Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 17

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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 17.
“How delightful!”
Chuk Mu Gwang’s gaze remained fixed upon the muddy Clearing beneath his feet, where the perfect circle he had inscribed had been utterly obliterated.
Not a trace of that flawless geometry remained.
Only hundreds, perhaps thousands of dizzying footprints and the harrowing scars of brutal combat testified to how ferocious a battlefield this place had been mere moments before.
Yalü Hee wiped away the blood seeping through her torn garments, breathing heavily.
Yu Ha, too, had abandoned his composed smile, his trembling legs barely supporting his weight.
‘Hundreds of exchanges… or perhaps more.’
The first image that surfaced in my mind was Yalü Hee’s blade wind, charging straight ahead as if she would shatter rather than bend.
That venom—rising to her feet eleven times after being struck down ten. Still unrefined, yet the savage nature within it was unmistakably genuine.
‘Indeed, a daughter of the Yalü Family—like a wolf cub of the north. Worthy of praise.’
Next came Yu Ha.
He never once clashed head-on, instead probing the angles and disrupting the rhythm of offense and defense.
‘That peculiar footwork… the Miryubo, bending like a willow before the wind to redirect an opponent’s force. Truly befitting the young master of the Ilwol Trading Company.’
Most notably, Yu Ha appeared not to have revealed all of his martial prowess.
‘Weighing the situation throughout, concealing his cards until the very end. Distasteful, perhaps, yet that is his way… In any case, he passes.’
And finally, my gaze turned toward Yun Cheon, who watched me quietly.
‘That one….’
The center of everything. A whelp dragged in from who knows where, a bone rolled up from the gutters.
‘It should be impossible….’
His movements lacked Yalü Hee’s venom and Yu Ha’s cunning.
Yet he was the most flawless.
Like flowing water, his footwork opened paths for Yalü Hee’s ferocious charges.
He filled the gaps when Yu Ha’s treacherous ambushes were thwarted.
‘This is no realm attainable through mere training. He reads the pulse of combat itself. Is this not the mark of a prodigy born to the martial way?’
More than that, even while bearing the momentum of a supreme master, Yun Cheon had sought to overturn the very rules of the match.
I held his fighting spirit in particularly high regard.
‘Regardless of not drawing his blade… to harbor such audacious thoughts while facing the sect master himself.’
While giving his utmost, he would destroy the rules themselves if brute force could not prevail.
I trembled at that solution.
‘That is the purest essence of the Demonic Way.’
It came closest to my definition of the demonic path.
It was a ruthless hunger for victory.
A competitive spirit that yielded to no demon cultivator. Yun Cheon possessed it.
How could I not be delighted?
“Kekeke… Kahahaha!”
Unable to contain myself, mad laughter erupted across the Clearing, drowning out the roar of the Waterfall.
The thrashing I had dismissed as the death throes of whelps had been an attempt to deceive me, the master of this arena!
Yet instead of anger, my face bore the cold exultation of a predator who had discovered something precious.
As my laughter subsided, my eyes—gleaming blood-red—swept across the three of them in turn.
“Yalü Hee.”
“Yes!”
“Your blade is still rough, but the fighting spirit within it is genuine. The blood you shed henceforth will hone that edge to a keener sharpness.”
“…Thank you so much!”
A flicker of surprise and faint pride crossed Yalü Hee’s face.
“Yu Ha.”
“…You called for me, Instructor?”
“Your cunning tricks proved useful. But a true master never settles for merely setting the stage. True strength lies in grasping the outcome of the game with one’s own hands.”
Yu Ha offered no response, merely bowing his head in acknowledgment.
At last, Chuk Mu Gwang’s gaze fell upon me.
He wore the satisfied expression of a hunter who had discovered his most prized quarry.
“And you, Yun Cheon. You were the very center of this game.”
He spoke those words softly, as if in recognition.
“This much… it was no reckless impulse after all.”
That single phrase carried a weight as heavy as stone.
Chuk Mu Gwang declared the end of the trial to all three of us.
“You could not defeat me through strength. But you triumphed in the trial itself. Good. I acknowledge your victory!”
As the declaration ended, Yalü Hee’s body swayed as the tension drained from her.
Yu Ha quickly steadied her.
Chuk Mu Gwang gestured toward a heap of betting tokens piled in one corner of the Clearing.
“Whether it be coin earned from nocturnal sparring or winnings from wagers—it matters not. That is now ‘spoils of war’ you have claimed by proving your own worth. Take it proudly as victors.”
That alone was an extraordinary reward.
Yet as Chuk Mu Gwang turned to leave, as if remembering something, he spoke to us three over his shoulder.
“And… this is the true reward for this victory. Open your ears and listen well.”
“…!”
His voice grew lower and more secretive.
“Do exactly as you did today.”
The unexpected brevity of his words made the three of us exchange uncertain glances.
“In the comprehensive evaluation to come, do not fixate on visible rankings or superficial test content. The true masters of Zamadong have no interest in such childish games of numbers.”
A meaningful smile played at the corners of Chuk Mu Gwang’s mouth.
“The eyes watching the comprehensive evaluation are not mine alone. There are those in the shadows who weigh every aspect of you.”
Chuk Mu Gwang pointed toward the darkness beyond the Clearing as he spoke.
“If you wish to catch their attention, you must prove yourselves not merely strong, but ‘useful.’ Just as you proved to me today.”
With those final words, Chuk Mu Gwang vanished without hesitation into the darkness.
“Of course, what they each desire will differ.”
After Chuk Mu Gwang disappeared into the shadows, only heavy silence lingered in the Clearing.
The joy of victory was fleeting; his parting words had seared themselves into our minds like an ominous brand.
‘There are those in the shadows who weigh every aspect of you.’
Yu Ha was the first to break the silence.
As if nothing had happened, he flashed that characteristic cunning smile and kicked at the towering heap of betting tokens with his foot.
“Come now, the mood’s grown far too heavy, hasn’t it? We’ve earned our rest—let’s claim the victor’s privilege first!”
At his words, Yalü Hee snapped back to attention.
“You can’t even read the room! Didn’t you hear what the instructor said? The comprehensive evaluation is absolute hell!”
“Even if hell awaits, one must secure travel funds. Wouldn’t you agree, Lady Yalü?”
Yu Ha began counting the betting tokens with an infuriating smile.
Yalü Hee huffed indignantly, yet her mouth fell open at the sheer magnitude of the spoils.
“This… these are all betting tokens? How much is this in total?”
Even after deducting the tokens I’d won from Muk Wi Jin, the entire pot from tonight’s martial contest exceeded three hundred tokens.
“We should divide it equally three ways.”
Yalü Hee suggested.
But Yu Ha shook his head.
“Equal division is fair, certainly. But wasn’t the true architect of this victory someone else entirely?”
Yu Ha’s gaze turned toward me.
“You read the game, designed the strategy, and struck the instructor’s weakness to claim victory. That was you, Yun Cheon.”
For some reason, Yalü Hee accepted his words without protest.
She turned her head slightly away, avoiding my gaze, and murmured under her breath.
“…Well. That much is true, anyway.”
In that moment, her pride acknowledged my skill.
Seeing this, Yu Ha winked and spoke.
“Then let’s divide the tokens into thirds first, and I’ll invest half of my share into you, Yun Cheon.”
“What? If you’re giving it, just give it—why call it an investment now?”
At the word ‘invest,’ Yalü Hee furrowed her brow, suspecting Yu Ha was playing another angle.
‘Yu Ha. This man never gives anything freely. This isn’t mere goodwill—it’s a scheme to bind me to him.’
But if that were the case, it was worth entertaining.
The night’s martial contest had proven as much.
Hadn’t I multiplied ten tokens into dozens of times that amount in an instant?
Having made my decision, I spoke.
“Very well. I’ll accept that investment.”
Yalü Hee protested, still unconvinced.
“Hey! Why are you going along with this too? So what’s the price of this investment?”
Yu Ha smiled knowingly and answered.
“A price? Hardly. It’s simply… a front-row seat to the most entertaining spectacle in all of Zamadong, you might say?”
“…Tch, if that’s how it is, I can’t let that raccoon be your sole investor!”
Yalü Hee shot back, “I won’t let that fox be the only one backing you!” and shoved half her tokens directly into my pocket.
Yu Ha merely shrugged with amusement.
In the end, I found myself holding half the entire pot.
I silently swept my share into my pocket.
Once the spoils were divided, an awkward silence settled between the three of us.
‘I need not grow too close to these two.’
Even as their affectionate gazes fell upon me, I consciously maintained my distance.
They were, after all, disciples of the Demonic Cult.
Enemies whose blades I might one day cross.
Yet simultaneously, they were temporary allies whose backs I had entrusted myself to mere moments ago.
‘…There’s no need to dwell on sentiment. Whether their goodwill or their investment, all of it is merely a stepping stone to destroy the Demonic Cult.’
It was Yalü Hee who broke the silence first.
“The instructor’s words are bothering me. Eyes in the shadows, you say? I should investigate in my own way.”
She cast a brief glance at Yun Cheon before hurling herself into the darkness.
Next, Yun Cheon opened his mouth.
“I have business at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.”
It was a terse statement.
Yun Cheon merely announced his destination.
Without further conversation, he immediately set off.
Behind him, the iron shackles binding his limbs clinked softly.
Left alone in the Clearing in an instant, Yu Ha stood.
He gazed alternately into the darkness where the two had vanished, then let out a soft chuckle.
“Well now, one wears her heart transparently, and the other never reveals his true self….”
His gaze lingered in the direction Yun Cheon had disappeared.
Chuk Mu Gwang’s final words echoed through his mind.
‘…Eyes in the shadows.’
The cunning smile that had graced Yu Ha’s lips faded.
‘It means to display talents worthy of the coveting of each organization watching from the darkness.’
In his mind, countless game sequences unfolded—positions where he could place Yun Cheon as his ultimate piece.
A cool, piercing light—the gaze of one who designs the board—settled in Yu Ha’s eyes.
‘The Inspection Bureau, the Black Shadow Squad, the Ten Thousand Demons Hall… Any organization would covet him upon seeing him. Which board should I place my finest piece upon?’
Yet soon after, Yu Ha shook his head.
Yun Cheon was not one who would move according to his designs.
Those eyes that never wavered even in desperate circumstances, that insight piercing the very essence of the board, and that relentless hunger for victory.
‘That’s right—there is only one thing he seeks now. A way to mend his body! One of the Five Honored Ones, the Life-Death Honored One, the Demonic Physician. And the Rebirth Demonic Bone Art he created!’
Yu Ha had pinpointed Yun Cheon’s true interest precisely.
‘Then the talents Yun Cheon must display are as good as determined.’
Yun Cheon would surely seek to catch the Demonic Physician’s eye.
“…The Demonic Physician. How fortuitous. Even he would find it no easy task to win that person’s favor.”
A pleased smile returned to Yu Ha’s lips.
“Yun Cheon, no matter how capable you are, you cannot refuse my aid. Not if you wish to heal your body.”
Finally, Yu Ha extinguished the remaining embers and hurled himself into the darkness.
“Hehe, I thought this would be a tedious assignment, but Zamadong grows more appealing by the moment. I’ll be reluctant to leave.”
* * *
At the same moment, at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
“I seek to make a transaction, Pavilion Master.”
The aged eyes of Do Chan Su, the Pavilion Master of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, narrowed as he flicked his abacus beads.
He was the very novice who had first utilized the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion among all the disciples.
‘Wasn’t this the novice who had ordered medicinal materials to aid internal injuries…’
Yun Cheon withdrew a pouch brimming with tokens from his breast, and dumped its entire contents onto the counter with a weighty clink.
A staggering one hundred and fifty tokens.
A fortune that even Kyoto of Zamadong would not spend lightly—yet he resolved without hesitation to pour every last one into his own body’s recovery.
“I offer all these tokens to you. From this moment until the comprehensive evaluation, spare no expense in crafting medicinal materials into pills that aid internal injury recovery and stabilize my vital energy.”

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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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