Damian arrived at the edge of the Black Mist Forest once again, and this time, the feeling was completely different from before.

The first time he came here, he had been cautious as hell, afraid that even a random beast would suddenly jump out and rip his throat apart.

The second time, he had already become stronger, but he still moved carefully because he knew there were Foundation Establishment cultivators and terrifying monsters inside.

But now, standing in front of the familiar dark forest, Damian felt a completely different kind of confidence.

His cultivation had already reached the Fourth Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He had also mastered many Noble Grade martial arts, and he even possessed years of genius-level comprehension for them.

If he was still afraid of everything after all that, then he might as well dig a hole and bury himself.

Damian slowly placed his hand on the sword at his waist and grinned. "Alright, Black Mist Forest. Let’s see how much I’ve actually grown."

---

The moment Damian stepped into the forest, a Black Fang Wolf suddenly burst out from the bushes at his side.

Damian didn’t panic at all. He only glanced at it calmly before raising his sword and blocking its jaws with ease.

CLANG!

The wolf’s fangs slammed against the blade, but Damian’s arm didn’t even shake.

Then a faint grin slowly appeared on his face. "Perfect timing. I needed something to test my first martial art on."

He pushed the wolf back with a casual flick of his sword, then turned his gaze toward it.

[Lion Roar]

Damian opened his mouth, and in the next instant, spiritual Qi and oppressive pressure gathered in his throat and then roared.

BOOM!

The air shook violently, and the Black Fang Wolf’s eyes burst with blood. Its ears ruptured, and in an instant, it dropped to the ground dead.

Damian stood there silently for a moment before slowly closing his mouth and grinning widely. "Damn... this thing is really brutal."

He looked at the dead wolf on the ground and felt extremely satisfied because he had not even used the full power of Lion Roar, but a Qi Refining beast, or a Mortal Grade beast, had still died instantly.

Of course, this was not strange. With his current cultivation realm, killing this wolf should be really easy, but the terrifying part was that he didn’t even move a single step.

Damian rubbed his chin and muttered, "If I use Thunder Qi with Lion Roar, the effect should be even crazier, right..."

Thinking of this, he became even more excited and continued deeper into the Black Mist Forest. As for the wolf corpse, he didn’t care. It was just a Mortal Grade beast corpse.

---

Along the way, he also tested another martial art, which was his movement martial art, because he wanted to arrive inside the forest faster.

[Thunder Flash Steps]

The moment he activated it, his body vanished from where he stood, leaving only a faint thunder afterimage behind.

In the next instant, he flashed through the forest like a streak of lightning.

One after another, thunder afterimages appeared between the trees, each one crackling faintly before fading away.

The surrounding beasts immediately became confused, unable to tell which figure was real and which one was merely an afterimage.

In just a few breaths, Damian had already crossed a massive distance, easily three times farther than he could have traveled with normal movement.

And thanks to those thunder afterimages, none of the nearby beasts could follow him properly, let alone sense his real position.

"Damn, these Thunder Flash Steps are really amazing. No wonder every cultivator wants martial arts compatible with their Qi."

When he used Thunder Qi to boost his speed, it was more like forcing himself forward with raw power.

But Thunder Flash Steps was different, as it gave structure to his movement, allowing him to use his Thunder Qi properly and efficiently.

Damian slowly exhaled and clenched his fist. "With this, even if I meet someone stronger than me, at least I won’t be helpless."

After testing Thunder Flash Steps, Damian decided to continue using it to quickly arrive at the inner side of the forest.

---

After a while, he stopped because he had met a massive, three-meter-tall bear beast with black fur, and from its aura, it should be a Profound Grade beast.

Damian’s smile widened. "Finally, something worth using to test my new sword art."

The beast roared and charged toward him, every step causing the ground to tremble.

Damian smiled as he easily dodged its attack with his Thunder Flash Steps, and then he took out his sword and swung it toward the beast.

[Breaking Mountain Sword Art.]

His sword strike carried far more force thanks to his deep comprehension of the sword art, resulting in a heavy strike filled with overwhelming power.

Combined with his Thunder Qi, the slash became even more violent and terrifying, and soon...

BANG! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The sword struck the beast’s body, directly tearing through its thick fur and flesh in just one slash, splattering him with blood.

The beast roared in pain as it fell to the ground, furious and confused about how Damian could kill it in one strike. It was a Profound Grade beast, goddammit.

Meanwhile, Damian just smirked while looking at the dead beast.

"Just as expected, with good martial arts and a good weapon, I really dare to fight all the beasts here... except the Noble Grade ones."

He could be arrogant, but only with Profound Grade beasts and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

As for Golden Core cultivators, he was still afraid. After all, he still remembered that crazy pressure from before.

In the end, he could only laugh. "No matter. I only transmigrated into this world a little more than two months ago, and I’ve already become this strong."

His grin widened as he thought back to that Golden Core cultivator. "Just wait a little more, and I’m sure I can easily defeat that son of a bitch."