I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 319

I stared carefully at Tus and Pus.

Were these really the same spiders who once cried their eyes out after nearly getting eaten by a water beetle they already had caught?

When did they grow this much?

I wiped the corners of my eyes again.

The handkerchief in my hand seemed to be yelling something, but now wasn’t the time to pay attention to that.

“Kiyong-yong!”

Now was the time to look at our Tus and Pus.

“Wait, spiders... you’re telling me I taught you that?”

Baekrang, wagging her tail in wolf form, also looked completely confused.

“Kieeeng-eng.”

These two had an absurd growth rate.

Though I guess I wasn’t one to talk.

Surprisingly, I was actually younger than Tus and Pus.

But that was because I was an unprecedented, out-of-spec lizard—the strongest of all time.

But Tus and Pus?

They had nothing like that.

Just regular spiders you could find anywhere.

Sure, they were an ancient species, and they’d shown unusual intelligence from the first meeting.

Maybe it was thanks to my title effects, but they expressed affection toward me and even communicated pretty well.

Still, in terms of combat power, Tus and Pus had never really stood out...

“They were prized land spirits in the Tang Clan as well.”

The handkerchief in my hand—

No, So-Yeong, tidying her damp hair, continued speaking.

“Even back when they were minor beasts, they showed potential to blossom into human-faced land spirits, so they were treated with special care. I was originally supposed to oversee their evolution into spirit beasts, but some radicals tried to turn them into Go Poison stock, which delayed everything.”

So even the Tang Clan had recognized Tus and Pus’s talent.

You two really were special from the very beginning, huh.

“Kiyong?”

“And then, when everything was in limbo, someone attacked the Tang Clan and stole Lady Wanji and Lady Miji.”

Tus and Pus were kidnapped and dumped in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Beasts.

And the one who did it was obviously someone from the Heavenly Demon Cult.

...It might even have been my master.

Sure, they had tons of talent—but originally, Tus and Pus were fragile little spiders.

They’ve grown this much only thanks to a chain of miracles.

“Kiyooong.”

Tus and Pus rubbed against my front paw.

“Gehk gehk.”

Aw, screw it. I’m in a good mood.

“Kiyooo?”

How about I pull some web for old time’s sake?

“Kieeooong!”

Pus’s tail—thankfully stingless—waved gently.

It did feel a bit ridiculous, but it was something they enjoyed, so I had no choice but to do it.

“Kiiiii...”

Tus watched longingly, putting her front paw in her mouth.

All right, let’s build up some poison resistance too while we’re at it.

“Kiaaaang!”

You two—come here!

“...I think I deserve some credit too, you know. I mean, I did teach them how to use cold energy, after all? Not that I’m asking for anything... just, don’t think I want to be petted or anything.”

Fine. You too, Whitey—get over here.

“Gerororong!”

All three of you—get over here!

“...What are you guys doing?”

Right.

It wasn’t just us here.

I glanced awkwardly over at Hoya.

“Kirurur...”

Tus and Pus growled like they didn’t like her.

“Well, you’re a lizard, they’re spiders... and she’s a dog.”

“Gehk?”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Gehk gehk.”

We’re already a family—what’s the big deal?

“Kiyong!”

“Kieeng!”

Tus and Pus nodded enthusiastically.

“Family... yeah, we are a family.”

Baekrang wagged her tail in agreement.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“I heard dragons were promiscuous, but you really don’t care about species at all, huh? Spiders, wolves, humans... wait, actually, is she really human?”

Hoya let out a sigh and walked toward the crushed Heumwon corpses.

“Have your fun while I’m gone. In the meantime, take a look at these. These aren’t just any venomous bugs—they’re Heumwon.”

Heumwon.

From the very appearance of them, they looked nasty.

Their mandibles were razor sharp, and their stingers radiated the kind of poisonous aura that screamed this won’t just hurt—it’ll kill you.

To think these guys travel in swarms of dozens... no normal human would even dare approach the edge of this jungle.

And if these guys live here, that means the locals must already have countermeasures against venomous insects.

So poison might not work as well here?

Still, Hair-Loss Poison should get through.

I did see Meng Po’s hair fall out in real time.

“Kiyong.”

Tus and Pus hopped down from my shoulders and inspected the Heumwon corpses.

You’re not thinking of eating those, are you?

I mean, it wouldn’t be too weird for spiders to eat bees, but still—I’d rather you two eat good meat.

“Kiyoo...”

Thankfully, they didn’t seem interested in eating them.

But then why were they staring so intently?

“You noticed too, huh?”

“Sniff... Yeah. Something’s definitely off.”

Baekrang responded to Hoya’s observation.

“This is... no way!”

Even So-Yeong chimed in like she knew something.

“Kiyong-kiyong.”

Tus and Pus seemed to be saying they’d known all along.

...Okay, and I’m the only one still confused?

“Gehk gehk...”

“Basically, Heumwon don’t originally live here.”

“Gehk.”

“These guys came from somewhere else. Like, say... Kunlun.”

...Yeah.

That was what the status window said.

That these Heumwon were native to Kunlun.

Normally, I would’ve just thought, “Huh, they came from far away,” and left it at that—but not now.

Because now I know who’s in Kunlun.

Jinryong.

These things must be connected to him.

*

“May... may I come in?”

The massive man spoke with a trembling voice.

He looked every bit like the stereotypical “barbarian” described by the people of the Central Plains—muscular and towering—but here, his strength meant nothing.

With just a single word from the Lord of the House, he could be erased from existence.

And yet, the fact that he had dared knock during the time she valued most could only mean something of grave importance had happened.

“Enter.”

A bewitching woman’s voice responded.

The moment her permission was granted, he quickly opened the door and stepped inside.

“Lord, there is—”

Chirrk.

Contrary to his initial urgency, he couldn’t take more than a few steps.

The sound of venomous insects humming all around him.

He couldn’t see how many—his eyes were blindfolded—but he could sense that hundreds of insects filled the room.

It was a chamber that embodied the very essence of the word “demonic.”

A few centipedes crawled over his feet, and he let out a sharp gasp.

“Don’t tremble. They’re not hungry right now.”

She wore not a single thread of clothing, her bronzed, naked body fully exposed.

Her wet, violet hair clung to her skin like monkshood petals, gleaming beautifully.

A body so sensual and enthralling, any man would’ve been overwhelmed with desire, and yet this man didn’t so much as flinch.

Perhaps it was the blindfold. More likely, it was because he knew exactly who she was.

Despite her youthful appearance, the violet-haired woman was one of the only two masters in the current martial world to have reached the realm of the Poison Master.

“Very well. Speak. What could possibly be important {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} enough to interrupt my time?”

“...Suspicious individuals have entered.”

Suspicious individuals?

And that warranted a direct report to the Lord?

The woman’s face twisted with displeasure.

Even without seeing it, the shift in her aura made the man quickly add to his explanation.

“...A tiger! It’s the same tiger the Beast Palace mentioned before!”

“A tiger, is it? I’ve no interest in hunting tigers who’ve already lost their territory.”

“He’s not alone! He’s accompanied by a white wolf just as large, and two spiders who wiped out the Heumwon swarm with ease!”

She, too, knew of the one called Hoya.

Among the spirit beasts that ruled over the southern jungles—what those from the Central Plains called Namman—Hoya had been one of the strongest.

The story of how she was defeated and driven out by Gigano of the Beast Palace was fairly well-known.

And now that same tiger had returned, leading other spirit beasts?

That was indeed an intriguing development.

“So. You’re saying this tiger led a group into my territory?”

“Actually... to be precise, there’s a spirit beast even larger than the tiger among them.”

“Larger than that tiger? Hm, no wonder you came to report directly. Go on.”

“A lizard... with black scales and white fur.”

Black scales and white fur.

The woman tilted her head.

Why would a lizard have fur?

And how could it be larger than a tiger?

If so, shouldn’t it be called a dragon, not a lizard? Then why did they keep calling it a lizard?

“A new spirit beast has entered the jungle, hmm. Maybe the spirit beasts are planning a power struggle of their own. Might be a good bargaining chip in negotiations with the Beast Palace.”

The Beast Palace always craved powerful spirit beasts.

If they could use this lizard, they might make quite the profit.

The bronzed woman herself had a certain interest in powerful spirit beasts—but her real obsession was with the countless venomous creatures crawling through this room.

Perhaps she could even bring in venomous insects bred solely by the Beast Palace.

“...I don’t think it’s a power struggle among spirit beasts. That massive lizard doesn’t seem like the leader—it was clearly following someone else.”

“Oh? Now that’s the sort of detail you should’ve started with.”

“M-my apologies!”

“Fine. Continue.”

Slither...

A violet snake slithered up the man’s thigh.

A clear sign that the woman was not in a good mood—and the man took it as a warning.

“A human... a human was commanding the lizard!”

“Oh my. A human? So the tiger is being commanded too, then...? But not someone from the Beast Palace?”

“N-no, definitely not anyone from the Beast Palace! But... they may be even more troublesome than the Beast Palace.”

More troublesome than the Beast Palace?

There was no one in this jungle who fit that description.

So it had to be someone from the Central Plains. But who would be foolish enough to crawl into this deathtrap?

“The scouts believe... it’s highly likely to be the Yubin Poison Flower.”

SSSSHHHH—

The coiled snakes all bared their fangs at once.

Chirrk!

The centipedes and Heumwon mirrored the woman’s fury, unleashing their killing intent.

“Yubin Poison Flower...”

The eyebrows of Dan Hwa-Yeon, the Lord of the Five Venom Sect, twitched.

Always wearing a seductive expression, her face now twisted in genuine anger for the first time.

Yubin Poison Flower was a title she was all too familiar with.

The elegant and alluring Flower of Poison.

The treasured jewel of the Tang Clan.

An unmatched genius born from the Tang family.

A woman whose medical and spiritual knowledge made the Zhuge Family tremble and the Sima Family reel in disbelief.

Tang So-Yeong’s sobriquet was Yubin Poison Flower.

Dan Hwa-Yeon’s thoughts raced.

A tiger that had driven the Beast Palace mad.

A white wolf of equal strength.

Two unidentified spiders.

And a massive lizard presumed to be their leader.

And now, to top it all off—the one leading them was none other than Yubin Poison Flower, Tang So-Yeong.

There could only be one meaning behind this.

“Tang Clan... has finally crossed the line!”

When it came to poison, the two factions always mentioned in the same breath were the Five Venom Sect and the Tang Clan of Sichuan.

This was the culmination of that long-standing grudge—finally coming to a head.

It was no different from a declaration of war against the Five Venom Sect.