I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 301

A lizard’s tiny brain.

No, now it was time to put my human intelligence to work.

No matter how I looked at it, I had definitely transformed into a human.

I had assumed that if I passed out, I would revert to my lizard form. If there was a mistake, that was it.

But after living as a lizard for so long, it wasn’t exactly surprising.

And now I was hearing that my master was the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult?

Honestly, it wasn’t that strange of a revelation.

With Master’s level of martial prowess, it wouldn’t even be surprising if she was both the Cult Leader and the head of the Murim Alliance.

Tang Soyeong had always spoken ill of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s leader, so I had simply assumed that my master wasn’t that kind of villain. I figured it must have been someone else with a similar title.

I had fallen for the tricks of those righteous sect bastards.

Anyway, Master was the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

And I was currently nestled in her arms...

In front of a group of bulky, glaring elders.

Not in my lizard form, but in the tall, imposing body of a human.

Which meant there was only one thing to do.

"Master, have you been in great health and prosperity?"

I had no idea what it meant, but Iron-Clad Dragon had said it to me once.

It seemed like the perfect thing to say in this situation.

"Your voice is quite pleasant to hear. If you could speak like this, why did you always use such crude speech? Garun? Garon?"

"H-Hey! Is this the time for that? Do you know how injured our baby is— huh? Wait. Why do you look completely fine?"

Well, of course I was fine.

I had regained my energy from Master’s purring warmth.

My body was holding up well enough.

But my condition wasn’t the problem here.

Look at this bloodlust.

The elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult—each one a martial master in their own right—were emanating waves of killing intent.

Grind.

Clench.

Crack.

Some were elderly warriors with years of experience, while others were younger but no less dangerous.

There were ten elders in total.

Three women and seven men.

Master let out a brief sigh as she looked at them, then spoke.

"Elders, withdraw your killing intent. This man is my disciple."

A single sentence cleared up the situation.

As expected of Master.

Such a decisive and straightforward response.

"The Cult Leader... took in a disciple?"

"How could you accept an outsider...!"

"This is... this is unacceptable!"

Of course, it only made them even louder.

From what I had heard, Master had never taken °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° in a disciple before.

Her martial arts were unlike anything else in the world, and no one else could understand them.

Only I, with the body of a lizard, had been able to learn from her.

So I could understand why the elders were reacting this way.

The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult had accepted a disciple who wasn’t even one of their own.

"Oh my, I think it’s fine, though?"

"Exactly! Just now, he even mumbled 'Manmamangbok' in his sleep. If he’s saying that even in his dreams, doesn’t that prove he’s one of us?"

At least not everyone was against it.

The opposition seemed to be the majority, but there were clearly two factions forming.

The dissenters were mostly the grim-looking old men, while those in favor were... well, the purring women.

Something about that felt a little concerning, but good things were good things.

"Cult Leader, is this true? Even as our leader, you cannot take in an unverified outsider as your disciple!"

A bald elder stepped forward.

Did this old man have two lives or something?

But considering he could speak like that in front of Master, and how she slightly furrowed her brow, he must have been quite influential.

"You’ve never taken a disciple before, and now you suddenly accept one? Are you abandoning the countless followers of our cult just to choose this outsider?"

Accepting a disciple?

I was already one.

"Elder Il, does the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult require the elders’ permission to take in a disciple?"

Master’s voice was cold.

The elder called Il hesitated for a moment but didn’t back down completely.

"That is not the case... But to take in this unknown individual while ignoring the many promising young members of our cult—it is deeply concerning to this old man."

His argument was simple.

A disciple whose origins were unknown couldn’t be accepted.

After all this time of refusing to take in a disciple, accepting a random outsider would anger the cult’s followers.

On the surface, it seemed logical, but deep down, it was about his own position.

Being called Elder Il meant he was the highest-ranking elder, and apart from Seolhwa, he was likely second only to Master herself.

Now that Master had suddenly brought in a disciple, he had to be wary.

If I stayed silent, Master would handle it.

But my mind was growing hazy again, and I felt like I was about to collapse.

I couldn’t just curl up and purr in front of everyone, so I needed to settle this first.

What could I do in this situation?

The best option was to prove my worth.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

To show that an elder’s opposition couldn’t put a scratch on me.

Fwoosh.

With a fluid motion, I reached into the Flame Dragon’s arms.

"T-That disgraceful—!"

Elder Il erupted in fury.

But he fell silent.

Because he saw what was in my hands.

Two Neidans.

I held the Neidans of the Thunder Bird and the Ice Dragon as I knelt before Master.

"This unworthy Ko Hui has returned after eliminating those who dared to challenge the Heavenly Demon Cult, as per my master’s command."

Two spirit beasts of Hyeon-gyeong level.

Who could possibly challenge me now?

"Yes, it was a difficult task, but you have done well."

As Elder Il’s face darkened, Master’s face brightened.

*

Master’s short but passionate bragging session about her disciple came to an end.

If my body had been in perfect condition, she probably would have carried me around on her back, but unfortunately, I needed treatment.

And so, the meeting of the Heavenly Demon Cult was dismissed.

I was sent to the cult’s most renowned physician for treatment.

Strangely, I felt overwhelmingly drowsy and ended up dozing off for most of the process. But it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Just as I started to think that the physician was quite skilled, I sensed something familiar approaching me—something white and fluffy.

"Kiioong!"

Tus and Pus.

The two excitedly rubbed their faces against my body in greeting.

If Tus and Pus were here...

"You shouldn’t be bothering the patient!"

So the famed physician of the Heavenly Demon Cult was Soyeong.

Well, that made sense.

When it came to treating spirit beasts, there was no one more qualified than her.

"Kiong?"

"Well, that aside... Miss Miji, Miss Wanji, how could you?"

"Kiioong?"

Miji and Wanji.

Since Pus had a tail, she was Miji—Mi as in ‘tail.’

Since Tus had thick forearms, she was Wanji—Wan as in ‘arms.’

That was just the kind of naming sense Soyeong had.

But what was the issue with Tus and Pus?

I wasn’t seriously injured, so them rubbing against me wasn’t a problem.

"Kiiek?"

Tus’s attempt to find my tail felt a bit intrusive, but it wasn’t a big deal.

"Hmm."

Then, soft and delicate hands cupped my cheeks.

Nephila began stroking my face, humming in satisfaction.

"Even Miss Geumji...! No, seriously, what is happening here? How could you all act this way? Even Miss Baebsae fainted just from looking at his face!"

"Huh?"

"I get that his face is nice, but don’t you all have any self-restraint? If Great Hero Ko finds out, this will be a disaster!"

Nephila gave her a look that said, What nonsense is this human spouting again?

Wait... did Soyeong not realize that I was the ‘Great Hero Ko’ she was talking about?

Well, actually, that made sense.

She had only ever seen me in my lizard form. It would be weird if she recognized me right away.

Spirit beasts seemed to recognize me easily, but for a 100% human like her, it was probably impossible.

So in Soyeong’s mind, I wasn’t Gomodo—I was just some other guy.

How could I possibly resist teasing her?

"Hmm..."

I slowly sat up.

"Ah! Patient, you’re awake?"

Well, she was a physician, after all.

Soyeong rushed over to check on me.

"How long was I out?"

Her brow twitched slightly.

Why is this guy speaking so casually?

That was the look on her face.

"Not too long. Your body is really... I mean, it has to be sturdy."

She averted her gaze slightly.

...Now that I thought about it, my clothes felt different.

My upper garment was gone, replaced with bandages.

For some reason, I spotted a bit of spider silk as well.

"You undressed me?"

"Huh? Well, yes, I had to in order to apply the bandages."

Her response felt odd.

Normally, Soyeong was cheerful and bubbly, but now she seemed a bit cold.

Was something bothering her?

Maybe I should compliment her.

"By the way, you’re really skilled. I didn’t even notice I was being treated—I just fell asleep."

"I hear that a lot."

Look at that.

If this was the Soyeong I knew, she’d be grinning from ear to ear right now.

Tuk, tuk.

I patted the blanket beside me.

"...What?"

"What do you mean, what? Come here."

Soyeong shook her head firmly.

"Look, I know you’re trying to charm me with your face, but that won’t work on me."

Yet her eyes darted away.

"I already have someone I’ve given my heart to, so you should try this on someone else."

That was... shocking.

Wait, Soyeong was already taken?

So she was... married?

"You’re taken? What, you got married?"

"Not married yet, but... it’s even deeper than that. ...Wait, why are you speaking casually? You’re not mad that we can’t be together, are you?"

"Jjaeek?"

This was even more shocking than when I found out that Pteranodons and Mosasaurs weren’t actually dinosaurs.

I felt weirdly unsettled.

"Ah... Could you not make that face? Look, Miss Baebsae just fainted again."

"Jjakrororong..."

Why did Baebsae keep fainting?

"Anyway, I’m sorry. I already have someone I promised my heart to."

Who decided that?

You’re a lifelong physician of Gae Gak Sect.

"Who is it?"

"Great Hero Ko... Wait, why am I even telling you this? Just accept it."

Ah.

Well, that made sense.

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I guess it wasn’t that strange for a believer of Gae Gak Sect to say they were ‘married’ to the sect’s hero.

"Great Hero Ko?"

With the uneasy feeling vanishing, it was time to have some fun.

Judging from her reaction so far, she had absolutely no idea who I was.

"Does Great Hero Ko treat you well?"

"Huh? Ahem. Of course! He treats me so well. He listens to everything I say, comes when I call, and he likes me so much that other people get jealous. But what can I do? It’s not my fault I captured his heart."

"Ki... Kiong?"

Pus looked at her like she was hearing the biggest load of nonsense in her life.

"Pfft."

I really wanted to let this go on longer, but after hearing such a blatant lie, I just couldn’t hold back.

"...Why are you laughing?"

"No, I was just wondering... did I really do all that?"

"Huh? What nonsense—"

Soyeong stopped mid-sentence.

Her eyes darted between my face and my body, and then—

Her face turned bright red.

"S-Seriously... Y-You’re Great Hero Ko?"

I wasn’t GoGoGoGo Hero Ko, but yeah, I was Ko Hui.

"Yeah."

She jumped like a startled cat.

"Hiyaak! W-What is this? This is cheating! Why didn’t you just tell me right away?!"

She swallowed hard and looked like she was about to leap at me.

But then she shook her head rapidly.

It looked like she was holding herself back.

Her hands twitched, as if she wanted to Illuwat me like she used to.

But since I was in human form now, it must have felt inappropriate.

That was such a Soyeong-like thought that I couldn’t help but smile.

I leaned in slightly and teased her.

"What, are you not going to call me over this time?"

Her dumpling-like hair buns started flopping wildly.

"Uwegh..."

Her small body trembled, completely overwhelmed.

"I-Illu... Illu...!"

She was trying to strike the Illuwat pose.

If she did, I would have usually countered with Kkang.

But I didn’t have my tail right now, so I couldn’t do that.

This might be the perfect opportunity for her.

Kkang!

Yet, despite everything, a Kkang sound echoed.

"Hygak!"

Apparently unable to handle the situation, Soyeong smacked her own forehead.

Truly, that was a very Soyeong-like ending.