Chapter 310: Exchange
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 310: Exchange
How did I end up showing the moonwalk to the cult’s followers?
It made me realize anew the gravity of my responsibility.
Look at those people.
Trying to imitate the Heavenly Demon’s movements with their mortal bodies.
Even that man, Ma Hwi, who had tried to pick a fight with me at first.
Sorry, but that’s a move no one can imitate.
After demonstrating the Heavenly Demon Moon Step for a while, I naturally slipped away from the crowd.
It was time to figure out what to do after the Snake Queen and my Master finished their conversation.
Should I head back to the nest soon?
Eating the elixir, cutting off my tail, and aiming for the next evolution sounded like a good plan.
But there was no need to leave right this second.
If the relationship the Snake Queen suspected was real, I would have to spare a little more time.
Besides, I didn't have to go straight back to my nest.
I would have been worried if Baek Rang was the only sane person there, but now Chodo had joined them.
Things would run smoothly even without me.
No, they might even run better if I wasn't there.
And if anything happened, the Bicorns lurking around would be the first to let me know.
Not that any intruder could withstand a combined attack from twenty horns anyway.
The Bicorns’ combat prowess was about mid-tier in the Gaegaek Cult, but I had a baseless conviction that they could multiply their strength in certain situations.
Just like the Unicorn, they would probably pull out the horns made of their internal energy and charge indiscriminately.
“Heuheu?”
For now, though, all they did was lurk around me with sly expressions.
Aish, when did you get here?
“Heuheuheu.”
The Bicorns moved freely between the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and my nest.
They had always been strange, but they’d been getting even weirder lately.
They were the types to just chuckle creepily without touching me.
But now, they had started to sneak up and lay their hands on my body.
So these Bicorns are finally showing their true colors!
…Or not. It didn’t seem like that was their intention.
“Heuheu?”
They were probably just doing this because my human form was unfamiliar to them.
They would stare at the spot where my tail used to be, deep in thought.
“Tail?”
Sorry, but I don’t have a tail in human form.
“Missing?”
“Existing… deleted…?”
“Tail… one…”
I told you it’s gone, so what’s this about one being left?
They seemed to be contemplating something very seriously, but I didn't think I needed to pay them any mind.
“Twin swords… gone?”
“Ponder… ponder…”
“A blessing in disguise! Double the time!”
You know, your language skills seem to be improving by the day.
Could you teach the Unicorn a thing or two?
He’s still stuck on “monogamy.”
“Stamina increase?”
“Invigoration?”
“Heuheu… Greatsword, greatsword?”
“Twin swords, greatsword?”
…Why am I listening so intently to what these Bicorns are saying?
Splitting into the twin sword faction and the greatsword faction, the Bicorns once again began to fight with their horns.
It’s a relief you guys never change.
“Heuheuheu…”
“Black Sun!”
I spent my time wandering around, avoiding the Bicorns.
I changed into my lizard form to play with Tus and Pus, and even plucked a strand of Soyeong’s hair to stick it on Chirpy’s wing.
As I was passing the time, my Master sent someone for me.
She said she had something to discuss and that I should come to her room.
“Gerong.”
And so, I went to see my Master.
It seemed the conversation between my Master and the Snake Queen had concluded well.
I didn't ask directly, but I saw that Parsil’s expression was noticeably brighter when I ran into her.
Swish-Swish was nestled in her arms, sleeping with a soft purr.
I’ll have to ask about it again later.
After all, I had also met the Snake Queen’s master, even if it was only in an illusion.
“Are you thinking of returning to your nest soon?”
“Ge-ek?”
What’s this?
Was she kicking me out?
Of course, I had been thinking about going back, but I never thought my Master would be the one to send me away.
“A disciple must make his own preparations, so I thought it wouldn’t be right to keep you here,” she said.
“Gegek!”
You can keep me here, though.
I pattered over and burrowed into my Master’s thigh.
I curled my body into a ball and got comfortable.
“Gerong.”
This is the power of a lizard.
To be able to do things I could never do in a human body—what an overpowered ability.
“Ge-eeek.”
Of course, it wasn’t long before I was subdued, grabbed by the scruff of my neck.
“I know you’ve been busy here. There isn’t a soul who doesn’t know you’re my disciple, which must have been troublesome for you.”
“Gegek.”
It’s a little annoying, but not a huge problem.
They only flock to me when I’m in human form, so I can just control when that happens.
Just enough to show my face occasionally and uphold my Master’s reputation.
“I also heard what happened just now. About them asking my disciple to demonstrate his martial arts.”
“Ge-ek…?”
Sorry, Ma Hwi.
We’re not that close, but it seems I can’t prevent your death.
“I have no intention of punishing him. I understand, to an extent. He isn’t even a member of our cult, so hearing that someone is the Cult Leader’s disciple would naturally make him curious.”
That’s a relief.
My Master truly has the disposition befitting a Cult Leader.
She wears an unreadable expression, but she must always be thinking deeply.
“The problem is… because of that incident, a new wind is blowing through the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
Dangling in her grip, I wagged my tail once.
“Ge-ek?”
A new wind?
“There are more than a few who are trying to imitate that strange footwork.”
“Gek…”
Not much time had passed, but word had already reached my Master.
Then again, since she knew Ma Hwi had provoked me, it wasn’t surprising that she knew.
“I also know why it happened. You were in a situation where you had to demonstrate your martial arts, but you probably didn’t have any suitable techniques you could perform in a human body.”
She hit the nail on the head.
It wasn’t that I had none at all.
But they were techniques I couldn’t use in that situation.
The Black Slaughter Demonic Palm was too dangerous a demonic art, and the Buddha’s Palm was something I felt I shouldn’t use within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“You’ve lived your whole life as a lizard, so it’s only natural that performing martial arts in a human body would feel awkward.”
“Gek gek.”
She was right.
The very reason I became her disciple was because I had the body of a lizard, not a human.
Someone with human knowledge and a human body could never have understood her martial arts.
“Therefore, I intend to pass on a new martial art to you. So that you can perform other techniques, not just show off your footwork like this time.”
“Gegek!”
She’s going to teach me a martial art.
Those were always nice words to hear.
…Huh?
Wait, my Master is going to teach me?
“Ge-eeek…”
If there was one thing I knew, it was that my Master was a terrible teacher.
It would probably be easier to learn how to spin webs from Pus.
Or maybe learn that chest exercise Soyeong was always talking about.
I only managed to learn because I’m an exceptionally talented lizard; any other lizard would have given up long ago.
And now she wants me to learn from her again?
I must have made a face, because my vision suddenly flipped.
“Ge-eeek!”
She had grabbed me by the tail, not the scruff of my neck.
“I plan to have you learn martial arts carefully selected from each faction of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. The elders, and the other spirit beasts we’ve allied with, will be helping.”
“Gegek!”
Oh, so that’s what it was?
You should have said so sooner.
But other spirit beasts, she said.
This was something to look forward to.
It meant there might be more spirit beasts on the level of the Snake Queen.
Maybe a tiger spirit beast would show up.
A tiger spirit beast is one of a man’s greatest fantasies.
Of course, I did meet Qiongqi, the winged tiger, but he didn’t satisfy my fantasy.
Qiongqi was male.
“Gerong…”
I was happily imagining what kind of spirit beast I would soon meet and tried to wag my tail, but I couldn’t.
For one, my Master was holding it, and for another, the situation had become a bit strange.
I already served Baek Yeon-yeong as my Master, and now I was getting another?
“Ge-eeek…”
I don’t know much about these things, but isn’t this a bit problematic?
“Do not worry. Do you think I would give my disciple another master?”
“Gek?”
At my Master’s gesture, I swung through the air and landed in a cozy embrace.
“Gerong…”
“Rather than receiving teachings, yes. ‘Exchange’ would be the right word.”
Exchange?
Now I got it.
I would teach the elders one of my martial arts, and in return, I would learn one from them.
That way, we wouldn’t have to call it a master-disciple relationship.
It was literally an exchange.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could learn a martial art only I knew to strengthen their forces, and the same went for me.
Plus, if I taught what I learned to my followers, they could become exponentially stronger.
I think Seol-hwa was using the Ice-White Divine Art, so maybe I could learn that somehow?
It seems like a perfect fit for Baek Rang.
But, Master.
“Kehek… kerong… gerorong.”
I can’t breathe.
“Hm? When did you get in there?”
Without a hint of surprise, my Master pulled my head out slightly.
Since I had already settled in this spot, I shifted into a comfortable position.
“Gerong.”
I’ll take what I can get.
But what should I teach them?
Should I teach them how to shoot a death beam?
Tsk, it probably has to be a technique humans can use…
“Your footwork is the talk of the town among the elders.”
My kind Master gave me a hint.
…Wait, the elders were watching then too?
If I’d known, I would’ve shown them something even more amazing.
Like a pseudo-Sky-Ascending Step where I kick off a water droplet and leap into the air.
“It was so funny seeing the elders looking like drowned rats. You should have seen it.”
Looks like she liked my footwork.
The Little Dragon’s Sky-Ascending Step.
Honestly, there’s probably no technique more overpowered than this.
In some ways, it was even more exceptional than Reverse Scale.
When I was a small lizard, its broken nature wasn’t as obvious.
I was just a green basilisk running on water.
But as I grew bigger and my proficiency increased, it became an unparalleled signature martial art of my own.
It’s a ridiculous technique that allows a monstrous, ten-meter-long lizard to not only run on water but also leap into the air off a single droplet to engage in aerial combat.
In the rain, it theoretically allows for a 99-step jump. That’s the Little Dragon’s Sky-Ascending Step.
What I showed them was just a tiny fraction, but the elders, who have walked the path of martial arts for a long time, must have recognized its value immediately.
“Gek gek.”
Alright, I’ll teach them the Little Dragon’s Sky-Ascending Step.
Even if I teach them, they won’t be able to copy me perfectly.
Our basic body structures are different.
Still, I can probably teach them how to float on water.
In exchange, I plan to slurp up some very good martial arts.
This is a profitable deal.
…But wait, the elders of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult got soaked trying to copy my footwork?
Masters of the Transformation Realm can’t even walk on water?
Something’s strange here.
“What should we name the martial art? Everyone is calling it the Heavenly Demon Moon Step, but still…”
…
Heavenly Demon Moon Step.
So what they want me to teach them isn’t the Little Dragon’s Sky-Ascending Step, but the moonwalk?
The elders fell into the lake practicing the moonwalk?
I stared blankly at my Master.
“Why are you making that face?”
So I have to give one-on-one lessons on the moonwalk to masters of the Transformation Realm?
And they agreed to exchange their secret techniques for the moonwalk?
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Is it going to be okay?