With hair as dark as the night sky and unreadable, emotionless blue eyes, Baek Yeon-young, the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, gazed down at her hand.
Her eyes were fixed on the ring finger of her left hand.
It was the place her one and only cherished disciple would constantly bite at every chance he got.
One might wonder how a disciple could dare to bite their master’s finger, but Baek Yeon-young didn’t concern herself with such trivial matters.
In fact, nowadays, simply staring at the spot felt slightly dull, and she found herself subtly anticipating the sensation of his teeth sinking into her skin again.
It wasn’t due to so peculiar inclination like that of a certain Tang family’s So-yeong. No, it was rely her way, as a master, of asuring her disciple’s growth.
The fact that he could leave a mark on her body ant that he had grown strong enough to do so.
That tiny lizard, once small enough to fit in her hand, had grown this much already.
If one were to na the most anomalous existence in the current martial world, it would undoubtedly be Baek Yeon-young.
Her strength was sothing that could only be described as otherworldly.
If one scoured the entirety of the Central Plains, finding soone to rival her wouldn’t be impossible.
However, among those of her generation, there was not a single master who could stand on equal footing with her.
She had ascended to the supre realm known as the Profound Mystical Stage.
A martial artist whose talent transcended the very definition of genius.
Because of that, Baek Yeon-young had spent her entire life without taking a single disciple.
She had no choice.
Martial arts, by nature, were techniques refined through generations, systematically improved upon by successors to reach new heights.
But Baek Yeon-young’s martial arts were different.
She had never seen the Nine Yin Manual, yet she could perform the Nine Yin White Bone Claw.
She had never trained under Shaolin, yet she could wield the Dragon Claw Hand technique.
She possessed a talent befitting the term Heavenly Martial Body, the ability to reinterpret and make any martial art her own.
How could soone like her ever pass down her martial arts to another?
No human could ever comprehend her teachings.
But the lizard she t was different.
Because he was not bound by human limitations, he was able to receive her teachings.
At first, she had been rely intrigued.
Even for Baek Yeon-young, it wasn’t every day that she saw a lizard sitting in ditation posture.
And, from the very first encounter, that tiny creature had the audacity to bite her finger without fear.
No master in their right mind would dare to entertain such a scenario, yet that minuscule lizard had forced it into reality.
Despite his tiny size, he sought to grasp sothing dozens of tis larger than himself, which she found quite endearing.
She never intended to acknowledge him as her disciple.
But then she saw him taking a bow with his tiny front legs, treating her as his master.
In that mont, warmth spread across her previously cold and expressionless face.
Their first eting had been brief, but it continued.
Her disciple kept training, growing, evolving.
Eventually, she granted her cherished disciple a na.
Hui.
It ant the sun.
The character “Hui” is composed of the radicals 日 (sun) and 羲 (Fuxi).
Fuxi, an ancient deity in Chinese mythology, is known as the god of spring and the sun, ruling over the east.
So legends depict Fuxi as a being with the head of a human and the body of a snake, while others describe him as a dragon.
Fuxi is the creator of the Eight Trigrams and the one who governs the neck.
Baek Yeon-young had given her disciple this na with the hope that he would embody such a being.
One who, like spring, brings forth new life.
One who ensures that his followers never go hungry.
It was with such aspirations that she bestowed the na Hui.
Of course, she knew that was rely her own selfish wish.
No matter the path he chose, she was determined to support him.
But as ti passed and he continued to grow, she realized sothing.
Her disciple was chasing the very aning of his na.
She had refrained from giving him the exact character of Fuxi, instead bestowing him with Hui for the sun—yet now, he wielded the power of the neck.
With every step he took, life flourished, storms roared, and thunder struck, giving birth to new life once again.
Was it re coincidence that he had developed this way?
No, Baek Yeon-young realized—he had unconsciously understood her wishes all along.
She had done so little for him, and yet he was walking such a perilous path for her.
Baek Yeon-young looked at her slightly trembling hand and made a resolution.
She would do anything for her disciple.
“…It feels like it’s been a long ti.”
She smiled faintly as she gazed at her left ring finger.
There were no longer teeth marks there—only a jade ring.
“That cheeky brat. He must know what it ans to do this to his master.”
Her words were filled with reproach, but her voice was lighthearted.
“Always running around outside, never coming to his master when he needs help. It’s disgraceful.”
Wearing a bright smile—a sight even her own younger sister rarely saw—Baek Yeon-young stared at her ring finger for a long ti.
“When he returns this ti… he’ll have to stay by my side for at least seven days and nights.”
*
I've never even considered the possibility of my master getting injured.
Who is my master, after all?
She is the one who took in a re lizard, one that had only just barely shed its gecko-like nature.
A creature so small and insignificant that no one would have cared if they ignored it or simply consud it for the sake of gaining a beast core.
Yet, my master reached out her hand to .
She taught what martial arts were, what kind of mindset I should have to survive.
Without her guidance, I would have never been able to grow to this point.
Among the people I’ve ford ties with, I have a particularly strong fondness for won.
I wasn’t like this when I was human, so this body must be to bla.
Even so, my behavior toward my master has always been extre.
Others may see as just a small lizard, but I still perceive myself as sowhat human.
I try to maintain a degree of pride and dignity, but in front of my master, I beco completely defenseless.
That’s how much I like her.
It’s embarrassing to admit, but if I had been human, I probably would have fallen for her at first sight.
And then, like a coward, I wouldn’t have even spoken to her, simply satisfying myself by reminiscing about how she looked.
But my admiration for her isn’t just because of her appearance.
My master is the one with power surpassing all others, and she never wields that power recklessly.
My master, and no one else, is that kind of woman.
I’ve always longed for her strength, always chased after her.
I swore that one day, I would leave a proper mark on her finger, desperately following in her footsteps.
Compared to back then, I’ve grown so much that it feels like an entirely different lifeti.
And yet, the gap between us remains vast.
If anything, having co this far has only made the distance feel even greater.
Because my master was that strong, I could never imagine her getting injured.
The power she showed was not sothing that could co from a wounded body.
But now that I think about it, there were strange things from the very beginning.
Even during our first eting.
Was there really a reason for my master to visit the Silver Dragon Cavern?
If it was for training, the creatures of the Silver Dragon Cavern weren’t strong enough to help her improve.
Even the strongest Titanoboa couldn’t withstand a single strike from her.
Then why had she co to that place?
To heal from an injury?
The Silver Dragon Cavern wasn’t a hot spring—it was just a place crawling with bugs.
…Now that I think about it, wasn’t Gongcheong Seokyu there?
Could it be… Could it be that she hasn’t fully recovered because of ?
No, I shouldn’t think like that.
By the ti I found the Gongcheong Seokyu, my master had already left.
If she had needed it, she would have taken it herself.
What I received was just the leftover remnants.
That has to be the case.
Otherwise, I won’t be able to handle it.
…This isn’t the ti to be rationalizing things.
What matters right now is that my master is injured.
Or rather, that she was injured before, and I’ve only just now realized it.
Who the hell hurt my master?
Didn’t they say that Jinryong was also injured around the sa ti?
Could the two of them have clashed?
Yeah, that would make sense.
My master fought Jinryong, and both of them were wounded.
If that’s the case, then I can also guess why Aryu has been lurking around.
Since my master wasn’t in peak condition, Aryu must have been trying to provoke her into action.
And behind that, Jinryong must be pulling the strings.
Grit.
I clenched my teeth.
Jinryong and Aryu—both of them need to be dealt with.
No one else.
They dared to lay a hand on my master.
…But now isn’t the ti to just be angry.
First, I need to find a way to heal my master’s body.
Ordinary elixirs won’t be enough—so how am I supposed to treat her?
There’s only one way.
I stared at my twitching tail.
My tail is an absurdly potent elixir, strong enough to elevate even an ordinary animal into a spiritual beast.
It worked on Tus and Pus, and even on Chirp, who wasn’t originally part of the Gae Gak Sect.
And it regenerates infinitely.
But that doesn’t an its dicinal effects last forever.
After using my tail to evolve Tus and Pus, I conducted so experints.
I gave my tail to wolves to see if it had any effect.
The wolves happily wagged their tails, thrilled to have sothing to feast on, but that was it.
Of course, according to Queen Snake and other spiritual beasts, consuming my tail made their skin more supple, their fur healthier, and their blood purer.
But that wasn’t the effect I was looking for.
So was it just a coincidence that my tail triggered an evolution?
No, that wasn’t it.
My tail contains an imnse amount of internal energy, far surpassing most elixirs.
Like how a cal stores resources in its hump, I store internal energy in my tail.
Of course, cutting it off doesn’t deplete my overall internal energy, but the energy stored in the tail itself is lost.
That explains everything.
The reason I was able to suddenly overpower Gongbok, despite being inferior in our earlier exchanges, was because I had wielded my tail like a sword, using its stored energy.
Thousands of energy blades had condensed together, manifesting as sothing akin to Sword Force.
So, what’s the conclusion?
The longer I keep my tail intact, the more potent its effects beco.
And right now, I’ve consud a substantial amount of elixirs.
Still, my current tail won’t be enough.
Even if I offered it to my master right away, she wouldn’t simply eat it.
That ans…
I need to consu every single elixir available.
Once again, I must act like a thieving lizard.
No, this ti, I won’t just be a thief—I’ll be a robber.
I’ll keep my tail intact for as long as possible, letting it accumulate energy.
Then, when it’s fully saturated, I’ll present it to my master as a gift.
She won’t accept it willingly, so I’ll have to wrap myself in a red ribbon.
I’ll tell her, "Master, I am your gift."
Wouldn’t she be moved to tears?
“…Hui, you’re making a very concerning face.”
Alright, let’s do it imdiately.
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