I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 283

She had struck all nine Demon Acupoints and infused him with poison that should have worked on his body.

It should have been over.

Kwaaaaaang!

Yet Gomodo still moved freely.

To be exact, he had forcefully shaken off Ko Hui, who had been restraining him, and pushed Tang Soyeong away.

Tsrk.

"Are you alright?!"

Fortunately, Cho-Do’s plants caught her and the spider sisters.

But there was no way Tang Soyeong could be fine after taking an attack from Gomodo at such close range.

"Urgh... M-My leg... More than that, how...?"

Her injured leg didn’t matter.

She needed to understand why he was still moving after all his Demon Acupoints had been struck.

"The effect isn’t completely gone. He’s visibly weakened."

...That is a weakened state?

It was absurd, but considering she was still alive, maybe it was true.

"Indeed, you are of the Tang Clan. That single move was more dangerous than all the spirit beasts gathered here combined."

Gomodo was death itself, a force more terrifying than any natural disaster.

Being acknowledged by him should have been an honor.

Yet, there was no joy in it.

Because she had failed to save Hui.

"But even so, you will not be able to defeat me. The only thing you can do... is buy time."

Even if Cho-Do, Docheol, and Hunhui joined forces, they could not defeat Gomodo.

The only hope lay with Tang Soyeong, the only one who had landed a real hit.

But unlike before, her leg was injured, and Hui could not help her.

For Tang Soyeong to make another decisive move was nearly impossible.

Yet, there was no other option.

Cho-Do felt the weight she had placed on Tang Soyeong and blamed herself.

Then, she stepped forward.

"Cho-Do."

"Yes, Lord Gomodo."

She had to stall for time.

Even just a little.

To lessen the burden on Tang Soyeong.

"You intend to stand against me as well?"

"Yes."

"Then let me ask you one last time—why did you make this choice?"

Cho-Do was a child of Jinryong, yet she had chosen to stand with Gomodo.

During the ancient war, she had been too young and too weak to fight, but her heart had been with Gomodo.

That was why she built her nest in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains instead of Kunlun.

"To be honest, I was very confused."

"Confused? About what?"

"About my heart."

"Ho... your heart, you say."

Gomodo’s interest piqued.

After being absent from the world for so long, everything felt nostalgic.

Even this conversation was a fresh stimulation.

"My bond with Go Dae-hyeop is not long, and what I longed for was not him, but you."

Cho-Do had joined Hui for one reason.

Because he was a descendant of Gomodo.

What she truly wanted was not Hui, but Gomodo himself.

"Then why did you side with that lizard instead of me?"

"...I don't know."

"You don't know? You would stand against me without even knowing why? Should I praise your courage or call you a fool?"

Gomodo shook his head.

This was not the answer he wanted.

"The you I knew was not like this. You were gentler. Even when you seemed indifferent, you cherished even the smallest lives—I still remember that."

"Then you remember incorrectly. I have always been death. Do you truly think the word ‘gentle’ suits me?"

Gomodo’s killing intent grew heavier.

"...What happened to you?"

"Would you say the sea has changed just because a wave crashes? I have not changed. I have always been this way."

The suffocating pressure weighed down on her entire body.

"Compared to you now... that lizard, who cries like a fool yet desperately tries to protect what’s his, is far better."

"Hah, better than me? Ridiculous. Look for yourself—where is he now?"

Gomodo’s eyes flared.

"Gentle? Protecting his own? That is what you call foolishness. Look at him. He gave up his body to protect you. Do you think such a creature can truly protect anything?"

His rage exploded as if she had touched his reverse scale.

"A powerless lizard, and you, just as powerless."

Even Docheol and Hunhui, who had been preparing to fight, trembled slightly.

"And yet you think you can defeat Jinryong? It is beyond laughable."

There was no need for more words.

To buy time, they had to fight.

"Fine. You, and that lizard inside me, should see it firsthand."

The air around them roared.

A massive storm erupted as energy converged into a single point.

"Jinryong uses this technique. Let’s see how you handle it."

This storm was not meant for direct attack.

Sssssss...

Gomodo’s chest expanded enormously.

He was drawing in all the surrounding air.

"This is... dragon breath! Evade! Get to cover!"

And then—

He exhaled.

Fwoooosh!

Kwooooom!

"Guaaahhh!"

Docheol had tried to warn them, but even brushing against the breath sent him flying.

Fwoooosh!

The breath attack did not stop.

Kwooooooooom!

A black breath, mixing the flames of the Red Dragon with Hui’s beam attack.

A wide-spreading black mist corroded everything in range.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Beyond that, black beams shot forward, incinerating everything even farther.

It was an annihilating dragon breath, infused with every negative force.

This was the true power of Gomodo.

The power that had terrified every divine beast.

"Kghh...."

Just being grazed had left Docheol in shambles.

If Gomodo had been in full form, he would have died instantly.

A hopeless, overwhelming power.

Yet, no one surrendered.

"Hoh...."

Gomodo stopped the breath attack and looked down at them, intrigued.

"Shall we fight up close this time?"

Thud.

His stance changed.

Not Hui’s stance.

It was a true dragon’s stance.

A stance resembling Jinryong’s, but no one was aware enough to notice.

As blood sprayed, and the battle raged on,

A brown-haired girl gasped for breath in a corner of the battlefield.

Watching a monstrous being rampaging before her, she trembled.

"...Can you do it?"

Baekrang stood beside her, watching the battle unfold.

"My hands move... but my legs still won’t work properly."

She gritted her teeth.

"No."

Tang Soyeong clenched her fists.

"I can still do it."

Baekrang looked at Tang Soyeong’s face.

She was pale from her injuries, but her eyes burned with determination.

Her body trembled, yet her will remained unbroken.

The fate of Gaegakgyo rested in the hands of a second-rate martial artist.

Tang Soyeong was second-rate.

Not third-rate, nor first-rate—just second-rate.

She was mediocre, awkward, unpolished.

Her martial skills were insignificant.

Especially in the midst of these monstrous spirit beasts, she was nothing.

Among them, Tang Soyeong did not shine.

Their brilliance overshadowed her.

It had always been that way in the Tang Clan as well.

The Poison King, Tang Seong-ik.

A head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, a Poison Master boasting the prowess of the Flower Realm.

The Poison Cow, Tang Mu-yeong.

The Young Master of the Sichuan Tang Clan, a martial artist famed for his absolute peak-level skills.

The King of Poisons and the Consort of Poisons.

Before them, how could she even dare to claim a title?

What kind of nickname could a mere second-rate martial artist have?

Even if she had one, a second-rate warrior should never presume to flaunt it.

At least, that was what she believed.

But unfortunately, her clan leader had already given her one.

The Poison King, the Poison Cow...

And the Poison Flower, Tang Soyeong.

She hated that title.

It felt like they had placed a crown on someone who had proven nothing.

She was Tang Clan.

That alone made her 'Poison.'

And because she was the most beautiful among them, she was 'Flower.'

There was no way she could like it.

Even with the title of 'Flower,' she did not shine.

How could she be called a flower?

How could something that did not shine be a flower?

"It won’t work like this. Even if an opening appears, it’ll be for just an instant. In your current condition, you can’t even get close—how do you plan to strike all nine acupoints?"

Baekrang tried to dissuade her.

But Tang Soyeong shook her head.

"Even if it seems impossible, I will make it possible."

To her, Hui was the one who had made her shine.

Because of his words, Gaegak meant something.

Maybe it was because of her that Hui had made it this far.

And to Hui, Tang Soyeong was his light.

Because she spoke of Gomodo, he could become Gomodo.

Because she spoke of Gaegak, he could build Gaegakgyo.

Tang Soyeong thought Hui was the light.

But Hui had only been able to shine because he had received her light—because she had illuminated him, he had become Hui (曦).

Baekrang let out a deep sigh and bent her body slightly.

Tang Soyeong, supported by the spider sisters, climbed onto Baekrang’s back.

Her eyes burned with resolve like never before.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

And now—action.

Chwaaaaak!

Nephila’s spider silk shot forth once more.

Hui could not block it, so of course, it was torn apart instantly.

But this time, the spider silk was not meant to restrain him.

"Now!"

"Kegekek!"

Nephila’s web was only the signal.

The moment the signal was fired, attacks came from every direction.

The goal was to create a single opening against Gomodo.

And in that fleeting moment, all nine Circulatory Acupoints had to be struck.

Gomodo quickly realized their intent.

The time they could buy was less than a blink.

Unlike before, this was not a situation where Tang Soyeong could act.

No, she couldn’t even get close.

If she hesitated for even a second, the battle would be over.

Gomodo was certain.

Until he saw Baekrang’s white fur being torn away.

Her beautiful fur clutched in Tang Soyeong’s small hands.

Right now, getting close to Gomodo was impossible.

Then why not throw the needles from a distance?

But could she accurately strike the acupoints from afar?

All nine of them?

"That is impossible."

Yet, Tang Soyeong had said it herself.

Even if it seems impossible, I will make it possible.

Pabababak!

A white flower bloomed wildly.

A Tang Clan flower, clumsy yet unmistakable.

It did not fill the sky.

But it did not have to.

For her flower had found all nine acupoints.

Mancheonhwau.

Puff!

A second-rate martial artist like Tang Soyeong should not be able to execute Mancheonhwau.

But at this moment, she was no mere second-rate martial artist.

She had overcome even Jinryong’s curse, if only for an instant—she was the Divine Healer of Gaegakgyo.

"Hoo... to think such a child was by his side all along...."

Gomodo’s eyes slowly closed.

His lips curled into a smile.

"Magnificent... truly magnificent...."

He had seen the sight he had longed for.

And so, he chose to retreat.

"Go Dae-hyeoooop!"

The moment Gomodo collapsed, everyone rushed forward to check on Hui’s condition.

At the front of them all, of course, was Tang Soyeong.

She was the physician.

And she was the one who had struck his acupoints.

Everyone watched him anxiously.

"Go Dae-hyeop, are you okay?"

Hui weakly lifted his head.

In Tang Soyeong’s eyes, she saw his blue ones.

In his eyes, he saw the followers of Gaegakgyo.

He tried to raise his hand, as if to say, ‘You did well.’

Then, his pupils suddenly dilated.

His face twisted in disbelief.

"Gerong...."

And then, instead of anything else, he crawled straight into Tang Soyeong’s arms.

Tang Soyeong had finally been acknowledged.

She was truly the Poison Flower—the flower of the Tang Clan.

"Did you hear that? He said ‘Gerong’! ‘Gerong’!"

Of course, it would not last long.

A fleeting, temporary moment.

But who cared?

Now was the time to savor victory.