The Gae Gak Sect was growing stronger by the day.
The Priestess, Left Guardian, and Right Guardian had finally grown into their roles, now possessing the power befitting their titles.
Sure, their physical size wasn’t as massive as other spirit beasts, but that had its own advantages.
And more importantly—Pus and Tus had sohow learned to copy my miniaturization technique.
It was like… they were copying my copied version of Old Man Compi’s miniaturization.
But who cares?
They had evolved after eating my tail, so it was only natural they’d beco more like .
…At this rate, would they even grow scales one day?
Would they eventually turn into spider-dragons?
Imagine if, instead of breathing fire, they shot out swarms of baby spiders at their enemies, dealing massive psychological damage.
…Wait.
Wouldn’t that an I’d shrink a little every ti I used my breath attack?
I shook my head to erase the thought.
"Kiioong?"
Pus and Tus only tilted their heads in confusion.
anwhile, the hierarchy among the venomous creatures had already been established.
Pus and Tus might look cute—but only to .
"Pi… Pioong!"
To the venomous creatures, they probably looked like divine spirit beasts, so they obeyed them without question.
Technically, I had placed them under Soyeong’s command, but letting them hang around Pus and Tus wasn’t an issue.
"My child’s children…?"
Of course, Centipede was the exception.
She was my benefactor, which ant she was also a benefactor to Gae Gak Sect.
Not only had I made arrangents to help her find her family, but I’d also ensured she wouldn’t be bound by hierarchy within the sect.
Not that hierarchy mattered much in Gae Gak Sect anyway…
"Co here, now—!!"
…Especially with Soyeong already getting eaten alive by the new venomous recruits.
But I believed in her abilities.
Given ti, the creatures would learn to follow her properly.
Even Pus and Tus, who constantly bickered with her at first, had grown fond of her.
So much so that when she pretended to be dead, they broke down crying.
Of course, when they realized it was all an act, they rcilessly punished her.
"Sniff… I still haven’t morized the nas of all thirty species of locusts…."
Tang Muyeong, anwhile, had delayed his departure because he was too obsessed with the venomous creatures.
But even he had limits.
With great reluctance, he finally finished preparing to return to the Tang Clan.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded keeping soone as competent as Muyeong around for a while longer.
But at the end of the day, he was the Young Lord of the Tang Clan.
He had confird Soyeong’s safety, and now it was ti for him to report back.
His father, the Tang Clan Patriarch, needed to hear about my existence to determine the clan’s future direction.
…What if the entire Tang Clan decided to relocate here to serve ?
What if they sent their most beautiful won to—
"Gehhhhuuuu…"
I sighed, looking at Soyeong.
"Ko Dae-hyup, what’s that sigh for?"
…I an, it’s not like the Tang Clan wanted to be like this.
It was all Jinryong’s fault for cursing them.
Before Muyeong left, I gave him so rations and a few of my scales to prove my existence.
Just like our first eting, he prostrated himself in gratitude, and I briefly wondered if a Young Lord’s knees should be that weak.
Right before sending him off, I decided to ask sothing.
It was sothing I’d been curious about for a while, and my battle with the Black Cloud Lord had only deepened my questions.
"The previous Gomodo’s characteristics?"
The Black Cloud Lord had been a martial artist deeply tied to Jinryong.
A Hwagyeong master—powerful enough to manifest a monstrous entity from ancient tis.
And as the leader of Black Cloud Faction, he had managed Jinryong’s supply of elixirs.
So he should’ve had access to a lot of information.
And yet, he didn’t realize I was Gomodo until the very end.
anwhile, Soyeong and Muyeong had recognized instantly.
Why?
Did the Black Cloud Lord have different information about Gomodo compared to the Tang Clan?
To figure that out, I needed to understand how the Tang Clan perceived Gomodo in the first place.
Soyeong might’ve known so things, but Muyeong’s knowledge was likely more accurate.
The Patriarch and Young Lord had access to information not shared with others.
"Indeed, Ko Dae-hyup’s appearance is different from both the recorded descriptions and the oral history passed down in the Tang Clan."
That made sense.
After all, I wasn’t just Gomodo—I was Gomodo-Paryong, a unique existence.
"For starters, the size is completely different. The records state that if Gomodo opened its mouth, its lower jaw touched the ground, and its upper jaw touched the sky."
…That sounded a bit exaggerated.
I opened my mouth.
I could probably fit Soyeong’s entire head in there, no problem.
But compared to beasts my size, my mouth wasn’t particularly large.
Sure, my teeth were sharp and sturdy, but biting wasn’t even my main attack thod.
If the previous Gomodo had such an exaggerated description, that probably ant his primary weapon was his bite.
Or maybe, like , he could fire beams from his mouth.
"And Ko Dae-hyup’s white fur—there is no ntion of such a feature anywhere. Many records have been lost, so I cannot say for certain, but no surviving docunts describe Gomodo as white."
…Well, of course.
This fur wasn’t originally Gomodo’s.
It was made of the sa material as Firelight Beast’s fur, and I had only gained it because I killed and devoured him.
Since my evolution had occurred while fighting Jeokryong, it made sense that I had transford to counteract fire.
In other words, this white fur was unique to .
"And the biggest difference… is the color of the eyes. The records describe the previous Gomodo’s eyes as glowing red with overwhelming bloodlust."
…Wait.
The previous Gomodo had red eyes?
So, putting it all together…
The previous Gomodo was much larger, didn’t have white fur, and had red eyes.
That ant…
I looked nothing like him.
If Soyeong had recognized when I was still a Crocodile King Lizard, that would’ve been one thing…
But how had Muyeong recognized so easily in my current form?
"Gek-gegek."
When I asked, Muyeong answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Because we are the Tang Clan."
…So the Tang Clan could recognize Gomodo no matter what form he took?
"Even if the outer appearance changes, this remains the sa."
He then stared at my chest.
"Gek…?"
…You into that kind of thing?
I already knew he had strange preferences, but this was…
"Not like that. I an your inner self."
My inner self?
Now that I thought about it, Soyeong had entered my ntal space before.
Was this so kind of ability unique to the Tang Clan?
"Soyeong has so unique abilities, but even without them, we can sense Ko Dae-hyup’s presence. There is sothing inside constantly projecting itself outward."
…Sothing inside ?
"I cannot say what it is, but its presence is… fittingly ancient and deathly. If I had to describe it, I’d call it a malicious crimson light."
A malicious crimson light.
…That had nothing to do with .
My colors were black and blue.
Black scales. Blue eyes.
Even my sword aura was blue.
Red had never been associated with .
And yet, inside …
There was a crimson presence?
…
Now that I thought about it—there was one being that fit that description.
A being with red scales and sinister, blood-red eyes.
Shimma.
*
The spirit beast Bihee had the face of a dragon and the body of a turtle.
He was the eldest of the Dragonborn and the most trusted of Jinryong’s subordinates.
Jinryong trusted him for one simple reason:
He had never failed a mission.
No matter how impossible the task, Bihee always completed it and returned with results that satisfied Jinryong.
Among Jinryong’s subordinates, there were certainly others who matched him in raw strength.
But strength alone wasn’t enough.
They had no brains.
They were the kind of beings you couldn’t entrust with important missions.
They were powerful, but when things deviated from the plan, they lacked the judgnt to adapt.
But Bihee could.
And that was why Jinryong trusted him above all others.
Now, he had been given a new mission.
Travel to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and execute the one responsible for destroying the Black Cloud Faction.
Bihee imdiately understood the gravity of this mission.
Not only did it require strength and strategy, but he had also been instructed to cooperate with a malevolent fiend.
He had to both wield its power and control it.
Bihee let out a small sigh.
But Jinryong’s command was absolute.
So, he had no choice but to obey.
That was how he arrived at this wretched place.
The stench of blood was overwhelming.
The foul odor of beasts and humans mingled into an unbearable miasma.
Bihee frowned.
As a divine spirit beast, he was repulsed by places steeped in human suffering.
And he knew that Qiongqi had deliberately cultivated this kind of environnt.
Rumble…
The bright sky darkened in an instant.
A massive shadow blotted out the sun.
The master of this domain had laid his gaze upon Bihee.
"I slled sothing disgusting… so it was you."
Rows of razor-sharp teeth, like saw blades.
Skin marked with crimson and black patterns, reminiscent of a tiger’s stripes.
No—this wasn’t just a resemblance.
It was a tiger.
A tiger with massive wings sprouting from its back.
"Bihee. You do understand what your presence here ans, don’t you?"
A killing intent so thick it could be felt in the air.
Qiongqi—the most dreaded of the Four Fiends.
And Bihee—a divine spirit beast.
There was no world in which they could get along.
Qiongqi’s blood-red eyes glowed nacingly as he glared at Bihee.
But Bihee’s green eyes remained calm as he spoke.
"Jinryong has given his command."
His voice was low and firm.
For a brief mont, Qiongqi’s murderous aura wavered.
"Heh… I’d love to crack your shell open, but if he sent you, that changes things."
Qiongqi’s nature was twisted.
He hated the righteous and revered the wicked.
He slaughtered the innocent for fun and showered treasures upon infamous villains.
He was the very embodint of depravity.
It was only natural that he despised Bihee.
And it was only natural that he obeyed Jinryong.
"But… did he seriously send you just as a ssenger?"
Qiongqi might hate Bihee, but he couldn’t deny his abilities.
After all, Bihee was one of the few beings capable of matching him in combat.
"If he sent anyone lesser, you would have turned them away. That’s why I had to co myself."
"Krahaha! Are you offended? Jinryong gave a gift, so I took it as I pleased."
Bihee’s gaze sharpened.
Jinryong had personally sent him, but this beast was still looking for an excuse to fight.
Qiongqi was deliberately provoking him.
But Bihee refused to take the bait.
"The Black Cloud Faction has fallen. Your task is to investigate and punish the culprit."
"Khahaha! He wants to go to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains? Now that is news worth hearing. But… did he really order to investigate?"
That word—investigate—did not suit Qiongqi.
If Jinryong had simply ordered him to destroy everything, that would have made sense.
But investigate?
Jinryong knew exactly what kind of beast Qiongqi was.
Why would he give him such a task?
"Prepare to depart."
"Tch. Of course, I’ll follow his orders… but doesn’t this sound like a waste of my ti?"
A black aura flared from Qiongqi’s massive front paw.
He had received the orders.
Now, he intended to settle his score with Bihee.
"I wouldn’t mind humoring you, but my mission cos first."
"Oh, co on, Bihee. You, of all creatures, are running away from a fight? Khahahaha! Pathetic!"
"Tch."
Bihee clicked his tongue.
"Jinryong’s command is for both of us to go to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains."
Qiongqi froze mid-attack.
"He wants and you to go together?"
"Even your dim-witted brain should be able to understand what that ans."
Qiongqi didn’t even flinch at the insult.
Instead, he threw back his head and let out a thunderous laugh.
A sound so booming, it rattled the entire mountain range.
He had lived for countless years.
And in that instant, he realized—this mission was no ordinary task.
"KRAHAHAHA! If it’s this kind of mission… then I have no reason to waste my energy here!"
Qiongqi was arrogant, but he wasn’t stupid.
For Jinryong to send Bihee alone was already a sign of seriousness.
But for him to also send Qiongqi?
That ant there was sothing else at play.
Sothing even Jinryong couldn’t ignore.
So unknown force lurking within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
And if that was the case…
Then a worthy opponent was sure to appear.
A foe strong enough to match Qiongqi’s thirst for slaughter.
Soone he could overwhelm with fear and death.
A being who could make him experience true carnage.
Qiongqi grinned, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
This ti—
This ti, he would finally have his long-awaited battle.
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