I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 321

The Sichuan Tang Clan and the Five Venoms Sect.

I already knew those two didn’t get along.

So-Yeong usually has this round, easygoing face, and even if you use her like a wet tissue, she just groans without much complaint.

But sometimes, that round face gets pointy—specifically, whenever poison gets brought up.

To be precise, she had a habit of subtly belittling the Five Venoms Sect.

The look on her face in those moments was the kind you’d see if someone compared a T. rex and a Spinosaurus like they were equals.

“Ohoho!”

“S-Sichuan Tang Clan!”

Before I could stop her, So-Yeong had already snapped.

Wait a minute. Maybe I can use this.

It’s not like the Heavenly Demon Cult is the one that smashed through the gate—it was So-Yeong acting on her own.

A member of the Tang Clan happened to rope in a mysterious lizard in passing and went off the rails out of personal revenge.

We'll hand over So-Yeong and step back.

Sounds good to me?

“Ko Dae-Hyeop? I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we needed to clean up the Five Venoms Sect at some point anyway. Since the Tang Clan is cooperating with the Gae Gak Sect, there’s no way those guys would side with us. They’re bound to end up enemies. Besides, they’re not exactly saints.”

Hearing her say that makes me feel a little less guilty.

If that’s the case, I didn’t just wreck innocent farmland—I launched a preemptive strike on the enemy’s food supply.

“W-What’s all this commotion?!”

Someone who looked like the leader here came out.

Probably not the Five Venoms Sect Master—more like the head of this outpost.

“B-Brother! The Tang Clan is attacking...!”

“The Tang Clan? What are you talking about?! Why the hell would they come here?!”

“Can you see those spirit beasts standing off in the distance? That one! She’s the Tang Clan’s youngest daughter!”

Was So-Yeong really that famous?

Just for being a second-rate martial artist?

Then again, considering the rivalry, it makes sense they’d know who their enemies are.

“No way... Bin Yu Poison Flower?!”

“Brother, it’s Yu Bin Poison Flower.”

“What? Eh, same difference.”

So-Yeong’s face was starting to sharpen.

“Bin Yu Poison Flower! How dare the Tang Clan provoke the great Five Venoms Sect! Surely you understand what this means!”

His voice echoed like a thunderclap.

He must be using some technique to amplify it.

“Brother, I’m telling you—it’s Yu Bin Poison Flower.”

“Look at her! If that’s not Bin Yu Poison Flower, then what is?!”

Which meant we could hear him way too clearly.

So-Yeong’s expression changed in real-time.

As if she couldn’t stand another second of this humiliation, Tang So-Yeong burned with rage.

“Ko Dae-Hyeop. Leave this to me.”

Huh?

I mean, I get it, but how could I leave this to you?

“If I’m right, there are five gates between here and the Sect Master of the Five Venoms Sect. The ‘Five Venoms’ each represent a different poisonous creature. And I’m the one best equipped to handle those creatures.”

Something’s different.

There’s a resolve in her eyes.

Maybe she’s got something up her sleeve.

She is the Tang Clan’s precious daughter, after all. Even if she can’t take down the whole sect, maybe she’s got the firepower to clear at least one gate.

“Give me the words of victory, Ko Dae-Hyeop.”

Alright then.

I’ll trust you this once.

“Gek-gek.”

I whispered a soft “gek-gek” in her ear.

She’s never been this stubborn about something before, so I should at least see how it plays out.

“Ki-ong!”

Still, just in case, I sent Tus and Pus to back her up.

...Though I couldn’t help but worry a bit, so I secretly sent Baekrang too.

“...You want me to go too?”

Should I send Hoya?

Ududududu.

So-Yeong zipped off in a flurry.

Tus and Pus followed right behind her.

Then Baekrang followed them.

And then Hoya followed Baekrang.

With a team like that, what could possibly go wrong?

Just as I was starting to feel relieved—

Odododot.

So-Yeong came sprinting back, hair flying.

Huh?

Why are you coming back already?

“Ki-Ki-ong!”

Tus and Pus looked absolutely flustered.

Whatever it was, they were fleeing with her.

“Kkeeng?”

Baekrang looked just as confused, but followed Tus ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) and Pus anyway.

“Haaah...”

So-Yeong finally made it back to me, ducking behind my front leg and catching her breath.

“Geg-gek.”

What the hell happened?

“Hah... haha... Don’t worry, Ko Dae-Hyeop. I snuck your poison in while I was there.”

My poison?

That’s the hair-loss poison.

...When did you even take it?

“I was actually going to finish things then and there. But... there was someone stronger than I expected. I had no choice but to retreat.”

That was the right call.

Sure, the guards started rushing over after that, but So-Yeong probably didn’t notice.

Still, someone that dangerous?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

For So-Yeong, of all people, to say that... they must’ve been really strong.

“Khahaha! Poison Flower Bin Yu! The sight of you running away with your hair falling out is downright hilarious!”

The guy who seemed to be their boss mocked So-Yeong with a booming voice.

“...If you look at the big picture, I still won. We’ll see who ends up being the real joke once their hair starts falling out.”

“Kkhaha! Forget reporting to the Sect Master—come back and face me one-on-one!”

So-Yeong’s eyebrow twitched.

“Lizard, what are you gonna do about that thing? Want me to handle it?”

Baekrang stared straight ahead as she spoke.

Because something huge was approaching from the direction So-Yeong had just run from.

Its size was monstrous.

That must be the “dangerous opponent” she was talking about.

I hadn’t really thought much about the Five Venoms Sect.

Honestly, I didn’t even know they were stationed here.

It was basically just coincidence that we ran into them.

But it’s obvious they’re not going to side with us.

They’re enemies of the Tang Clan—how would they feel about Gomodo?

Considering how many Heumwon were lurking nearby, there’s a good chance the Five Venoms Sect, not the Beast Palace, were the ones dealing with Jinryong.

In other words, we might need to step on this place.

I won’t go around blowing everything up indiscriminately, but any serious threat needs to be dealt with ahead of time.

So that unknown enemy in front of me—yeah, I’ve gotta take care of that.

“Grrrr...”

I had the believers fall back and stepped forward.

As I advanced, so did the enemy.

Paaaah!

The rags it was wearing unraveled, and its true form was revealed.

“Shhhhhaaaa!”

A giant snake.

No—dozens of massive snakes writhing together into a single form.

“Yu Bin Poison Flower! Face the Four Venoms, the mightiest of the Five Venoms Sect!”

Each snake carried the presence of a spirit beast.

There was even one the size of a Titanoboa, and a two-headed serpent among them.

“Shhhhaaaa!”

The venomous snakes slithered toward me at high speed.

Alright. I’ll need to deal with you all first.

Just as I braced to counter—

“S-Sssaaak?”

The eyes of the lead snakes went wide.

“Saaaak...?”

They pressed their tails into the ground and started slowing down.

Were they scared after seeing me?

No, it’s something else.

Even the Heumwon charged in without hesitation—there’s no way snakes stronger than them would suddenly hesitate.

So then what is this?

“Hi... Hiyaaaak...”

The snakes now had soft, puppy-dog eyes and were wagging their tails.

“Hey! You bastards, what are you doing?!”

Even their commander looked flustered by the sudden shift.

All the snakes were staring straight at my neck.

“Sssak... Saaak!”

The snakes frantically shook their heads as if talking to someone.

“Hiyaak... Saak...”

Some of them even bowed their heads to the ground.

...Can you even do that with your body?

Was that full-body twisting just now?

And how do you even pull off a face-down salute like that?

Then again, Shik-Shik does pull off some pretty bizarre moves sometimes, so maybe this isn’t that weird?

No—what’s really weird is how drastically their attitude changed.

“Saaak...”

The giant snakes were giving me the exact same look dogs do when they know they’ve messed up and are trying to play innocent.

“Hiyaak...”

“Shaaaaak!”

The two-headed snake tried to explain something but was scolded by the other head.

I was dumbfounded, but I did notice one thing they all had in common.

All of their eyes were fixated on the same spot.

My neck.

More specifically—the accessory hanging around my neck.

It was the token the Snake Queen had gifted me.

Only now did it start to click.

I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it.

Back when I took down Goga Durisu, and almost got wrecked by Kaichal Goa-Thal—that’s when I saw her.

The Snake Queen.

The moment I tried to pretend I wasn’t impressed, but secretly fell for her.

*

“Peep.”

Shik-Shik was playing in the Snake Queen’s hands.

Beside her sat a wide-eyed bird, wearing an expression of quiet resignation.

“Tweet...”

They were usually at each other’s throats, but right now they were united in spirit, staring in the same direction.

At the mirror of possibility—once shattered by a certain lizard.

The Snake Queen had taken the broken shards and crafted a new artifact.

A kaleidoscope, capable of revealing a being with potential even divine artifacts couldn’t contain.

In that mirror now reflected the lizard she adored.

“...Hmph.”

And next to him, other snakes were lined up being disciplined under the Snake Queen’s sharp gaze.

“How dare you bare your fangs at him?”

The Snake Queen murmured softly.

Though her voice didn’t reach them, her mood was unmistakable.

After all, the snakes currently in Namman were once under her command.

Of course, those who had forsaken her worship weren’t bound to obey her anymore.

“Hoooh, lying flat on your bellies now? Seems like you’ve gotten real comfortable.”

But instinct is carved into flesh—it couldn’t be denied.

To run into the Snake Queen again, when they’d thought they’d never see her... it was pure agony.

Even if it was only a spiritual presence, their bodies already felt like they were turning to stone.

The snakes felt wronged.

They hadn’t even met the Snake Queen here in Namman—and now they’d run into her partner?

Who could’ve predicted that?

And to make things worse—the age of this lizard.

Who would’ve guessed that such a young, two-year-old lizard would end up as the Snake Queen’s partner?

It was ridiculous even for snakes, and snakes don’t usually get caught up in common sense.

But this—they couldn’t ignore.

The Snake Queen, who had lived for centuries, had taken a two-year-old lizard as her mate and was now watching him through a divine artifact.

Their brains just couldn’t comprehend it.

Honestly, they didn’t even want to understand.

They had a gut feeling that the moment they did understand... they’d turn to stone on the spot.

“What was that? Shameless? Who just said that?”

More snakes began slamming their heads into the ground.