Noah felt a dangerous sensation coming from the dark-green substance spewed by the snake as they fell from the sky. The toxic liquid enveloped their figures, and Noah diverted focus when he saw it reaching for his skin.

'Isn't it a bit too powerful for its level?' Noah thought before using his flames to fight back the dangerous poison.

White fire spread in the sky and burned the liquid, which released a green gas that Noah dispersed with his mental waves. However, a confused expression appeared on his face as he turned toward the beast.

'Winged snakes mostly rely on their strong bodies and on their aerial maneuverability to fight.' Noah reviewed that information in his mind. 'But this poison was almost able to match my flames.'

Noah felt that something was off, and that wasn't a sensation born only from his knowledge in the magical beasts' field. Even his instincts were telling him that the snake under him didn't match the power of its species.

Its poisonous attack wasn't its main ability, but it was so powerful that Noah had to use his flames to defend against it.

'Is it a mutation?' Noah began to question himself as he wielded his pair of black sabers. 'Or did I fail to guess its species?'

There were too many variables when Noah took into consideration the fact that he was in a different world. So, he simply decided to learn more about that creature after killing it!

Of course, he was aware that he couldn't use all his abilities in front of Thaddeus.

His mocking words from before the mission had revealed that the Elbas family had learnt something from the battle inside the Balvan mansion. Noah wasn't sure about how much had been recorded back then, but he wasn't going to risk exposing the ident.i.ty of the secret a.s.sailants of the Utra nation.

Also, he didn't need to use those spells to defeat the Winged snake.

The beast spread its maws and shot toward Noah. Releasing the toxic liquid had stopped its opponent's momentum, which allowed it to attack and stop defending.

The snake though wasn't able to close its mouth since two black slashes landed on its insides and created two deep cuts.

A violent aura spread from those cuts and shattered more of the skin inside the mouth of the beast. The snake hissed to no end and failed to reach Noah, who had already landed on one of its wings.

Since Noah's dantian had reached the solid stage, the "Breath" contained inside it matched the power of the energy inside the Liquid Dantian. So, the first form of his martial art had become obsolete.

There was no point in using a simple but powerful slash when he could do the same but add the innate destruction of his individuality to the attack.

It was better to leave the energy inside the Liquid Dantian for the Shadow Sprint martial art since it didn't carry his individuality to begin with.

'What are you hiding?' Noah thought as he slashed again, aiming at the spot where the feathers met the scaled skin of the snake.

His attack resulted in a clean cut that severed the left wing of the beast and destroyed part of the scales and feathers due to the aura that it carried.

Noah quickly stored the wing in his s.p.a.ce-ring before moving to the right one.

The Flying snake launched another poisonous attack when it lost control of its flight, but Noah spewed white flames whenever that dark-greed liquid tried to reach his body. Also, he didn't stop his martial art, and a pair of slashes landed precisely at the base of the right wing.

The attack completely severed that body-part, and Noah found himself standing on the back of the falling snake after storing it in his ring too.

The group of cultivators in the distance could only see what seemed him riding the forty meters long magical beast as it left a trail of red blood in the air.

Noah appeared utterly calm, and his gaze even wandered in various spots of the creature. It was as if he was more interested in the anatomy of the beast rather than on the actual battle!

It couldn't be helped. Noah had fought so many rank 5 magical beasts by then that such fights didn't pose him any threat. Also, the dragons in his world had defeated that species of snakes in the past, which showed their inferiority.

However, the power behind its poison was off, and he was set on discovering the cause behind that feature.

The snake couldn't control its descent without wings and crashed on the spa.r.s.e vegetation that filled the territory next to the volcano.

Noah didn't let go of that chance and released another series of attacks. Yet, the beast had nothing else to lose once it landed on the ground.

A messy and violent brawl exploded in that area, with Noah and the snake exchanging blows. Both of them completely abandoned any defensive stand to focus everything on their offensive.

Noah relied on his technique and raw strength to avoid any grave injury, and the beast used its huge body to try to overwhelm its opponent.

Noah gained the advantage rather quickly, and only a few cuts appeared on his skin due to the shockwaves created by the clash with the powerful snake.

He could avoid any kind of injury if he just flew above the maimed beast to benefit from its lack of wings, but there was a lot to gain from that physical fight.

First of all, he would obtain a clear understanding of the actual prowess of the snake, which would lead him to evaluate the differences from the records studied in his world. Then, he could keep most of his abilities a secret, especially in front of such a variegated group of experts.

Also, he simply liked fighting in that way.

Expressing the power of his body was something that he couldn't often do in battles against cultivators or when hunting beasts for specific reasons. That was one of the few times when he could just let go and have fun.

The battle lasted for more than Noah had predicted.

The snake kept on charging at him even when injuries filled its body. It seemed that no matter how much blood it lost, it would just straighten its position and pounce again.

Nevertheless, it still lost its life after Noah kept on answering to its attacks with powerful slashes that carried his individuality.

'Most of its skin is gone, and the same goes for its muscles.' Noah thought when he a.n.a.lyzed the corpse of the snake. 'This endurance is completely off the scale.'

More unusual features had become evident during the battle, and one of them was the insane tenacity despite the countless wounds on its body.

Elder Austin's voice resounded near him at that point. "Having fun already?"

Noah didn't turn but gave a simple answer. "We'll see."

Then, he slashed horizontally at the corpse to begin the dissection.