I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 304

At the Heavenly Demon Cult, the day passed in a flurry of activity.

We had crushed two vanguard units, which gave us some breathing room, but no one slacked off in preparing for the upcoming war.

Several elders led the cultists to the battlefield where I had fought and began fortifying our position there, while the rest of the cult diligently prepared for battle.

According to Master, what I had done was no different from destroying two martial sects of the Martial Alliance.

That meant I had greatly relieved the burden on the Heavenly Demon Cult, and the cultists were grateful for my efforts.

And really, eliminating two Hyeon-gyeong-level warriors in advance was a massive advantage.

Besides, these weren’t just ordinary invaders—they had come to weaken the spiritual energy of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

Not only had I completely blocked their attempt, but I had turned it to our advantage. How could they not rejoice at this turn of events?

With such an achievement, it was inevitable that I would draw attention.

And that wasn’t all.

I wasn’t just some random wandering spirit beast in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains—the Cult Leader himself had publicly recognized me as his disciple.

A disciple he had secretly raised in the shadows had now made a dramatic debut by accomplishing an extraordinary feat. Naturally, I had become the hottest topic in the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Honestly, all I wanted to do was soak in a hot spring, heal up, and enjoy a nice Gerorong, but the cultists wouldn’t stop seeking me out, so I didn’t even have the chance.

Master did his best to block them, but even so, the elders were quite interested in me, and there were far too many cultists eager to get a glimpse of the Cult Leader’s disciple.

The most annoying part?

Every time I met them, I had to take on my human form.

If I just stayed human all the time, it wouldn’t be so bad, but I had to keep switching back and forth between my lizard and human forms.

At one point, I seriously considered revealing my true form as a lizard spirit beast and just staying that way.

After all, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

The Heavenly Demon Cult had always been a spirit beast-friendly organization.

But something unexpected held me back.

A certain black lizard’s past actions had come back to haunt me.

There was a small, innocent lizard that had accidentally wandered near the women’s bath in the past.

It had only happened a few times, yet somehow, rumors had spread throughout the cult about this suspicious lizard lurking near the bathhouse.

According to the rumors, a tiny black lizard would watch the women bathing with shifty eyes.

Worse yet, there were even exaggerated stories that it bit the fingers of any men who tried to drive it away, while allowing women to pick it up without resistance—earning it a reputation as a sexist lizard.

Fortunately, most cultists didn’t pay much attention to the rumors.

After all, what kind of thoughts could a lizard possibly have?

If it had looked, it was probably just because it was there.

And since it had webbed feet, many assumed it was simply a lizard that liked water.

But if they ever found out that the lizard was me...?

Then I wouldn’t be some cute little lizard anymore—I’d be a fully grown man who had suspiciously loitered around the women’s bathhouse.

And not just any man, but the Cult Leader’s disciple.

To make things worse, rumors about me were already circulating.

Apparently, I had a reputation for being extremely lustful—a completely baseless accusation.

I could understand some jealousy from cultists who resented my sudden appearance, but spreading such ridiculous slander was unforgivable.

Whoever started those rumors...

If I ever find them, I’ll show them exactly what my jaws can do.

Anyway, because of all that, I had no choice but to stay in my human form in front of people.

And as the Cult Leader’s disciple, I had to attend important meetings.

Like right now.

A Seat at the Table

I sat quietly in my human form.

From the looks of it, we were in the middle of a strategy meeting.

At the head of the table sat Master, followed by Seolhwa.

I was seated next to her, and the remaining seats were filled by the elders.

I wasn’t sure if I should be here, but Master had assured me that I could just sit still and steal Seolhwa’s rice cakes, so I gladly accepted.

Seolhwa, however, hadn’t agreed to that arrangement.

Every time I snatched a rice cake, she would stare at me with an incredulous expression.

But what could she do?

It’s not like she could grab me by the neck and shake me in the middle of a meeting.

“The Mount Hua Sect has been destroyed, the Tang Clan hasn’t joined the war, and even Shaolin has declined to participate. Can we ask for a better situation than this? Why don’t we take the initiative and invade the Central Plains?”

“First Elder, are you suggesting we march into the Central Plains first? That’s absurd!”

As I listened to the discussion, I casually reached for another of Seolhwa’s rice cakes.

...Huh?

The plate was empty.

When I turned to look at Seolhwa, she was wearing a smug expression, as if she had won.

She had hidden the rice cakes?!

Such underhanded tactics!

“What?”

But I wouldn’t lose so easily.

At this point, it was no longer about the rice cakes—this was a matter of pride.

...Oh?

She hid them between her thighs, did she?

“The Shaolin Sect, the largest among them, has refused to participate, and several smaller sects have followed suit. We don’t know why, but this is a huge opportunity for us.”

Did she really think that would stop me?

“If we march into the Central Plains first, do you think Shaolin will just sit back and do nothing?”

“Third Elder, are you actually afraid of Shaolin?”

Shwick!

With a swift, fluid motion, I stole the rice cake from her thigh.

“Eek!”

Seolhwa let out a startled squeak, sounding just like Soyeong.

Her face flushed red, but since the First and Third Elders were too focused on their argument, no one else seemed to notice.

“I’m not saying I’m afraid. If we move first, we’ll hand them the moral high ground and unnecessarily provoke other sects into joining against us.”

Did she really think I wouldn’t steal it?

“So what? You’re saying we should be afraid of taking risks?”

Chomp.

As I casually ate the rice cake, Seolhwa pouted and stuffed the rest into her robe, assuming there was no way I could reach them now.

...How naive.

She had no idea who she was dealing with.

“Enough.”

Master’s voice interrupted my plans.

“Our enemy is not just the Martial Alliance.”

Huh?

...Oh.

He wasn’t talking to me.

So I can still steal the rest, right?

“My disciple has eliminated two powerful spirit beasts. If they had been meant to strike our main base, they could have caused serious damage. But instead, they were only used as vanguard units. Do you understand what that means?”

Master’s voice was calm, and the tense atmosphere immediately settled.

Even the bickering elders turned silent.

The Heavenly Demon Cult had gathered to serve their god, the Heavenly Demon, so it was natural that the Cult Leader’s authority was absolute.

And, of course, his sheer strength played a role too.

“Our enemy is not just the Martial Alliance. Do not act recklessly. If we move first, we’ll only be dancing to their tune.”

The First Elder, who had been pushing for a northern advance, remained silent.

That was his way of acknowledging the Cult Leader’s command.

As expected of Master.

With just a few words, he had completely shut down the fiery elders.

I should probably learn to do that too...

After all, I would eventually have to manage Gae Gak Sect.

The larger my sect grew, the more frequent the disagreements would become.

And unfortunately, the divine beast of Gae Gak Sect was a lizard with zero dignity, so controlling them might be a challenge.

Especially considering that most of my followers were female—which meant they could easily exploit my weaknesses.

Hmm...

How can I reclaim the dignity of a Divine Beast?

...Actually, now that I think about it, the moment my cry turned into "Gekek," dignity was already out of the question.

Ugh, whatever.

At this point, would dignity even matter?

I could only hope the cultists would follow my words.

Just as I was thinking that—

Crash!

A sudden loud noise rang out.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“How dare you make a disturbance in front of the Cult Leader?!”

...Not that this guy was any quieter, but Master didn’t seem to care.

“It’s fine. There must be a reason. Let them in.”

As expected of Master, ever generous and composed.

There were probably strict rules against interrupting a meeting with the Cult Leader and Elders, but he let it slide with his Gerorong-like magnanimity.

I should learn from him.

Honestly, I still wasn’t sure why I was even sitting here, but just watching Master was proving to be quite educational.

Even without raw strength, there was so much to learn from a leader.

“Huff... Huff!”

A man rushed in, his clothes stained with blood.

It wasn’t human blood—it smelled like beast blood.

Had he run into a spirit beast in the mountains?

No, he wouldn’t have barged into a meeting just for that.

Could it be that True Dragon or the Martial Alliance had launched a surprise attack?

Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.

“S-Sir... It’s an attack!”

An attack?

The Elders were guarding the path that the Ice Dragon and Thunder Hawk had attempted to break through, and the other defenses were well prepared.

Had the enemy already broken through?

That made no sense.

“The vicious beasts... are attacking the Snake Queen’s temple!”

The Snake Queen and the Heavenly Demon Cult had an official alliance.

The Snake Queen’s domain supplied herbs and elixirs, while the Cult provided rare goods that spirit beasts couldn’t easily obtain.

For some reason, the Snake Queen frequently requested alcohol—specifically, alcohol that worked well on male lizards.

While the exchange of resources was one part of the alliance, the true purpose was sharing military power.

The Heavenly Demon Cult had sent forces to eradicate the remnants of Tae-Se, and in return, the Snake Queen had agreed to lend her strength in times of need.

Of course, this was never meant to be a sacrifice-all-for-each-other type of alliance.

It was an agreement for a single battle.

But # Nоvеlight # for a spirit beast as powerful as the Snake Queen, one battle was enough to change the tide of war.

Unlike higher-ranked spirit beasts who had resistance to her petrification and venom, humans had few ways to counter her abilities.

Martial artists below the Absolute Realm wouldn’t even be able to resist—they’d turn to stone instantly.

Even stronger warriors would suffer serious injuries.

In large-scale battles, a spirit beast like the Snake Queen was a force of nature.

That was why the Cult treated her with such respect.

Of course, it also helped that the Cult Leader had personally arranged the alliance.

This couldn’t have been an attack from the Martial Alliance.

Even if they did invade, why would they target the Snake Queen?

There was no way they even knew about the alliance, so it would have been a pointless waste of resources.

Then... who was behind this attack?

“...They had red eyes... countless beasts swarming in! We even saw creatures with multiple eyes on their limbs... Kugh... We were completely overwhelmed... If not for the Snake Queen, we never would have escaped...”

This wasn’t an external enemy.

These monsters had come from inside the mountains.

They were feral beasts, corrupted by the remnants of Tae-Se.

The Elders swallowed hard, waiting for the Cult Leader’s response.

It was her decision how they would react.

“Take him to the treatment hall.”

After saying that, she calmly resumed the meeting.

“C-Cult Leader. What about reinforcements...?”

No one usually questioned her decisions, but this time, they had to ask.

She had personally established the alliance—why wasn’t she sending aid?

“Reinforcements?”

“Yes. The Snake Queen is a powerful ally. Her strength is crucial for the upcoming war... Why aren’t we sending reinforcements?”

The Cult Leader tilted her head slightly.

She looked as if she didn’t understand the question.

“...Didn’t we already send them?”

Most of those present didn’t understand what she meant.

No one had even noticed someone had left before the messenger had finished speaking.

“...The Divine Beast of our cult... went alone?!”

“Cult Leader, we of the Heavenly Guard will pursue immediately—”

The Elders leapt to their feet in a panic.

Sending reinforcements was one thing, but sending only one person was something else entirely.

And that person was her direct disciple.

If he got injured, it would cause serious issues.

“It’s fine.”

But the Cult Leader merely shook her head.

Her gaze flickered toward Seolhwa, who had turned bright red while groping for her missing rice cakes.

Then, her eyes dropped to her left ring finger.

A jade ring rested on the spot where a certain lizard had frequently bitten.

The Elders were stunned.

Her usually icy expression had changed.

Her lips curved ever so slightly.

For someone as cold as winter, even the faintest warmth was unimaginable.

“...I just hope he doesn’t get eaten.”

She sighed softly, almost to herself.

The Elders were utterly confused by her actions and words.

Sending someone alone, and then casually saying she hoped he wouldn’t be eaten?

But her concern wasn’t about the battle itself.

It was about her mysterious disciple, the spirit beast with a familiar face...

And whether he would end up wrapped around the tail of a certain woman.