You know..." His eyes exuded anger as Inala glared at Gannala, "When I fought Brangara, I spent an hour outside Sumatra. I wanted to fish for information of our possible opponents."
"The initial wave isn’t much of an issue." Inala calmed down a little as he spoke, "Those continents have a development on par with Sumatra before the birth of the Mystic Seven. They won’t be too much of an issue other than their numbers and their peak powerhouses."
"Problem is that we have no idea how many Continents are coming in total." Inala said in worry, "Think of every Enclave like a port or tether. Through the Enclaves, other Continents could make a connection with Sumatra and allow their natives to walk onto Sumatra without worrying about external influences such as Transcendents."
"There could be as many invading Continents as our Enclaves. But even then, we have enough strength here to probably endure, adapt, and maybe emerge victorious. What I’m most worried about is one Continent." Inala sighed as he eyed Gannala in absolute worry, "It’s the Continent Sumatra hailed from."
"What?" Gannala gasped in shock, "A-Are you being for real, Dad?"
"I wish I was kidding," Inala smiled wryly, "Why do you think I made the decision for the Royal Zinger to never become a Transcendent before it reached Celestial Status?"
"If it prematurely becomes a Transcendent, it’ll be destroyed out there." Inala sighed, "And then, there’s a chance the enemy will fully comprehend the Royal Zinger’s mechanic and either create counters or even sabotage the entire system."
"What reason do such a Continent even have to target us?" Gannala asked in a flurry, "They probably have reached peak development on all three paths. They won’t benefit in the slightest by targeting us."
"That probably only Sumatra knows." Inala shook his head, extend his hand and gently grabbed Gannala’s, "You know, if things go to shit on Sumatra, I want you to leave. As a Mystic Grade existence, you will never face any issue as long as powerful targets such as the Celestial Boar and the Royal Zinger exists on Sumatra."
"Leave this Continent and make yourself home somewhere safer. I hope that if you’re ever forced to make such a choice, you’re not a valuable enough target to afford an escape." He said, "That’s why, don’t think of attaining Celestial status. Any rank is fine as long as you enter the Mystic Grade status. Only focus on having a State of Harmony and probably think of some means to defend against the corruption stemming from a State of Unity."
"...what’s the second reason?" Gannala asked once she thought through things a little.
"Do you know Sumatra’s rule?" Inala asked.
"Survival of the...fittest?" Gannala tilted her head hesitantly.
"Exactly," Inala nodded, "It’s not survival of the strongest but survival of the fittest."
"And you, my dear daughter," Inala revealed a prideful smirk, "Are currently the fittest."
"Hehe," Gannala laughed sheepishly upon being praised.
"So, I want you to keep being the fittest. Ignore strength, forget the Celestial Status which necessitates a Major Treasure centric build. Instead," Inala continued in confidence, "As long as you’re fit, it doesn’t matter what state you’re at in the Mystic Grade. You will survive and thrive in every situation you encounter."
"Fittest, got it." Gannala nodded, "So, as long as I enter the Mystic Grade, it doesn’t matter even if I’m Beginner Mystic?"
"The Millinger is merely a Beginner Gold Grade Pranic Beast." Inala laughed, "Isn’t that one of the most dangerous creatures on Sumatra? In terms of survival capabilities, it exceeds even the two Deity Races."
An extremely powerful long-range offensive capability, and an ability that pretty much destroyed all Natures within its Spirit Weapon range. And most of all, it had powerful legs to jump long distances, a shell with tank attacks, a body that could live on land, burrow underground, and swim through aquatic habitats. And most of all, its physique was strong enough to shred through opponents in close range.
The Millinger was by far the most complete organism on Sumatra in terms of being fit. Most of the other races were min-maxing their capabilities, "Even the Royal Zinger min-maxes its strength. That’s why most of its strength is concentrated in its arms while the remainder is in its throat."
And the best example of min-maxing their strengths was none other than the Race of Bludders, "Do you understand now?"
"I think I’m getting the picture," Gannala nodded, "So, my build should be all-rounded, but with a min-maxing trait that can be applied to various situations."
"Exactly!" Inala grinned.
"I have the means to do that." Gannala then asked Inala, "Dad, do you want anything from me? I have a variety of Free Humans with interesting builds, Pranic Beasts you wouldn’t have even heard about and even creatures I created."
"Just give me some Rutham, that should do." Inala grinned as he patted his ten-storey Storage Lantern, "That’s all I need. I have everything else in this."