"You're now a purple tier predator". 

  "Yes!" Strong's voice boomed with more authority than ever before.

  On seeing this extremely confident version of Strong that he was unfamiliar with, Tungsten could only smile bitterly. In this world, everybody really could change with circumstances.

  A few years ago, in fact, just a few months ago, he would have never thought that he would be a clan head yet here he was.

  The world kept changing, so also did the inhabitants who lived in it.

  Predators die and more predators were given birth to. Old Mak who was the previous clan head died, now here he was. The elders who were the figurehead of the clan all died, now sharks like Strong were rising to the challenge.

  Tungsten finally understood it, this was the cycle of life.

  Though he changed a lot since a few months ago, Tungsten still had to admit that Strong's change was the most drastic of all. It was like, he changed entirely and was now a different shark in every detail.

  Even the way Strong swam now was different from before, he was sure. What a strange thing change was.

  He turned to face the new shark that carried the official status of being the largest in the whole clan. Strong's current size at this moment was even bigger than Old Mak at his peak, Strong towered at approximately 22 meters.

  These were not the defining trait of the new Strong though. Since he took on the Pugilist evolution route, Strong was known for being extra muscular compared to other sharks but at this moment, this was amplified to the limit.

  Strong was like a real gym freak shark now.

  Tungsten tried to ignore the prominent body muscles that seemed to be mocking his own body. "So, what is your plan now? I mean like, after breaking through, what do you intend to do now?"

  "Exactly what the elders did".

  "Pardon".

  "I'll do exactly what the elders did!" Strong replied again with the same booming voice. "In the past, the elders served as role models to us, they served as our protectors and fathers, that's what I intend to do also".

  "The only difference is that I will do it my way, the military way".

  "I am still Commander Strong".

  "Ok". Tungsten finally revealed a wide smile, revealing his prominent rows of teeth. "That is the best that could ever happen to us".

  Once they were done with their talk, the 2 purple tier predators swam to the deepest and most well-protected part of the Firelight Shark Clan where they met the other purple tier predator of the clan, Queen Heareth.

  Despite being the clan head of the new clan, and despite breaking through already, taking the Pugilist King route, Tungsten and Strong still had the same respect for the queen that they had when Old Mak was still alive.

  This most well-protected part of the clan was the pen.

  As the new clan was trying to rebuild and grow back to their previous glory, even aiming to exceed it, they had to set up a scale of preference to grade their priorities and determine those that were more important.

  In the scale of preference that was set up for the development of the clan, building the best pen to breed young sharks was the priority at the very top.

  For the clan to grow and return to its peak, the new generation was the key. They were very few at this moment, but once the pen was operating at maximum efficiency, sharks could start giving birth again.

  At this moment, even Tungsten was contemplating following the old ways of having a wife and starting his harem.

  He was the new clan head; he was the biggest role model of all the surviving sharks and he needed to act as a pioneer to them.

  With him taking the first move, the other sharks would become more proactive in the act which would benefit the clan in the long run.

  He proposed in his head to discuss this privately with the Queen.

  When the Queen was finally done with her work in the pen, she excused herself to meet with the 2 new figureheads of the clan.

  "Strong". She smiled on seeing the enormous and muscly shark.

  "Queen Heareth". Strong called back respectfully still with his booming voice.

  Queen Heareth smiled back at the show of confidence. This was what she wanted to see, with the old gone, the new was finally developing and getting what it took for them to take charge of the clan.

  "You've grown". The shark Queen's smile widened.

  "Yes". Strong answered bluntly.

  In the end, the queen didn't get to say much. 

  As the only elder left in the clan, she just gave the 2 young generation sharks advice on how to conduct themselves and perform their duties more efficiently before allowing them to leave.

  Seeing the 2 sharks leave, Queen Heareth could not curb the happiness in her heart even as the hidden sorrow in her heart also grew.

  "Old Mak, the remnants you left behind are growing".

  "Your sacrifice was not in vain".

  …
When the other sharks of the clan finally heard of the news that a new purple tier predator emerged, the whole clan was sent into a celebratory mood.

  Even the Triton clan was drawn into the celebrations as they all celebrated to mark Strong's evolution. With one more powerful guardian in the alliance, their hopes of surviving in the case of a crisis were stronger.

  The sharks of the Firelight Shark Clan became more optimistic than ever about their chances of reemerging back to their peak.

  Strong's evolution seemed to have injected in them doses of adrenaline as their work to restore the clan to the peak became a lot more enthusiastic and driven. The clan cleverly rode on the rising momentum created by the evolution.

  Among these driven sharks were Tosh and Verni. These 2 were now team leaders in the Firelight army under the command of Commander Strong.

  Seeing and experiencing the growth of the clan every day, these 2 sharks felt like they were witnessing history being made.

  "If only Seba bro was here with us". Tosh lamented.

  "I hope he is safe out there". Verni quipped.

  "He definitely is safe!" Tosh responded immediately, feigning annoyance. "You dare to question the big bro's might?"

  "Umm…, no".

  "Good!"

  "…"