I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 303

“You want to know what I think?”

I spoke to the Flame Dragon.

She was the first person I needed to consult about the fate of the inner core.

After all, she was the strongest in the Gae Gak Sect, and since she had personally finished off the Ice Dragon, she had every right to claim ownership of its inner core.

“Hmm... I’m not sure? I don’t think I need it.”

“Hrk?”

What? She doesn’t need it?

Did she suddenly achieve enlightenment just because she evolved?

No matter what, this is the inner core of a Hyeon-gyeong-level spirit beast.

“I consumed tons of elixirs and inner cores while I was staying at Hwasan. I couldn’t bring everything with me anyway. Oh, but I did bring some Jasodan pills. I’ll share them once we return to the nest.”

Could you not say that so casually, like you just packed a few snacks?

That’s exactly the kind of behavior I’d expect from Lizamoun.

Bringing something as valuable as Jasodan, sneaking away with elixirs and inner cores from both Hwasan and the Martial Alliance...

I don’t know who she takes after, but she’s got some impressive sticky fingers.

“And besides, I haven’t fully adapted to this body yet. Unless you’re an incredible lizard like our Divine Beast, a strong inner core can be dangerous. Especially for someone like me, who just underwent a full body transformation.”

“Gek.”

So that’s how it is.

I guess I never thought about it because I’ve been gulping down inner cores left and right, but for most beasts and spirit creatures, consuming one in their entire lifetime is a rare occurrence.

Still, since Lizamoun did most of the hard work, it would only be fair to reward her accordingly.

After all, I passed out after defeating the Thunderbird.

It was the Flame Dragon who processed that massive spirit beast, carried me to the Heavenly Demon Cult, and handled everything alone.

Considering she had already exhausted most of her inner energy fighting the Ice Dragon, just flying must have been a struggle.

“Gek gek.”

“Hm? Oh, right. I was going to talk about the spirit beasts, but I almost forgot.”

Spirit beasts?

“I didn’t actually do that much. You know that Wish Orb you always carry around? It did all the work.”

“Gek?”

Wish Orb?

You mean the Fox Marble?

Uhhh.

What did it do, exactly?

“I was wondering how to deal with them, and then suddenly—whoosh! It just sucked them up.”

...It absorbed them?

The marble swallowed up those huge spirit beasts?

Well, I guess it’s not that surprising.

It did swallow Gongbok in one go before, so it wouldn’t be too unusual.

Ever since then, Gongbok had been trapped inside the Fox Marble, taking turns sharing a body with it.

But if it had just absorbed both the Ice Dragon and the Thunderbird... did that mean their souls were now inside as well?

No, that didn’t seem to be the case.

With Gongbok, the whole inner core had been swallowed along with him.

But this time, the inner cores had been removed first—the marble had only absorbed the bodies.

Since the inner core is the fundamental essence of a spirit beast, without it, they wouldn’t develop independent consciousness like Gongbok did.

They had simply become the marble’s meal.

Even with the inner cores excluded, those were two Hyeon-gyeong-level spirit beasts, so the inner energy inside the marble must have increased significantly.

Since it recognized me as its master, I could consider it as my power increasing as well.

Of course, if the bodies hadn’t been absorbed, their materials could have been put to good use.

But leaving them lying around would’ve only invited trouble.

It was far better for the marble to consume them than risk someone else getting their hands on them.

Even Lizamoun wouldn’t have been able to carry all of that by herself.

“Absorbing them without the inner cores made things so much easier.”

“Gek.”

Still, hard work is hard work.

She still dragged her exhausted body all the way to the Heavenly Demon Cult to bring me back.

“...Actually, I wasn’t even the one who did that.”

“Gehk?!”

Then who did?

“You remember the Wyvern?”

Oh, right. That guy.

“The moment I showed it the inner cores of the Ice Dragon and the Thunderbird, it immediately bowed down. Not just that—it pressed its head to the ground and raised its legs in the air, like it was making some grand ritual offering....”

That wyvern had no choice but to obey us.

After all, I had tricked it into thinking I’d given it a deadly poison, when it was really just a mild detoxifying agent.

And now, seeing firsthand that we had the strength to take down both the Ice Dragon and the Thunderbird...

What other choice did it have but to submit?

“Oh, look. There it is now.”

There?

I turned my gaze in the direction the Flame Dragon was pointing.

There stood an enormous carriage, and for some reason, the Wyvern I had seen before was now wearing a bridle.

“Khh... To think that I, the supreme ruler of the skies, would be subjected to such a vulgar act... To pull a carriage... and carry humans?!”

It was mumbling to itself, but strangely enough, it looked quite pleased.

Looks like it found itself a nice job.

At long last, the Heavenly Demon Cult had its own dragon-drawn carriage.

Considering its sheer size, it would definitely be faster than any horse-drawn carriage.

And more importantly, it could fly—a unique advantage that no ordinary mount could ever hope to match.

“If you want, I could take it back to the nest, but honestly, I think it’d be best to leave at least one flying creature stationed here.”

She had a point.

This Wyvern had served as a messenger under the Ice Dragon, and as long as we had a firm grip on its leash, this was the best way to put it to use.

“Besides, we have me on our side, and that white bird too. It’s still small, but it should be able to carry at least a few wolves.”

Oh, so she met Jaekjaeki too.

“But Divine Beast, why do you keep tapping my thigh?”

“Geroong.”

“You want me to lift you up?”

“Geroong.”

Without hesitation, the Flame Dragon grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and lifted me as if it were second nature.

“Gerorong.”

It’s nice having companions with different talents.

Look at this fiery pocket of warmth.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

It’s hot enough that I wouldn’t even mind getting roasted alive.

“Hm... But Divine Beast, can’t you fly yet?”

“Gek?”

She gently patted my shoulders.

“I haven’t seen many dragons in my life, but since you don’t have wings, you clearly aren’t the same species as me, right?”

“Gek.”

That’s true.

When you think about it, Red Dragon and Ice Dragon had six limbs (four legs and two wings), whereas I only had four.

“So that means you’re one of the dragons from here... But even then, your body shape is still closer to ours.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m an Eastern Dragon.

Those guys are long and serpent-like.

If anything, I’d be closer to Snake Queen Fasir or Gongbok.

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“The dragons here can fly without wings, while we fly using our wings. But you, Divine Beast... why can’t you fly?”

The answer was simple.

Haven’t they always called Gomodo the Earth Dragon?

True Dragons are Sky Dragons.

And why do you think they call it an Earth Dragon?

Because it can’t fly, obviously.

“Gehk.”

Why did she have to rub salt in my wounds?

“Hey, does it really matter if you can’t fly? Just do what you said—ride on my back.”

“Gekek!”

Yeah, I guess I don’t have to fly.

If I sit on Flame Dragon’s back, that’s basically the same as flying.

“...Hmph.”

That scoff sounded suspicious, but I decided to let it slide.

“And who knows? Maybe once you undergo another transformation, you’ll grow wings.”

Wings.

Once I consume a refined inner core and see the evolution options, chances are a winged Western Dragon will appear as one of the choices.

If I pick that... I’d become a Western Dragon.

But I really don’t want that.

I’m not an Eastern supremacist or anything, but Eastern Dragons are just a much better choice.

And honestly, it’d be weird for me to evolve into a Western Dragon while carrying a Fox Marble like a Yeouiju.

How ridiculous would that look?

I mean, Eastern Dragons can pull it off, but what kind of Western Dragon goes around holding a Yeouiju?

“Well, actually... there are some winged dragons that carry Yeouiju.”

...Huh?

Did she just read my mind?

“Gehk....”

I glanced at her cautiously.

I had just been badmouthing Western Dragons right in front of her.

“But it’s fine. Honestly, most of us think the same way. The dragons from our side also believe we’re superior to the winged ones.”

I wanted to say that Western Dragons are just lizards with wings, but as a wingless lizard myself, I didn’t really have the right to criticize them.

But wait—there’s a winged one among the Eastern Dragons too?

“Gekgekek?”

Now that piqued my curiosity.

Eastern Dragons are supposed to have sleek, scaled bodies, aren’t they?

But one with wings?

“They say that if a dragon trains for ten thousand years, it grows wings.”

...Ten thousand years?

“And not our kind of wings, but feathered wings.”

I frowned.

Feathered wings?

How the hell could a dragon have feathered wings?

The world’s gone mad.

“They call it Eungnyong. But of course, it’s just an old legend. I mean, who could possibly train for ten thousand years? I can’t even imagine it.”

Ten thousand years is an insanely long time.

To put it into perspective, human civilization barely existed ten thousand years ago.

If there really were dragons that had lived since then, and if any of them had truly become Eungnyong, they’d be nothing short of gods.

...Then again, in this world, isn’t that actually possible?

I mean, even prehistoric {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} dinosaurs still exist here.

Would it really be that strange if a dragon that trained for ten thousand years was still around?

No way.

No matter how bizarre this world is, there’s no way something like a feathered dragon actually exists.

Dinosaurs may have survived for millions of years, but that just means they never went extinct—not that a single one of them has lived for that entire time.

Nah, Eungnyong is probably just a myth.

...

For some reason, a memory suddenly surfaced.

Something about a really ugly bird telling me that it could give me feathered wings...

...Nah, probably not important.