I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 267

Even I wasn’t completely immune to mental attacks.

But after enduring the mental assaults of the Rakshasa Birds and the Man-Faced Crows, I had built up a certain level of resistance.

Seolhwa probably had a similar level of resistance as well.

Yet she collapsed from Suspicious Beyond Suspicion’s attack, while I remained standing.

Was it because I was stronger than her?

I wouldn’t know for sure unless we fought, but the gap between us shouldn’t be that wide.

If anything, she might even have an advantage when it came to mental resilience—after all, she was the Holy Maiden of a religious sect.

The reason I withstood it was simple.

I might have the body of a lizard, but my mind was that of a human.

And not just any human—a modern human.

For someone from a modern era, this world of murim was nothing but ancient history.

And the so-called “ancient era” of this world?

Completely rotten.

Any Shimma from a creature of that period was predictable at best.

Other martial artists might have seen it as an unavoidable ability, but from the perspective of a modern man?

It barely scratched the surface.

Sure, it threw me off for a moment, but I quickly adapted.

If all that happened was a bunch of fur flying around, well... in that industry, that was considered entry-level material.

The real nightmares had nothing to do with fur.

It was smooth, glistening scales.

And even worse, a certain someone wiping down a spear in a suggestive manner—

“GAAAH! S-STOP IT!”

Oh.

So you saw it too, huh?

Suspicious Beyond Suspicion, still struggling in my grasp, kept thrashing desperately.

I had been steadily increasing the pressure, planning to crush his skull, but the bastard was unexpectedly sturdy.

Even though I had a high tolerance for mental trauma, the feel of fur slipping between my claws was... unsettling.

Normally, in a situation like this, the classic move would be to slam his head into the ground.

Since his entire body would absorb the impact, the resulting shockwave would be devastating.

But for some unknown reason, whenever someone tried that, the one who had the advantage would start losing ground.

It was like an unwritten law.

If you used a throw while in a grappling state, you were essentially letting go of your enemy.

That made no sense to me.

Why release the opponent when you already have them trapped?

CRACKLE!

Lightning surged through my hand, burning away every last strand of fur on his body.

His internal energy was definitely stronger than Seolhwa’s, but now that his spirit was broken, there wasn’t much he could do.

“GHHHAAAAH! WHY—WHY ARE THOSE SCALES WEARING CLOTHES—AAARGH! WHAT IS THAT BLUE SCALE—?! WHY DOES IT HAVE PINK POLISH ON ITS CLAWS—?! WHY IS IT SMOOTH AND SHINY INSTEAD OF FLOWING IN THE WIND—?! T-THE RUFFLES?! WHAT ARE THOSE RUFFLES?!”

...Wait.

Was he seeing something worse than Miss Shimma?

Tsk. You still haven’t finished him off in this state?

Shimma clicked her tongue.

I mean... he’s unnaturally durable.

And honestly, watching him suffer like this was kind of entertaining.

Oh? Quite the refined taste you have. Indeed, a ruler must be capable of such cruelty.

...Was this a bad idea?

Still, you must consider the situation. If it were any other human, fine. But you wouldn’t want to lose the Holy Maiden, would you?

Hearing that, I glanced at Seolhwa.

She was groaning in pain, her face contorted in distress.

What’s wrong with her now?

What’s with that expression?

Her whole body was ice-cold, yet she was drenched in sweat.

...Don’t tell me you think falling into Shimma is the same as catching a cold?

...What?

If she doesn’t escape from Shimma, she will be permanently locked inside it. No one will be able to reach her.

*She may end up as nothing more than a lifeless husk, or worse—a puppet with no will of her own. *

...Right.

That’s how Shimma worked.

It lured you in with sweet temptations before dragging you into the abyss.

I had overlooked that.

Because to me, Shimma was never really that dangerous.

I had fallen into it multiple times and always climbed back out.

So, are you just going to stand there?

I reached between my scales and pulled out a spiritual elixir I had been saving.

I had kept it just in case, not knowing when I might need it.

Turns out, this was the time.

I pried Seolhwa’s mouth open and pushed the elixir inside.

If she had trouble swallowing, this would’ve been a hassle, but thankfully, she managed to take it down just fine.

...You don’t actually believe that’s enough, do you?

Of course not.

One elixir alone wouldn’t be enough to pull her out of Shimma.

She had fallen into Shimma in the most absurd way possible.

She wouldn’t be able to escape on her own.

Because this wasn’t something caused by Suspicious Beyond Suspicion’s power—

—This was her own doing.

Fwoosh.

Suddenly, a warmth spread through her.

The frozen mountaintop slowly began to melt.

Seolhwa’s blue eyes widened.

She had never felt such warmth before—not even once in her life.

If her body was Extreme Yin, then this presence was Extreme Yang.

And standing before her, wearing an equally ridiculous outfit, was a very familiar lizard.

“...Gehk.”

If she had fallen into Shimma in such an absurd way—

“...Then really.”

It should be just as possible to escape from Shimma in an absurd way.

“A lizard... wearing those clothes.”

Seolhwa let out a small laugh.

“So that’s why you went through all the trouble of making those ridiculous outfits.”

She couldn’t help but laugh.

She had never seen anything so ridiculous before.

Compared to the bizarre fur creatures she had just witnessed, this was on an entirely different level of comedy.

A scaled being dressed in flowing robes, where black and white intertwined in an elegant yet absurd design.

A familiar face peered out from under the extravagant garments.

“...You actually look kind of cute like that.”

And to top it off—

The lizard had lowered its head in embarrassment, its cheeks tinged pink.

“...It’s kind of a shame I’m the only one seeing this—wait.”

Pink cheeks?

But his entire face was covered in scales.

How could she see his cheeks at all?

Baek Seolhwa was the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

She could see things that most people could not.

And this place—this was her mindscape.

A space where one could see things that normally remained hidden.

A place where one could glimpse the essence of things.

And there—beyond the form of a lizard—

—she saw something else.

Flowing white hair that reached past his shoulders.

Piercing blue eyes.

A height that made her look up.

He was still a lizard, yet she saw the image of a man layered over his form.

The black scales became black robes.

Though he said nothing, his gaze held meaning.

If a dragon were to take human form, would it look like this?

His expressions were few, much like her sister’s.

Yet his gaze carried a warmth she had never felt before.

“...Where on earth did my sister pick up a lizard like you?”

That gaze—

It was so warm that even the frost of her Extreme Yin Physique seemed to melt away.

Like an indifferent sun, rising with quiet inevitability—

—and yet, it illuminated everything.

Of course, the real lizard outside would vehemently deny that he had ever dressed like this.

He would never know what he looked like in this space.

After all, this was her mindscape.

Baek Seolhwa had spent her entire life envying her sister.

If she had been born with Cheonmu Physique instead of Extreme Yin Physique—

If she had moved first instead of hesitating—

If she had been the one to get hurt, instead of her sister—

She loved her sister deeply, yet buried in that love was a small, unspoken jealousy.

A natural emotion between siblings.

To Baek Yeon-yeong, it was nothing more than her younger sister’s adorable tantrum.

Seolhwa stared at the lizard, then slowly reached out her hand.

Her fingers brushed against cold scales—

—and warm skin.

She decided to indulge herself, just this once.

“...Sorry, Sister. But this is mine to keep.”

She would hold on to this moment—

Just for herself.

CRACK—!

The frozen world around her split in two.

And as the last traces of snow melted, the blazing sun shone down upon her.