Reincarnation of the Cloud Dragon - Chapter 8

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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 8.
“Sigh…”
A soft exhale escaped my lips.
It was neither resignation nor fear.
Tedium mixed with contempt—the exhalation of ennui toward the insignificant creatures before me.
My frame appeared frail, almost skeletal in appearance.
What followed from such a boy’s mouth was mockery incarnate.
“Merely at your level?”
Those words were all the spark needed.
“You wretched bastard…!”
“How dare you insult the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family? Do you have a death wish?”
The gang leader ground his teeth, snarling.
‘Snake and Scorpion Ink Family, then…’
One of the martial families of the Demonic Cult?
They certainly held themselves in high regard.
I decided to turn that pride to my advantage.
“Snake and Scorpion Ink Family? Never heard of it.”
“One of the Twelve Orthodox Families that protect our sect! You claim ignorance of the Twelve Protectors?”
“Why should I bother learning?”
The Snake and Scorpion Ink Family members hadn’t anticipated such a response.
Until now, they had always selected lower-ranking martial disciples from Qian Mo Cave to bully at their leisure.
But I had been dragged here by force, leaving me completely ignorant of the Demonic Cult’s hierarchy and structure.
The gang, at a loss for words, resorted to bluster.
“Y-you insolent fool! I’ll carve the terror of the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family into your very body!”
Four boys surrounded me.
“Ah… Snake and Scorpion, is it? Four mangy dogs snarling about the Ink Family?”
I deliberately twisted the meaning—replacing the characters for “snake and scorpion” with those for “four growling dogs.”
“How dare you!”
For the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family, one of the Twelve Orthodox Families within the Demonic Cult and holders of considerable pride, such mockery was unprecedented.
All four erupted with killing intent, rushing toward me simultaneously.
Selected from thousands—the “finest” specimens trained in martial arts from birth for over a decade.
‘Admittedly… not bad for their age.’
But that was all they were.
To my eyes, their movements were clumsy and poorly grounded, all brute force with no finesse.
‘I’ve lost the flow of my cultivation. I need to settle this quickly and refocus.’
The leader charged first, shouting.
“I’ll shatter that arrogant face of yours!”
His fist tore through the air with a vicious whistle, aimed at my face.
I stood motionless, as if rooted to the ground.
Everyone anticipated the moment my face would be crushed.
Whoosh—
My body slid sideways like a sheet of paper, shifting back just half a step with perfect precision.
‘…There’s no need to move excessively.’
The fist cleaved through empty air, and the aggressive assault became a self-inflicted blow that shattered his own center of balance.
“What…!”
Then I simply extended a leg in a light stumble.
Unable to overcome his own momentum, the man tumbled across the ground with a loud crash.
Boom-crash!
“Ugh!”
Even as the leader rolled across the earth, it never occurred to him that this was Yun Cheon’s true skill.
“Snort.”
Someone’s mocking laugh echoed out.
That sound severed the leader’s reason.
Embarrassed by his tumble, he vented his rage on an innocent target.
“You idiots! What are you gawking at? Get moving! Why aren’t you attacking already!”
At his furious commands, still sprawled on the ground,
the remaining three regained their senses and rushed forward.
“You arrogant bastard!”
I didn’t dodge this time either.
Or rather, it didn’t appear that I was dodging.
I simply shifted my stance with one leisurely step.
I slipped a roundhouse kick coming from the right, moving only my upper body with subtle grace.
Then I gently redirected it outward.
The trajectory of the kick altered.
That foot planted itself squarely in the ribs of his companion, who had been preparing to throw a punch.
“Gasp! Why me?”
Struck unexpectedly in the ribs by his own ally, the trajectory of the extended punch went awry.
I lowered my head and stepped forward.
The moment the fist whisked past my face—
I seized his wrist and pulled him toward me.
And then—
“Oof!”
The extended fist aimed at a target far beyond its mark.
That fist found its destination in the face of yet another companion attacking from behind.
Crack!
Like a perfectly choreographed farce.
The members of the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family striking one another in ridiculous fashion.
“Hahaha, what on earth are those fools doing?”
Their attacks never once grazed even the edge of my garment.
I responded using only footwork, nothing more.
A footwork technique that perfectly unified offense and defense.
The more desperately they moved, the more they collided with one another, tangling together until their formation crumbled into chaos.
It was in the midst of this that I grasped something remarkable.
The more I deployed my footwork, the more the Qian Mo technique responded—and rather than fatigue accumulating, my body felt lighter with each movement!
Warmth bloomed through my withered frame, and my joints moved with the fluidity of oiled hinges.
‘Using both together… there’s an unexpected synergy here.’
A faint smile played at the corner of my mouth.
‘Let me see how far this can go.’
From that moment onward, I transcended mere evasion and began to dominate the battlefield itself.
My subtle movements caused the children to obstruct each other’s paths, sending them tumbling to the ground repeatedly.
The watching children began to doubt the abilities of the Mo Family disciples—one of the Twelve Orthodox Families.
‘The notorious Snake and Scorpion Ink Family… losing to some nobody nobody’s ever heard of?’
‘They say they always throw their weight around when new disciples arrive, deliberately showing off their strength… and now they’re on the receiving end?’
The leader who had brought his gang was frustrated enough to lose his mind.
If they left now looking ridiculous, Muk Ha Jin would reduce him to pulp.
“You idiots! Get your heads in the game and surround him! Deploy the Snake and Scorpion Formation!”
At his command, the broken formation reformed with discipline.
‘It’s already four against one. If I back down now, I’ll only be humiliated… better to beat this bastard senseless so there’s no room for gossip! That’s the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family way!’
Four youths seized positions as cunning as serpents and scorpions, completely cutting off my escape routes.
Their formation technique, honed through nearly a decade of internal cultivation and coordinated practice, emanated an oppressive aura that could not be dismissed, even from children.
A low gasp escaped from the watching disciples.
The Snake and Scorpion Ink Family’s coordinated strike technique was renowned for good reason.
‘But to deploy a formation against a single opponent…’
‘How ruthless of the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family… he held his own alone, but now it’s over.’
Everyone thought the same thing.
Even Yalü Hee, who sensed his extraordinary nature, swallowed hard.
‘Four… the Four Symbols. The perfect number for deploying a basic formation. Can he handle this too?’
Yet when I actually faced the Snake and Scorpion Formation, my expression remained composed.
‘A coordinated strike, they call it. The form is impressive, but… if I topple the one at the center, the rest will crumble like a sandcastle.’
“Die!”
The four attacks crashed down upon me like a single colossal wave.
Rather than evade, I stepped forward to meet them head-on.
‘They attempt a coordinated formation while unable to even control their own bodies? They don’t understand the danger.’
With footwork infused with the mysteries of the Wuji technique, I drove straight toward the heart of the wave.
And then, a single move.
Like flowing water, I simply swept my hand once, lightly.
A motion so ordinary it was almost embarrassing to call it martial arts.
Yet the result it produced was anything but ordinary.
Crack—
The instant I struck away the wrist of the one at the formation’s center, all their momentum twisted and shattered.
The venomous hands clashed against each other.
“Gack!”
“Argh!”
The two vanguards collided.
What followed was a cascade of devastation.
Crash—!
In an instant, four members of the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family gang tumbled across the cold stone floor in a tangled heap.
The Snake and Scorpion formation crumbled completely.
“Ugh… my arm…!”
“Argh! My leg!”
Their merciless attacks had collided head-on.
As a result, arms and legs had shattered.
Agonized moans echoed across the cold floor of Qian Mo Cave.
“How… how did the Snake and Scorpion formation break?”
With the core of their training formation collapsing, all their coordinated movements twisted into chaos.
They couldn’t even withdraw their attacks—they simply advanced along their predetermined paths and met their doom.
“The formation isn’t the problem. Your level is. If you wish to become strong, stop hiding behind your family name and gang affiliations. Instead, dedicate yourselves to honing your own strength.”
At those words, Yalü Hee couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
And the mysterious boy leaning against a pillar, who had been observing everything, burst into mocking laughter.
“Haha, he speaks the truth! Multiple of you attacking together, yet such a pathetic display! Learn to cultivate your own abilities before you even attempt to deploy formations.”
At his mockery, the leader pinned beneath the others shouted in indignation.
“Damn it! If these worthless dogs had just mastered the Snake and Scorpion formation properly…!”
“What? Worthless? You’re a branch member yourself, aren’t you?”
“Hmph! I’m different from trash like you. I’ve been promised the main family’s martial arts!”
“Where the hell did Muk Ha Jin go! He said we’d be enough!”
Yun Cheon glanced once at them, tangled together and shifting blame onto each other like insects beneath his notice, then turned away without hesitation.
‘So they were being used with the promise of family martial arts. I suspected their foundation was unstable…’
With that, the commotion became no concern of mine.
However, the moment I turned to leave the Stone Chamber.
“Wait.”
A soft voice, yet one laden with irresistible weight.
My footsteps halted mid-turn.
When I looked back, a man stood with arms crossed, his cold gaze fixed upon me.
‘I sensed his presence, but I didn’t expect it to be him.’
Kyoto—the one who had suffered humiliation when I stole his recognition token during the bone assessment, a master of leg techniques.
Ma Chung, the practitioner of Bloodwind Leg.
His eyes churned with complex emotions like waves.
Seething rage toward the young upstart who had diminished his pride.
Separate from that, pure admiration for the footwork technique displayed before his eyes.
And greed toward the raw gem overflowing with talent.
‘It’s only been four days since I obtained the secret manual. And he’s already mastered footwork to this degree?’
As a master of leg techniques with deep expertise in footwork, Ma Chung could discern that Yun Cheon’s footwork had already reached a considerable level.
‘That’s… certainly not mere luck. Perfect weight distribution. He read my strength, speed, and even my next movement, then evaded with precisely half a step’s difference.’
Ma Chung glanced at the collateral branch members of the Muk family groaning on the ground, then fixed his gaze back on Yun Cheon.
He gestured with his chin toward the dark corridor.
“Too many eyes here. Let’s move. Follow me.”
Yun Cheon followed Ma Chung without protest.
Only the sound of their footsteps echoed through the cool corridors of Qian Mo Cave.
Ma Chung led Yun Cheon to a small Training Hall with few visitors.
As he closed the stone door, all outside noise was shut out, creating a space for only the two of them.
“I’ll ask you directly. Who exactly are you?”
Ma Chung’s voice was cold and sharp as ice.
“You mock the Snake and Scorpion Ink Family with footwork learned in merely four days? Leg techniques and footwork are my specialty. You hid your martial arts before entering, didn’t you?”
Ma Chung pressed Yun Cheon with overwhelming momentum.
“Wasn’t it Kyoto who directly evaluated my bone structure as the lowest? How could I have hidden martial arts?”
At Yun Cheon’s composed response, Ma Chung had no choice but to acknowledge it inwardly.
‘No… at that time, he definitely hadn’t learned any martial arts.’
Yun Cheon’s cold gaze seemed to pierce through Ma Chung’s innermost thoughts.
“…Or perhaps you harbor some personal feelings toward me because of the identification badge incident last time?”
Ma Chung’s face stiffened as the truth struck home.
He cleared his throat and forced himself to regain composure, then spoke sharply.
“Hmph, don’t misunderstand! I was merely impressed by your footwork achievement.”
“Then what is the reason you called me out separately?”
“Since you happened to select footwork from the Library Archive, I, as a master of both footwork and leg techniques, intended to offer you instruction.”
It was a flimsy excuse hastily concocted on the spot, yet simultaneously a threat backed by his authority as Kyoto.
Yun Cheon immediately grasped the implication.
‘He wants to teach me?’
As Yun Cheon’s tongue clicked inwardly, a sudden thought made his eyes brighten as he asked.
“Is it possible that no other child besides me selected footwork or leg techniques?”
Ma Chung’s brow twitched momentarily.
It was exactly as he had said.
“…That’s correct. Tsk, footwork can be called the foundation of all martial arts. These youngsters don’t even understand its importance…”
He paused for a moment before finally revealing his true intention.
“Well, as you know, I don’t harbor particularly favorable feelings toward you. However… since you’ve selected footwork, what choice do I have? Would you like to learn from me, Kyoto?”
The moment Ma Chung posed his question to Yun Cheon, an unexpected figure appeared in the Training Hall like smoke.
“Wait, Ma Chung! Hold on. I also have business with this child.”

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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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