I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 318

Baekrang’s rampage didn’t last long.

She kept trying to do something to me, so I hurriedly shifted into lizard form.

She wouldn’t let go of my pants.

But even after I changed shape, she charged at me like a maniac.

Then, unable to control her power, she released a blast of frost—and maybe that cooled her head, because she completely froze up afterward.

Then she screamed in a high-pitched voice as if suddenly realizing what kind of state she was in.

What she said a moment ago? Just a joke. She was testing me, that’s all.

She fumbled through a bunch of lame excuses, but none of that was going to work on me.

I’ll remember this, and I’ll be writing it down in the Gae Gak Sect’s doctrine.

At the very least, I now have enough material to tease her for a full month—and that makes me happy.

If she doesn’t quietly offer up her soft belly and tail, she’ll be punished.

“Gehk gehk...”

And just like that, the last member of the Southern Expedition joined us.

But there was one more hidden member.

Woooong.

It was the Fox Marble.

Well, not exactly hidden—it was just following me around.

Woooong.

The gently quivering orb.

These days, the Marble hasn’t said much.

Not that it could speak to begin with, but it means Gongbok inside has gone quiet.

Has Gongbok’s spiritual ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ pressure disappeared? No, I can definitely still feel something inside.

Seems like it’s either been sleeping for a long time, or the Marble hasn’t handed over control in a while.

Especially after we took down the Ice Dragon and Thunder Bird—it’s been acting even stranger since then.

What the heck did this little thing do after cleaning up their corpses?

Wooong?

The Marble tilted itself slightly, like it was cocking its head.

Well, I’m sure it handled it fine.

Wooong.

Yeah. Let’s keep doing our best.

Just... don’t mess with Gongbok.

He still hasn’t collected what he was supposed to from the Dragon Gate.

Wooong.

“...A dog?”

“A cat?”

Baekrang and Hoya were glaring at each other.

Tiger and wolf.

Cat and dog.

Conflict was inevitable.

To be fair, a tiger and a wolf wouldn’t normally be considered equals, but these two were both spirit beasts.

If a lizard can take down a dragon, why couldn’t a wolf beat a tiger?

Still, it didn’t feel right to let them fight—Hoya’s a valuable guide, after all.

“Grrrr...”

See that?

Baekrang’s killing intent was showing.

You can’t be fighting already!

I had to mediate.

We’re comrades now, after all.

“You human—no, you lizard!”

Smack!

“Gkeh?!”

Well, I guess I should be thankful Baekrang’s attack hit me and not Hoya.

“You couldn’t even wait a little before bringing another one?”

“Gehhhk!”

Bringing what now?

Seems like Baekrang misunderstood something.

Hoya and I don’t have that kind of relationship.

Sure, I like Gerorong, but Hoya’s an exception.

She almost always walks around in partially transformed beast form.

The longer you look at her, the more you feel the tiger energy radiating off her.

Even I don’t mess with suspicious Gerorongs.

“That’s it. I’ve had enough. First, I’m peeling off those scales—”

Why does the conclusion always go there with you?

“Gehk!”

After I barely managed to calm Baekrang down, we prepared for departure.

We had everything packed—now all that was left was to hop onto the Wyvern.

The Wyvern really is an excellent means of transportation.

Of course, we won’t be able to ride it all the way to our destination.

The jungle’s too dense; we’ll have to dismount and walk at some point.

But it should be useful until we reach the outer edges.

Honestly, riding Lizamoun would’ve been easier, but she had her own tasks here, so it couldn’t be helped.

And speed-wise, the Wyvern was decently fast too.

I brought some rations just in case, as well as the refined Neidan Baekrang had helped procure.

Then I climbed onto the Wyvern’s back.

“Nooo! I just wanna roll around like this forever!”

And of course, I brought along the familiar dumpling-haired one too.

“Why do I have to go?!”

Dang-something, wrapped tightly in webs, flailed around.

Why else?

What if my people get hurt?

“You could’ve told me from the start!”

Honestly, I was going to leave her behind at first.

But I forgot something at the lodge and when I went back, there she was—So-Yeong, squirming in her sleep.

She even called my name in her sleep—how could I not bring her?

“You’re so mean! Besides, if I’m not there, Miss Geumji will be heartbroken!”

Nephila was actually happy about it.

She said now she could focus on scoring points with Lady Mother.

“Then bring Lady Ri too! I mean, I’m from one of the Five Great Families too, you know? Wouldn’t it look weird if you only brought me?”

It’s not the same.

Lizamon, the head of Mount Hwa, is a well-known face.

But Tang So-Yeong of the Tang Clan? Not so much.

Who would even recognize the face of a second-rate martial artist?

“I mean, I probably shouldn’t say this myself, but I’m actually kinda famous, okay? Ever heard of the Poison Flower? Ahem, as the saying goes, the flower that blooms—”

I tapped the Wyvern’s neck.

That was the signal to ignore her nonsense and take off.

“So actually, I’m—kyaaaa!”

So-Yeong soared through the sky, dangling from spider webs.

*

The Wyvern’s flight speed really was incredible.

No wonder the Ice Dragon used this guy as a messenger.

Later, I’ll have to ask the dual-horned ones to make a few more carriages.

I’ll give one as a gift to the Wyvern, and keep the rest nearby to use as traps.

If we can secure more Wyverns, things will definitely get easier.

“Sister-in-law, see you next time!”

“Kiyong-yong.”

“Kieeeeng.”

“...There’s no way that was meant for me, right?”

The Wyvern, trying to win favor with my followers.

Well, you’ve done your job, so rest up for now.

I’ll ask the dual-horns to make you a carriage later.

“It really is fast. Even if I ran at full speed in my true form, it would’ve taken three days and nights to get here.”

From here on out, it’s Hoya’s time to shine.

We don’t know the geography of the Southern region, but this used to be her territory.

The Southern region was a vast, dense jungle.

The trees were as tall as the ones in the Serpent Queen’s domain, but the density here was on another level.

Packed so thickly, the word “jungle” barely did it justice.

“Ugh... this place doesn’t give me a good feeling. Feels like the perfect place for an ambush.”

So-Yeong shivered.

“Kiyong-yong.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Tus and Pus shook their butts side to side as if to say, “Don’t worry.”

Since the weakest among us was So-Yeong, I temporarily lent her my Left and Right Dharma Protectors.

Two white spiders perched on her shoulders.

With their protection, So-Yeong should be safe.

Though honestly, I didn’t think it was necessary.

More than anything, So-Yeong was riding on my back.

What kind of beast would dare attack after seeing me?

Especially when a house-sized tiger and wolf were walking alongside us.

Any decent martial artist who saw this scene would bolt back to their sect and lock the gates, and the wild beasts would hold their breath to avoid detection.

“Click. Normally, we’d be able to travel in peace, but not now. These days, every mutt and their cousin wants to pick a fight. Especially watch out for venomous bugs. They don’t have the brains to think about who you are—they just charge in on instinct.”

Zzzzt.

No sooner had Hoya finished speaking than a dark cloud appeared in the distance.

To be precise, it was a swarm of venomous insects clustered so densely they looked like a cloud.

【Heumwon Lv21】

【Heumwon Lv16】

【Heumwon Lv19】

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【Heumwon】

Venomous bees native to Kunlun, roughly the size of a palm. Their stingers inject powerful toxin laced with fire qi. When they sting trees, the trees wither; when they sting beasts, the beasts die.

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...Heumwon!

That’s a bit dangerous.

Let’s intercept them before they get close.

No matter how deadly their poison is, they’re still bees at the core.

One well-placed Gae Gak Death Beam should wipe them out completely.

Just as I took a deep breath—

Vwoop.

Something heavy brushed past my face.

It was a spiderweb.

A taut strand, released from Pus’s cute, smooth, perfectly rounded spinnerets.

Having pulled her webs more than once before, I already knew their properties well.

Pus’s webs, despite being spider silk, lacked stickiness.

That might sound like a fatal flaw, but it wasn’t without its benefits.

Pus’s webs were waterproof.

We’d used that to fish a lot of piranhas, remember?

I quietly watched what Pus was about to do.

Tus and Pus may have evolved, but I hadn’t seen them fight much.

Boom!

Pus spun her web like a flail and slammed it clean through the insect swarm.

“Kiyooong!”

She had balled up the end to use it like a spiked mace.

Zzzzzzt...

But that alone wouldn’t be enough to deal meaningful damage to that swarm of bees.

Even if she squashed a few, there were still dozens more.

Tus. Pus.

How would they handle this?

“Hiyooong!”

That’s when Tus’s power kicked in.

From the tip of the thickened web, her venom sprayed out.

What Pus had thrown wasn’t just a web flail.

It was a venom-soaked web, saturated with Tus’s poison.

But the enemy was Heumwon.

Bees that wield poison themselves.

Venom wouldn’t be very effective here.

“Kiyooong!”

“Kieeeng!”

Crackle crackle crackle!

Tus and Pus cried out in unison, and in an instant, the web and the poison flash-froze.

Craaaaack!

...The web flail and radial venom attack were just a medium.

The real strike was the cold power they gained after evolving.

Crackle clatter.

Dozens of Heumwon turned to ice and fell to the ground in a blink.

I’m not the kind of lizard to cry easily, but I felt tears welling up.

I picked up So-Yeong and dabbed at the corners of my eyes.

To think their cold-based abilities had grown this much.

Sure, it was thanks to their own effort, but no doubt a good teacher helped guide them.

Good job, Baekrang.

“I never taught them anything like that though...?”

Then what the hell was that?

“Kiengyaying.”

“Yingying Kiyooong.”

How’d you do it, Tus? Pus?