Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 3

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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 3.
“Your skeletal structure is warped, your meridians blocked. No question about it. Worthless. Lowest grade.”
The evaluator didn’t even spare him a glance before affixing a lowest-grade identification badge to his chest and turning away.
‘Now. This is the moment.’
Yun Cheon had identified the evaluator’s habit.
That fleeting gap—the instant his gaze shifted to the next child, his hands dropping carelessly behind his back.
Whoosh—!
As the evaluator’s sleeve brushed past, Yun Cheon’s five fingers curved with the sinuous grace of a living dragon’s talons.
The Cloud Dragon Claw—Kunlun’s supreme technique, capable of deflecting countless projectiles with nothing but fingertips.
His hand extended soundlessly into the evaluator’s robes, fingers finding the badge’s familiar texture.
Without hesitation, Yun Cheon snatched it away.
‘This sensation… even in this broken body, my touch hasn’t dulled.’
The evaluator would never have imagined that a child branded lowest-grade would dare reach into his garments.
Carelessness.
And the divine technique born from refinement taken to its extreme.
The evaluator who had judged Yun Cheon worthless, despite being a first-rate master, noticed nothing and moved on to the next child.
‘That was close.’
Yun Cheon pretended to brush his chest while fastening the stolen badge in place.
Now, a brilliant crimson badge bearing the character for ‘Superior’ hung upon his chest.
‘I cannot be discarded the moment my second life begins.’
As Chuk Mu Gwang had said, the evaluation proceeded with remarkable speed.
With a hundred first-rate masters moving in perfect synchronization, assessing the bones and frames of thousands of children took less than an hour.
“The evaluation is complete! All of you, check the identification badges on your chests!”
Every eye snapped downward simultaneously.
Yun Cheon too gazed upon the crimson ‘Superior’ mark adorning his own chest.
‘The immediate crisis is averted. But the real trial begins now.’
Suppressed sobs and desperate sighs leaked out from every corner.
“Those bearing the lowest-grade badge—get out now! Anyone who doesn’t leave immediately will be executed on the spot!”
The children marked lowest-grade were dragged away like livestock heading to slaughter.
“From this day forward, you will labor in the Labor Camp of our sect!”
Yun Cheon’s eyes turned cold as he watched.
‘So this is the Demonic Cult’s way. Endless sacrifice to forge steel.’
This was why the demon generals never seemed to run out of reinforcements.
They kidnapped children from across the Central Plains, transforming them into warriors and slaves alike.
And Kunlun? How different was our path?
In the barren borderlands, we labored endlessly just to gain a single disciple.
Worse still, the Central Plains teemed with renowned Daoist sects—there was no reason any child would choose Kunlun, locked in perpetual war with the Demonic Cult.
‘At this rate… Kunlun cannot sustain a war of attrition against them.’
Observing the Demonic Way Hall’s operations, Yun Cheon recognized anew just how formidable an adversary the Demonic Cult truly was.
‘The Immortal Sage was right. Destroying them from without is nearly impossible.’
Yun Cheon bit his lip, his eyes blazing with intensity.
‘Yet within these walls, things will be different… I will survive in the very heart of this demonic realm, and with my own hands, I shall sever the breath from your bodies. This is my new path.’
As he swore his oath of vengeance, all the children marked with the lowest evaluation were dragged away.
“Hehehehe… only eighty percent remain. But becoming a superior warrior requires more than just bone structure!”
As expected, there was another test to come.
“Those evaluated as the highest tier, step forward!”
At Chuk Mu Gwang’s call, Yun Cheon exhaled a quiet sigh of relief.
After culling the lowest ranks, now he was sifting out the finest specimens.
But stepping forward as the highest tier with this broken body would be suicide.
Stealing a mid-tier mark had proven its worth.
“Those who cannot read will have their evaluation lowered by one rank. Move to the side.”
Among the children evaluated as having superior bone structure, those who couldn’t read shuffled forward hesitantly.
Tattered robes hung from their frames, shoulders trembling with frailty. Most appeared to be street urchins dragged in by force, children who likely couldn’t even recite their own names.
Yet even in that muddy throng, there were those who held their heads high with pride.
Children of the Demonic Cult’s elite, draped in lustrous silk robes, chins raised as they looked down upon their surroundings. Every face bore the unmistakable mark of privilege and plenty.
Yun Cheon assessed their breathing and skeletal structure in a single glance.
‘They’ve grown fat on expensive spiritual medicines.’
A few of the more prominent ones, despite their youth, had already opened their qi meridians and possessed considerable internal energy—martial prowess comparable to the instructors standing before them.
No wonder they were arrogant. To them, this Demonic Way Hall was merely a waystation. The certainty gleamed in their eyes that soon they would surpass these instructors entirely, treading them underfoot.
Yun Cheon clicked his tongue softly.
‘Tsk. Demonic Cult or righteous sect—the nature of those who swagger on bloodline and sect affiliation remains identical.’
It was precisely as he observed them coldly.
A whisper passed between them.
“The way they’re testing literacy… it really is as we heard.”
“You know what? I heard that a select few disciples are given the opportunity to undergo a procedure that transforms their constitution.”
One child lowered his voice, glancing around cautiously.
“Shh, you mean our sect’s secret technique—the Demonic Bone Rebirth Art?”
“That’s the one… with that, even someone with inferior bone structure could far surpass the highest tier, or so they say?”
In that instant, Yun Cheon’s heart plummeted.
‘A secret technique that transforms one’s constitution?’
A single possibility flashed through his mind like lightning.
‘Could that technique possibly cure severed meridians?’
At this point, he would grasp at straws.
While Yun Cheon’s mind fixated on the secret technique, Chuk Mu Gwang’s voice rang out once more.
“Next, those evaluated as mid-tier who can read—step forward! I will give you the chance to be evaluated as the highest tier.”
Yun Cheon’s eyes flashed with determination.
‘If that technique can truly cure severed meridians, or even merely improve this broken body…’
Yun Cheon resolved to take the risk, even if it drew unwanted attention.
“Finally, those evaluated as the highest tier will be permitted to personally select martial techniques from our sect’s martial scripture repository, and we will provide corresponding spiritual medicines!”
The other benefits announced were tempting enough, but that was not Yun Cheon’s true objective.
His goal was the secret technique whispered about by the children—the Demonic Bone Transformation, a method whose very existence remained uncertain.
It was the only lifeline that could change this cursed body of mine.
‘…If I could only cure the Severed Meridian Syndrome, growing stronger would be no problem at all.’
Yun Cheon stepped forward from among the senior disciples.
A gaunt boy draped in tattered rags.
The moment the boy—who looked as though he’d been dragged here—came forward, countless gazes fixed upon him.
Most of them carried naked contempt.
The instant he joined the line, a sharp voice finally burst forth, unable to contain itself any longer.
“…Hmph, that bone structure is senior-level? Ridiculous. The Demonic Way Hall’s evaluation standards have clearly hit rock bottom.”
It was Yalü Hee, a girl dressed in a well-tailored crimson silk martial robe.
Her mocking words set the surrounding children murmuring in agreement.
“I’ve never seen this one before. Doesn’t even look senior-level—barely looks junior-level.”
“Doesn’t seem to be from the Twelve Orthodox Families or the Ten Demon Sects either.”
“Some wretch dragged in from who knows where, acting without shame.”
A boy named Yu Ha in the corner of the group’s eyes lit up as if he’d discovered an amusing toy.
“Settle down, everyone. We’ve finally found something entertaining, haven’t we?”
Yu Ha interjected smoothly before Yalü Hee, speaking with casual ease.
“Whether that boy’s nerve is genuine or if he’s simply stupid… the instructor will judge that directly. We just need to enjoy the show.”
“Hmph!”
Yalü Hee snorted and turned her head away.
It was at that very moment.
Instructor Chuk Mu Gwang, who had been surveying the other children with a satisfied expression, seemed to notice the commotion and turned his head.
“What’s all this noise?!”
His gaze stopped at Yun Cheon, who stood at the very end of the line.
The instructor’s brow furrowed in an instant.
“What is that wretch?!”
At his thunderous roar, the gazes of the surrounding instructors snapped toward him in unison.
“Who classified that corpse-like creature as senior-level? Which scatterbrained instructor made such a ridiculous judgment?!”
Under Chuk Mu Gwang’s furious command, the face of the instructor from whom Yun Cheon had stolen the identification tag turned ashen.
The boy who had caused the commotion remained remarkably composed.
In fact, a smile even played at the corners of his mouth.
The bigger the stage became, the more advantageous it was for me.
“Who exactly classified you?! Which instructor made this judgment?!”
At Chuk Mu Gwang’s shout, Yun Cheon answered not with words but by quietly pointing a finger at the instructor who had classified him as ‘lowest-tier’.
“That instructor there, sir. A master of Leg Techniques.”
All eyes turned toward one place.
Instructor Chuk Mu Gwang’s brow furrowed.
‘Blood Wind Leg—Ma Chung? He’s not incompetent enough to fail at evaluating bone structure… How could this happen?’
As Chuk Mu Gwang stared at Ma Chung, he deployed his qi perception to examine Yun Cheon more carefully.
‘But more than that… how did this young fool know that Ma Chung is a master of leg techniques? From his shabby appearance, he doesn’t seem to be a disciple of any sect….’
Chuk Mu Gwang concealed his true thoughts, his voice turning glacial as he enunciated each syllable with deliberate force.
“Ma Chung… was it you?”
“N-no, sir! Instructor! I swear it wasn’t me who—!”
Ma Chung stammered in panic, desperate to defend himself, when Yun Cheon cut him off.
“Your assessment of my foundational aptitude was accurate, Instructor. However….”
Chuk Mu Gwang’s brow furrowed deeper still.
“What are you—?”
Yun Cheon deliberately inserted himself into the moment, drawing every eye toward him.
Then, before the assembled crowd, he peeled away the ‘Superior’ rank badge affixed to his chest with his own hands.
Beneath it, a black ‘Lowest’ rank badge was revealed.
The Training Ground erupted in whispers.
“What’s happening?”
“Superior rank hiding a Lowest rank?”
“Two badges?!”
No one seemed to grasp what was unfolding.
Amid the commotion, Yun Cheon flicked the Superior badge he’d removed down at Ma Chung’s feet with a sharp snap.
“You were careless. I’m returning the Instructor’s property.”
Clang.
The jade token struck the ground with a crystalline ring that cut through the silence like a blade.
“…!”
In that moment, understanding crystallized for everyone present.
Yun Cheon had stolen the Superior badge from Ma Chung.
Ma Chung’s face drained of all color—not only had he committed a grave error, but he’d been publicly humiliated for it.
Yun Cheon finally lifted his gaze, meeting Chuk Mu Gwang’s hardened stare directly.
“Isn’t what the sect seeks a child with exceptional martial talent?”
“You claim to possess such talent?”
Chuk Mu Gwang’s lips twisted into a savage smile, as though he’d heard something amusing.
“Then prove it to me.”
With those words, Chuk Mu Gwang unleashed his aura like a tidal wave crashing down upon Yun Cheon.
‘Ugh… he’s testing me….’
The overwhelming pressure of a master at the pinnacle of cultivation.
Every bone in my body screamed under the suffocating weight.
Yun Cheon’s teeth clenched involuntarily.
‘If I retreat now, it’s over.’
Blood seeped between his clenched teeth, metallic and bitter.
“Foundational aptitude is merely… cough. An inborn vessel, nothing more.”
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet Yun Cheon pressed on without hesitation.
“Between a vessel that appears refined but is hollow, and one that seems crude yet holds a blade—which better serves the sect’s pursuit of true strength?
Which truly embodies martial talent?”
The moment Yun Cheon invoked the Demonic Cult’s own doctrine openly, silence descended upon the Training Ground.
The moment he invoked doctrine, this threatened to escalate beyond mere rebuttal into a full doctrinal dispute.
The Supremacy of the Strong.
A doctrine brief and unambiguous in its wording, yet infinite in its interpretations.
Though the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect bound them all beneath a single banner, countless sects and factions within its walls had waged blood feuds over how to interpret the Supremacy of the Strong.
Those who knew him could never speak of such things openly.
‘If this dispute spreads, it will be catastrophic! The Twelve Orthodox Families and the Ten Demon Sects are all present here. Word will inevitably spread…!’
‘Did he touch upon a forbidden nerve? Was it intentional?’
Not only the disciples of the Demonic Cult, including Yalü Hee who had shown her displeasure, but even the sect leaders fell silent.
Chuk Mu Gwang’s eyes narrowed to slits.
He had begun to doubt Yun Cheon’s origins.
The boy’s actions bore no resemblance to mere recklessness or desperation.
The audacity to probe the weaknesses of a first-rate master.
The fortitude to withstand the overwhelming presence of a peak-stage master, meeting his gaze with unwavering confidence.
And the boldness to invoke doctrine itself.
He could not possibly be an ordinary kidnapped child.
‘Who stands behind you?’
His eyes, pregnant with killing intent, asked silently—yet Yun Cheon’s gaze remained unmoved.
Most striking of all was how he dared to challenge the doctrine of the Supremacy of the Strong before the very instructor who held his lifeline in his hands, breaking a sacred taboo.
It was a form of defiance, a madness.
Chuk Mu Gwang found himself drawn not to the hidden background concealed within the boy, but to this very spirit of masculine audacity itself.
Was this not the true essence of a demonic cultivator?
“Kahahaha!”
Chuk Mu Gwang’s wild laughter shattered the suffocating silence that had fallen.
A laugh both hearty and tinged with madness echoed across the platform, swallowing the entire Underground Training Ground in its resonance.
“You speak truly! This place exists to evaluate aptitude. Bone structure is but one facet of it….”
At the end of his manic laughter, he nodded as though he found the situation endlessly amusing.
“Yet I never imagined a madman would dare invoke doctrine before this instructor….”

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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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