Cloud Kun

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Cloud Kun (云鲲) 454
Alias(es)	Lord Cloud Kun 511
Species/Race	Artifact Spirit; a Great Ming wooden warship 451 457
Affiliation	Special Affairs Bureau and the navy 454 519
Occupation/Role	Naval reconnaissance, transport, salvage, and special-operations vessel 457 638 714
Status	Active 851
First Appearance	Chapter 451 451

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Restored and awakened	454	Shen Le completes its restoration; Cloud Kun responds independently by unfurling and snapping shut its sail.
Operational training and surveying capability	457	Receives round-the-clock instruction in navigation, surveying, underwater relic work, and military discipline. It can directly perceive the seabed, while Compass positions it and Scroll projects a colored three-dimensional map.
Spiritwood growth and turbine integration	536 537	Grows translucent roots into spiritwood under Growth Talismans, withstands a gas-turbine test, absorbs its heat, and reshapes its internal compartment around the engine.
Expanded combat-capable form	681	Its normal displacement is 400 tons; magical expansion can raise this to 2,000 tons.
Aerial-mobility trial	682	Learns to control flying swords and briefly flies using six Porcelain Swords, but the swords shatter under the strain.
Surface-camouflage configuration	720	Gains a tested fishing-vessel disguise combining simulated radar and infrared signatures, illusionary appearance, recorded engine noise, wake simulation, and a registered AIS identity. Its energy core is identified as a miniature nuclear reactor.

Background

Cloud Kun was built as a Great Ming warship and once led a fleet that included Cloud Roc, Cloud Shark, and Cloud Jiao. It remembers itself as the sole survivor after the rest of that fleet was lost. 451

After Shen Le restored the wooden ship, Cloud Kun awakened as an Artifact Spirit. Its emergence prompted competing proposals: the museum sought to preserve and study it, while the Special Affairs Bureau and navy sought to employ it at sea. 454

Cloud Kun ultimately entered naval service. Shen Le spent a month accompanying its intensive instruction, teaching it navigation, seafloor surveying, underwater cultural-relic work, and the necessity of obeying military orders. 457 A dedicated pier, soldiers, Special Affairs Bureau personnel, and experts were later assigned to support it at a concealed military harbor. 519

Appearance

Cloud Kun is a traditional wooden sailing warship with masts, rigid wooden sails, decks, cabins, and a hull that can alter its size. In its full ordinary form, it is approximately 30 meters long and has a displacement of 400 tons. 519 681

• Can shrink to only three inches long for transport or concealment. 512 513
• Can expand into a form with up to 2,000 tons of displacement. 681
• Uses paper figures as visible crew representatives; they operate loudspeakers and can mimic a staffed vessel. 457 511
• Can reshape its visual outline into that of a fishing vessel, concealing its sails, masts, and tower behind an illusion. 720

Personality

Cloud Kun is energetic, proud, and intensely curious about modern naval technology. It eagerly requests radars, missiles, engines, flying swords, and other upgrades, often before understanding their practical limitations. 456 561 562 681

Despite its impulsiveness, it responds well to instruction when its identity as a warrior and obligation to obey military law are made clear. It is enthusiastic about protecting the country, completing missions, bringing Shen Le gifts, and proving its usefulness. 457 638

Cloud Kun also shows strong attachment to its companions and to Shen Le. It is willing to risk exposure to rescue a “brother” threatened by the Firebird, but is fearful of using the Firebird’s inner core as an engine because it associates the core with its attacker. 544 557

Abilities & Skills

Autonomous Navigation and Water-Vein Travel

Cloud Kun can sail independently without a helmsman or crew operating its sails. 455

• Can dive, travel underwater, and navigate without conventional submarine navigation methods. 457 510
• Uses Water Vein Stealth to move rapidly through connected water veins; its approximate reach includes traditional Huaxia territory and former tributary states. 512 513
• Can travel from the South Sea to the Yangtze River estuary in roughly two or three hours in high-speed mode. 472
• High-speed movement requires accumulated spiritual energy and cannot be used freely. 472
• Activation requires a brief buildup period, creating a vulnerability during emergencies. 510
• Cannot reliably use rapid water-vein escape when operating beyond the range it reached during the Ming Dynasty. 714

Size Alteration and Spatial Capacity

Cloud Kun can change size dramatically while retaining unusual carrying capacity. 512 638

• Can shrink from ship-sized to inches long. 512 513
• Can enlarge its displacement from 400 to 2,000 tons. 681
• Possesses spatial-artifact properties and claims it can carry cargo several times its own volume. 562 638
• Can open its deck into a ramp for unloading cargo. 682

Seafloor Surveying and Detection

Cloud Kun can perceive the seafloor directly rather than relying solely on sonar. 457

• Works with Compass for positioning and Scroll for colored, three-dimensional seafloor projections. 457
• Scans hydrological conditions during covert reconnaissance operations. 638
• Detects abnormal underwater presences, including dense sinister Yin energy and Water Gu. 714
• Its sensory web can register distant underwater activity that ordinary personnel cannot identify. 714

Concealment and Camouflage

Cloud Kun can reduce its presence underwater and imitate civilian vessels on the surface.

• Can drift naturally with currents to reduce detection; forcibly manipulating nearby water makes it easier for powerful scanners to notice it. 510
• Learned to disguise itself as a tuna during naval exercises. 511
• Its fishing-vessel configuration simulates visual shape, radar reflection, infrared signature, engine noise, wake, and AIS identification. 720
• Initial trials could not conceal its sonar signature. 720
• Rejects the use of onboard AI to direct artificial fishing-boat behavior, accepting only spell-based camouflage and limited internal equipment. 720

Self-Growth and Structural Repair

Cloud Kun can absorb spiritual resources to strengthen and restore itself.

• Grows roots from its hull into spiritwood to absorb spiritual energy. 536
• Uses absorbed energy to enlarge and reinforce cabins and internal structures. 537
• Can endure and absorb heat from an external gas turbine, though its painted hull began to crack after prolonged exposure. 537
• Can regrow damaged material after a fire, while Shen Le can repair additional damage through spells. 720

Combat and Protective Support

Cloud Kun functions primarily as a stealth, transport, and support platform, but can contribute directly to combat.

• Helped capture two unmanned enemy ships alongside Qing Deng’s electromagnetic attacks. 511
• Supplied spiritual power to Mountain Warden, allowing it to establish a protective hemisphere that wards against spying, corruption, Yin evil, and filth. 714
• Worked with Shen Le and Lan Zhuang to maintain a water eye during the battle against the Firebird. 558
• Can carry and deploy allies, supplies, instruments, and supernatural artifacts during extended operations. 638 682

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Traditional sailing rig — Wooden hull, masts, rigid sails, deck, cabins, and cargo spaces. 519
• Gas turbine — Tested and installed within an expanded internal compartment after Cloud Kun demonstrated sufficient heat resistance. 537
• Fireproof panels — Added before its distant-sea exploration. 538
• Miniature nuclear reactor — Functions as its energy core by the camouflage trials. 720
• Paper-figure crew and loudspeakers — Used to create the appearance of a crewed ship and communicate externally. 457 511
• Registered AIS identity — A genuine maritime registration used as part of its fishing-vessel disguise. 720
• Flying swords — Tested as a possible method of aerial mobility; six Porcelain Swords proved insufficient and shattered. 682

Relationships

• Shen Le — Restorer, guardian, instructor, and primary advocate. Shen Le trains Cloud Kun, assists its growth, mediates its upgrade requests, and prioritizes its safety. 454 457 536 544
• Dragon Lord — Former master. The Dragon Lord recognizes Cloud Kun’s potential growth after it absorbs a Firebird-related inner core. 544 545
• Compass — Companion Artifact Spirit responsible for positioning and long-range detection. After absorbing a radar, Compass extends its detection range to 400 kilometers. 457 561
• Scroll — Companion Artifact Spirit that projects Cloud Kun’s survey data and visual maps. 457 561
• Qing Deng — Spirit within Cloud Kun that supports it with electromagnetic attacks and recorded engine sounds for camouflage. 511 720
• Lan Zhuang — Ally that produces the light-and-shadow illusion used to disguise Cloud Kun as a fishing vessel. 558 720
• Mountain Warden — Protective partner that uses Cloud Kun’s spiritual power to purify Yin corruption and shield allied ships. 714
• Li Xingtang — Temporary close-combat partner who accompanies Cloud Kun on missions and trains in flying-sword control alongside it. 638 682
• Whale — Friendly sea creature that comes to Cloud Kun’s aid against the Firebird. 558
• Special Affairs Bureau and navy — Operational partners responsible for its missions, training, infrastructure, research support, and refit discussions. 454 457 519 562

Major Operations

Operation	Details
East Sea Secret Realm supply voyage	Undertakes its first long voyage to deliver supplies and test future delivery routes; demonstrates independent navigation. 455
Seafloor survey and salvage training	Surveys and maps the seabed, salvages an ancient wreck, and exceeds human surveying capabilities despite damaging some artifacts through inexperience. 457
Naval exercise and stealth testing	Participates in teleportation trials and evades multiple search parties, though it struggles against a powerful ocean-wide scanning force. 510
Capture of unmanned ships	Helps seize two unmanned enemy ships during a military exercise with Qing Deng’s electromagnetic support. 511
Big Black Fish salvage	Returns to port towing a damaged foreign “big black fish” and requests a nuclear-powered engine as compensation. 519
Red Sea Firebird incident	Risks exposure to rescue a brother threatened by the Firebird, then supports Shen Le during negotiations that secure a pact preventing attacks on Chinese-flagged ships. 557 560
Covert hydrological reconnaissance	Receives a mission to infiltrate and survey detailed hydrological conditions for possible future naval operations. 638
Water Gu defense mission	Protects a main ship beyond the First Island Chain, detects sinister Yin energy underwater, and supports Mountain Warden’s purification domain. 714
Mirage Market expedition	Carries Shen Le’s group through an undersea vortex toward the Mirage Market, enduring immense pressure until the Copper Fragment clears their path. 721 722
Pacific transit	Travels across the Pacific while blending among commercial ships under its fishing-vessel identity. 851

Notable Quotes

“Back then, they built a whole fleet of us. I led the warships! Behind me were Cloud Roc, Cloud Shark, Cloud Jiao—” 451

“None of them remained... In the end, only I was left. Only me...” 451