Ian and the Grand Elder acted more like spectators. Only the three higher vampires fought and honed themselves. They fought to devour the blood of the beasts in the Inner Ring, and even got into some conflict due to treasures scattered at various locations, which most haven't escalated.
Within those two years, under the Grand Elder's guidance, Ian's knowledge of beasts grew, and his wilderness experience deepened. He could now recognize most poisonous and medicinal plants as well as use them for practical purposes, such as the concoction of medicine.
Ian might be stronger than the Grand Elder, but the Grand Elder's knowledge and experience vastly surpass Ian's!
At the age of 36, Ian and Grand Elder parted ways with the three and successfully entered the Core Ring. At this age, he had barely amassed enough biomass to upgrade his claws.
"We're finally here." Ian and the Grand Elder gazed up at the floating island above them, which overshadowed everything.
On Ian's estimate, it was five hundred meters high in the air. He could already feel several ominous auras within that made him feel threatened even at his current strength.
...
Name: Ian
Age: 36 years old
Race: Lesser Vampire
Height: 7 Feet
-Body Structure
Increased Bone Density. Solar Laser Eyes. Mind's Eye. Trupeyo Parabus Enhancement 2x. Asura Physique.
External:
Platinum Tiered Claws + Vibranium Metals. Kagune. Exoskeletal Armor (Steel+Tungsten).
Biomass Remaining: 11,039
…
Ian looked at his status with satisfaction. Although he was still a far cry from reaching one hundred years old, he could already feel that the blood purity within him had increased a little. Though the purity increase was almost negligible. Now, he understood the mystery of why vampires become stronger the older they get. Why? As they age, the purity of their blood increases, albeit at an extremely slow pace; the purer it becomes, the slower.
At the age of 100, one is promoted to a true vampire from a lesser vampire.
Higher Vampire 400 Years old. Elders 1000 Years old. Grand Elders 50,000 Years old.
Ian asked once how old the Grand Elder is. The Grand Elder had told him that he's 7,000+, not 50,000. The grand elder relied more on devouring blood to reach his current state. However, after he reached Elder level in the past, this path became harder because there are few strongmen on the Curtained Imperium whose blood he could devour, and decouring the blood of top beings of every dark race could lead to a great war.
So, at the final stages, the Grand Elder had to seclude himself to improve his blood purity, and he managed to reach his current strength purely through aging.
Ian shuddered as he thought that there was such an old monster beside him. He couldn't help but look at the Grand Elder. 'Damn, he might be older than my entire family tree combined.'
"Is there something on my face?" The Grand Elder looked at Ian suspiciously.
"Nah, I'm just thinking about those three's safety since we're not on their side anymore."
Ian lied through his teeth.
The Grand Elder patted Ian's shoulder. "It doesn't matter. If they die, it's their fault for being weak. You should be disgusted by weakness."
'Oh my... This old foggy has such a mindset.' Ian clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Why?" Ian asked carefully.
"Because weakness disgusts me. You should be the same." The Grand Elder answered casually. "It's hard to step on an ant without crushing it."
As expected of an old antique! Such domineering words made Ian feel that the Grand Elder must have experienced something in the past. Anyone who could survive for such a long time wasn't simple. Ian's vigilance against the Grand Elder had further increased at this moment. Fortunately, his strength was stronger, and it would only continue to grow even stronger.
Ian couldn't help but think at this moment 'How could someone who could say such egoistic words submit easily? He must be cooking something!
The ceiling level of the Curtained Imperium doesn't apply to him. Ian knew he could continue to increase his strength by growing his size and compressing it eternally, with no upper limit, rinse and repeat. In the future, his muscles would become so compressed that they might just form a black hole around him. Well, that was just a theory.
Ian pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind.
"How do we go up to the Island? Is there a teleportation formation here like the one before?"
The Grand Elder smiled warily. "You're thinking too much. There is no such thing there. The island is the core ring, and even with my strength, I need to be cautious. We can only fly there if we want to go up."
"Fly?" At this time, Ian couldn't help but scratch his head in embarrassment. Even though his power had surpassed the Grand Elder, his body in no way could fly.
"What? Don't tell me you can't?"
The Grand Elder asked in astonishment with his mouth wide. How is that even possible? Even newly promoted Elders could fucking fly! One one gain this ability naturally. As one's blood purity reaches a certain threshold, the gravity could no longer affect them and they'll be able to float in the sky and fly freely, although the flight-speed wasn't that impressive.
"Maybe you could do it and you just haven't tried." With a patient expression, the Grand Elder began to teach Ian the principles. "You just have to tap into your mind and feel it..."
Ian didn't know to answer for a while. After all, his blood purity was still that of a lesser vampire. His strength wasn't due to his blood purity but entirely relies on his body modifications.
"Forget it. I have a solution."
Ian immediately stopped the Grand Elder who promptly looked at Ian skeptically.
'Fuck! He can't really fly!?'
Ian, at this time, visualize a pair of wings. Just like that, with a few minutes of visualization of details, a pair of wings devoid of feathers sprouted on his back. There's just no way, with his measly remaining of biomass, it was the limit that he could do.
But at least, it gave him the ability to fly, albeit, limited. Well, he could upgrade anyway oncec he had enough biomass.
"Huh?" The Grand Elder's eyes twitched as he saw a pair of bony wings emerged out of nowhere behind Ian's back. 'Is this a unique blood ability that he awakened?'