I gave my master one last respectful bow before setting off.
For a mont, I considered waiting for the Red Dragon and traveling together, but my master assured that I would run into her along the way.
Since my master’s words always had a way of making things work out, I figured I’d just keep walking.
The four sisters from the Tang Clan remained behind in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Nephila had made a show of seeing off, claiming she was trying to earn favor, but I had no idea what she ant by that.
With the rations my master prepared, the food Tus, Pus, and Jaekjaeki had hunted for (which was mostly bugs), and a stash of Seolhwa’s rice cakes that I secretly took along, my journey began.
The chirping of the birds in the sky faded into the distance.
The insects caught by Tus and Pus were buried under the sand.
And no one paid attention to any of it.
In an era where "Kerorong" had beco nothing more than a crude joke, a lone lizard walked its path.
“Gekekek.”
I was currently at my full, natural size, without using my size-reduction ability.
Though I also hadn’t activated my gigantification, my body had grown to nearly twice the size it was when I first evolved into a Flood Dragon.
Even the larger dinosaurs, which normally wouldn’t pay much attention to , now scurried away as soon as they sensed my presence.
And with good reason.
“Gek.”
Status window, open.
【Gomodo - Flood Dragon LV50 (-)】
HP: 32,050 / 32,050
MP: 24,000 / 24,000
I had reached level 50—a truly ridiculous number.
Back when I was just a gecko, I barely survived with 1 HP. But now, I had five-digit health.
It really was impressive how much I’d grown in just two years.
Still, sothing bothered .
That symbol next to my na.
Not a , but a -.
Its aning was obvious.
I had reached the maximum level but was still unable to evolve.
I understood why.
My current race was a mid-tier dragon species.
If I evolved now?
I’d beco a high-tier dragon species.
I was nearing the final stages of evolution, so naturally, it wouldn’t let evolve so easily.
I had faced this issue before.
When leveling slowed down, I had shifted my focus to strengthening Gae Gak Sect rather than just myself.
Now, I was working to improve both at the sa ti, knowing that my own strength couldn’t be neglected.
There was no need to be impatient.
Even without evolution, there were many ways to get stronger.
And honestly, I wasn’t too worried about the evolution itself.
[You have reached the maximum level.]
[You have not t the conditions for evolution.]
This ssage was annoying, but I wasn’t the sa lizard I used to be.
[「Dragon Eyes」 has been activated.]
My proficiency with it wasn’t perfect, but I knew when to use it.
Focusing my gaze, not with a lizard’s eyes, but with a dragon’s, I stared intently at my status window.
The blue screen trembled slightly.
Then—
Flash!
[Minimum Condition: Consu the Neidan of a Supre-Grade Spirit Beast.]
A new ssage appeared.
In other words...
“If you eat a better Neidan, I’ll let you evolve.”
That was what it ant.
Not just a high-grade Neidan, but a supre-grade one.
Most people would have no idea where to find such a rare item.
But lucky —I already had two.
Bihui’s Neidan and Qiongqi’s Neidan.
Of course, they were currently stored in Gae Gak Sect rather than in my possession, but once refined, I could consu them imdiately.
So, in theory, I could return, eat them, and evolve right away.
But I wasn’t going to rush it.
After all, consuming a supre-grade Neidan was rely the minimum requirent.
For soone like , who had always pursued special evolution, normal evolution was out of the question.
At this stage, I knew my evolution choices would be overwhelming and powerful.
But special evolution would offer sothing even better.
To face Jinryong, I needed a form stronger than my current Flood Dragon.
If worst ca to worst, I could settle for normal evolution, but since I still had ti, I would think it through carefully.
If I consud Bihui and Qiongqi’s Neidans, what options would appear?
Bihui’s most notable traits were its defense and shell.
A high-tier dragon species with a shell...
...Could it be a Black Tortoise?
I’d prefer to keep my lizard identity intact, but a Black Tortoise was on a different level.
Would it be right for Gomodo’s descendant to take the path of the Black Tortoise?
— You talk as if you have a choice in the matter.
I ignored Shimma’s voice and continued my delightful speculation.
Wait. The Black Tortoise has a second head on its tail...
...Ugh.
That could be a problem.
My tail was already bigger than my entire body.
If another head grew there, things would get ssy.
I might even lose control.
Regrettably, I had to rule out the Black Tortoise.
— Did anyone even offer you the Black Tortoise evolution in the first place?
That settled Bihui’s Neidan.
What about Qiongqi’s?
Qiongqi was essentially a winged tiger.
A tiger, huh... could it be White Tiger?
— What a drear. You’re more attuned to dragons, not tortoises or tigers.
Still, a White Tiger wouldn’t be bad.
But suddenly switching to a mammalian form was a bit off-putting.
I was fully adapted to a reptilian body by now.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
...Wait. Instead of focusing on the tiger aspect, what if I focused on the wings?
If I simply gained wings in my current form, I’d essentially beco a Western dragon.
...Hold on.
Wouldn’t that make look like what Kaichal Goa-Thal once suggested?
Now that was an interesting possibility.
— Hah. I should’ve turned you into an Earth Dragon when I had the chance...
Just as I was lost in deep contemplation about my future—
Fwoooosh!
A familiar burst of flas flickered through the air.
I lifted my head.
BOOM!
A red-haired woman was plumting toward at high speed.
“Baby!”
The Red Dragon grinned as she crashed down.
Onto my head.
CRACK!
“GEEEKK!”
I get that you’re happy, but why the headbutt?!
“Heh. Baby, have you been well?”
Just like that, my happy daydreams were ruined by the arrival of the Red Dragon.
I wanted to get mad.
But the mont I saw her face, I just couldn’t.
“Gerong...”
What incredible growth.
She was already strong, but now she seed even stronger.
If she fought Akbulhwi again, her chances of winning would be at least 70%.
Even compared to Cho-Do and Docheol, she wouldn’t fall behind much.
The fact that I was even using Cho-Do as a comparison ant I was talking about raw combat power, not her place in my pouch rankings.
And her firepower—she might as well be called the strongest in Gae Gak Sect.
If she had been there during the fights against Bihui and Qiongqi, things could have gone very differently.
Continuous long-range flas would have overwheld Bihui, who lacked wings and had no real way to counter.
Having her join us made everything feel a lot more reassuring.
“Gerongrong...”
Yes, very reassuring.
“You got way bigger! Looks like you’ve been eating well!”
The Red Dragon grinned at .
She didn’t seem annoyed.
Since my master had contacted her, she must have known where we were heading.
Still, it wasn’t sothing I could bring up first, so I kept my mouth shut for now.
“Geggek.”
Good job, Lizamon.
“Heh, what do you an ‘good job’? I was just going about my usual business and lit one last fire on my way out.”
I’d heard about it, but still—unbelievable.
Who in their right mind sets fire to the Martial Alliance’s headquarters and just walks away?
She was reassuring as an ally, but if she were an enemy... terrifying.
“Hehehe, I burned a lot of important things, so they should be seriously delayed. Fire isn’t sothing humans can just extinguish easily, so it might still be burning even now.”
I should make sure my throat never catches fire.
“Oh, by the way, our Divine Beast is pretty impressive, huh? What did you do to convince Shaolin? Those cranky old monks acted like they didn’t even see .”
Shaolin pretended not to notice her?
That was good news.
If they ignored the Red Dragon—who was setting fire to the Martial Alliance—then it ant they didn’t support the alliance either.
And of course, they also had ties to Iron-Clad Dragon.
“And Shaolin’s abbot asked to give you this.”
To ?
A reward for saving Iron-Clad Dragon?
Could it be... a Great Elixir?
No, even a Summoning Pill would be great.
I swallowed my saliva as I watched her take sothing out of her sleeve.
How was that even possible?
The mysteries of the human body never ceased to amaze .
What she pulled out... was a book.
“Gek...”
Unfortunately, the books in this world weren’t sothing I could read.
Hanja here, hanja there.
I could read so of it, but not enough to fully understand.
At best, I could make out—
"Tathagata Divine Palm"
...Why could I read that?
And why was it Tathagata Divine Palm?!
“GEEEKK!”
What the hell was this doing here?!
Just like how demonic arts had Black Death Palm and Small Demonic Art, Shaolin had Tathagata Divine Palm.
“Iron-Clad Dragon, probably? The abbot said to give it to him.”
Iron-Clad Dragon wasn’t officially part of Shaolin, yet the abbot handed over this precious manual?
And he did it personally?
What was he thinking?
— Ho, Tathagata Divine Palm. Not bad at all.
Even Shimma murmured in approval.
For a being like Shimma, who handled all sorts of demonic arts, for this technique to stand out—it had to be remarkable.
I was a Divine Beast.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have sothing besides demonic arts?
I gripped the book tightly, lost in thought.
“...Baby?”
“Gek.”
I had done it without realizing.
This was ant for Iron-Clad Dragon. I couldn’t just take it.
“Hmmm...”
The Red Dragon humd, watching .
“You know, a manual this valuable is usually delivered in person, right?”
That was true.
A technique like Tathagata Divine Palm was directly tied to a sect’s survival.
“So why did the abbot give it to instead?”
Her voice was soft, coaxing.
“And do you really think Iron-Clad Dragon can learn this? Hmm... I doubt it.”
This sly—
“The one who needs it... No, the lizard who needs it should be the one to use it, don’t you think?”
She was trying to tempt !
— I agree. You can’t just learn a technique like that on a whim. When an opportunity like this cos, you have to seize it.
“And if you do want to pass it on to Iron-Clad Dragon, wouldn’t it be better if you mastered it first and then taught him?”
What an insidious whisper.
No, I wouldn’t fall for it.
I was a noble Divine Beast.
I wouldn’t succumb to the devil’s whispers.
— Yes. Coveting another’s possession isn’t right, no matter how tempting.
See? Even a voice opposing Shimma was speaking up.
...Wait.
An angel’s voice?
[「Dragon Eyes」 has been activated.]
Using Dragon Eyes, I looked at the world again.
And I saw it.
The true form of the insidious devil.
A Spinosaurus in flowing robes.
That had to be the devil.
— Hui, you can do it! Don’t fall for their words!
I turned my head toward the angel encouraging .
An angel supporting , cheering on so I wouldn’t give in to temptation.
“GEEEEEEEK!”
AAAHHHHH!
Why the hell was that an angel?!
“Baby, what’s wrong? You look like you just had a ntal breakdown.”
It wasn’t "like" I had a breakdown.
I probably did.
No, seriously—what the hell was that blue dinosaur?
It had long claws.
Was it... a Therizinosaurus?
And why was it wearing a school swimsuit?!
Miss Terry-chan?
— What else would it be? That’s your Shimma.
No, YOU’RE my Shimma!
— ...You don’t seriously believe I look like that feathery abomination, do you?
Then what was it?!
— Just as your subconscious shaped my form, it shaped that as well. If I weren’t here, that would have been your Shimma instead.
“KEEEEEEEK!”
I scread.
What kind of nightmare was this?!
— Hui, you must not give in to the devil’s whispers!
Miss Ju-Hwaipma, with sparkling eyes and long claws pressed together in prayer.
If that was an angel, then—
I’d rather side with the devil.
I gently took the book from the Red Dragon’s hands.
Iron-Clad Dragon, my apologies.
I’ll read it first before passing it on.
“...Baby, you should’ve just admitted you wanted it from the start.”
“Gekgek.”
Shut up.
This way, my conscience won’t be as guilty.
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