The Cooter Clan controlled the entirety of the Tsloch Sea. Originally split across multiple branches, once the Cooter Clan suffered through an entire branch’s annihilation, they relocated to the Tsloch Sea.
Tsloch Sea originally wasn’t large enough to accommodate the Cooter Clan and cater to their resource needs. Hence, the Empyrean Snappers terraformed the region and expanded it to many times the original in terms of area.
They didn’t stop at the Tsloch Sea and intended to expand their influence through marine channels, such as mighty rivers that spread across the region and had a connection to the Tsloch Sea.
They had allies in various regions, who were either of the two: First group worshipped the Empyrean Snappers and the second group relied on resources exclusively produced by the Empyrean Snappers.
Whenever these allies faced danger, the Cooter Clan would send assistance. Depending on the necessity, the number of battleships sent to the target area varied. These manoeuvres were termed Raids.
Raid Captains were those in charge of a battleship each. Raid Captain Raurau was one such individual, possessing Silver Grade strength with an 8-Life Stage cultivation.
Cultivation stages were split into four for a Clansman: Spirit, Body, Life, and Transcendence.
At the Spirit Stage, a cultivator primarily relied on their cultivation technique to temper their Spirit Container and gather strength. Once they reach a Prana capacity of 100, they could fuse the 100 Spirit Containers into a singular whole.
This success brought them to the Body Stage, which was also where they gained a Primary Nature.
There existed minerals on Sumatra, which were basically substances that could interact with Prana. The Empyrean Snappers, through the aid of their Primary Nature of Subtle Terrain Domination, gathered these minerals and processed them into forms that could be interacted with using Mystic Mist Art.
They were termed Spirit Pools.
Depending on the mineral used, the Grade of a Spirit Pool ranged from Iron to Gold. A Cooter Clansman, upon graduation, would dip into a Spirit Pool. That stabilised their Spirit Container and granted them a Primary Nature.
Only after this could they build their strength once again and proceed past 100 units of Prana. They basically built their body using the Spirit Pool, which was why this stage was called the Body Stage.
Depending on the Spirit Pool they had fused with, the Prana capacity possessed by the Cooter Clansman at the peak of the Body Stage varied.
Life Stage was basically repeating the same process done at the Body Stage. And with every new body built, the Cooter Clansman gained an extra life. The limit is 10 bodies, which implies a Cooter Clansman, at the peak of the Life Stage, had 10 lives to spare.
These Life Stage bodies formed a stack within the Spirit Container and caused the Cooter Clansman to appear as one individual to the outside world. If one body dies, another takes its place momentarily after.
This Life Stage stack reinforces the power of psychokinesis, making even the most basic of attacks deadlier at higher Life Stages.
With an 8-Life Stage cultivation, Raurau was one of the strongest in the Cooter Clan, below only the Settlement Leaders. Each Settlement Leader was in charge of the Cooter Clan living on the back of an Empyrean Snapper.
Principal Khakha was respectful towards Raid Captain Raurau because his cultivation was only at the 6-Life Stage. The rest of the Instructors varied from 2-Life Stage to 5-Life stage, all with Silver Grade strength.
"My honoured son," Raurau asked Principal Khakha, "How was his performance against the Troitails?"
Not for a moment was he worried about Runthral suffering an unfortunate fate. After all, there was an Empyrean Snapper living close by, its purpose only to protect Runthral till his maturity.
It was closely monitoring his mental state based on the presence he released, ready to snoop in the moment his life was at risk.
That was why Raurau had a relaxed demeanor. As for Boiboi? He couldn’t care in the slightest. Or rather, it was his life’s regret to witness Boiboi’s birth.
"I’ll give you a detailed report." Saying so, Principal Khakha gathered a bunch of Information Slips from the Instructors, which were all vials of water. He downed them all and organised the collected information.
Then, a swirl of water condensed on his palm, in which he infused all the gathered information. Pouring the water in a vial, he politely handed it over to Raurau. "This has everything."
"Thank you," With trembling hands, Raurau consumed the Information Slip, shuddering upon bearing witness to Runthral’s actions against the Troitails, "He...H-He..."
In excitement, he grabbed Principal Khakha’s shoulders, "He’s grown stronger! He’s grown stronger!"
"Thank you," He patted the Principal repeatedly, "Whatever you’re teaching him, I’m glad it’s working. Though little, his strength has experienced a progressive rise."
He then seemed to recall a piece of information and looked around, before noticing Instructor Dudu, "Instructor Dudu, you’re here."
"Yes, Raid Captain." Instructor Dudu smiled meekly.
"Good job!" Raurau patted Instructor Dudu’s shoulder. It subtly hinted at the fact that Instructor Dudu’s actions of whipping Boiboi and gathering his blood for Runthral’s consumption may have been the cause behind Runthral’s growth.
"It’s my honour." Instructor Dudu kneeled in respect.
"Keep up with the good work." Saying so, Raurau signalled his Raid Party, "Prepare to disembark in ten minutes."
Once the Cooter Clansmen he brought with him dispersed, Raurau beckoned for Principal Khakha to accompany him, "Lead me to my honoured son’s present location."
"With pleasure," Principal Khakha guided Raurau to the Dorm.
A short couple minutes later, Raurau reached the third floor of the Dorm, his face beaming with pride upon seeing Runthral’s bloody figure, "HAHA!"
"I’ve witnessed your bravery in full glory!" He briskly pulled Runthral to a hug, his voice loud and clear. But once they had hugged, he whispered, "I have figured out something."
His eyes then darted to the side, eying the sole room with a closed door on the entire floor. Runthral never budged from the spot and instead relied on his Spirit Weapon range to face the Troitails.
And Raurau was aware of the room where his unwanted son had been staying at the Academy for close to five years now. It was why his gaze promptly fell upon the respective room, hinting to Runthral about the fact he had gathered some more clues regarding Boiboi’s trump card.
"Father..." Runthral wanted to ask if Raurau intended to interrogate Boiboi immediately, but stopped, because he didn’t wish to talk about it in public and possibly alert the other party of it.
"Kids," Raurau smiled and eyed the students, "You’re all safe now. We’ve already destroyed the Troitails."
"Now," He smiled, "Head to the Academy Grounds for treatment."
Even though he was speaking politely, his words were no different from a command. The students promptly filed out of the Dorm, leaving behind Runthral, alone with Raurau. No, there was one more person still in the dorm, who didn’t have the opportunity to leave, since the father son duo were camping at his doorstep.
"Come out, Boiboi!" Raurau bellowed, causing the door to rattle in response, "If you’re not out in three seconds, I’m breaking it down."
"One!" The door opened as Torq walked out with a tired expression.
"You’ve survived yet again." Runthral grunted upon seeing Torq, eyes turning red in response.
"Of course," Torq shrugged, "You’re not competent enough to kill me yet."
His gaze then fell upon Raurau, "What about you, father?"
"Will you risk your position just to get rid of me?"
"Do you think I’ll do that?" Raurau raised an eyebrow in response.
"Yeah, it’s a worthwhile trade for you." Torq nodded and closed the door behind him, "You are indeed willing to pay any price if it means Runthral’s talents will improve."
"As expected of someone that inherited my genes. You’re smart." Raurau smirked as the air surrounding him trembled, "Now, why don’t you use that trump card on me?"
"I intend to kill you either way."