Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 59

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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 59.
“If you wish to challenge the Faction Leader, you must first overcome me!”
So Ryong spoke with resolute determination in his eyes.
Kang Hui let out a scornful laugh as crimson killing intent surged across his entire body.
“Hmph, a fool who cannot read the room requires a lesson in humility.”
Remnant Blood Wolf.
True to that epithet, crimson energy coalesced at the tips of his ten fingers, forming razor-sharp energy blades.
“Are you truly seeking death this time, So Ryong!”
At Kang Hui’s sharp rebuke, So Ryong clenched his teeth.
The sensation of skin torn mercilessly by those crimson claws three years ago seemed to resurface vividly.
In the past, So Ryong had lacked inner cultivation, and despite possessing external martial prowess approaching the first rank, he had been utterly helpless against Kang Hui’s piercing inner energy.
‘External power alone has clear limitations.’
A shell without the foundation of inner cultivation would inevitably be pierced by sharpened energy.
This was common knowledge that Kang Hui understood well.
“The wounds from that day have already healed, I see? This time, I’ll tear your Black Dragon Resilient Body in that exact same place!”
Boom—!
Kang Hui kicked off the ground and surged forward.
A blood-red wolf-shaped aura shot toward So Ryong’s heart.
It was his ultimate technique, the Blood Wolf Claw, reeking of carnage and vibrating with lethal intent.
True to his epithet as the Remnant Blood Wolf, five crimson flashes carved distinctly through the air.
‘That’s it!’
The memory of how this single strike had pierced his Black Dragon Resilient Body, causing him to cough blood so miserably.
A chill of primal terror swept down So Ryong’s spine.
In the instant his body instinctively began to shrink back.
Yun Cheon’s gaze, sitting motionless upon the elevated platform with a cold iron sword across his lap, entered So Ryong’s field of vision.
The eyes of his lord—one who recognized him as a true warrior and granted him the opportunity to prove his worth.
Yun Cheon’s coldly settled pupils dissected Kang Hui’s martial technique with clinical precision.
‘The So Ryong of the past would have been pierced… but now it will be different.’
In Yun Cheon’s gaze that So Ryong perceived, there was not a shred of doubt.
‘My lord… believes in me!’
So Ryong’s eyes, now free of fear, blazed with brilliant intensity.
‘I am… no longer incomplete!’
Yun Cheon brought the teacup to his lips and nodded slightly.
‘Yes, that’s it. Carry that confidence, So Ryong.’
As Kang Hui’s crimson killing intent dyed the Training Ground red, So Ryong’s entire body was enveloped by the vital energy of the Black Dragon Dynamic Technique.
“This time will be different!”
Crack—!
So Ryong’s skin began to gleam like pitch-black, blood-red metal.
It was not merely external muscle inflation.
True Black Dragon Resilient Body—external martial prowess at its zenith, finally reinforced by inner cultivation.
The Blood Wolf Claw and the Black Dragon Body collided.
At the moment when flesh should have torn and blood should have sprayed forth—
Instead, what erupted was a bone-chilling metallic screech that shattered everyone’s expectations.
Clang—!
“…?!”
The Blood Wolf Claw failed to pierce through So Ryong’s Black Dragon Body and bounced back pathetically.
“Krraaagh!”
Kang Hui clutched his hand and staggered backward.
His pupils trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck.
The sensation transmitted through his fingertips was not that of human flesh.
As if he had scraped against a colossal iron pillar, a recoil came surging back—one that threatened to shatter his own nails.
“What… what kind of inner energy flows through your body! You mastered the Black Dragon Body, so you shouldn’t have been able to utilize your inner power!”
Kang Hui, flustered and panicked, widened the distance between them and cursed.
“Hmph! That’s simply because I hadn’t found an inner cultivation method that harmonized with the Black Dragon Body!”
“What! Could it be… you actually restored some ancient inner cultivation technique that pairs with the Black Dragon Body!”
So Ryong shook his head at Kang Hui’s words and gazed down at his own chest.
‘Lost martial arts cannot be recovered, but with the Sect Leader’s Black Dragon Inner Energy, we can restore its former glory!’
The Black Dragon Body that had once been torn apart helplessly—yet now, through the rips in his garments, the exposed skin bore not a single scratch.
The result of an external technique perfected to its apex, combined with the weighty inner energy of the Black Dragon Inner Energy.
It was far more than a simple mathematical combination.
‘This is… the harmony of inner and outer techniques!’
Even with limited inner energy reserves, the difference from when he had cultivated only external techniques was profound.
An explosive synergistic effect.
Overwhelming joy bloomed across So Ryong’s face.
‘The Sect Leader’s teachings… they are real!’
So Ryong’s shoulders, which had unconsciously hunched inward, finally straightened.
“Is… is that really So Ryong?”
“The Black Dragon Body was that resilient?!”
“So Ryong, who was pushed outside the top hundred rankings… withstood Zhan Xue’s Blood Wolf Claw?”
“No, more precisely, he repelled it!”
Astonished murmurs erupted among the wanderers in the spectator stands.
Confirming that he could perfectly defend against the Blood Wolf Claw with the Black Dragon Body, So Ryong’s tension eased considerably.
“So that’s it. You’re not a wolf—you’re just a mangy dog.”
Kang Hui’s face flushed crimson with shame.
“Don’t get cocky just because you blocked once! You half-baked bastard!”
Kang Hui, losing his composure, began forcefully drawing upon his inner energy.
‘Even if he’s cultivated inner energy… it’s been such a short time! The total amount can never match mine!’
Kang Hui’s assumption was correct.
No matter how perfectly So Ryong’s inner and outer techniques harmonized, he had only just begun accumulating inner energy.
The time spent cultivating inner energy meant there was a stark disparity in total reserves.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
Kang Hui, bracing against the assault, unleashed a ferocious barrage of attacks.
Unable to withstand the overwhelming wave of inner force, So Ryong began retreating step by step.
A cruel smile spread across Kang Hui’s lips.
“Die! Just die already!”
Sensing the danger, So Ryong’s gaze shifted once more toward Yun Cheon on the elevated platform.
The moment their eyes met, Yun Cheon’s lips moved almost imperceptibly.
[Armor that covers your entire body is nothing but dead weight. Gather your scattered energy into a single point.]
“…!”
So Ryong’s eyes snapped wide open.
He abruptly withdrew the power he had been forcing across his entire body.
A clash between So Ryong, who had only recently mastered his inner force, and Kang Hui, who possessed more than double his power.
With such a vast disparity in inner force, protecting his entire body with the Black Dragon Physique was fundamentally impossible.
But what if he concentrated all his power into a single point?
‘Just once. I stake everything on my right fist!’
Following the guidance of his leader Yun Cheon, So Ryong swiftly withdrew the Black Dragon Inner Force that had been enveloping his entire body.
A decision to abandon full-body defense—literally surrendering flesh to seize bone.
Yet to Kang Hui’s eyes, So Ryong’s withdrawal of his energy appeared entirely different.
“Ha! Just as I thought. Your power is exhausted! Now die!”
The taut aura of the Black Dragon Physique that had been radiating from So Ryong’s body suddenly drained away like an ebbing tide.
Kang Hui seized what he perceived as his opportunity without hesitation.
Crimson blood qi erupted from his ten fingers, surging toward So Ryong.
Kang Hui’s Blood Wolf Claws rained down, tearing through So Ryong’s shoulders and thighs now stripped of their protective force.
“Ugh…!”
Blood sprayed in multiple directions, yet So Ryong did not evade.
Paradoxically, with each wound that multiplied across his body, the energy converging upon his right fist compressed with explosive intensity.
The Black Dragon Inner Force gathered into that single point of his right fist, radiating an obsidian brilliance.
‘Perfect!’
Seeing his attacks connect, Kang Hui’s eyes gleamed with triumph.
“Impressive, but… now it ends! You half-baked fool!”
Kang Hui soared into the air, wringing out every last ounce of his remaining inner force.
His killing blow descended toward So Ryong’s head in that final instant.
Boom—!
So Ryong’s right foot planted itself heavily against the ground.
The stone tiles of the Combat Platform shattered and scattered.
“I am no longer half-baked!”
The energy from his dantian surged through his waist and erupted through his right fist in a violent burst.
A single strike where the Black Dragon Physique and Black Dragon Inner Force fused into one.
That fist rose like a dragon ascending to the heavens.
“How dare a toothless wolf cub act so bold!”
Latent Dragon Ascends to Heaven.
Thanks to the inner energy I now possessed, a technique So Ryong had learned long ago but never been able to execute finally manifested through my hands.
Crack—!
With the sound of facial bones shattering, Kang Hui’s body launched into the air.
“Gahhh!”
The smile that had been etched across Kang Hui’s face twisted grotesquely.
His body flew past the front of the Heuk Ryong Guest Inn and crashed pathetically onto the ground where the ronin stood.
Boom!
After rolling several times, Kang Hui lay motionless with foam flecking his lips, his limbs limp.
Complete unconsciousness.
Kang Hui, ranked 90th in the Feng Yun Ranking, known as the Remnant Blood Wolf.
His hunt had ended pathetically at the hands of So Ryong, who had been pushed outside the top 100 of the Feng Yun Ranking.
“Hah… hah…”
White vapor rose in wisps from So Ryong’s right fist as he breathed heavily, drenched in blood.
The area around the Combat Platform was engulfed in perfect silence, not a single breath audible.
‘I… I won.’
So Ryong gazed down at his own hands.
Three years ago, this man had made me painfully aware of my limits when I possessed only external techniques. Now I had crushed him with my own strength.
So Ryong slowly turned his body.
‘All of this… is thanks to the gang leader!’
Thump.
Leaving the fallen Kang Hui behind, he dropped to one knee before Yun Cheon, who sat upon the Elevated Platform.
Then, with a voice burning with fervor, he swore an oath.
“I have proven the gang leader’s teachings!”
At that passionate cry, Yun Cheon lowered the hand that had been resting against his chin and nodded.
“Well done.”
In that moment.
‘The gang leader didn’t even step forward…! Kang Hui was crushed by So Ryong alone?!’
‘So Ryong was clearly a level below that Kang Hui bastard. Yet how much time has passed since receiving the gang leader’s teachings, and he’s become this strong?!’
The eyes of countless ronin snapped upward in unison toward Yun Cheon on the Elevated Platform.
“So Ryong, who was pushed outside the top 100, defeated rank 90!”
Someone cried out in a trembling voice.
And in everyone’s minds, a chilling truth dawned simultaneously.
“If So Ryong is this strong… just how powerful is the Black Dragon Gang leader who sent such a monster flying with a single kick?!”
“The Black Dragon Gang leader cannot possibly be ranked 100th in the Feng Yun Ranking!”
As the fog of misunderstanding lifted and the overwhelming gap became viscerally apparent.
Lightning struck through the minds of the ronin.
The number 100th in the Feng Yun Ranking was not the Black Dragon Gang leader’s true strength.
It was merely a starting point, the moment his name first appeared in the world.
“I, I too wish to join the Black Dragon Gang! Please accept me!”
“Please, I beg you! Teach us!”
Masterless warriors, desperate for guidance, threw themselves to their knees without exception, pressing their foreheads against the threshold of the Black Dragon Gang in a spectacle of raw desperation.
* * *
A vantage point overlooking the Black Dragon Gang’s Combat Platform.
The highest tower pavilion of the Heuk Ryong Guest Inn, which the Ilwol Trading Company had acquired and extensively expanded.
A figure reclined against a plush chair draped in the finest carpet, leisurely tilting a wine cup.
It was Yu Ha, the Smiling Fox.
Geum Bu Dong, the Qinghai branch director of the Ilwol Trading Company standing beside him, gazed down through the window and clicked his tongue in admiration.
“Your vision was impeccable, Young Master. Yet… Yun Cheon of the Black Dragon hardly seems like someone who would rank merely 100th on the Feng Yun Ranking… How is it…?”
At Geum Bu Dong’s words of wonder, Yu Ha laughed with feigned innocence, swirling his wine cup.
“Of course. But isn’t it far more entertaining to start from rank 100?”
“Pardon? Surely not… for such a reason…?”
“Director Geum. Why do you think I went to such lengths to create the Feng Yun Ranking and display it everywhere?”
At Yu Ha’s chilling question, Geum Bu Dong fell silent.
‘If it were merely to objectively evaluate the skills of young warriors… there would be no need to publicize it. I would have monopolized the information instead. But Young Master chose to display it. Why…?’
Geum Bu Dong could not answer readily.
“The Feng Yun Ranking was never meant to establish objective rankings in the first place. That exists only in my mind.”
Yu Ha snapped open his fan with a flourish, a smile playing at his lips.
“The Feng Yun Ranking exists solely to manipulate people according to my desires. And it serves multiple purposes—entertainment, profit, and intelligence gathering. What you might call killing three birds with one stone.”
“Initially, you said we needed reasonably accurate rankings to establish credibility…!”
“Precisely. But circumstances have changed now. Already, every young warrior in our organization desires to have their name on the Feng Yun Ranking.”
Only then did Geum Bu Dong strike his knee.
“By subtly arranging the rankings, you can incite conflict and competition between the established powers and rising factions within the organization!”
“Exactly. People don’t protest that the Feng Yun Ranking is unfair. If they possess strength, they simply step forward to prove it!”
“The Way of the Strong!”
Geum Bu Dong felt a chill run through him at Yu Ha’s cunning.
‘It’s a brilliant stratagem using the organization’s own doctrine! This way, no one in the sect can find fault with it.’
With the Feng Yun Ranking alone, he could manipulate young warriors while bearing almost no risk.
Moreover, the secondary effects were substantial.
Yu Ha had distributed the Feng Yun Ranking primarily through inns and taverns secretly managed by the Ilwol Trading Company.
As traffic to these establishments increased, revenues doubled, and intelligence gathering became far more efficient.
‘…Truly, Yu Ha is remarkable! It’s like witnessing Yu Baek Cheon’s younger days!’
It was a strategy that saw several moves ahead.
Yu Ha gazed down at Yun Cheon through the window, murmuring with evident pleasure.
“Don’t look at me with such eyes over something trivial. That fellow Yun Cheon probably caught on to the Feng Yun Ranking’s true nature. Yet he willingly stepped onto my chessboard. More importantly…”
In an instant, the smile vanished from Yu Ha’s face, replaced by an icy expression as he issued a command to Geum Bu Dong.
“The one giving you orders is not Ssang Ro, but me. Do not dare question my commands again. Accept all the transaction conditions exactly as Yun Cheon proposed.”
As the smile faded from Yu Ha’s face, a chilling coldness descended.
‘He knew everything all along!’
Geum Bu Dong’s face hardened like stone.
An overwhelming presence that bore an uncanny resemblance to Yu Baek Cheon, the Grand Master of the Ilwol Trading Company.
‘…Elder Ssangnon. I apologize, but the Sub-Master is no longer a vessel I can contain…!’
Even breathing became difficult.
“…Understood.”
Only then did Yu Ha release the suffocating pressure, his face breaking into a smile once more.
Geum Bu Dong wiped the cold sweat from his brow, making a silent vow.
He would never again cross Yu Ha’s will.
“Here, the new Feng Yun Ranking. Have it distributed tonight.”
The Feng Yun Ranking that Yu Ha presented had been reshuffled.
Yun Cheon at rank 90.
So Ryong at rank 91.
Kang Hui at rank 92.
Unlike the rumors circulating around the Combat Platform, it was a minimal rise in rankings.
‘He didn’t elevate the Black Dragon Gang Master’s rank significantly this time either…! Is the Sub-Master cultivating a storm…!’
Geum Bu Dong immediately took the new Feng Yun Ranking and headed toward where the messenger birds were kept.
Moments later, dozens of messenger birds took flight simultaneously from behind the Heuk Ryong Guest Inn into the sky.

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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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