I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 325

I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 325

"Ki-oong!"
"Ki-eeng!"
Thankfully, Tus and Pus stepped in, twitching their bodies to block my mother-in-law.
"Gegegek!"
I, too, desperately tried to appeal.
I only like three spiders!
No plans to add more!
"Only three...? But there are only two spiders here..."
There's Nephila, my childhood friend.
"Surely... not me...?"
What are you even saying.
No matter what, I wouldn't do that to a spiritual being I just met today—especially not my mother-in-law.
She must be having a very serious misunderstanding.
"It is regrettable that I cannot share these seeds, but bestowing them upon my two daughters alone is satisfying enough."
"Gekgek."
Right.
Only for Tus and Pus...
...Huh?
"Gekgegek!"
That almost slid right past me.
What exactly are you bestowing on Tus and Pus?
"Ki-oong..."
"Ki-uuung..."
Why are you two covering your faces like you're embarrassed?
"Bestowing seeds directly upon me might yield similar results."
"Ki-oong!"
Tus and Pus roared in rage.
Honestly, I don’t think Anansiv meant that literally.
She probably wants to mix in my power somehow through her mysterious ability to produce spiders.
Since Tus and Pus evolved into her after eating my tail, it’s no wonder she’d want more of that power.
And to me, it just looks like she’s teasing Tus and Pus.
Who in the world flirts with their son-in-law right in front of their daughters?
...
...A certain snake mother-daughter duo brushed past my mind, but I did my best to ignore it.
"Enough. Sit down for now. The other guests are dining, so we should fill our stomachs as well."
Charrk.
Anansiv moved her pale hand slightly, and the spiderwebs around us stirred in perfect synchronicity.
Like the gears of an intricate machine, the webs shifted and eventually lowered a few white cocoons in front of us.
"It’s quite the delicacy. I intended to feed it to a child showing potential."
"Kiong!"
Tus and Pus’s eyes sparkled.
Wrapped in cocoons, the unknown meat apparently looked like a gourmet dish to them.
Well, they’re spiders after all. Makes sense.
"Gekek."
It actually looked pretty decent to me, too.
The first thing I ate in this world was the bug I stole from Nephila’s nest, wasn’t it?
This kinda reminds me of that. Not bad at all.
And the moment I took a bite of that dry, unidentified meat—the preserved spider dish—
"Ki-oong!"
"Ki-ang!"
A burst of intense energy exploded from Tus and Pus.
A familiar energy. One I could never mistake.
This was an elixir.
One almost equal in potency to a high-grade neidan.
"I aged it for quite some time, so the flavor should be excellent. I hope it suits your palate, son-in-law."
Mother-in-law had brought out a treasured elixir, saved for the daughters and son-in-law she hadn’t seen in ages.
I had become a lizard beloved by mother-in-laws.
The Snake Queen, too. All I had to do was wag my tail, and an elixir would pop out.
...At this point, maybe I should schedule formal meetings with each of my followers’ parents?
We continued chatting while munching on the cocooned meat.
"Oh? So your bond with my daughters predates that of that large snake?"
I told her how I met Tus and Pus, and how we lived together.
"Hmm... And there’s another one? A spider that resembles a tiger? That sounds fascinating. I’d like to see if she originated from me."
She showed interest in Nephila, too.
Since Nephila evolved into Arachne and not Anansiv, there might be no relation between them.
Tus and Pus are stubby spiders, while Nephila is all long and slender.
...Then does that mean mother-in-law’s true form is also a stubby spider like Tus and Pus?
Anansiv shared her story as well.
To be exact, she explained why she was in Odukmun.
As mentioned earlier, Anansiv was here to find her successor.
She had been cultivating spiders using the spiritual energy of this place, waiting in cooperation with Odukmun for one of them to reach her level.
It made sense why she was being so welcoming.
After waiting so long, her successors suddenly popped out of nowhere.
And they even showed up with a handsome lizard son-in-law.
...I’m not bragging about my looks. It’s just that spiders seem to value those loved by other spiders.
She also told me about the Gae Gak Sect and the Gae Gak Faith.
Naturally, she mentioned that her daughters held the titles of Left Guardian and Right Guardian.
"Oh my, so my son-in-law owns an entire mountain?"
"Kiong."
"And even possesses three Dragon Gates...?"
Mother-in-law’s gaze changed.
"Dear Ko. Come sit closer."
"Ki-oong?"
It seems that territory is quite important to spiritual beings.
Even the snakes wagged their tails when they heard I owned a mountain.
If that territory happens to be something unique like a Dragon Gate, then it’s probably rated even higher.
"The snakes we saw earlier... they must have come from the Fourth Venom Gate."
"Gekgek."
Yeah, that’s right.
"So dear Ko’s target is Odukmun itself?"
Well, the real goal is the Beast Palace, but things just happened to turn this way with Odukmun.
"Now that I have two successors, it seems there’s no reason for me or my daughters to remain here."
Mother-in-law gave me a subtle look.
Then she placed another cocoon in front of me.
"And compared to this place, the spiritual energy of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains seems far more refined."
In short, she wants to move to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains with the other spiders.
Even if I said no, she probably would’ve tried to persuade me. So I’m grateful she brought it up herself.
A spiritual being on par with the Snake Queen, along with her powerful spider subordinates, joining the Gae Gak Sect!
"...Though this old body is a little embarrassed to rely on my son-in-law, I do not let opportunities slip by."
Old body? Please.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
If she weren’t my mother-in-law, I’d be ready to kkyerolrong right now.
"Kkilorong."
...Huh?
What’s with you two now?
Still, I didn’t accept right away.
If you’re gonna relocate, bring all your hidden elixirs too!
...I mean for Tus and Pus, of course. Our lovely girls.
"Very well."
She understood what I meant.
Was I too obvious?
"If dear Ko wishes... even in this form... I could allow... Gaerurun, was it? I could do that."
Excuse me, what do you think I am?
I may be that kind of lizard, but I have standards. I would never with my own mother-in-law.
"Kkyerolrong."
But... if she’s insisting, it’s not like I have a reason to refuse?
"It’s been so long since I revealed my true form. I’m feeling a little nervous."
"Geeeeeeek!"
Rejected!
I reject!!
That is not what I meant by kkyerolrong!
*
My mother-in-law and the giant spiders had joined us.
Of course, she made sure to add that she never liked the Lord of Odukmun in the first place.
Apparently, they barely offered anything, yet took an absurd amount in return.
Anansiv, needing to produce successors, didn’t have the luxury to compete for dominance in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, so she chose this place instead, where the spiritual energy was relatively strong.
But now that I’ve appeared as an alternative, there was no reason for her to stay in Odukmun anymore.
"Saaaak?"
"Kyaaang?"
The spiders and snakes awkwardly exchanged greetings.
Just like how basilisks and spiders are natural enemies, snakes and spiders also seemed to have a complicated relationship.
"Hey, what’s that in your mouth?"
"Saaak...?"
"Spit it out right now! That’s not food!"
There were small problems here and there, but the mid-level officers like Jeoksa and Cheongsa were doing a great job sorting things out.
We had started with just five, but now our numbers had swelled to over a hundred—an overwhelming force.
And when you consider that this was already the trimmed-down version, it was impossible to count how much the Gae Gak Sect had grown in size.
I felt a little bad for the Bicorns.
Another massive transfer of venomous creatures into my territory meant I’d have to create more habitats for each species.
There were already a lot of snakes, but the number of spiders was even greater.
Plus, I had to build carriages to pay the Flying Dragons as compensation.
Still, the power of the Gae Gak Sect would grow beyond comparison because of all this.
Until now, our group focused on elite numbers, and our only weakness had been our headcount.
But with the spiders and snakes joining us, even that weakness had been patched up.
"Hehe... polygamy..."
When did you get here?
"Polygyny... khek... kehhek..."
...Are you guys okay?
Even the mighty Bicorns seemed a bit shocked by the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ sudden increase in the number of spiders and snakes.
"Polygynyyy... poly... so freakin' manyyyy wives!"
Judging by the way their tails were wagging, they seemed to be enjoying this.
The Bicorns chuckled as they crept forward and approached Baekrang, who was crouched beside me.
"Hehe..."
I had no idea where they got it from, but one of the Bicorns was holding a giant bone, likely from an ox.
"Hehehe..."
They gently laid it down in front of Baekrang.
Huh?
This was a first.
"Seriously? I’m not a dog—why are you giving me a bone?"
Naturally, Baekrang accepted the bone.
"...Wanna eat some too?"
"Gekgek."
No, I’m good.
More importantly, what’s going on here?
Were these two always this close?
"Hehe... fuzzy... fluff... secret... secrecy..."
"Top secret... silence... hush hush..."
The Bicorns said that and then vanished.
Top secret?
"Gegegek?"
Did you... maybe catch them doing something shady?
"Ah... I’m not sure just yet?"
Baekrang feigned innocence like she knew nothing.
"...You know, Bicorns are kind of weird spiritual beasts, right?"
"Gekgek."
Right.
"So... I heard this story, okay? Like, about... the first night or something..."
First night?
Where the hell did that come from?
"They supposedly bestow blessings, you know? That’s what I heard, anyway."
You just repeated that.
"So... if you spend the night with someone the Bicorns support... it’s supposed to be a good thing... or so I’ve heard..."
I narrowed my eyes at her.
A bribe from the Bicorns to Baekrang.
And now she was casually leaking information about them.
"Gekgek."
So the Bicorns really did get caught by Baekrang.
But what the hell did they do?
Did they tear up my treasured Meidu silk fabrics or something?
"A-anyway! Just remember it! I only heard it as a rumor, but it’s good to keep in mind! Also, I heard that half the Bicorns are supporting one particular spiritual being... and you should respect me, since I’ve got five Bicorns and a mountain of followers supporting me..."
Her voice trailed off into a whisper, and I couldn’t catch the last part.
"...Tch! Whatever, let’s just go! The next gate was called Byeokdokmun, right?"
"Gekgek."
"I’m gonna freeze every last one of these clueless lizards!"
Why are you so harsh to my cute little lizards?
"I don’t know! I just get mad when I see lizards!"
Baekrang smacked me in the chest—whap!
"How sweet~"
"As expected of you, Big Brother! What masterful emotional baiting!"
Emotional baiting?
"...You really have no idea, huh."
"Still, that was impressive!"
Leaving behind these weirdos mumbling strange things, we made our way to the third gate—Byeokdokmun.
Just thinking about seeing a whole bunch of cute lizards had my heart fluttering already.
And judging by the drool trickling from the mouths of the spiders and snakes, I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

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Chapter 325