Chapter 229: Chirp-Chirp
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 229: Chirp-Chirp
I was almost turned into a fried lizard by blue lightning, but who am I?
I'm a lizard who has reached the Supreme Peak Realm, no less.
Getting hit by Chodo's lightning didn't even hurt that much.
It might be because I can handle the energy of Wood.
She was fuming, but it didn't seem like she could do much more.
Truthfully, if Chodo really wanted to do something to me, she could just crush me with that strange flower-like monster, but it seemed she had no intention of going that far.
She was only using lightning because she knew I could withstand it.
Although she's a child of the True Dragon, her opposition to him means she's sided with Gomodo. That's why she can't harm me, a descendant of Gomodo.
Chodo, after fuming like that, suddenly let out a chuckle.
Did I touch a nerve?
“How could it not be amusing, trying to hide what cannot be hidden? Had you not pointed it out, Hero, I would have faced even greater embarrassment.”
Those weren't the words I expected from someone—no, a spirit beast—who was just striking me with lightning.
Then, suddenly, he took it off.
What is this shameless act? I was about to cover my eyes, but then I realized there was no need.
There was nothing to see, so why bother?
If Chodo had read my thoughts, I would've been fried by lightning again, but since I kept my mouth shut, such a disaster was avoided.
And so, I discovered a surprising fact.
Chodo's Plumpness Pill was actually detachable.
I thought 'hwan' [pill] meant something you eat, but it was called that because it was round.
Moreover, its size changed depending on the user, so it was worthy of being called a divine artifact.
Of course, it's something I have no use for right now.
Though Soyeong and Nephila might think differently.
“…It seems I've been carrying this heavy thing around for no reason. Letting go of my obsession feels so liberating.”
If you're really not going to use it, I suppose I could take it off your hands.
Of course, it would be a bit awkward for him to openly give me such a shameless item.
So I'll just have to secretly take it when I leave later.
“Gerong… Gerororong…”
“What in the world is that cry? If you plan on staying longer, I think we should do something about your speech first.”
He didn't really have to.
But if he was offering to teach me, I wouldn't refuse.
*
I didn't leave right away just because I'd gained enlightenment.
There was still a lot more to gain.
I had grasped how to handle the energy of Wood, but I couldn't call down a thunderbolt from a clear sky like Chodo.
The best I could do was wreath my hands in lightning, so I figured I should learn as much as I could before leaving.
Figuring things out on my own is fine, but it would be a waste not to learn when a star instructor was right in front of me.
And since she was one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon who had lived for so long, even her casual remarks could be valuable information.
Gongbok was definitely older, but strangely, the quality and quantity of information Chodo had was superior.
“…I was lost to my Heart Demon for a long time, so I had no opportunity to broaden my horizons.”
That was his excuse.
On top of that, his martial prowess was lower than Chodo's. You could call him a failure of an older brother.
Gongbok seemed to find this terribly unfair, but since he was already inside the fox marble, he couldn't prove otherwise with his body.
I practiced handling the energy of Wood more, and when it got late, I learned how to speak from Chodo.
The situation of learning about the Five Elements and how to babble at the same time was a bit strange.
It felt like learning to solve an advanced calculus problem while practicing my spelling.
Still, it was something I had to learn eventually, so I babbled to my heart's content with a joyful spirit.
Learning to speak wasn't anything special.
It was just Chodo speaking slowly and me listening intently.
Since it could all be a meaningless waste of time if I didn't grasp it, Chodo made sure to share useful information.
His way of ensuring that even if I didn't learn to speak, I'd at least leave with some knowledge.
While gathering various pieces of information like this, he told me a rather important story.
“Hmm, this time, it would be good to tell you a bit more about the Nine Sons of the Dragon.”
Information like this was always welcome.
It would've been nice if he'd told me sooner, but I wasn't in a position to be picky.
“Unless you deliberately seek them out, Hero, you're unlikely to encounter them. But you never know. Besides, there's a dangerous one among them.”
A dangerous one.
Isn't Chodo the youngest of the Nine Sons?
He seemed to dislike Gongbok, but he still called him 'older brother'.
For Chodo to call someone a 'dangerous one'... they must be a real piece of work.
“My father's nine children are called the Nine Sons of the Dragon. Some reside in the 100,000 Great Mountains, and some in Kunlun. Just because they stay in the 100,000 Great Mountains doesn't mean they are all on your side, Hero. Like my brother Gongbok, most of them didn't have a very deep connection with the previous Gomodo.”
Unlike Chodo, Gongbok hadn't immediately thought of Gomodo when he saw me.
Instead, hadn't he gone on a rampage, reminded of his own father?
That meant he didn't know Gomodo well.
“I said they aren't on your side, but that doesn't mean they're on our father's side either. As long as they remain in the 100,000 Great Mountains, it means they don't agree with the True Dragon's ideology and his radical methods.”
They weren't on my side.
But at the same time, they weren't on the True Dragon's side either.
If they were on the True Dragon's side, they'd be living comfortably in Kunlun.
So they were neutral for now?
“Nevertheless, there is one who stays in Kunlun, which means he agrees with our father's ideology. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say he holds an even more radical ideology.”
What kind of ideology could be more radical than the True Dragon's, who wanted to kill all humans?
“His name is Taotie.”
Taotie!
The Nine Sons of the Dragon wasn't a very well-known name.
I felt like I'd heard it somewhere, but not to the point where I could list all the members.
But Taotie was different.
Even if you didn't know the Nine Sons of the Dragon, you were bound to know of Taotie.
“He sided with our father because he naturally loves to kill. He tried to kill everyone, spirit beasts and humans alike, without discrimination. Even our father couldn't call such a being a divine beast. That is why Taotie is called one of the Four Fiends.”
The Four Fiends.
The evil beings who stand in opposition to the Four Divine Beasts.
And Taotie was one of those Four Fiends.
For the True Dragon, a master of public opinion, to give up on trying to spin him in a positive light showed just how extraordinarily vicious he must be.
“He has the teeth of a tiger, the face of a wolf, and the horns of a sheep. His nature is violent and despicable; he worships strength and despises the weak.”
Honestly, it's true that the Four Fiends are a notch below the Four Divine Beasts.
The Four Divine Beasts are beings that can literally be called gods.
The Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise.
Just listing their names was awe-inspiring.
In contrast, the Four Fiends.
Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie.
They might be weaker than the Four Divine Beasts, but the very fact that they were compared to them showed they were no ordinary beings.
If there was one fortunate thing, was it that Taotie was the weakest of the Four Fiends?
"He was the weakest among us."
He was the type to get that line.
“His own strength is not to be underestimated, but the most dangerous thing about him is that not even our father can control him. Even if the True Dragon orders him to observe the situation, he might just show up to visit you overnight simply because he finds it interesting.”
He was kind of a walking cliché.
He was the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings, the one who recklessly charged in even when the Demon King hadn't given the order.
I was worried when I heard he was one of the Four Fiends, but it seemed I didn't need to worry about Taotie.
I wasn't underestimating him.
I could recognize that he was an unpredictable and dangerous fellow.
But so what?
If he invaded the 100,000 Great Mountains alone without any plan, the strongest human in the world would be there to give him a warm welcome.
I should start thinking about how to use Taotie's inner core.
*
The king of birds, Argentavis, had many worries.
When his prospective son-in-law asked for help this time, he had readily agreed, but he had seen something truly shocking.
It wasn't just because of his son-in-law's formidable martial power.
For some reason, his son-in-law's territory was filled with nothing but females.
There were a few males, but they were from other places; in the nest, there were only traces of females.
Of course, it is the law of nature for a strong male to command a multitude of females.
But still, wasn't this too many?
He could overlook the scaled beings, but what about the spiders and wolves?
There even seemed to be a human mixed in.
It was a little unsettling, but he could still see that his daughter had picked a good partner.
After all, she had left her mark on the accessory he wore around his neck.
Argentavis decided to just accept the good outcome for what it was.
Since he himself had played a decent part this time, the princess's ranking might even go up.
Argentavis had many worries, but they all converged on a single one.
A worry related to Cloud Flower White Wind Heavenly Cry.
Cloud Flower White Wind Heavenly Cry (雲花白靈天小鳴).
The storm of a flower blooming amidst white clouds makes the heavens cry out softly.
“Chirp-chirp.”
A tiny bird with that grand name peeked its head out of the nest.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a bird that should be called a parrotbill or a long-tailed tit, but its name alone was magnificent.
It wasn't that strange, as she was the successor to Argentavis, so one could say the name befitted her station.
When she came of age, she was a being who would divide and rule the jungle.
The successor to the Snake Queen, who ruled half the jungle, also had a grand name: Black Cloud Heavenly Thunder Flower Spirit.
Black Cloud Heavenly Thunder Flower Spirit (黑雲天雷飛花靈).
The heavenly thunder that strikes from black clouds is like the spirit of a soaring flower.
It was a name befitting the rising talents who would one day divide the jungle.
Of course, a certain lizard called them Swish-Swish and Chirpy.
She was the apple of his eye.
But that very child had become the source of his worries.
She was definitely on a similar level to the Snake Queen's daughter, but as the days went by, the gap between them was widening.
Whenever he interacted with the Snake Queen, the Snake Princess also seemed to just laze around without training, so he couldn't understand why there was a difference.
In truth, Swish-Swish was growing stronger even while lazing around because of the effects of the Gaegaek Cult, but there was no way for Argentavis to know that.
But finally, a fortuitous opportunity had come to Argentavis as well.
As a reward for participating in the war, he had received a precious item from his prospective son-in-law.
The identity of that item was his son-in-law's tail.
The thought of eating his son-in-law's tail was a bit unsettling, but when he actually tried it, the effects weren't bad.
Somehow, his true energy was restored and his body overflowed with strength, as if he had eaten an elixir.
However, for someone in his position as the king of birds, an elixir of that level wasn't particularly precious.
Its efficacy was even less than the unicorn horn he had tasted before.
But the king of birds witnessed a sight that made him believe this tail was truly a fortuitous opportunity.
Two spiders, who were munching on the tail, suddenly underwent a complete metamorphosis!
To undergo a metamorphosis after just a few bites of a tail!
The king of birds lost his mind.
So much so that he forgot his dignity and begged his son-in-law for the remaining tail.
“Chirp-chirp-chirp!”
His daughter conversed with her father with a cute flutter of her wings.
He had been shocked to see her present a whisker from the great elder, Little Dragon, but that wasn't what was important right now.
His only thought was that he had to feed his son-in-law's tail to his cute daughter immediately.
Argentavis cut the tail into a suitable size and offered it to Chirpy.
“Chirp?”
Tilting her head, Chirpy... no, Cloud Flower White Wind Heavenly Cry, gave it a peck.
“Chiiirp!”
Finding it more delicious than expected, she flapped her short wings and focused on pecking at the tail.
Argentavis watched his daughter with a pleased expression.
It might be difficult for her to achieve metamorphosis instantly, but he could feel her internal energy increasing in real-time.
At the same time, a question arose in his mind.
What in the world was his son-in-law, for a single piece of his tail to have such an effect?
Of course, for a powerful spirit beast like himself, the effect was minimal, but for a being that had not yet experienced metamorphosis, it was more precious than any elixir.
“…Chirp?”
Just then, a light the color of white snow flashed.
Argentavis watched his daughter with eyes full of anticipation.
Seeing her white feathers gradually puff up, he knew she had finally reached metamorphosis.
At the thought that she had now surpassed the Snake Princess, Black Cloud Heavenly Thunder Flower Spirit, he wiped the corners of his eyes with his wing.
Of course, Swish-Swish had also reached metamorphosis after eating the tail the Snake Queen brought her, but there was no way for Argentavis to know that.
And at last, the long metamorphosis came to an end.
“Chirp-chirp…!”
Look at that dignified appearance.
A sacred form befitting the Queen of Birds (True).
…In truth, her appearance hadn't changed much from before.
Her legs were short, her wings were short, and her body was round—still something you could call a parrotbill.
Of course, her tail feathers had grown incredibly long and her body had grown several times larger, so she had definitely experienced metamorphosis.
Argentavis didn't care about any of that.
He simply shed tears of emotion at seeing his lovely daughter become even more lovely.
“Chirp…”
Chirpy looked back at her father.
“My daughter…”
“Chirp-chirp.”
Chirpy bowed respectfully.
Argentavis was crying so much he could barely see.
“Huuuhhh…. Yes, my lovely daughter…”
She was the daughter he had raised by himself through hardship after losing his wife early.
For such a daughter to finally undergo metamorphosis and even bow to him.
He vowed that he would grant any request his daughter made.
“Chirp-chirp-chirp.”
Father.
“Yes, yes. If you have something to say, say anything you wish.”
“Chirp-chirp-gek-chirp.”
Father, I shall now leave to find my beloved husband.
“Yes. If that is what my daughter wishes… W-what did you say?”
Argentavis quickly came to his senses, but it was already too late.
As if the bow had been to gain momentum, Chirpy soared high into the sky.
The storm of a flower blooming amidst white clouds made the heavens cry out softly.
It was a movement truly befitting the name Cloud Flower White Wind Heavenly Cry.
Like the legendary Peng bird, Chirpy flew gracefully toward her beloved.