I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 312

Wait—

I quickly slapped a hand over my mouth.

It just slipped out before I realized.

This isn’t the time.

Even I can't just start doing that in front of a woman I just met.

What would all the followers waiting in line with their number slips think?

“Sorry, but I already have soulmates.”

It was a tough decision.

But I managed to resist the Gerorong—a feat worthy of a pop-up notification:

“Achievement Unlocked: So Stoic, Even a T. Rex Would Be Shocked!”

“Soulmates? Why would you limit yourself like that?”

Huh?

Because I don’t have just one?

And by “soulmates,” I was referring to my followers.

If a disciple of the cult leader had followers from another religion, wouldn’t that make for a weird situation?

And calling them “soulmates” doesn’t sound too off, really.

On paper, the Snake Queen is my mate.

And the ones who left marks on my necklace? You could say they’re in similar positions.

“...Hold on. Wait—did you think I meant something like that? That I was trying to do something with you?!”

The cat—

No, the tiger sprang up in shock.

Well then what did you mean?

“Ugh, it’s for confirmation purposes! Just take it off already!”

You’re not even going to explain what this is about?

You really think I’ll just obey that?

“Not the pants! Just the shirt!”

Oh. Okay.

With that much clarification, I figured I could stop doubting her.

She knew I was coming, so clearly Master must’ve contacted her in advance.

The fact that the Heavenly Demon Cult formed an alliance with her means she must already know the extent of Master’s power.

And with me being Master’s only disciple, she wouldn't dare try anything.

She knows she’d be folded in half before she could even touch me.

So whatever this is, it’s probably just something Master asked her to do.

“Wait! Not like that! Don’t take it off—just roll up your sleeves!”

Huh?

I was obediently taking off my clothes, but the tiger freaked out and covered her eyes.

Well, fine by me.

Just as she said, I rolled up my sleeve and showed her my arm.

She walked toward me slowly, covering her eyes but clearly peeking through her fingers.

“Hmm... your muscles are solid... sigh. Why’d she make me do this...”

The tiger grumbled while inspecting me up close.

“Your arm’s kind of unusual... You’ve definitely got a male build, but it’s so clean it’s almost strange... Hmm, did you practice Minor Demon Arts or something?”

How did she guess that?

...Actually, judging by her tone, she probably just said the first thing that came to mind.

“All right. I think I get it.”

The tiger spun her body mid-air with a flick.

The movement really did look like something a cat would do.

The problem was, those ragged strips of cloth she called “clothes”? They all went flying off.

“My name’s Hoya. I’m the one who’s going to teach you a technique—uh, no, wait, she’d get mad if I said it like that...”

The bandages technically covered the important areas, but the coverage was insultingly minimal.

I didn’t even know where to put my eyes—not that I minded.

“Gerong.”

What a peculiar one.

She’s walking around practically naked, yet she panicked the moment I tried to take off my shirt.

And what did she mean by vitality check?

I don’t get it—but when I remember she’s from the cat family, it all kind of makes sense.

Cats are just like that.

“The technique I’ll teach you... is this.”

Shwish!

Hoya’s hand transformed.

Her slender human fingers gave way to razor-sharp tiger claws and padded paws.

Partial Beastification!

It didn’t matter what kind of person she was.

What mattered was that she had a skill like this.

It was the kind of technique I’d bow down just to learn.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

One of the big drawbacks of humanoid transformation is that I can’t use some of my main techniques.

I can fight with a sword, but I never learned proper swordsmanship.

That’s why I’d been collecting weapon techniques from the elders. But with this skill? Everything changes.

If I can sharpen my hands like this in human form, I can tear someone apart with Gae Gak Bone Ripper just the same.

And on top of that—I can also use Incarnation.

Imagine me pretending to be human and then suddenly launching a Gae Gak Bone Ripper?

Even a Super Peak master would probably lose an arm.

There’s no reason not to learn this.

I was just about to recycle the dramatic reaction I used on the Dao Emperor to butter her up when—

“You like it? I can even change my face, you know. Grrrr... How do I look?”

...What the hell am I looking at?

I mean, okay, I get it.

If she can beastify her front limbs, of course she can do the same with her face.

For spirit beasts, fangs are just as deadly as claws—maybe even more so. Makes perfect sense to weaponize that.

But that didn’t make the visual any less traumatic.

From “a beautiful woman resembling a tiger”...

To “a tiger pretending to be a beautiful woman.”

And suspiciously at that!

“Poori... hehehe...”

“Fur... fluff... hehe...”

You guys need to STOP SHOWING UP.

*

The Heavenly Demon Cult is located near Guangxi, deep within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

The Ten Thousand Great Mountains are a cradle of life—a vast ecosystem teeming with survival.

Creatures that should’ve long disappeared or been forgotten still live on there, and countless new spirit beasts are born even now, bathed in the mountain range’s spiritual energy.

Because of this, the cult’s followers revered the land and named the endlessly sprawling mountain range “Heavenly Mountains” in praise of its beauty.

The geography of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains was one reason the Central Plains never truly interfered with the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Sure, the influence of Baek Yeon-yeong, the cult leader said to be the closest in the world to being the number one martial artist, can’t be dismissed entirely—but that wasn’t the only factor.

To attack the Heavenly Demon Cult meant disturbing the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. And several factions, not just spirit beasts, were connected to those mountains.

Even if the cult was met head-on in war, a guaranteed victory wasn’t possible. No one had the strength to deal with both the cult and the other factions that would rise in defense of the mountains.

One of those factions was none other than the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.

No matter how powerful the outer martial world might be, it couldn’t compare to the full scope of the Central Plains.

The population difference alone meant a natural disparity in the number of powerful warriors.

But the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace was different.

Its territory was even harsher than the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and their warriors appeared and vanished like phantoms.

With so many beasts and spirit beings influenced by the same spiritual energy as the mountains, the palace was filled with unpredictable, formidable creatures.

It was a land that could not be conquered.

With its lack of manpower made up for by sheer bestial and spiritual power, even the Martial Alliance didn’t treat them as enemies lightly—instead opting to avoid them entirely whenever possible.

And so, a letter arrived.

Meng Gak, Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, poured himself a drink as he read it.

“Krrr—this is some fine wine.”

Had he not been an outsider, Meng Gak would’ve undoubtedly taken ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) one of the ten seats among the world’s top martial masters.

He had reached the level of Flower’s Vision long ago.

“What do you think, Great Hero Gi?”

There was another being who stood equal to, or perhaps even above, Meng Gak.

Gigano.

A primal ancient dragon. Though primitive in form, its strength rivaled that of the highest-tier dragons.

Once, a crimson queen ruled this land—but Gigano cast her down and reigned like a king over the Southern Barbarians.

“Grrrrr...”

The mighty dragon let out a low, earth-shaking growl.

Meng Gak burst out in laughter at the sound.

“Kahaha! So that lizard we talked about has really grown, huh!”

Both Meng Gak and Gigano had long known about the strange lizard appearing in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

But they had done nothing.

Back then, the lizard was too weak to be worth their attention.

They waited—for him to grow.

And now, the time had come.

Much sooner than either of them had expected.

“Will you return to the Tyrant Dragon’s land?”

“KRAAAAAAAHHH!”

At Meng Gak’s words, Gigano roared mightily.

The Tyrant Dragon—known as the strongest of all primitive ancient dragons.

The Spinal Dragon—who ruled the waters and fought with a crest like no other.

The Southern King Dragon—lord of the southern realm and Gigano’s own ancestor.

Three ancient dragons had once fought for dominance.

The Spinal Dragon had drowned in an endless lake.

Gigano’s ancestor, the Southern King Dragon, had been defeated by the Tyrant Dragon and driven from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

And so, the mountains once ruled by the Tyrant Dragon were a place of both longing and resentment for Gigano.

To reclaim the ancestral land—

That was Gigano’s deepest desire.

But the Tyrant Dragon was no longer there.

So how could he settle the ancient grudge?

Even if the Tyrant Dragon was gone, his descendants remained.

Jinryong, the Dragon of the Heavens.

Gomodo, the Dragon of the Earth.

But neither were easy targets.

Jinryong was in seclusion on Mount Kunlun.

Gomodo had long since disappeared.

Then came the divine sign in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

Al-Yu had claimed that it was none other than Gomodo.

Perhaps he said so to provoke Gigano into destroying him—but the ploy failed.

At the time, Gomodo was no match for Gigano. He had no interest in revenge against something so insignificant.

But now... things were different.

Even while doing nothing, Gigano could feel it.

That lizard they had been watching had reached a level where he could now threaten Gigano.

“Hrrrm... If that’s the case, I suppose it’s time for us to move as well.”

Meng Gak stroked his beard slowly.

A clash between the Martial Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Cult was inevitable.

And Gomodo of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains? He would surely side with the cult.

It was exactly the situation both Meng Gak and Gigano had hoped for.

“Which side we choose... depends on what we see.”

Will they strike first and take Gomodo’s head?

Or will they ally with him and go after Jinryong instead?

Or perhaps... take both Gomodo and Jinryong’s heads?

KRAAAAAAAAAHHH!

The gray-scaled Gigano roared, shaking the skies.