Chapter 54 Ancient Dragon Technique
“Heeya. As I said before, your body structure is different from humans. So just imitating me won’t lead to greatness.”
Baek Yeonyeong spent a day directly moving my hands and legs here and there.
Rather than trying to teach me something specific, it seemed like she enjoyed just playing around limply.
“Heeya. You need to feel the flow of internal energy. What’s the point of learning Dragon Claws? If you encounter an enemy you can’t approach, it will be useless. If you build up your internal energy and reach a certain level, distance won’t matter anymore.”
Another day passed as she taught me the basics of energy circulation.
“Heeya. Your scales are truly beautiful. How about sparing one for me?”
A day went by as she plucked my scales and extracted my venom.
…Isn’t this just fulfilling her personal desires?
“Heeya. It’s a bit awkward to say this, but I hope you realize your identity. It’s fine to like whatever you want, but those spiders are mismatched from the start.”
A day was spent consulting about love? Really?
When are you going to leave already?
If this keeps up, the spider will die!
I said this, but Nephila Jurassica seemed fine.
Baek Yeonyeong handed out pills that seemed to invigorate the body. Thanks to that, the spider seemed fine too.
But we couldn’t keep feeding it these forever, so she would leave soon.
Since I wouldn’t see her for a while, I should observe a lot now.
“Keeng….”
Yeah. Go quickly and turn into Arachne already.
Another day passed.
Today was finally the day to learn martial arts.
There was only one martial art for me to choose.
The kicking technique called Ancient Dragon Technique depicted in the mural.
The name alone suggested it was made for me.
“A kicking technique.”
Baek Yeonyeong looked at the mural briefly and nodded.
“Ancient Dragon Technique is a martial art that combines the mysteries of speed, weight, and illusion.”
Speed, weight, illusion!
I had only heard of them, but didn’t know exactly.
Roughly, speed was about being fast.
Weight was about being slow and powerful.
Illusion was about confusing the opponent.
That’s all I knew.
“Strength and softness are the basic foundations, so I won’t explain them further.”
Huh? Isn’t that the most important part?
Don’t overestimate me.
“There are three main techniques. The first is stepping back with one foot and continuously striking. The second can be seen as an extension of footwork, striking with a powerful impact. The third is attacking with an unpredictable trajectory… .”
….
“Gek!”
Just listening to it made it hard to breathe.
Explain it so I can catch my breath.
I’m struggling here.
“Did you understand?”
Not really.
“Gek? Gek.”
I had forgotten, but my teacher was really bad at explaining things.
It took me a long time to understand when learning Dragon Claws too.
Is my comprehension lacking?
No, I don’t think so.
It’s Baek Yeonyeong’s weird explanations.
At least that’s what I believe.
“Ugh. How can you not understand again!”
“Gekgegek!”
Try explaining it well!
Baek Yeonyeong propped her chin and started thinking.
“Do I have to show a demonstration again… .”
She glanced at me slightly.
You’re not going to try it on me, right?
“Geeg!”
I quickly ran to Tang So-yeong’s side, but she ignored me, pretending to treat the spider.
“Gegegek!”
In the end, Baek Yeonyeong caught me and brought me back to where I was.
Thus, a lizard-shaped scarecrow was enlisted.
Baek Yeonyeong was staring at the scarecrow.
“I’ll show you quickly.”
“Gegegek!”
Just spare me.
Baek Yeonyeong’s foot cut through the air.
Her foot, which grazed my cheek, continued to strike as if the retrieval process was skipped.
It was an unbelievable speed, but even that showed she was controlling her strength.
“This is speed.”
The moment she finished speaking, Baek Yeonyeong kicked the air strongly as if pushing it.
Paaang!
It was a slow movement, but the contained power was by no means small.
“This is weight.”
Baek Yeonyeong’s foot swung toward the upper section.
Then suddenly changed its trajectory.
Siiik!
“This is illusion.”
It pretended to aim for the upper section but then targeted the lower section.
…Isn’t this a Brazilian kick?
“What do you think?”
What do I think?
I watched it well, but…
What should I say, it was a bit different from what I imagined?
I felt a bit disappointed.
These were moves impossible for a lizard’s body to perform.
Regardless of the rest, how could I do a Brazilian kick?
“Ancient Dragon Technique is a martial art created by the founder.”
The founder?
If it’s the founder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, then of course….
“Yes. It’s a martial art left to us by the Heavenly Demon.”
Heavenly Demon!
I could feel my heart pounding.
“But Ancient Dragon Technique is a martial art that cannot be performed by a human body. What I showed just now was an arbitrary modification.”
Wait a minute.
A martial art that can’t be performed by a human body?
Does that mean the Heavenly Demon was that strong?
Or does it mean the Heavenly Demon wasn’t in human form?
“Now I will show you the original technique.”
The original?
She said it couldn’t be performed by a human body.
Baek Yeonyeong looked at the cave wall.
The moment I thought her foot moved a little.
Paaaang!
Jjeoong!
The sound that couldn’t keep up with her movements echoed belatedly.
The number of holes punched in the wall exceeded ten.
I couldn’t even see her move her foot once, the speed was overwhelming.
“This is the mystery of speed, Flying Dragon Lightning.”
Flying Dragon Lightning.
What a cool name.
It’s much better than calling it Green Basilisk-style rapid strikes.
“And this is weight.”
Kugugugugu!
The heavy internal energy pressed down from all directions.
It felt similar to when I activated the Reverse Constellation Cannon.
Kuung.
Baek Yeonyeong only took one step.
Kudududuk!
Nevertheless, the ground twisted.
She applied force once more in that state.
Kurururururu!
The entire cave shook with vibrations akin to the saying that heaven and earth were opening.
“This is Gangryongjinpok (降龍震覆).”
Kwarururururu!
“And the last is illusion.”
Baek Yeonyeong moved her foot slower than at any other time.
It was to allow me to follow her movements even a little.
Her foot moved.
Not just one, but dozens, hundreds of feet.
The afterimages, which could be considered clones, continued to swing.
Jjeooeoeong!
Thus, a single kick was delivered.
It was one, and at the same time, it was hundreds.
“This is Yuryonghwanyeong (游龍幻影).”
My jaw dropped.
The martial art she showed was the most beautiful and powerful thing I had ever seen.
“Originally, I shouldn’t teach you this. There’s no depiction of this move in the mural. Only the traces left by the founder.”
Traces?
There was only one thing here that could be called a trace.
A mark carved at the top of the rock, similar to a sword mark.
A pattern carved in an impossible position.
The one who carved that was the Heavenly Demon.
Could it be that the murals in the Silver Dragon Cave also recorded the martial arts created by the Heavenly Demon?
I felt like a fire had ignited in my chest.
If there were two murals, it meant there could be more.
Doesn’t that mean there are more martial arts created by the Heavenly Demon?
Truly Heavenly Demon Divine Arts!
“Although I can’t call it Heavenly Demon Divine Arts, it’s a martial art that can be useful in any situation.”
So, it’s not Heavenly Demon Divine Arts.
Well, you’d have to learn things like heart techniques to use those.
Still, the fact that it was martial arts left by the Heavenly Demon was a strong motivation for training.
Of course, right now, I was just a big lizard that couldn’t even use Ancient Dragon Technique, but someday I would learn all the martial arts depicted in the murals.
Training.
More training.
“As I repeatedly say, your body and mine are different. You must create your own movements. This martial art might suit your body better than mine.”
“Gekgek!”
Yeah.
Let’s proceed step by step.
Practice in the empty air.
Until I create my own movements.
“There happens to be a good opponent.”
Huh?
Baek Yeonyeong’s doll disappeared in an instant.
She reappeared far away.
In her hand was something familiar.
【Utahraptor lv27】
【Status】
「Startled」「Hungry」
Uh… hello?
Have you been stuck here since that time?
Because you’re scared of Baek Yeonyeong?
Oh, you poor thing.
I’ll let you go soon.
…After practicing Ancient Dragon Technique.
*
A week had passed since I came to this cave.
Although not perfect, I finally managed to use Ancient Dragon Technique.
Now the training was over.
The end of training meant it was time to part ways.
“Dae-hyeop, thank you so much for everything.”
Tang So-yeong held my hand tightly.
Although I was a bit uneasy about her going to the headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult without me, she had gotten somewhat close to Baek Yeonyeong over the past week.
She still stuttered occasionally, but as long as she didn’t offend anyone higher than Baek Yeonyeong, she would take care of her.
Behave wisely.
And take good care of our spiders.
Make sure to become Arachne.
You know?
“Gekgek.”
As I conveyed my words of advice, the spiders crawled over.
“Kiek.”
“Kieek.”
“Keeng!”
Sorry. I can’t understand what you’re saying.
But you guys take care too.
Let’s meet again as beautiful Arachnes.
Especially Nephila Jurassica.
Even if you don’t become Arachne, there should be no side effects on your body.
I finished my farewells with the four sisters of the Tang family.
There was no need for long goodbyes.
After all, we would meet again in a few months.
I just needed to wander alone in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, waiting.
…Just kidding, I’d just scratch my belly and roll around, and Baek Yeonyeong would come find me.
“Heeya.”
My master called my name.
“If a human talks to you, what will you do?”
What do you mean, what will I do?
I’ll just gekgek.
“Of course, no sane person would talk to a lizard they’ve never seen before.”
I know, but you shouldn’t be the one saying that.
“…Huh!”
Why do you look so shocked, So-yeong?
“From now on, don’t easily trust anyone you meet. They are stronger and more ruthless than you.”
Baek Yeonyeong expressed her concern.
Now that I think about it, she mentioned there were a few more humans like Tang So-yeong who came here.
“Gek.”
I let out a brave cry to reassure her.
“Yes. Always be careful.”
“Gekegek!”
It was time to leave.
I hadn’t decided where to go yet.
Now that I was alone, challenging the upper part of the swamp wouldn’t be bad.
Re-entering the Silver Dragon Cave to study the sword marks on the murals wouldn’t be bad either.
“If you don’t have a particular destination, how about heading east?”
East?
I hadn’t thought about that place.
“There should be a tropical rainforest there. …It’s not related to me, but I feel like there’s a hidden opportunity there.”
…There’s something there!
There must be something like Azure Sky Immortal Dew.
Yeah.
If it’s being handed to me like this, I’d be a disgrace as a lizard not to take it.
“Gegegek!”
I let out a loud cry and bowed to Baek Yeonyeong.
Of course, the bow was just a slight nod of my head, but Baek Yeonyeong seemed very pleased.
“Are you even performing a lizard’s bow? …Not bad. Take care of yourself. Don’t worry too much about Tang So-yeong. I’ll take responsibility for looking after her.”
Great, that’s reassuring.
Everything was now settled.
It was time for a brief farewell and a new beginning.
The tropical rainforest.
So, the jungle.
Wait for me.
The opportunity hunter is coming.
“Gegegek!”