A lizard’s tiny brain.
No, now it was ti to put my human intelligence to work.
No matter how I looked at it, I had definitely transford into a human.
I had assud that if I passed out, I would revert to my lizard form. If there was a mistake, that was it.
But after living as a lizard for so long, it wasn’t exactly surprising.
And now I was hearing that my master was the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult?
Honestly, it wasn’t that strange of a revelation.
With Master’s level of martial prowess, it wouldn’t even be surprising if she was both the Cult Leader and the head of the Murim Alliance.
Tang Soyeong had always spoken ill of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s leader, so I had simply assud that my master wasn’t that kind of villain. I figured it must have been soone else with a similar title.
I had fallen for the tricks of those righteous sect bastards.
Anyway, Master was the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
And I was currently nestled in her arms...
In front of a group of bulky, glaring elders.
Not in my lizard form, but in the tall, imposing body of a human.
Which ant there was only one thing to do.
"Master, have you been in great health and prosperity?"
I had no idea what it ant, but Iron-Clad Dragon had said it to once.
It seed like the perfect thing to say in this situation.
"Your voice is quite pleasant to hear. If you could speak like this, why did you always use such crude speech? Garun? Garon?"
"H-Hey! Is this the ti for that? Do you know how injured our baby is— huh? Wait. Why do you look completely fine?"
Well, of course I was fine.
I had regained my energy from Master’s purring warmth.
My body was holding up well enough.
But my condition wasn’t the problem here.
Look at this bloodlust.
The elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult—each one a martial master in their own right—were emanating waves of killing intent.
Grind.
Clench.
Crack.
So were elderly warriors with years of experience, while others were younger but no less dangerous.
There were ten elders in total.
Three won and seven n.
Master let out a brief sigh as she looked at them, then spoke.
"Elders, withdraw your killing intent. This man is my disciple."
A single sentence cleared up the situation.
As expected of Master.
Such a decisive and straightforward response.
"The Cult Leader... took in a disciple?"
"How could you accept an outsider...!"
"This is... this is unacceptable!"
Of course, it only made them even louder.
From what I had heard, Master had never taken °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° in a disciple before.
Her martial arts were unlike anything else in the world, and no one else could understand them.
Only I, with the body of a lizard, had been able to learn from her.
So I could understand why the elders were reacting this way.
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult had accepted a disciple who wasn’t even one of their own.
"Oh my, I think it’s fine, though?"
"Exactly! Just now, he even mumbled 'Manmamangbok' in his sleep. If he’s saying that even in his dreams, doesn’t that prove he’s one of us?"
At least not everyone was against it.
The opposition seed to be the majority, but there were clearly two factions forming.
The dissenters were mostly the grim-looking old n, while those in favor were... well, the purring won.
Sothing about that felt a little concerning, but good things were good things.
"Cult Leader, is this true? Even as our leader, you cannot take in an unverified outsider as your disciple!"
A bald elder stepped forward.
Did this old man have two lives or sothing?
But considering he could speak like that in front of Master, and how she slightly furrowed her brow, he must have been quite influential.
"You’ve never taken a disciple before, and now you suddenly accept one? Are you abandoning the countless followers of our cult just to choose this outsider?"
Accepting a disciple?
I was already one.
"Elder Il, does the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult require the elders’ permission to take in a disciple?"
Master’s voice was cold.
The elder called Il hesitated for a mont but didn’t back down completely.
"That is not the case... But to take in this unknown individual while ignoring the many promising young mbers of our cult—it is deeply concerning to this old man."
His argunt was simple.
A disciple whose origins were unknown couldn’t be accepted.
After all this ti of refusing to take in a disciple, accepting a random outsider would anger the cult’s followers.
On the surface, it seed logical, but deep down, it was about his own position.
Being called Elder Il ant he was the highest-ranking elder, and apart from Seolhwa, he was likely second only to Master herself.
Now that Master had suddenly brought in a disciple, he had to be wary.
If I stayed silent, Master would handle it.
But my mind was growing hazy again, and I felt like I was about to collapse.
I couldn’t just curl up and purr in front of everyone, so I needed to settle this first.
What could I do in this situation?
The best option was to prove my worth.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
To show that an elder’s opposition couldn’t put a scratch on .
Fwoosh.
With a fluid motion, I reached into the Fla Dragon’s arms.
"T-That disgraceful—!"
Elder Il erupted in fury.
But he fell silent.
Because he saw what was in my hands.
Two Neidans.
I held the Neidans of the Thunder Bird and the Ice Dragon as I knelt before Master.
"This unworthy Ko Hui has returned after eliminating those who dared to challenge the Heavenly Demon Cult, as per my master’s command."
Two spirit beasts of Hyeon-gyeong level.
Who could possibly challenge now?
"Yes, it was a difficult task, but you have done well."
As Elder Il’s face darkened, Master’s face brightened.
*
Master’s short but passionate bragging session about her disciple ca to an end.
If my body had been in perfect condition, she probably would have carried around on her back, but unfortunately, I needed treatnt.
And so, the eting of the Heavenly Demon Cult was dismissed.
I was sent to the cult’s most renowned physician for treatnt.
Strangely, I felt overwhelmingly drowsy and ended up dozing off for most of the process. But it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Just as I started to think that the physician was quite skilled, I sensed sothing familiar approaching —sothing white and fluffy.
"Kiioong!"
Tus and Pus.
The two excitedly rubbed their faces against my body in greeting.
If Tus and Pus were here...
"You shouldn’t be bothering the patient!"
So the fad physician of the Heavenly Demon Cult was Soyeong.
Well, that made sense.
When it ca to treating spirit beasts, there was no one more qualified than her.
"Kiong?"
"Well, that aside... Miss Miji, Miss Wanji, how could you?"
"Kiioong?"
Miji and Wanji.
Since Pus had a tail, she was Miji—Mi as in ‘tail.’
Since Tus had thick forearms, she was Wanji—Wan as in ‘arms.’
That was just the kind of naming sense Soyeong had.
But what was the issue with Tus and Pus?
I wasn’t seriously injured, so them rubbing against wasn’t a problem.
"Kiiek?"
Tus’s attempt to find my tail felt a bit intrusive, but it wasn’t a big deal.
"Hmm."
Then, soft and delicate hands cupped my cheeks.
Nephila began stroking my face, humming in satisfaction.
"Even Miss Geumji...! No, seriously, what is happening here? How could you all act this way? Even Miss Baebsae fainted just from looking at his face!"
"Huh?"
"I get that his face is nice, but don’t you all have any self-restraint? If Great Hero Ko finds out, this will be a disaster!"
Nephila gave her a look that said, What nonsense is this human spouting again?
Wait... did Soyeong not realize that I was the ‘Great Hero Ko’ she was talking about?
Well, actually, that made sense.
She had only ever seen in my lizard form. It would be weird if she recognized right away.
Spirit beasts seed to recognize easily, but for a 100% human like her, it was probably impossible.
So in Soyeong’s mind, I wasn’t Gomodo—I was just so other guy.
How could I possibly resist teasing her?
"Hmm..."
I slowly sat up.
"Ah! Patient, you’re awake?"
Well, she was a physician, after all.
Soyeong rushed over to check on .
"How long was I out?"
Her brow twitched slightly.
Why is this guy speaking so casually?
That was the look on her face.
"Not too long. Your body is really... I an, it has to be sturdy."
She averted her gaze slightly.
...Now that I thought about it, my clothes felt different.
My upper garnt was gone, replaced with bandages.
For so reason, I spotted a bit of spider silk as well.
"You undressed ?"
"Huh? Well, yes, I had to in order to apply the bandages."
Her response felt odd.
Normally, Soyeong was cheerful and bubbly, but now she seed a bit cold.
Was sothing bothering her?
Maybe I should complint her.
"By the way, you’re really skilled. I didn’t even notice I was being treated—I just fell asleep."
"I hear that a lot."
Look at that.
If this was the Soyeong I knew, she’d be grinning from ear to ear right now.
Tuk, tuk.
I patted the blanket beside .
"...What?"
"What do you an, what? Co here."
Soyeong shook her head firmly.
"Look, I know you’re trying to charm with your face, but that won’t work on ."
Yet her eyes darted away.
"I already have soone I’ve given my heart to, so you should try this on soone else."
That was... shocking.
Wait, Soyeong was already taken?
So she was... married?
"You’re taken? What, you got married?"
"Not married yet, but... it’s even deeper than that. ...Wait, why are you speaking casually? You’re not mad that we can’t be together, are you?"
"Jjaeek?"
This was even more shocking than when I found out that Pteranodons and Mosasaurs weren’t actually dinosaurs.
I felt weirdly unsettled.
"Ah... Could you not make that face? Look, Miss Baebsae just fainted again."
"Jjakrororong..."
Why did Baebsae keep fainting?
"Anyway, I’m sorry. I already have soone I promised my heart to."
Who decided that?
You’re a lifelong physician of Gae Gak Sect.
"Who is it?"
"Great Hero Ko... Wait, why am I even telling you this? Just accept it."
Ah.
Well, that made sense.
I guess it wasn’t that strange for a believer of Gae Gak Sect to say they were ‘married’ to the sect’s hero.
"Great Hero Ko?"
With the uneasy feeling vanishing, it was ti to have so fun.
Judging from her reaction so far, she had absolutely no idea who I was.
"Does Great Hero Ko treat you well?"
"Huh? Ahem. Of course! He treats so well. He listens to everything I say, cos when I call, and he likes so much that other people get jealous. But what can I do? It’s not my fault I captured his heart."
"Ki... Kiong?"
Pus looked at her like she was hearing the biggest load of nonsense in her life.
"Pfft."
I really wanted to let this go on longer, but after hearing such a blatant lie, I just couldn’t hold back.
"...Why are you laughing?"
"No, I was just wondering... did I really do all that?"
"Huh? What nonsense—"
Soyeong stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes darted between my face and my body, and then—
Her face turned bright red.
"S-Seriously... Y-You’re Great Hero Ko?"
I wasn’t GoGoGoGo Hero Ko, but yeah, I was Ko Hui.
"Yeah."
She jumped like a startled cat.
"Hiyaak! W-What is this? This is cheating! Why didn’t you just tell right away?!"
She swallowed hard and looked like she was about to leap at .
But then she shook her head rapidly.
It looked like she was holding herself back.
Her hands twitched, as if she wanted to Illuwat like she used to.
But since I was in human form now, it must have felt inappropriate.
That was such a Soyeong-like thought that I couldn’t help but smile.
I leaned in slightly and teased her.
"What, are you not going to call over this ti?"
Her dumpling-like hair buns started flopping wildly.
"Uwegh..."
Her small body trembled, completely overwheld.
"I-Illu... Illu...!"
She was trying to strike the Illuwat pose.
If she did, I would have usually countered with Kkang.
But I didn’t have my tail right now, so I couldn’t do that.
This might be the perfect opportunity for her.
Kkang!
Yet, despite everything, a Kkang sound echoed.
"Hygak!"
Apparently unable to handle the situation, Soyeong smacked her own forehead.
Truly, that was a very Soyeong-like ending.
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