I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 313

It was an unprecedented feat.

Ko Hui himself might not have realized it, but not even the entirety of the Central Plains had seen a rising military force of this level.

Baekrang was especially grateful to this lizard.

Her own pack, driven to the cold, remote snowfields after losing their place in the power struggle, had been taken in and protected by him.

Of course, she had been wary at first.

After all, he wore the pendant of the Snake Queen.

And the Snake Queen? She ruled over half the jungle. A high, untouchable sovereign.

And now a young lizard walked around bearing her mark?

That could only mean one thing.

A woman who never cared for males had fallen for this one.

So Baekrang tried not to get attached.

Even as her younger siblings wagged their tails excitedly around him.

But over time, as she spent more days with him, even her own tail began to wag without her noticing.

And as it wagged, she grew confused.

She was a wolf. He was a lizard. Was that even possible?

She tried to resist, to hold back—

But the lizard was devious. He evolved.

The moment she saw that long, snowy-white fur, Baekrang could no longer lie to herself.

She finally understood why the Snake Queen had fallen.

And she realized... she was no different.

“Awooo~”

“Huff... huff...”

Baekrang gazed out over the field where her siblings were running around, lost in thought.

It wasn’t the cold, sunless snowfields anymore—it was a warm, sunlit nest.

And she couldn’t help but feel grateful to Ko Hui, the divine beast she followed, the master of this nest, and her husband-to-be.

Sleeping side-by-side in the cave, her fur pressed against his scales...

Going on hunts with her siblings...

When Chilrang crawled into his arms, she’d pull him out—only for Yukrang to take his place.

Then, when everyone finally fell asleep, she’d carefully lean into the lizard to share his warmth.

It was a cold world—but this life? It was satisfying. She was happy.

Now that she had warmth, too, what complaint could she possibly have?

Baekrang believed that meeting the lizard was the greatest happiness of her life.

But... her tail drooped.

Because he wasn’t here.

She understood, of course.

He couldn’t be held back.

A new threat would surely come for them again, and the lizard had left to grow stronger—to prepare for it.

So Baekrang didn’t sulk or complain. Instead, she did what she could.

She played the role of lubricant to keep the cult running smoothly even without him and never slacked on her own training.

Even if the gap between them felt unbridgeable now, she wanted to be of use to him.

In a way, it was the busiest time of her life.

She cared for her siblings. Stockpiled food. And since the insect caretaker had left with the lizard, she now looked after them as well.

Of course, she didn’t do it alone.

At last, a proper spirit beast had joined the cult.

Her name was Cho-Do.

Gentle in temperament, sharp in intellect—she was the perfect support to ease the burden Baekrang had carried as the cult’s only sane member.

“Kyah! What’s with you, female?!”

“Didn’t I tell you not to walk around with that bandage in front of me?”

“I-It’s just sweat—!”

“What did you just say?”

“Kyahhh!”

...There were some quirks.

She seemed oddly insecure about certain parts of her body. Her face would turn fierce whenever chest-related topics came up.

Baekrang wondered what was wrong with her—but when she remembered how the lizard liked fat lumps on chests, she couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“...Tch.”

Baekrang shook her head.

Because her tail was wagging.

Just thinking about that lizard made her happy.

She was truly a lost cause now.

There was a time she couldn’t understand why her siblings wagged their tails for him.

Now, her tail wagged even more fiercely than theirs.

She tried cooling her cheeks with a burst of frost, but the heat wouldn’t fade.

After shaking her head for a while, she headed toward the strange creatures' quarters—the multi-horned ones.

She knew. These strange beings disappeared at random and reappeared just as suddenly.

And oddly enough, each time they vanished and returned, another female follower would appear.

The point was, these creatures were somehow meeting with the lizard.

So if she wanted to hear news of him, she had to talk to them.

Even if she really didn’t want to.

Because whenever she asked, they’d grin and laugh and speak in incomprehensible gibberish.

Still, she braced herself.

She missed him.

“Hey. Multi-horns. The lizard...”

Baekrang opened the door.

“Let’s plug in the formula here. Then adjust like this—”

“What if we apply partial spirit transformation to the lower half?”

“Not bad. Then do we discard the last one? The stamina boost thing?”

“Of course not. We stack it! Dual-wielding and increased stamina—!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

...And she shut it again.

What the hell was that?

Was her head broken?

Since when could the multi-horns speak so fluently?

And weren’t those diagrams of a dissected lizard and... those kinds of drawings?

Their thick bodies were lean now.

How?

No, more importantly—why?

It made no sense.

She opened the door again.

“Heehee?”

“Polygamy?”

The multi-horns blinked innocently and gave their signature creepy laughs.

But Baekrang... understood.

These beings were far more dangerous than she’d ever imagined.

“Spit it out! The truth!”

This was the first time Baekrang uncovered the multi-horns’ secret.

“Polyyyyyy!”

“Gamyyyyyy!”

*

Exchange with the elders usually ended after a single session.

After all, one day was enough to copy their techniques with Reverse Scale.

But when it came to Hoya’s Partial Spirit Transformation, I was planning to invest more time.

Yes, I could mimic the technique with Reverse Scale—but unlike other skills, this one required fine control and mastery.

Whenever I tried focusing transformation into a single arm, some other part of my body would morph instead.

Scales would rise on my face, or my lower half would start turning lizard-like.

That’s fine during training, but if that happens mid-battle? It’s a disaster.

That’s why I planned to cling to Hoya until I mastered it.

Partial Spirit Transformation was the ultimate customized skill—scratching exactly where I itched.

Imagine: I’m in combat, sword in hand, fighting in human form.

Then, I let go of the sword—feign an opening.

Just when the enemy thinks it’s their chance, BAM—a dragon claw straight to the face.

It’s a simple trick, but for me, every single trick was a lethal move.

And aside from practicality... let’s be real.

It’s cool as hell.

How could I not want to transform just one arm into a dragon’s?

Not even a lizard’s, really—my forelimbs were closer to a dragon’s than any ordinary reptile’s.

In fact, probably better than most dragons.

While I lacked flashy horns or massive jaws, my body was specialized in tail and forelimb combat.

Being able to use my true front limbs at will? Extremely useful.

Hoya poked her face out.

“Ugh, why do you hate this form so much?”

Kyaaaagh!

I instantly looked away.

I could not look directly at her.

Right now, Hoya looked like a bowl of tiger-flavored cereal.

You’ve got a perfectly pretty face—why cover it in fur!?

“It’s easier to transform the whole body than just one arm, okay?”

Transforming the whole body into a lizard form—

That means keeping a human skeleton, but taking on a reptilian appearance.

Basically turning into a Lizardman.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

But... I didn’t need that.

I already was a bipedal lizard.

Why would I go through all that trouble? I could just cancel humanization and walk around like normal.

“You’re so weirdly stubborn.”

The tiger plopped down beside me.

“I’ve taught you everything I can, so don’t you think I deserve a little something in return?”

Fair.

It wasn’t just about receiving.

This whole setup was about exchange, after all.

Maybe it’s time I showed off the Heavenly Demon’s Moonwalk again?

She’s a spirit beast, not a human—maybe I should show it in my lizard form this time.

“Not that. Wait. Are you telling me the humans seriously asked to learn that?”

“Gehek?”

What are you trying to say?

You... you dare insult Heavenly Demon’s Moonwalk?

“Geerrrr...”

“...Why is your face getting longer?”

I mean, what did I expect from a cat?

No aesthetic sense at all.

“Gekgek.”

It’s fine. I’m the bigger reptile here.

“I’m looking for information.”

...Information?

That came out of nowhere.

What kind of info is a tiger looking for?

Wait—don’t tell me she wants my internal energy pocket size chart!

A nearly completed masterpiece of data covering not just the Demon Cult but 70% of their core members!

“...That’s terrifying.”

Guess that’s not it.

“Gekgek.”

Then what kind of information does she want?

Not to brag, but a lizard’s brain isn’t very big.

And I’m only two years old—I don’t exactly have a wealth of knowledge.

Meanwhile, she looks at least a hundred years old, maybe more.

What could she possibly want from me?

“I’m not from the Ten Thousand Mountains.”

Not from the Ten Thousand Mountains?

Yeah, I’d heard that from Master.

She came from some other region.

So is she asking for local info?

“...What I want to know is this: The spiritual energy in the Ten Thousand Mountains has been rising abnormally. I want to know why.”

Spiritual energy is increasing?

Isn’t that... good?

I mean, more zones like the Dragon Gate, right?

Just run in, slurp it up—profit.

I must’ve had that kind of expression, because Hoya sighed.

“Do you know how Clear Blue Spirit Oil is made?”

Clear Blue Spirit Oil.

Ah... a nostalgic name.

That elixir I chugged in Silver Dragon Cave.

“It’s basically water made from pure spiritual energy. Condensed energy from countless dead spirit beasts.”

Yeah, I know.

My status screen explained it like that.

Granted, the one I drank smelled like gasoline and was pitch black—probably a variant.

“It’s the same with the mountains. That energy is the product of death. As spirit beasts die, their energy returns to the land.”

Spirit beasts accumulate internal energy → Spirit beasts die → Their energy returns to the mountains

That’s the cycle, I guess?

And the mountains naturally reabsorb that energy?

It’s like a perfectly balanced ecosystem.

“The total energy should remain stable. In fact, it should slowly decline over time. But now, it’s growing rapidly.”

Still sounds like a good thing?

I ran through the thought again.

“The problem is we don’t know why. This started accelerating about two years ago. Especially last year. For this kind of energy spike, someone would’ve had to kill dozens of near-Sage-level spirit beasts...”

So someone’s been rampaging, killing Sage-tier spirit beasts left and right?

That would make them the ecological villain.

And if they’re tampering with the energy cycle...

...Wait.

Wait a second.

I looked around nervously.

That’s me.

I’m the one consuming inner cores.

I’m the one leveling up, disrupting the flow.

I’m the one hunting Sage-level spirit beasts like it’s a hobby.

“Geeeek...”

The culprit... has been caught.