Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 14

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This chapter is translated by Falnar Novels Team.
Support us by reading on our official site: https://falnarnovels.com
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Chapter 14.
A hushed night, bathed in serene moonlight.
Yu Ha led me to a vast Clearing.
It was a place where the Waterfall plunged through the veil of darkness.
Whoooosh—!
The deafening roar of water struck my eardrums as cool mist kissed my cheeks.
‘This place….’
Faint firelight danced between the billowing mist.
Thanks to the Waterfall’s thunderous roar and the mist that swallowed all sound, nothing that transpired here leaked to the outside world.
A secret gambling arena for disciples alone, beyond Kyoto’s oversight.
The true nature of disciples, suppressed all day by Zamadong’s discipline, finally broke free beneath the moonlight.
“So, what do you think? Pretty convincing, right?”
Yu Ha whispered softly, savoring the clandestine atmosphere.
“The rules are simple. Since it’s just sparring, no internal energy, no lethal techniques. Only pure martial forms allowed.”
Despite his explanation, Yalü Hee crossed her arms with an unimpressed expression.
“Tch, what? This ‘fun match’ is just wagering on fights?”
“If there’s wagering, how do the stakes work?”
But I needed to understand the situation, so I asked Yu Ha about the rules.
“Simple—if you predict correctly, you can win up to double your stake depending on the odds.”
Groups of disciples scattered throughout the Clearing radiated different intensities of fervor.
Several disciples who noticed Yalü Hee’s arrival had their eyes gleaming ominously in the darkness.
“Look there. The legendary ‘Wild Blossom’ of Zamadong has graced us with her presence.”
“A disciple with a moniker, no less. I suppose she earned it from her looks. If I step up, twenty exchanges should suffice….”
Though the whisper was faint enough to be swallowed by the Waterfall’s roar, it struck my heightened senses with crystalline clarity.
Yalü Hee, however, seemed not to have heard.
But she was not the type to remain silent upon hearing gossip.
“So you actually brought Yalü Hee… your scheming really is impressive, isn’t it?”
“But did you bring that ragged beggar along just to lure Yalü Hee in?”
My eyes grew cold and still.
Outwardly, I showed no sign of disturbance.
‘Yu Ha… you’re orchestrating something amusing.’
Yu Ha stepped toward the center of the Clearing as if on cue.
The playful demeanor of a boy had vanished entirely.
“Shall we begin?”
Like a seasoned promoter, he commanded the atmosphere with eloquent charm.
“Alright, everyone, pay attention! Our secret festival beyond the instructors’ eyes—let’s kick off the night matches!”
In an instant, the scattered disciples’ gazes converged upon him.
The atmosphere ignited in seconds at his witty words.
“Yeaaah!”
Yalü Hee’s eyes widened in astonishment.
‘What the—? I thought he was just some smooth talker, but he’s more like a cunning raccoon than anything else.’
I had already anticipated that Yu Ha was no ordinary disciple.
‘A nocturnal martial bout… It doesn’t seem like he’s simply organizing this to increase the betting stakes.’
When disciples voluntarily engaged in martial bouts, it allowed for a rough estimation of their abilities before the comprehensive evaluation.
‘So his real target isn’t just the betting stakes—it’s information about the disciples themselves?’
A way to seize both the information and wealth of Zamadong in one fell swoop.
Yu Ha was orchestrating such a scheme in secret.
“The first match to break the silence of this night is….”
“Who is it!”
“This should be exciting….”
Yu Ha skillfully built anticipation before finally announcing the first pairing with deliberate timing.
“First up, we have a fist master from none other than the Iron Blood Extreme Sect of the Ten Demon Sects! Behold those heavy fists! Jang Dae San!”
A boy with a notably sturdy build and well-developed physique confidently walked to the center, adjusting the knuckle guards he wore.
“And his opponent! A master of the Ghost Killing Gate’s techniques! Jo Gyeom, said to possess fingernails sharper than a viper’s fangs!”
From the opposite side, a lean boy approached with tense, measured steps.
At a glance, the weight class difference was unmistakable.
The moment Yu Ha finished his introduction, the crowd’s chatter grew louder.
“This is a foregone conclusion—the Iron Blood Extreme Sect will win. How could that scrawny kid survive even one punch from those fists?”
“Of course! I’m betting all three of my rice cakes on Jang Dae San!”
“Tsk, tsk. Jo Gyeom’s luck is terrible. To face someone from the Ten Demon Sects, no less.”
Yalü Hee was cautious, yet she too favored Jang Dae San’s advantage.
“…The Iron Blood Extreme Sect’s fist techniques are renowned. The Ghost Killing Gate’s martial arts, by comparison… are at best mid-tier sect level.”
The betting stakes shifted overwhelmingly toward Jang Dae San in a ratio exceeding eight to two in mere moments.
Yu Ha himself began circulating through the crowd, collecting the bets.
The rice cakes wagered were stacked neatly in a corner of the Clearing where everyone could see them.
“Come now! No takesies backsies! Once you place your bet, there’s no backing out!”
Yalü Hee confidently wagered two of her rice cakes on Jang Dae San.
Finally, Yu Ha approached me.
“Friend, where will you place your bet?”
“Ten on the lean boy.”
Without hesitation, I threw all ten of my rice cakes toward Jo Gyeom.
At that moment, Yu Ha’s eyes gleamed with meaningful significance.
‘Just as I thought… this one is….’
Yalü Hee cried out in exasperation.
“You fool! That fist master is from the Ten Demon Sects! It’s obvious he has the advantage!”
Yalü Hee’s words were not wrong.
I nodded obediently.
“On the surface… it does appear that way.”
“Then why!”
“Ah-ah! No point regretting now! No takesies backsies, I said!”
Yu Ha cut off Yalü Hee’s words and shouted irritably before returning to the center.
Yalü Hee continued muttering to Yun Cheon, still unable to accept the situation.
“You… ten merit tokens is a whole month’s worth! And you’re about to throw them all away in one go!”
Yun Cheon spoke quietly to Yalü Hee.
“A match isn’t decided by what the eyes can see alone. Especially not under rules like these, where only basic techniques are being tested.”
At that moment, Yu Ha, standing in the center, positioned the two disciples facing each other and shouted.
“Begin the match!”
“…Hmph, enough talk. You brought this on yourself. Don’t come crawling to me later. I won’t lend you a single merit token.”
“….”
The match unfolded much as most had anticipated.
Jang Dae San, using fist techniques, overwhelmingly dominated Jo Gyeom, who relied on claw techniques.
“Fool. How much of a threat could blunt claws possibly pose…!”
Just as Yalü Hee said, Jang Dae San, a fist fighter, maintained relentless offense throughout.
Jo Gyeom was barely managing to block the barrage of punches.
With each impact absorbed by his crossed forearms, he was gradually driven backward.
“Look at that! You… it seems you’ve wagered all your merit tokens. What were you thinking!”
Yalü Hee stamped her feet anxiously.
Yet Yun Cheon, the one who had actually wagered the tokens, remained composed.
“Wait a bit longer. The match isn’t decided yet.”
Boom! Crash!
Dae San’s fists were heavy and devastating.
Each time he threw a punch, the air itself seemed to scream with the sound of splitting space.
Jo Gyeom avoided meeting him head-on, lowering his body like a serpent and slipping through his attacks with fluid grace.
“Finish him, Dae San!”
Energized by the crowd’s shouts, Jang Dae San pressed forward to deliver the killing blow.
It was the Continuous Chain Fist of the Iron Blood Extreme Sect.
Against the relentless barrage of consecutive strikes, the attacks that Jo Gyeom had barely been blocking with his forearms finally connected with his torso.
His body lurched violently, nearly collapsing.
In the moment when victory seemed assured, arrogance flashed across Jang Dae San’s eyes.
To completely finish his opponent,
And to show off to the spectators, he extended his final punch with an exaggerated, sweeping motion.
It was in that very instant.
Dae San’s foot, weighted with excessive force, slipped ever so slightly on the damp ground dampened by spray from the Waterfall.
A single moment of opening.
Jo Gyeom had been waiting for exactly that moment.
His body, which had been on the defensive the entire time, exploded forward like lightning.
The next instant, Jo Gyeom’s training claws were pressed against Dae San’s throat.
“…!”
To anyone watching, it was an unmistakable defeat for the fist fighter.
“What?! You idiot! You had it won and you slip up there!”
The students who had wagered their rice cakes against Jang Dae San erupted in jeers.
Yalü Hee turned to Yun Cheon with a momentarily stunned expression.
“What…? Is this a coincidence? Or did you somehow predict this outcome?”
“Not entirely.”
Yun Cheon shook his head, though he had indeed calculated with considerable certainty that Jo Gyeom would emerge victorious.
After all, he had wagered all his rice cakes on him without hesitation.
“When inner energy is forbidden, fist techniques require multiple effective strikes to topple an opponent, but blade techniques need only a single opening to succeed.”
Had this been a genuine clash with inner energy unleashed, Jang Dae San would naturally have held the advantage.
Yet his weapon itself became his weakness.
Without inner energy channeled through them, fists proved far less lethal than other weapons.
The referee could not declare defeat merely from taking several blows to the body.
Weapons with actual blades, however, operated under different rules.
With a true blade, vital points would have been severed.
“Ultimately, as time progressed, desperation could only favor the fist master.”
Yalü Hee’s eyes widened as she listened to Yun Cheon’s seamless explanation.
‘How is this possible? This wasn’t mere luck….’
Meanwhile, Yu Ha’s smile deepened.
He had predicted the outcome identically to Yun Cheon.
After all, Yu Ha was the one who had orchestrated the entire sparring tournament, designing every matchup and its conclusion.
‘I deliberately recruited someone from the Iron Blood Extreme Sect, a tier above Jo Gyeom… yet he saw through it.’
Yu Ha smiled while concealing his true thoughts.
‘This Yun Cheon fellow… he pierced through my entire scheme at once. He consistently exceeds my expectations!’
Yun Cheon had also discerned the true nature of Yu Ha’s operation.
Yu Ha collected a commission from each match.
The more participants, the more rice cakes he accumulated without effort.
Moreover, the more people miscalculated the outcome, the more shrewdly Yu Ha could pocket additional commissions.
‘…The harder it is to predict the victor, the more Yu Ha profits? That cunning fox orchestrated the whole thing, pitting the bears against each other while monopolizing the gains.’
Yu Ha handed Yun Cheon the inflated winnings and spoke.
“I knew you’d succeed in your prediction.”
His rice cakes had tripled in an instant.
Yun Cheon had multiplied his wager through successful prediction, yet Yu Ha profited regardless of the outcome.
It was cunning unbecoming of a mere student.
‘With this many participants, commissions alone would let him rake in rice cakes without lifting a finger. The true victor of this tournament is him.’
The nighttime sparring continued thereafter.
‘Should I wager everything on the next match?’
Yun Cheon intended to stake all his newly earned rice cakes on the following bout.
Then Yu Ha stepped forward and stopped him.
“Ha ha… planning to sweep the entire pot yourself? I’m afraid the maximum wager is ten rice cakes per match.”
Yun Cheon’s eyes narrowed.
‘As expected… he’s installed safeguards. Even with successful predictions, there’s a ceiling on how much can be earned. A cunning one indeed.’
Yun Cheon placed only ten tokens with a look of reluctance, yet his prediction proved accurate once again.
In the subsequent matches, he continued to pinpoint the winners without fail.
Yalü Hee, standing beside him and listening to his predictions while watching the results unfold, found her jaw dropping.
‘His discernment surpasses mine, and I’ve trained in martial arts since childhood and experienced countless real battles?’
Meanwhile, the other students, having not heard the reasoning behind Yun Cheon’s predictions, grew suspicious of him.
“What is that guy…? Everything he bets on comes true?”
“It’s not luck… Does that bastard know something?”
“Damn it, should I follow his lead?”
Tokens had begun piling up in front of Yun Cheon.
The murmuring gradually transformed into awe, then into blatant jealousy.
By coincidence, one of the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family’s members stepped forward for the final match that night.
And without hesitation, Yun Cheon placed ten tokens on their opponent once more.
The result unfolded exactly as Yun Cheon had predicted.
“The victor: Hyeol Ryeon Cheong.”
The matches had been deliberately designed to make predictions difficult.
Yet Yun Cheon had not made a single mistake, correctly predicting five consecutive matches.
‘…His discernment is exceptional. At minimum, equal to mine, or perhaps superior.’
Yu Ha approached Yun Cheon and handed him tokens, speaking in an enigmatic tone.
“With this… all the matches I prepared for today are finished. To predict every single outcome accurately—that’s quite impressive.”
Yun Cheon’s tokens had already multiplied several times over.
Then, the defeated Snake and Scorpion Ink Family members surrounded Yun Cheon.
“I saw it clearly! How dare this vagrant bet against the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family winning?”
“This bastard has pocketed dozens of tokens just sitting there!”
At that moment, Yu Ha intervened.
“Whoa, hold on! Seizing tokens without a match is against the rules!”
Then one of the members shouted at Yu Ha.
“Seizing? Then arrange an impromptu match! The Snake and Scorpion Ink Family will take him on! That wouldn’t violate anything, right?”
Yu Ha shrugged his shoulders with a helpless, cunning expression.
He asked for Yun Cheon’s opinion.
“What do you say, friend? They’re insisting like this. Will you accept?”
Yun Cheon nodded without hesitation.
He swept his gaze across the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family members surrounding him, then delivered his final words.
Those words were directed not at the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family, but at Yu Ha, the master of this arena.
“Yu Ha, is everything up to this point part of your scheme?”
Yun Cheon’s gaze pierced directly through Yu Ha.
His eyes held a chilling light, as if he understood that all this commotion was unfolding in the palm of this man’s hand.
Yu Ha, meeting that gaze, revealed his true expression for the first time.
“How do you like it?”
The eyes of Yu Ha and Yun Cheon, gauging each other, became entangled in the empty space between them.
“…It’s rather entertaining, actually. More importantly—does the ten-token limit apply to competitors who participate directly? I’d like to wager all the tokens I’ve won today.”
Yun Cheon’s words sent the hall into an uproar.
Yu Ha turned his head to gauge the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family’s intentions.
“So that’s how it is? What does the Ink Family think?”
The furious members of the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family answered without hesitation.
“Exactly what we want! You’ll cough up every last coin you’ve scraped together through luck!”
The smile playing at Yu Ha’s lips grew deeper and colder than ever before.
“…Very well. It’s decided then. For this match alone, I’ll make an exception—there’s no upper limit on the wager for the competitors.”

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This chapter is translated by Falnar Novels Team.
Support us by reading on our official site: https://falnarnovels.com
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