I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 298
“...What is this power?”
The Thunderbird’s expression shifted completely.
It must have sensed the sudden surge of my internal energy.
What it had once seen as nothing more than a plaything had now become a threat to its life.
“What kind of sorcery... What kind of technique did you use to gain this strength?!”
My power had increased.
But that was the wrong way to put it.
I hadn’t gained more power—I had simply learned how to use the strength that had been within me all along.
“I see... You must have surrendered your body to Gomodo. That would explain your strength.”
I silently stared at the Thunderbird.
As if asking—do I truly look like the previous Gomodo to you?
“...No. If that thing had taken your body, you wouldn’t have taken this form.”
The Thunderbird knew.
It realized now—the one standing before it wasn’t the previous Gomodo.
It was the lizard it had mocked.
“I’ll admit, I’m a little surprised. I see you’ve gained some presence, but...”
KRRRRRRACK!
The Thunderbird lunged forward, moving like a bolt of lightning.
A crimson spear of thunder formed in its grasp.
It must have decided that a quick, decisive attack was the best option.
“You are nothing but a vermin! Do you think you can challenge me in a body you’re not even familiar with?!”
This creature had lived for a thousand years.
Even if it wielded a spear, a human weapon, it had likely mastered it over centuries.
Meanwhile, I held a sword.
I had never been taught how to wield a ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) blade.
But did that mean I didn’t know how to swing my arm?
SWOOOOSH!
Sword Unity.
From the beginning—
The blade and my body were one.
How to cut—
Was clear as day.
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
SHRIIIIING!
My sword stopped the Thunderbird in its tracks.
Blade and spear clashed, our powers colliding.
CRACK!
“A mere sword blocking my spear of thunder?! You think that’s possible?!”
The spear it wielded wasn’t just a weapon—
It was thunder itself.
But the sword I wielded—
Was a part of me, a body that could command thunder.
The victor was clear.
Mountain-Crushing Pressure.
At some point—
I was the one towering above the Thunderbird, pressing it down.
CRACKLE!
The spear of thunder lashed out wildly, showing off its full power.
It wasn’t something I could overwhelm just by pushing against it.
SWOOOOSH.
The blue sword aura sharpened—
Condensing into a single, unified force.
And what it created—
Was a glowing blue galaxy.
The black blade shimmered, adorned with the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper.
In the past, I had only mimicked this technique.
But now—
The starlight descended on its own, resting upon my sword.
Starlit Blade Essence.
No matter how powerful a thunderbolt may be—
It could never reach the stars above.
SWOOOSH.
SLASH!
The spear of thunder—
Was cleaved apart with ease.
CRACK!
The split thunder lashed out in a final, desperate struggle.
“Grr... Kuugh...!”
Just like I had used my lizard body as a sword—
The Thunderbird’s spear must have been connected to its true form as well.
It was writhing in pain.
“H-how... DARE you?!”
KRAAAAAACK!
A dozen bolts of lightning rained down at once.
But their target wasn’t me.
RUMBLE.
The Thunderbird was buying time—
To return to its true form.
“I acknowledge it now...! You truly are Gomodo’s heir!”
And then, its true self appeared.
A beast even larger than Argentavis.
Golden feathers streaked with lightning—
A creature whose very presence was like a storm given form.
KRAAAACK!
Every beat of its wings summoned thunder.
“At last! A worthy opponent! HAHAHA!”
Just moments ago, it had been sweating in fear.
Now, its voice boomed with confidence.
“But... A human body has limits! And against me, those limits will be fatal! How will you face my speed and the destructive power of my thunder?!”
It had every right to be confident.
Its true form was a force of nature.
A storm given flesh.
But it wasn’t the only one who could command thunder.
KRRRRRACK!
Bolts of lightning struck the Thunderbird—
One after another.
“Kh...!”
The lightning moved as I willed it—
Obeyed my command.
“H-how... How are you doing this?!”
It couldn’t comprehend it.
Because to the Thunderbird—
Thunder was itself.
It had never imagined a scenario where it wasn’t the sole master of lightning.
KRAAAAAAH!
A violent storm erupted as it tried to flee.
But even that—
Was something I could control.
HUMMMMM.
The Fox Marble in my grasp quivered lightly.
Not too much.
Not too little.
Just enough—
To bind the Thunderbird in its own storm.
KRAKAKAKAK!
“You can control the storm too?! And with such... perfection?! Kugh... Marvelous. Truly marvelous...!”
Its massive form swelled.
For the briefest moment, it inhaled deeply.
And then—
A blast of pure thunder shot forth in a straight line.
That one simple action—
Would not have a simple result.
Because I knew exactly what it was.
KRAAAAAAAAAACK!
A condensed thunderbolt, fired straight from its maw.
The force of it shattered my bindings.
“Tch. I had hoped to save this move. If not for this situation, I would have blown a hole through your skull instead.”
A frightening display of power.
Even if I had grown stronger—
A Heavenly Realm spirit beast wasn’t something I could defeat easily.
Because I was still only at the Fire Realm.
“This fight... is over. Now I will crush you with the sheer difference in our power!”
SHRAAAAAK!
The Thunderbird charged, moving at terrifying speed.
A Heavenly Realm spirit beast—
In its true form.
A battle I could not win without going all out.
[「Reverse Scale Lv10」 Activated.]
Even if I had grown stronger—
This form wasn’t perfect.
It didn’t have the overwhelming raw power of my lizard body.
But that didn’t matter.
[「Incarnation Form」 Temporarily Obtained.]
GUUUUUUNG.
A black dragon’s form surged from within me.
Because now—
The line between human and spirit beast meant nothing.
[「Reverse Scale Lv10」 Activated.]
“W-what?!”
[「Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Step」 Temporarily Obtained.]
My dantian whispered to me.
Do as I wish.
Unleash everything I had held back.
Move like the one I wished to become.
The movements I had witnessed in the Silver Dragon’s Cave—
KRAAAAAACK!
One step.
The same step my master had shown when she faced Tae-Se.
Another step.
ZZZZZT!
The footwork she had used to teach me.
CRACK!
One more step.
I had only walked—
Yet the earth folded and the sky tore apart.
The Thunderbird—
Had long since crashed to the ground, its body trembling.
Desperately trying to flee.
I wouldn’t let it.
SWOOOOSH!
With a blade bathed in starlight, I sliced through the Thunderbird’s wing.
THWACK!
Desperately, it tried to reinforce its wing with protective energy.
Now, it wasn’t just a battle between a beast and a human—
It was a clash of power.
Both our arms trembled under the strain.
“Grrr... How... How do you have this power?!”
CRACKLE, SIZZLE!
The Thunderbird tried everything—
Even resorting to grappling techniques to break my focus.
Its arrogance from before was gone.
Now, it was fighting desperately to shake me off.
KRAAAAAH!
I lost my grip on my sword as its resistance grew overwhelming.
Its expression shifted immediately.
“Heh... Hahahaha!”
It thought—
That because I lost my sword, I had left myself open.
What a delusion.
Did it really think I could lose in raw strength?
FWOOOOSH!
A black aura surged from my left hand.
A martial art so vile it was called death itself.
The Black Death Palm struck the base of its wing.
SLAASH!
“GRAAAAGHHH!”
The Thunderbird screamed in agony.
If it had betrayed Gomodo in the past—
Then it should have expected this punishment.
A black force, different from Docheol’s flames, devoured the Thunderbird from within.
“Grrr... Khuuuugh...!”
Its body healed rapidly—
But the Black Death Palm burned the wounds open again.
CRACKLE!
A poison that never faded.
A force that could only be called death.
The Thunderbird was now completely crippled—
All I had to do was finish it off.
With this, I could finally return to the Red Dragon—
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Drip.
Blood trickled from my lips.
A violent dizziness followed immediately.
My internal energy was still abundant.
...Was this a side effect of the Black Death Palm?
“Kraaaah!”
Even so—
It wasn’t enough to turn the tide of battle.
But the Thunderbird—
Didn’t use this opening to strike back.
“Do not think you’ve won!”
With its injured body, it shot into the sky.
It had realized—
That it couldn’t defeat me.
It was trying to retreat.
“I will return with Jinryong... And I will crush you completely! This land, you—everything will be obliterated! HAHA! AHAHAHAHA!”
Even as it fled, it laughed mockingly.
It was fast as thunder.
It could fly.
Even I couldn’t chase it into the sky.
That was why it looked so smug.
Even though it was running away like a coward, it knew I couldn’t stop it.
Because I had no ranged attacks strong enough to finish it off.
So should I just let it escape?
Would I be crazy enough to do that?
[「Reverse Scale Lv10」 activated.]
Reverse Scale—
A technique that allowed me to copy the abilities of others.
But of course—
There were limits.
First, I had to have seen the technique before.
Second, I had to understand how it worked.
And third, my body needed to be compatible.
No matter how much I studied Chirp, I couldn’t grow wings to fly.
No matter how much I watched the Snake Queen, I didn’t have her eyes to fire a petrifying gaze.
So even if I used Reverse Scale, I had no ranged techniques I could copy.
A human form couldn’t use breath attacks or destructive beams.
Then what was I trying to copy?
A martial art that allowed a human form to attack from a distance.
A technique that surpassed normal movement.
Enlightened Palm.
Of course—
There was no one around me who could use Enlightened Palm.
But I had read its manual.
That didn’t mean I could immediately use it—
But it meant I had knowledge of it.
Then—
Couldn’t I just copy myself?
[Insufficient proficiency in 「Enlightened Palm」.]
I knew.
This was nonsense.
If I didn’t understand the technique, how could I copy it?
[Insufficient proficiency in 「Enlightened Palm」.]
I didn’t understand its principles.
...
So what?
One hand pointed to the sky.
The other to the ground.
Supreme above all, I alone reign.
I was the master of this world.
[Insufficient proficiency in 「Enlightened Palm」.]
My first realization had been like that of Buddha’s.
[Insufficient proficiency in 「Enlightened Palm」.]
Who dares to tell me what is impossible?
[「Fate Severing」 activated.]
I slowly extended my right hand.
I could tell instantly—
This wasn’t the movement described in the manual.
But I did not stop.
My master had never read the Nine Yin Manual, yet she had created her own technique.
I would carve my own path.
My hand moved—
Slowly, yet with purpose.
DNNNG—
A massive bell toll echoed through the world.
