Chapter 227: Chapter 227

The Confucian scholar was staring fixedly at the gambling tiles with eyes that simply could not believe it.

“……Impossible. Surely…… surely…… with a probability of 99.3 percent…….”

The Confucian scholar began muttering something incomprehensible as he searched through the other gambling tiles one by one.

I quickly sent Il-myeong a Sound Transmission.

-Jump at me.

-Hm?

-Do you not want to get the Diamond Beads back?

-N-no!

Il-myeong shouted with an excited face.

“B-benefactor Jin! Amazing! You truly won!”

Bald Senior threw himself at me as if embracing me with an awkward performance, and I grabbed him by the clothes and threw him onto the table.

“Tsk, why are you making such a disgusting fuss and pouncing at me?”

While I dusted off my hands.

The table broke, and the silver and gold coins that had been placed on it spilled wildly onto the floor.

The gamblers watching nearby slowly extended their feet and hid one coin each at their feet.

Even though the money he had won was disappearing little by little, the Confucian scholar still could not move.

“I will be taking this back.”

Only when I picked up the Diamond Beads and the Black Dragon Sword that had fallen to the floor did the Confucian scholar finally raise his head.

“……Did you truly break through that probability?”

“Well, as you can see.”

“Then…… you truly are a person with good luck.”

Good luck, he says…….

Well, if I had good luck, would I have drifted into Sojeong Squad?

Sojeong Squad was where only the unluckiest bastards in White Wolf Pavilion ended up.

And was that all? I was so unlucky that whenever I drew fortunes without using sleight of hand, only the worst tiles kept coming out.

“Well, I suppose you could see it that way.”

If creating luck also counted as luck.

Yes, I suppose I was on the lucky side.

I subtly shifted my gaze.

The gamblers who had surrounded us were slowly leaving their seats.

Hmm, it seemed they had all taken quite a bit…….

The Confucian scholar seemed to have lost more than half of the money he had won. Was he fine with that?

“How about gathering your money first?”

The Confucian scholar looked at the gold and silver coins scattered at his feet, then kicked them lightly as though he had no interest in them.

The gamblers who had been watching for an opening now openly lit up their eyes and rushed in like a pack of jackals.

The Confucian scholar stared blankly at that sight and said,

“What I wanted was not something like this.”

“…….”

“In any case, it was fun. I thought my fortune would be the best. To think someone with even better fortune than mine would appear…….”

The Confucian scholar looked at me with a complex, subtle gaze.

“It seems there is a reason the Black Flame Dragon’s name resounds throughout the world.”

Puzzled, I asked him,

“I did turn it around in one round, but if you consider the overall win rate, yours is higher, so I do not think you need to be discouraged.”

The Confucian scholar shook his head.

“If one cannot win at the decisive moment, then no matter how many rounds one wins, it is meaningless. Just like today’s match…….”

A slight shadow fell over the Confucian scholar’s face, but he soon smiled again with a face full of goodwill and held his hands in a clasped hands greeting.

“Come to think of it, I have not introduced myself. I am Gun Yu-hyeon of the Heavenly Crown Sect.”

“I am Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect.”

“If fate brings us together again, I hope we can enjoy another match.”

Judging by the fact that he had participated in the Black Thought Alliance’s Founding Ceremony, he was clearly a Black Path person, but he truly did not feel as if he fit with Black Path people.

“Ah, right. And do you know this?”

“……Hm?”

“I am talking about the Five Heavenly Kings hand. In fortune-telling, it can represent great fortune, but…….”

Press.

He gently stepped on the tile that had fallen to the floor with the tip of his foot, then smiled brightly.

“Conversely, it can also mean the extinction of everything. Is that not truly contradictory?”

After saying that, Gun Yu-hyeon turned and left.

Hah. That bastard.

“Judging by that irritating way of speaking, he really is a Black Path person.”

After all, no normal person would throw himself into the Black Path Murim on his own.

On the way back to the lodging.

I kept searching through my mind for information about Gun Yu-hyeon.

He was a man with extraordinary talent, and he understood himself well.

Moreover, that attitude of his before money.

‘He’s not an ordinary fellow.’

However, even after thoroughly ransacking the library in my head, there was no information about him.

Moreover, the Heavenly Crown Sect was also a sect I was hearing of for the first time.

“Senior Il-myeong, have you ever heard of a sect called the Heavenly Crown Sect?”

When I turned my head, my eyes met Il-myeong’s as he rubbed the Diamond Beads against his cheek and smiled foolishly.

“…….”

What are those, some kind of puppy?

Perhaps Il-myeong himself felt awkward, because he cleared his throat a couple of times.

“Ahem…… I am not sure. With this humble monk’s shallow knowledge, I do not know it well.”

“……Is that so?”

“After the Black Path Night March incident, many Black Path Sects that had been holding their breath began emerging. It must be one of those sects.”

“Hmm…….”

It was true that the size of the Black Path Murim had grown far larger than in my previous life.

In terms of history changing, this was something to welcome, but in the end, it meant there were more bad people. Could I really call this a good thing……?

“More importantly, Benefactor Jin…….”

At Il-myeong’s call, I looked at him again.

“How did you do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“In the final round.”

“Hm?”

Il-myeong let out a small sigh.

“Benefactor Jin, it is embarrassing, but this humble monk also knows the rules of gambling tiles. In that final match, Benefactor Gun’s victory was clearly certain.”

“I suppose I was luckier than he was.”

“With only…… a probability of seven ri?”

“In any case, there is no such thing as a ten-out-of-ten victory, is there?”

As if frustrated, Il-myeong let out a long sigh this time.

“In that case, Benefactor Jin must possess luck beyond the standards of the human world.”

Come to think of it, the things inside my sleeve were cumbersome, so I took them out.

“Huh?”

Il-myeong’s expression changed comically.

“Benefactor Jin, those are…… gambling tiles, are they not?”

I pretended not to know and shrugged.

“Ah, come to think of it, these somehow ended up inside my sleeve.”

“Pardon???”

Il-myeong tilted his head as if he could not understand.

As if it were nothing important, I explained the situation at the time.

“When that fellow at the next seat hit me. After I got up and sat back down in my seat, my sleeve felt heavy. Was that not truly lucky?”

“Then…… did you cheat at gambling?”

“Hey now! Cheating? What cheating? I told you I was lucky.”

Why is this person accusing an innocent man?

I told him it was just luck.

Of course, it was luck I had created directly, but in any case, was that not still luck?

At that moment, I heard Dang Seo-hui sigh beside me.

“So the truly frightening one was you? I can no longer trust anyone.”

Hey now, really, these people.

It was truly luck, I tell you.

After causing such a commotion on the first day, nothing much happened afterward.

Perhaps the things that had happened on the first day were quite shocking to Dang Seo-hui as well, because she no longer went out saying she wanted to do anything. Il-myeong also began Facing-the-Wall Meditation, saying that his cultivation was lacking, instead of proselytizing.

Did he really want to do Facing-the-Wall Meditation with Ak Byeong-bi sitting beside him, drinking alcohol all day and all night whenever he was awake?

“You…… hic. You are definitely a spy…… hic. ……for certain.”

And Ak Byeong-bi interrogated me the entire time he was drunk.

It was an interrogation with no coercive force whatsoever and utterly ridiculous, but after hearing the same words for three straight days, I felt as though my mind was about to fly away.

“Hic, hic……. Definitely a spy…… hic. A spy……. Hic.”

Did that man enter the Execution Pavilion because he was persistent? Or did he become persistent because he entered the Execution Pavilion?

I also left Ak Byeong-bi behind, sat beside Il-myeong, did Facing-the-Wall Meditation, and began studying the martial art I had obtained from the gambler.

The sect’s secret transmission the gambler had taught me pursued only one thing.

The character gyo, meaning cunning.

It was astonishing that a martial art had been developed this way to deceive one’s opponent.

Of course, the fact that its usage was mostly limited to gambling was absurd.

Beautiful Trickery Divine Art.

Seriously, even thinking about it again, it is ridiculous. Beautiful scam?

Who but a fairly mad person would give it such a name?

In any case, I slowly recalled the Beautiful Trickery Divine Art I had been taught.

‘This is the First Form. One Bean Deceives the Eye.’

A bean-sized energy took shape in my hand.

The energy spread in red, then changed to green, and in the end, changed to black.

It was the technique the gambler had used when making the bean appear and disappear.

‘Second Form. Pine-Beneath Go Shift.’

Two energies the size of Go stones appeared and exchanged colors with each other.

It seemed he had mainly used this when playing rigged Go against High Officials and Nobles. The gambler had even given me the advice(?) to be careful, since he had nearly had his wrist cut off while using it.

‘Third Form. Flower Coin under the Moon.’

The energy the size of a Go stone scattered and vanished without a trace.

At that moment.

“Ahem…… Why are my eyes so dry?”

Suddenly, Il-myeong broke his Facing-the-Wall Meditation beside me and rubbed his eyes.

It was because of the effect of the Third Form, Flower Coin under the Moon, that his eyes had become dry.

‘Haa…….’

I, who had been performing the martial art, stopped moving in deep self-loathing.

In any case, what I needed was to grasp the principle of placing color inside this bean.

Like Blood Battle had produced a voice, and like the gambler had inserted color.

I had thought that if I could insert will, then perhaps I could unfold the Void-Annihilation Fist.

The color of the bean definitely changed freely inside my hand. The moment I imagined it, the energy’s color changed into all sorts of colors, which was fascinating.

However, conversely, once it left my hand, the color no longer changed.

No matter how much I tried to change the color, the color did not change at all and instead vanished.

The Beautiful Trickery Divine Art that the gambler had been so reluctant to teach was not a clue to the Void-Annihilation Fist.

“This is difficult.”

“……What is so difficult?”

“Hm?”

Il-myeong, who had been rubbing his eyes, looked at me and put his palms together.

“My energy and the energy of nature are not mutually opposed. The beginning is recognizing that the two are not different energies.”

“Is there a teaching about this in Buddhism?”

“It is not exactly the same, but there is something similar. Namely…… the Hundred-Step Divine Fist.”

“Ah!”

The Hundred-Step Divine Fist, which subdued an opponent’s eight directions from a hundred steps away.

Did that Hundred-Step Divine Fist not also transform inner arts separated from oneself?

In a way, it was the most similar form to the Void-Annihilation Fist.

Il-myeong’s explanation continued.

“The first step of the Hundred-Step Divine Fist is uniting one’s own energy with the energy of nature.”

“I know that in theory.”

“Of course. However, knowing it in theory and truly feeling it are different. Only when you truly feel the energy of nature passing through your body can it be said that you truly know.”

At the explanation that contained the core, I tilted my head.

“But is this not one of Shaolin’s secret transmissions? Is it fine for you to teach it like this?”

Il-myeong, whose eyes had reddened, smiled brightly.

“Consider it the price for recovering the Diamond Beads.”

“Hmm…… Then I will accept it without burden.”

If he was going to teach me, there was no reason to act reserved. Besides, it was true that I had found his treasure for him, was it not?

“Then how does one make the energy of nature pass through oneself?”

“It is not very difficult. For one hundred days and nights, you perform Facing-the-Wall Meditation, remove Fire Qi with only water and salt, and then…….”

This man is saying something so terrifying with such a calm expression…….

“Wait, wait! Tell me a training method a person can actually do.”

Instead, Il-myeong asked back with a bewildered expression.

“Is this not something anyone can do?”

No, does Shaolin Temple not teach things like common sense separately?

The Founding Ceremony’s eve festival continued for a full week, and by now, the inside of the Black Thought Alliance had truly become a sea of people, as though every Black Path person under heaven had gathered there.

On the fifth day, or rather, four days after I had begun being interrogated, we were summoned by the Alliance Leader just before I went mad.

On the way to the Alliance Leader’s office.

Inside the Black Thought Alliance, three times as many Black Path people as on the day we arrived were swarming about, drinking and gambling.

Ak Byeong-bi, whose eyes were red from alcohol poisoning, looked at the Black Path people and muttered softly,

“All the vermin under heaven have gathered.”

Sir, you came to make an agreement.

What are you planning to do with that attitude, truly?

Il-myeong said to Ak Byeong-bi,

“Even so, if this agreement is not made, blood will flow through the martial world.”

“It is humiliating, but there is no helping it.”

Perhaps he at least knew what was important, because Ak Byeong-bi straightened his attire and began walking again.

The members of our Envoy Delegation followed closely behind him.

The place we entered under an attendant’s guidance was a vast great hall.

When I looked toward the center, the current Alliance Leader, Cha Seok-du, was seated on an iron throne, and on both sides of the great hall, infamous villains of the Black Path Murim stood in rows.

I subtly looked at Ak Byeong-bi.

‘His body must be itching because he wants to arrest them.’

For Ak Byeong-bi, this was truly a situation where all the prey had gathered in one place.

However, perhaps because he had a sense of responsibility as the Envoy Delegation Leader, his expression did not change at all.

“I am Ak Byeong-bi, leader of the Murim Alliance’s Envoy Delegation. I wish the Black Thought Alliance boundless development.”

“Welcome. It must not have been an easy journey. Thank you for coming here. Were the accommodations uncomfortable?”

“They were somewhat uncomfortable, but bearable.”

“…….”

At Ak Byeong-bi’s thorny words, Il-myeong and I let out small sighs.

However, the Alliance Leader was no pushover either.

“Hmm…… I suppose that can happen. Do hypocrites not care greatly for useless formalities? It is only natural that a place where such honest people gather would feel uncomfortable.”

“……I am enduring it.”

A fierce war of words passed briefly between the two, and Ak Byeong-bi looked at Il-myeong.

Then Il-myeong held out the scroll he was holding with both hands.

“This is a congratulatory message sent by Strategist Jegal, the Grand Strategist of the greatest under heaven Murim Alliance.”

Cha Seok-du stroked his chin and said,

“Those words are now incorrect. The Black Thought Alliance, the greatest alliance under heaven, has been born.”

“That remains to be seen.”

The surroundings instantly grew quiet amid the fierce battle of wills.

A brief silence flowed.

The Alliance Leader nodded once.

“In any case, if he sent a congratulatory message, I shall read it.”

The scroll in Il-myeong’s hands passed through an attendant’s hands and was delivered to Cha Seok-du.

While Cha Seok-du unfolded the scroll and read its contents.

I slightly raised my head and examined the faces inside.

‘Black Serpent Gang, Nine Dragons Gang, Blood Tiger Sect, Four Dragons Sect, Demonic Path Sect, Blood Sword Sect, Yellow Sand Sect…….’

All of the Five Sects, Two Gangs, and One Peak, commonly called the strongest forces of the Black Path Murim, were present.

Then I examined Hwang Bu-sik standing to Cha Seok-du’s left, and the man standing to his right.

‘That man is……?’

Judging by his attire, it was different from that of a warrior.

His sharp impression was memorable, so I was able to recall him quickly.

‘Crouching Dragon Dam Ak! Why is that man here?’

Dam Ak had been the Murim Alliance’s Grand Strategist in my previous life.

After Jegal So-myeong died by assassination, he had been the genius of military strategy who commanded the Great Righteous-Demonic War from the front!

I had thought there was something extraordinary about the location where the Black Thought Alliance was placed and the arrangement of its buildings.

All of that had come from that man’s head.

‘What happened?’

Meanwhile, Cha Seok-du, who had finished reading the scroll, let out a long hum.

“Hmm, you have brought a rather difficult matter.”

Then, without delay, he turned to Dam Ak.

“Grand Strategist, would you take a look?”

Dam Ak, who had been staring at us with eyes sharp enough to pierce through us, bowed his head slightly and received the scroll.

He read it in an instant, then spoke firmly.

“It is not even worth considering. An alliance and an agreement…….”

At the word “agreement” that Dam Ak uttered, the heads of each sect began murmuring.

Some were pleased, while others sneered.

After the brief commotion passed, Cha Seok-du looked at us and said,

“Is that so? I thought it was something worth thinking about, though?”

Dam Ak shook his head and refuted him.

“How much oppression have Black Path people endured from the Murim Alliance until now? Reaching out their hand now is nothing more than an attempt to escape their current danger and evade responsibility for their past mistakes.”

“Is that so?”

“Moreover, look at the history of the person they sent as Envoy Delegation Leader. Unless they are trying to insult the Black Path Alliance, how could they send the infamous Third Hall Master of the Execution Pavilion?”

“Hmm…….”

Cha Seok-du, who had been nodding at Dam Ak’s words, looked at us again and said,

“In any case, that is what our Grand Strategist says. It is unfortunate, but we cannot form an alliance.”

Well, from Cha Seok-du’s perspective, now that he had become the Black Thought Alliance Leader, there was no way he could suddenly accept an agreement or an alliance.

However, judging from what he had said until now, I could strongly sense that if there was a justification, he could accept it as much as he liked.

Hmm, if we broke down the propositions that Dam Ak had just mentioned and made a decent proposal, then even if we could not reach an alliance, it should be fully possible to make a peace agreement…….

“I see. Then there is nothing we can do.”

Hm? What did he say?

At Ak Byeong-bi’s words, as if he intended to end the conversation there, I looked at him in astonishment.

Was this man still not sober?