Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 5

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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 5.
“Now, hang from the Cliff! Until only ten remain, no one is to think of coming down!”
The children’s faces had already drained of all color.
Several of them lost strength in their legs and collapsed where they stood.
Yet sensing the killing intent radiating from the Kyoto instructors behind them, they staggered toward the cliff’s edge.
Then, one child cried out in a trembling voice.
“I… I can’t do this! I don’t need to be the best or anything—I’m just going down!”
The child’s voice was nearly choked with tears.
Fear and shame bloomed simultaneously across that young face.
With those words as the catalyst, a couple more children raised their hands and cried out in surrender.
“Me too!”
“I give up!”
Terror had paralyzed their reason entirely.
Yun Cheon clicked his tongue.
‘Tsk. Would those vile wretches truly let them quit so easily? There must be consequences waiting….’
Instructor Chuk Mu Gwang unexpectedly nodded in agreement.
Yet a faint sneer played at the corners of his mouth.
“Good. Honesty is better than cowardice. Anyone else wish to surrender?”
Mistaking this for leniency, three or four more children raised their hands and stepped forward.
A total of five children surrendered and descended.
“Good. Those who quit….”
The smile that had lingered on the instructor’s lips vanished in an instant.
“…are hereby stripped of all qualifications and relegated to the lowest rank. Send them to the Labor Camp to serve as slaves!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Drag the useless ones away at once!”
The other Kyoto instructors standing by roughly seized the children who had surrendered and dragged them away.
“I… I’ll hang from the Cliff!”
“Please forgive us!”
The children wailed in belated regret, but it was futile.
“To live as a warrior of this sect means being prepared to stake your life at any moment. We have no use for those whose resolve has rotted away.”
Chuk Mu Gwang spoke while shaking his head.
“Remember this well! The moment you set foot in the Demonic Way Hall, every action you take—even the breath you draw—becomes subject to evaluation!”
As the remaining children watched this unfold, a clear picture gradually formed in their minds of what kind of talent the Demonic Cult sought.
‘They dig a trap of comfort, then mercilessly eliminate those who flee from it… offering opportunity only to those willing to risk everything. Is this the way of the Demonic Cult?’
If so, then stepping forward for the test despite bearing the worst hand—severed meridians—might have been proof of the very qualities they desired.
‘Still, I suppose I should be grateful they’re sending them to the Labor Camp rather than simply killing them….’
Then the instructor urged them forward once more.
“Well then, twenty-five remain. The test begins—fall into formation!”
As the harsh command fell, the children’s shoulders flinched.
The sight of their comrades being dragged away as slaves was still vivid in their minds.
My choices were limited to two.
Become the weakest and be dragged away as a slave.
Or prove my worth as a warrior.
Some of the children swallowed hard and nodded with grim determination.
Crack—
One child slapped his own cheek, as if to overcome his fear.
In any case, no child gave up after that.
“Ugh….”
“If we fall, we’ll die for sure….”
Dust crumbled from beneath the children’s feet at the cliff’s edge, scattering into the fathomless depths below.
“Quiet! Stop whining and hold on!”
The children began clinging to the cliff face, each relying on precarious stone outcroppings.
Yun Cheon was the first to move, positioning himself with the wind at his back.
He found a stable rock crevice to grip and thrust his hands deep into it, hanging firm.
Several disciples, especially Yu Ha, saw Yun Cheon’s swift judgment and decisive action—their eyes gleamed with interest.
‘This one is truly entertaining.’
Even to Kyoto’s eyes, Yun Cheon stood out as a remarkable presence.
Because of this, they began subtly gauging his potential.
Whether he would prove useful to their respective factions.
‘His bone structure remains uncertain. Yet there is no hesitation in his actions.’
‘Perhaps he would be suited as an assassin or informant, where swift judgment matters more than martial skill….’
Instructor Chuk Mu Gwang’s eyes gleamed with keen interest.
‘Does he truly intend to prove the blade he carries within himself? His bone structure is poor, yet every decision he makes stands out!’
Chuk Mu Gwang stroked his chin, observing Yun Cheon carefully.
‘If… that boy were to undergo the Demonic Bone Transformation and rebuild his very bone structure as demonic bone…?’
After all twenty-five children clung to the cliff face, an hour passed.
The sharp sensation of jagged rock biting into fingertips.
Searing muscle pain that felt as though it would tear through the shoulders and entire arms.
And the valley wind brushing past the ears, pushing the body outward.
“Ugh….”
“I… can’t….”
Rough groans escaped the children’s lips, and beads of sweat on their foreheads rolled down their chins, falling into the abyss below.
It was a trial of extremity—one that demanded endurance through sheer strength and willpower alone.
Among them, Yun Cheon had the smallest frame, appearing so frail that no one would think him capable of exerting real strength.
Not only the disciples of the Demonic Cult, but even the other children hanging beside him seemed to expect him to be the first to fall.
Yet Yun Cheon’s true thoughts were different.
‘…Isn’t this test far too easy for me?’
I had climbed Kunlun Mountain daily, training my body refinement technique.
I had mastered the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms and earned the epithet “Cloud Dragon” for my prowess.
On top of that, I had also learned the Cloud Dragon Claw, which trained the sensitivity of my fingertips to their absolute limit.
Among all the children, I excelled most at the technique of clinging to the Cliff.
After all, hanging from a Cliff depended far more on technique than raw strength itself.
‘Those with robust frames would struggle merely to support their own weight. But my case is different.’
My emaciated state from the meridian blockage had become a blessing in disguise.
This skeletal frame, skin clinging to bone, was light as a feather—no exaggeration.
Because of it, I could endure with minimal effort, making me perfectly suited for this trial.
‘Compared to my past life’s training under Yun Ryong, this is child’s play.’
In my previous existence, I could have held on with a single finger for half a day.
Another moment passed.
The suspended children instinctively began turning their heads, watching each other nervously.
Unaware that doing so only drained their strength faster.
Sweat seeped between their fingers, and the rock fragments they gripped trembled violently.
A sensation of hands gradually slipping.
Crack—
Somewhere on the Cliff crumbled, and dust scattered into the air.
One child’s arm slid away completely.
“Ah… ahhh!” With that cry, the body plummeted straight down.
“Kyaaaaa—!”
A scream echoed through the Demonic Way Hall.
Hidden by rock and mist, I couldn’t confirm what had happened.
Splat—!
Yet that dull, wet sound—like a ripe watermelon bursting—was seared into everyone’s mind.
Simultaneously, short screams erupted from the watching children.
As one child fell away so brutally.
Terror spread like plague among those still clinging to the rock face.
“Hic… ugh….”
Some broke into tears, while others exerted themselves desperately with trembling arms.
Now their eyes held only primal fear of death.
‘…If I fall, I die!’
One thought echoed in every mind.
Cold sweat poured from palms like rain.
Fingers gripping small stones felt precarious, ready to slip at any moment.
Several children’s faces had already turned ashen, as if sensation was fleeing their arms.
‘Is the real trial only beginning now?’
The trap laid by these Demonic Cult dogs was convincing, but my ears could not be deceived.
‘That wasn’t the sound of a person falling….’
That burst just now was not the sound of human bone and flesh shattering.
They had deliberately ruptured some object instead.
But the other children lacked both the leisure and ability to discern this.
‘Cunning bastards… psychological warfare….’
A calculated move to maximize the children’s terror by making the first one fall.
The human body is far more resilient than one might think.
In most cases, the mind’s limits arrive before the body’s.
Among these, fear is the greatest enemy.
‘Spirit, breath, and essence are one… yet the others’ minds are already beginning to fracture….’
When fear seeps into the body, breathing quickens, muscles tense, and the pulse races.
Lose composure, and falling becomes inevitable.
‘The eliminations will accelerate….’
My prediction proved accurate.
This time, not far from where Yun Cheon stood.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
As the second child fell with a scream.
A third immediately followed.
“Uuuaahhh!”
The remaining children gasped more frantically.
The fourth and fifth fell not long after.
During the first interval, none had fallen.
But in the next interval alone, five plummeted.
‘About twenty remain now.’
Half still need to fall before the test ends.
‘At this rate, it will take quite a while… Kyoto might resort to further tricks.’
The remaining children now secretly hoped the one beside them would fall.
‘Damn it! When does this test end!’
‘If the one next to me falls… will it finally be over?’
Kyoto, perceiving this psychology, struck at the perfect moment.
“…Heh heh, you’ve overcome the fear of falling. Yes, you’ve endured quite well.”
The words sounded like praise.
But what followed was the true blade.
“I’ll tell you the truth. Falling doesn’t mean death. All those who fell were caught by us.”
“…!”
“Heh heh… we gathered them from all corners of the Central Plains. We might as well put them to use as slaves, no?”
Kyoto’s words shook the children’s hearts in an instant.
Sweet words piercing through their taut tension.
That was Kyoto’s true aim.
‘Letting go doesn’t mean death?’
Immediate, sweet rest lay before their eyes—far more tangible than distant, invisible rewards.
‘If falling doesn’t mean death…!’
As this thought circled through the children’s minds.
Their resolve began to crumble one by one.
Not long after Kyoto spoke, three children’s strength gave way, and they slipped downward.
Unlike the children who had fallen before, this one didn’t even scream.
Whoosh—.
The sound of something moving through the air, cutting through the wind.
Kyoto seemed to be catching the trainee.
‘Those Demonic Cult bastards… they wouldn’t waste a trainee of superior bone structure just like that, would they….’
Whether what Kyoto had said was true or not, all I could hear from below was the sound of air being sliced.
There was no sound of something bursting like a watermelon.
“Well then, we’ve halved our numbers. Only fourteen remain. You’ve all worked hard. Even if you wish to give up here, I acknowledge your perseverance. I promise you a fitting ‘reward.'”
Kyoto dangled another sweet incentive before us.
Several children had already reached their limits. Some of them showed signs of being tempted by the reward.
‘Kyoto never actually said what the reward was… based on everything I’ve seen so far, I can’t take his words at face value.’
It was a cunning tactic.
Kyoto was manipulating the children whose mental fortitude had reached its breaking point exactly as he pleased.
With that sweet promise of reward, three more fell away.
Through psychological warfare, Kyoto had caused half of those who had clung to the Cliff
to fall in mere moments.
“Exactly eleven remain. Will you simply wait for others to fall and become a loser yourself? Have you forgotten the question from before?”
Kyoto’s sharp rebuke reminded us of someone’s earlier question.
‘It’s permissible to knock competitors off…!’
Not a single child failed to grasp Kyoto’s meaning.
The moment his words ended, I felt the air around me shift on both sides.
It wasn’t mere competitive spirit.
The chilling killing intent that emanates from a beast driven to its limits.
‘…Damn. I must have looked like an easy target.’
Dark hands lunged toward me from both directions.
From both sides.

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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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