Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 45

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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 45.
Early dawn, at the Ma Ui Jeon Front Courtyard.
Snow that had fallen throughout the night lay in gentle layers, transforming the world into a landscape of crystalline silver-white.
Clang—
A heavy metallic sound shattered the silence.
I lifted the black iron rings from the ground—Muk Gang Han Iron—and fastened them around my wrists and ankles.
‘Just half a year ago, these were nothing but instruments of torture.’
In those days when I had to endure with pure physical strength alone, lacking even a shred of inner energy, even walking had been an ordeal.
But now things were different.
Click.
The cold sensation wrapped around my wrists and ankles.
The weight remained the same, yet what I felt was light as a feather.
‘…Light indeed.’
I clenched and unclenched my fist, and instead of my muscles crying out, a pleasant, taut sensation surged through them.
The result of the major meridians opening and the twisted qi pathways finding their proper places.
A physical transformation approaching a complete rebirth.
“You’re leaving, then.”
A calm voice reached me from behind.
It was Seol Young.
Her skin was pale as a snow-covered mountain, and deep within her eyes shone a subtle spiritual radiance instead of the pallor of illness.
She handed me a thick tome from her embrace.
[Records of the Dual Extremes Union]
“Within your body, there still sleeps awakened yang energy. This will surely prove helpful.”
“Such a precious thing… I’m grateful.”
As I tucked the research records into my robes, Seol Young smiled faintly.
“It wasn’t made by me alone. It’s our work together.”
A warm silence settled between us for a moment.
“Ahem! Ahem!”
A loud, deliberate cough from inside the Demonic Physician Hall shattered the quiet.
Saengsa Jjon emerged with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes clearly showing reluctance.
“Elder, I owe you much for your kindness.”
“Bah, kindness? I merely repaid a debt. Take it.”
Saengsa Jjon tossed a bundle toward me with a gruff gesture.
Thud.
I caught it lightly, yet felt substantial weight in my fingertips.
“Too troublesome to discard, so I kept it. Use it or throw it away as you see fit.”
Inside the bundle, which I opened slightly, were premium wound medicines, internal injury remedies, and antidotes of various types that Saengsa Jjon had personally crafted, packed tightly together.
Beneath them lay a thick stack of silver notes.
These were far too precious to be merely “too troublesome to discard.”
“I will use them with gratitude.”
“Hmph. I appointed myself as your patron, yet I’ve done nothing for you—that’s what bothered me.”
Saengsa Jjon stroked his beard as he gazed at Yun Cheon.
What began as a transaction had become six months of sharing life’s joys and sorrows.
The karmic bond of pulling his granddaughter back from death’s threshold after piercing through Heavenly Punishment.
“Family rules prevent me from passing down my secret techniques, but my Poison Doctrine martial arts are another matter. Once Young Ah’s procedure succeeds, I’ll summon you—so don’t you dare die before then.”
It was, in essence, a declaration of accepting him as a disciple.
Understanding the weight of those words, Yun Cheon straightened his robes and bowed deeply.
“I will never forget the grace of both of you.”
Yun Cheon clasped his fists in a formal salute, then turned without hesitation.
Crunch, crunch.
Leaving clear footprints upon the white snow, Yun Cheon advanced toward the heart of the Demonic Cult.
* * *
The Demonic Path Pavilion Master’s office.
As Yun Cheon entered, Gal Mu Heun set down his teacup in greeting.
“You’ve come.”
Gal Mu Heun’s gaze swept across Yun Cheon.
A composed and deepened bearing.
A subtle, overwhelming presence like a renowned blade concealed within its scabbard.
The precarious youth from half a year ago had vanished without a trace.
“Your momentum has changed. The saying ‘judging a person anew’ hardly does it justice.”
“It is only thanks to the consideration you’ve shown me, Pavilion Master.”
“Thanks? What you’ve achieved is your own doing.”
As Gal Mu Heun smiled with satisfaction, a man waiting nearby stepped forward.
“Young Master, it’s been a long time.”
Sa Do Myeong.
He who had saved his life thanks to Yun Cheon and made a brilliant return to the Inspection Bureau now offered a respectful bow.
“I have something to report, which is why I’ve been waiting.”
Sa Do Myeong lowered his voice.
“Muk Young Ki, who was imprisoned in the Prison… has taken his own life.”
“…Taken his own life?”
Yun Cheon’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
‘That can’t be right.’
The corner of Yun Cheon’s mouth rose with a bitter edge.
“What was the cause?”
Sa Do Myeong lowered his voice further as he spoke.
“Officially it’s suicide, but assassination by poison is the leading theory.”
“Cutting off loose ends, as expected.”
Yun Cheon remained unmoved.
Had the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family kept Muk Young Ki alive, that would have been the real surprise.
“A silencing in the Prison is an affront to the Inspection Bureau’s security. The Bureau Chief has no intention of overlooking the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family’s outrages.”
“Hmm….”
“Regarding that matter… the Vice Pavilion Master has sent word to you, saying he will arrange a formal meeting soon and wishes to see you.”
The fact that he spoke so freely even before Gal Mu Heun, the Demonic Path Pavilion Master, suggested this had been coordinated beforehand.
“I understand… however.”
Yun Cheon nodded, yet refrained from giving a hasty answer.
They were the ones in need, so there was no reason to rush.
“I have duties assigned to me in the Inner Library as a member of the Demonic Path Pavilion. Please inform them of that.”
Yun Cheon still had something he needed to verify.
Focused on treatment, I had failed to confirm whether the “Kunlun Martial Arts” stolen from the Inner Library were still there.
“Understood. Then, next time….”
After Sa Do Myeong withdrew upon hearing my response, Gal Mu Heun spoke.
“The Inspection Bureau has come asking for a borrowed blade.”
“They asked to borrow me?”
“Yes. Did we not strike down Poison Fang Hall through your scheme last time? Since they owe a debt, now they’re asking to borrow a blade from me in return.”
My eyes narrowed.
The stratagem of borrowing a knife to murder.
Having borrowed another’s blade to strike an enemy, now I must become that “borrowed blade” in turn.
“The Inspection Bureau never gives anything freely. I bought time by using the Inner Library duties as a pretext, but someday I’ll have to lend them my hand.”
“…I understand.”
“For now, you will remain in the Inner Library. You’ve only recently mastered your inner power, so you’ll need time to explore martial arts suited to you.”
It was precisely the proposal I needed—having learned to handle yin-cold energy through the Absolute Frozen Heart Scripture.
I required time to restructure my existing martial techniques to match my transformed inner power.
“I shall do so.”
“And… you’ll be lonely alone, so I’ll provide you with a companion.”
An intriguing smile played at the corners of Gal Mu Heun’s mouth.
“While you’ve been recovering, an interesting one has arrived.”
“Who?”
“Someone you know.”
Creak.
As Gal Mu Heun gestured, the inner door of his office opened.
In Young emerged from the darkness.
Instead of ornate silk martial robes, she wore practical black light armor.
At her waist hung an unadorned, sharp blade—crude yet deadly.
“It’s been a while, Yun Cheon.”
Yalü Hee, the daughter of the Guang Feng Yalü Family.
But she was not the Yalü Hee I had known before.
‘Her presence… has changed.’
She seemed taller than before, and above all, the aura radiating from her entire being was extraordinary.
‘It’s not just her appearance… her presence is different.’
The arrogant bearing of a privileged daughter basking in her family’s prestige had vanished without a trace.
My eyes had settled into a calm, measured gaze.
Within them crouched a famished wolf, coiled and ready.
‘Your eyes have improved.’
Yun Cheon smiled back at me.
“You’ve changed considerably.”
“I’ve been rolling around under Chuk Mu Gwang’s instruction until I nearly died.”
My eyes swept across Yun Cheon’s entire frame.
The sickly pallor had vanished, replaced by the sensation of a body honed and tempered solid.
“You, on the other hand… have become a completely different person. You used to look like a twig that would snap if I flicked it.”
Slowly.
My hand drifted toward my blade.
“Why waste words? For both of us, it’s faster to confirm with our bodies, isn’t it?”
Gal Mu Heun made no move to stop me, simply crossing his arms.
His expression suggested he’d found entertainment.
“Chuk Mu Gwang has crafted something remarkable. However, it would be troublesome here, so let’s share the joy of reunion outside.”
The Demonic Cult Training Ground.
Yun Cheon and I stood facing each other.
A taut tension permeated the training ground.
“Don’t hold back. I’m going all out too.”
With my declaration.
Burst—!
My form vanished in an instant.
An immediate, vicious assault.
The ornamental flourishes of my past had vanished, leaving only a blade stripped of excess—swift and lethal.
Whistle—!
A razor-sharp slash aimed at the throat, descending in a blur.
Yun Cheon’s eyes tracked the movement with crystalline clarity.
Senses honed razor-sharp by the Heavenly Ascension Technique read the trajectory.
Smoothly.
My eyes widened.
In the moment I was certain I’d landed the cut, Yun Cheon’s form scattered like a mirage.
‘The Shadowless Step? But it’s different from before!’
An evasion so natural, as though he had never existed in that spot at all.
Yun Cheon’s footwork, infused with inner force, transcended all previous limitations.
‘Fast…! But—!’
I gritted my teeth and twisted my blade’s momentum.
Launching myself skyward with a spinning rotation, I unleashed a torrent of consecutive slashes.
Yun Cheon drove forward through the hail of blades converging from all directions.
Clang—!
“Ugh?!”
Yalü Hee staggered from the impact that felt like her wrist was being torn apart.
Somewhere in the exchange, Yun Cheon’s hand had already drawn his blade.
‘…He mastered blade technique in that brief moment?’
Without giving her time to recover, Yun Cheon launched his counterattack.
Against someone who had trained in blade arts their entire life, he showed no weakness in weapon technique whatsoever.
‘This man truly is… a monster…!’
Meanwhile, Yun Cheon was inwardly impressed as well.
Yalü Hee, who had broken free from her family’s constraints, had grown far faster than he had anticipated.
‘At this rate… she’ll more than hold her own in the Inner Library.’
Yun Cheon decided to bring the sparring match to a close.
Whoooosh—.
The Limitless Frozen Heart Scripture began to rotate from his dantian.
A chilling aura enveloped Yun Cheon’s surroundings.
‘This energy is… inner force?!’
Yalü Hee’s pupils trembled.
From Yun Cheon, who supposedly had no inner force, came a heavy and frigid aura.
Crash!
Yalü Hee’s blade was sent flying, and her body was pushed backward.
Yet rather than discouraged, her eyes gleamed as she charged forward again.
‘He’s recovered his body!’
Yalü Hee no longer held back, pouring her full strength into the assault.
Against blade strikes that came like a howling gale, Yun Cheon answered with relentless counterstrikes.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Sparks flew and metal sang. After dozens of exchanges, a critical flaw began to emerge in Yalü Hee’s blade technique.
‘Still… her footwork is lacking.’
A fatal weakness. The absence of the Guang Feng Yalü Family’s secret art—the Wind Soul Step.
Despite her exceptional talent, her achievement had plateaued there.
‘Tsk… wasting such talent merely because she is a woman.’
Yun Cheon pressed his advantage, exploiting the gaps in her defense.
While the gale weakened, Yun Cheon’s blade showed no sign of fatigue.
Finally, feeling the cool blade edge at her throat, Yalü Hee dropped her weapon.
“I lost….”
Only then did Yun Cheon step back and sheathe his blade.
“Six months of grueling training, yet the gap only widened… You really are a monster.”
“I was surprised too. It seems Instructor Chuk Mu Gwang taught you properly.”
“Still… I won’t just be staring at your back anymore. I’ve earned the right to stand beside you now, haven’t I?”
“You’ve already far exceeded that qualification.”
As Yun Cheon extended his hand, the exhausted Yalü Hee grasped it and rose to her feet.
“Hmph… just wait. I’ll catch up to you soon enough.”
At that moment, Gal Mu Heun, who had been watching the two from a distance, smiled and turned away.
‘Yalü Hee… that child is no ordinary talent either. She’s exactly the sort Chuk Mu Gwang would approve of.’
With that level of skill, she would flourish even further within the Inner Library.
‘Master Cheon Gyeon would surely be satisfied with these two as well.’
* * *
Deep within the Inner Library, in the martial arts section.
A repository where secret manuals plundered by the Demonic Cult from across the Central Plains lay dormant.
The air was thick with the scent of aged paper, ink, and an indefinable pressure.
“So this is the martial arts section. The maintenance seems… rather neglected, doesn’t it?”
Yalü Hee wrinkled her nose and brushed dust from her clothes.
From the darkness atop the shelves, a pair of eyes gleamed as they gazed down upon her.
‘Hmm…’
An elderly man hung upside down from a beam shrouded in shadow, like a bat.
Wild white hair disheveled, his eyes alone burning with an eerie luminescence.
It was Cheon Gyeon, the sentinel of the Inner Library.
‘So the boy has already mastered his inner cultivation?’
Cheon Gyeon’s gaze swept across Yun Cheon.
‘Yet… his qi signature is peculiar.’
Neither the demonic aura nor the madness characteristic of the Demonic Cult emanated from him.
Instead, a cool and crystalline yin-based energy.
‘Curious… it bears no resemblance to the righteous sects’ cultivation, yet this strange sensation…’
Seized by curiosity, Cheon Gyeon descended silently behind Yun Cheon’s back.
A soft rustle.
In that instant, both Yun Cheon and Yalü Hee spun around, hands grasping their sword hilts simultaneously.
“Ho, both of them reacted at once? Impressive indeed.”
The aura of the elderly man emerging from the darkness bore down upon them both.
“Let me see what you’re truly capable of.”
The trial of Cheon Gyeon, the eccentric guardian of the Inner Library, was beginning.

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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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