Chapter 227

Chapter 227
The Confucian scholar stared at the gaming tiles with a look of utter disbelief.

“……Impossible. Certainly…… surely…… with a mathematical likelihood of 99.3 percent…….”

The Confucian scholar mumbled unintelligible things while frantically sifting through the other gaming tiles one by one.

I quickly sent a Sound Transmission to Il-myeong.

-Get ready to lunge at me.

-Hm?

-Don’t you want your Diamond Beads back?

-Y-yes!

Il-myeong replied, his face lighting up with excitement.

“B-Benefactor Jin! Remarkable! You actually won!”

The bald senior threw himself at me in a clumsy display of affection, and I grabbed his robes, flinging him forcefully onto the gaming table.

“Ugh, why are you making such a revolting scene and tackling me?”

I brushed off my hands.

The table shattered, and the gold and silver coins that had been stacked upon it scattered wildly across the floor.

The gamblers standing nearby stealthily nudged the coins with their feet, hiding one piece each.

Even as his winnings gradually vanished, the Confucian scholar remained frozen, unable to react.

“I’ll be taking these back.”

Only when I retrieved the Diamond Beads and the Black Dragon Sword from the floor did the Confucian scholar look up at last.

“……Did you truly overcome those odds?”

“Well, it would appear so.”

“Then…… you are a person of genuine fortune.”

He says I’m lucky…….

Honestly, if I were truly fortunate, would I have ended up in the Sojeong Squad?

The Sojeong Squad was where the most ill-fated rejects of the White Wolf Pavilion were dumped.

And that wasn’t even the half of it. I was so cursed that whenever I drew lots without cheating, I consistently pulled the worst possible options.

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

If engineering your own luck counts as being lucky.

Yes, I guess I could be considered fortunate.

I flicked my gaze across the room.

The gamblers who had encircled us were quietly abandoning their spots.

Hmm, it seemed they had all managed to pocket a fair amount…….

The Confucian scholar appeared to have lost over half of his original winnings. Was he unbothered by this?

“Shouldn’t you collect your money first?”

The Confucian scholar glanced at the gold and silver coins strewn near his feet, then kicked them aside as if they held no value to him.

The gamblers, who had been waiting for an opening, greedily seized the chance and swarmed in like wild dogs.

Watching them blankly, the Confucian scholar remarked,

“That wasn’t what I was after.”

“…….”

“Regardless, this was entertaining. I believed my own fortune was unparalleled. To think someone with even greater luck would cross my path…….”

The Confucian scholar studied me with a complicated, unreadable expression.

“It seems there is a reason the Black Flame Dragon’s reputation echoes across the world.”

Baffled, I questioned him,

“I did turn the tables in a single round, but if you look at the total win rate, you come out ahead, so I don’t believe you should feel discouraged.”

The Confucian scholar shook his head.

“If one fails to prevail when the moment is decisive, then any number of prior victories is rendered meaningless. Much like this match today…….”

A shadow of melancholy touched the Confucian scholar’s features, but he soon reverted to a friendly smile and saluted me with clasped hands.

“Now that I think of it, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Gun Yu-hyeon of the Heavenly Crown Sect.”

“I am Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect.”

“If fate sees fit to cross our paths again, I look forward to another match.”

Considering his presence at the Black Thought Alliance’s Founding Ceremony, he was clearly aligned with the Black Path, yet he felt entirely out of place among them.

“Ah, one more thing. Are you aware of this?”

“……Hm?”

“I am referring to the Five Heavenly Kings hand. In the art of divination, it may signify profound fortune, but…….”

Step.

He lightly pressed his foot onto a tile that had dropped to the ground, flashing a bright grin.

“Conversely, it can also signify the annihilation of everything. Is that not quite paradoxical?”

With that, Gun Yu-hyeon turned and walked away.

Hah. That guy.

“Judging by that irritating tone, he is definitely a Black Path practitioner.”

After all, no sane person would willingly cast their lot with the Black Path Murim.

On the walk back to our quarters.

I cycled through my memory, searching for any data on Gun Yu-hyeon.

He was a man of immense talent, and he possessed a clear sense of self.

Furthermore, his detachment toward money was notable.

‘He is no ordinary character.’

Yet, even after scouring the mental archive in my head, I found no records of him.

Moreover, the Heavenly Crown Sect was a name I hadn’t encountered before.

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

Turning to him, I met his eyes; he was rubbing the Diamond Beads against his cheek with a goofy smile.

“…….”

What is he, a puppy?

Perhaps sensing my awkwardness, Il-myeong cleared his throat a few times.

“Ahem…… I am not entirely sure. My limited knowledge as a humble monk does not extend that far.”

“……I see.”

“Since the incident with the Black Path Night March, many Black Path Sects that had been lying low have begun to surface. It is likely one of those.”

“Hmm…….”

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

While this shift in history had its benefits, it ultimately meant a larger contingent of villains. Could I really consider this a positive development……?

“More importantly, Benefactor Jin…….”

At Il-myeong’s call, I glanced back at him.

“How did you manage it?”

“Manage what?”

“That final round.”

“Hm?”

Il-myeong breathed a faint sigh.

“Benefactor Jin, I hate to admit it, but this poor monk is familiar with the rules of those tiles. In that last game, Benefactor Gun’s victory was absolutely certain.”

“I suppose I was simply luckier than he was.”

“With a probability of only seven ri?”

“In the end, there is no such thing as a guaranteed victory, is there?”

Looking frustrated, Il-myeong let out a long sigh.

“If that is the case, Benefactor Jin must possess luck that defies the standards of the mortal realm.”

Remembering the objects in my sleeve were bothersome, I pulled them out.

“Huh?”

Il-myeong’s expression shifted comically.

“Benefactor Jin, those are…… gaming tiles, aren’t they?”

I feigned ignorance and shrugged.

“Ah, now that you mention it, these must have somehow slipped into my sleeve.”

“Excuse me???”

Il-myeong tilted his head in total bewilderment.

Acting as if it were a trivial detail, I recounted the situation from earlier.

“When that person in the next seat bumped into me. After I stood up and took my seat again, my sleeve felt heavy. Wasn’t that incredibly fortunate?”

“So…… did you cheat at the game?”

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

Why is this man accusing an innocent person?

I told him it was purely a matter of luck.

Granted, it was luck I had manufactured myself, but in the end, wasn’t that still luck?

At that moment, I heard Dang Seo-hui let out a sigh nearby.

“So the truly dangerous one was you all along? I can’t trust anyone anymore.”

Seriously, these people.

It really was just luck, I insist.

After causing such a stir on the first day, the following days were relatively uneventful.

Perhaps the events of the first day had shaken Dang Seo-hui enough that she stopped asking to go out. Il-myeong also began practicing Facing-the-Wall Meditation, claiming his cultivation was inadequate, rather than trying to convert others.

Did he really want to perform Facing-the-Wall Meditation while Ak Byeong-bi sat beside him, downing liquor throughout the day and night whenever he was conscious?

“You…… hic. You are certainly a spy…… hic. ……without a doubt.”

And Ak Byeong-bi interrogated me for the entire time he remained in his drunken stupor.

It was an interrogation devoid of any real authority and utterly absurd, but after enduring the same accusations for three consecutive days, I felt as if my sanity was slipping away.

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

Did that man join the Execution Pavilion because of his persistence? Or did he become persistent as a result of joining the Execution Pavilion?

I, too, abandoned Ak Byeong-bi, sat beside Il-myeong to perform my own Facing-the-Wall Meditation, and began to study the martial technique I had acquired from the gambler.

The secret sect transmission that the gambler had imparted focused on a single concept.

The character ‘gyo’, signifying cunning.

It was remarkable that a martial art had been engineered solely to mislead an opponent.

Of course, the fact that its application was almost exclusively for gambling was ridiculous.

The Beautiful Trickery Divine Art.

Honestly, reflecting on it again, it’s laughable. Beautiful scam?

Who but a certified madman would select such a title?

Regardless, I slowly recalled the steps of the Beautiful Trickery Divine Art.

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

A bean-sized sphere of energy formed in my palm.

The energy glowed red, shifted to green, and finally settled into black.

It was the same technique the gambler had used to make the bean vanish and reappear.

‘Second Form. Pine-Beneath Go Shift.’

Two energies the size of Go stones materialized and swapped colors with one another.

He had apparently used this primarily when running rigged Go matches against powerful officials and aristocrats. The gambler had even warned me to be cautious, as he had nearly had his arm severed while practicing it.

‘Third Form. Flower Coin under the Moon.’

The energy, now the size of a Go stone, dispersed and disappeared completely.

At that exact moment.

“Ahem…… Why are my eyes so irritated?”

Suddenly, Il-myeong interrupted his meditation to rub his eyes.

It was a side effect of the Third Form, Flower Coin under the Moon, that had caused his eyes to dry up.

‘Haa…….’

I, who had been practicing, stopped, filled with deep self-loathing.

Regardless, my objective was to master the principle of imbuing color into this energy sphere.

Just as the Blood Battle had produced sound, and just as the gambler had infused color.

I had theorized that if I could channel my willpower, I might be able to unleash the Void-Annihilation Fist.

The color of the sphere certainly shifted effortlessly within my grasp. The moment I visualized it, the energy transformed into every imaginable hue, which was fascinating.

However, conversely, the moment it drifted away from my palm, the color stayed fixed and then vanished entirely.

The Beautiful Trickery Divine Art that the gambler had been so hesitant to share was clearly not the path to the Void-Annihilation Fist.

“This is difficult.”

“……What is proving so difficult?”

“Hm?”

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

“My internal energy and the energy of nature are not inherently opposed. The foundation lies in realizing that they are not separate forces.”

“Is this a Buddhist teaching?”

“Not precisely, but there is a parallel. Specifically…… the Hundred-Step Divine Fist.”

“Ah!”

The Hundred-Step Divine Fist, which could dominate an opponent from a hundred steps away.

Did that not involve manipulating internal energy detached from one’s own body?

In a sense, it was the most comparable form to the Void-Annihilation Fist.

Il-myeong’s explanation persisted.

“The initial stage of the Hundred-Step Divine Fist involves unifying one’s own energy with the essence of nature.”

“I am aware of that theory.”

“Indeed. However, theoretical knowledge and true realization are worlds apart. Only when you genuinely feel nature’s energy coursing through your own body can you claim to truly understand.”

At his explanation, which hit upon the core issue, I tilted my head.

“But isn’t this a secret Shaolin transmission? Is it appropriate for you to teach it to me like this?”

Il-myeong, his eyes still inflamed, beamed at me.

“Consider it the price for the recovery of the Diamond Beads.”

“Hmm…… Then I shall accept it without hesitation.”

If he was offering to teach me, there was no reason to be reserved. Besides, it was a fact that I had returned his precious artifact, wasn’t it?

“So, how does one allow the energy of nature to flow through oneself?”

“It is not overly complex. For one hundred days and nights, you perform Facing-the-Wall Meditation, purge your Fire Qi using only water and salt, and then…….”

This man is saying such terrifying things with such a peaceful expression…….

“Wait, wait! Give me a training method that a human can actually accomplish.”

Il-myeong simply blinked back with a look of confusion.

“Is this not something that anyone can do?”

No, does the Shaolin Temple not provide lessons on basic common sense?

The festival marking the eve of the Founding Ceremony spanned an entire week, and by now, the interior of the Black Thought Alliance was a chaotic sea of people, as if every practitioner of the Black Path in the world had converged on this single location.

On the fifth day, or rather, four days after my interrogation had begun, we were summoned by the Alliance Leader just before I was pushed to the brink of insanity.

On the walk toward the Alliance Leader’s office.

Inside the Black Thought Alliance, three times the number of Black Path followers compared to our day of arrival were swarming, drinking, and gaming.

Ak Byeong-bi, his eyes bloodshot from a week of alcohol poisoning, scanned the crowd and muttered under his breath,

“All the vermin in the world have gathered here.”

Sir, you came here to negotiate.

What do you expect to achieve with that attitude, really?

Il-myeong whispered to Ak Byeong-bi,

“Even so, if this agreement fails, rivers of blood will flow through the martial world.”

“It is humiliating, but there is no other choice.”

Perhaps he at least understood the stakes, because Ak Byeong-bi straightened his garments and resumed walking.

The members of our Envoy Delegation trailed closely behind.

The location we entered under an attendant’s lead was a massive great hall.

Looking toward the center, I saw the current Alliance Leader, Cha Seok-du, seated upon an iron throne, with the most infamous villains of the Black Path Murim standing in rows on either side.

I shot a subtle look at Ak Byeong-bi.

‘He must be dying to arrest them all.’

For Ak Byeong-bi, this was a scenario where all his targets were conveniently trapped in one spot.

However, likely due to his sense of duty as the Envoy Delegation Leader, his demeanor remained inscrutable.

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

“Welcome. It must have been a taxing journey. Thank you for making the trip. Were your accommodations satisfactory?”

“They were somewhat substandard, but tolerable.”

“…….”

At Ak Byeong-bi’s biting remark, Il-myeong and I breathed quiet sighs.

Yet, the Alliance Leader was not easily provoked.

“Hmm…… I suppose that happens. Don’t hypocrites care deeply about useless formalities? It’s only natural that a place where such righteous people gather would feel uncomfortable.”

“……I am managing.”

A sharp verbal duel passed between the two, and Ak Byeong-bi turned his eyes to Il-myeong.

Il-myeong then presented the scroll he held with both hands.

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

Cha Seok-du stroked his chin and countered,

“Those words are now obsolete. The Black Thought Alliance, the greatest alliance under heaven, has arrived.”

“That remains to be determined.”

The hall fell silent amidst the clash of wills.

A brief pause hung in the air.

The Alliance Leader offered a single nod.

“Regardless, if he sent a congratulatory message, I shall read it.”

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

While Cha Seok-du unrolled the scroll to read its contents.

I lifted my head slightly to observe the faces in the hall.

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

The entirety of the Five Sects, Two Gangs, and One Peak—the primary powers of the Black Path Murim—were in attendance.

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

‘Who is that?’

Based on his attire, he was no warrior.

His sharp features stuck in my memory, and I recognized him almost instantly.

‘Crouching Dragon Dam Ak! Why is he here?’

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

After Jegal So-myeong was assassinated, he had been the strategic genius who steered the Great Righteous-Demonic War from the forefront!

I had suspected there was something unusual about the strategic placement of the Black Thought Alliance and the layout of its structures.

It had all originated from that man’s mind.

‘What has happened?’

Meanwhile, Cha Seok-du, having finished the scroll, let out a long hum.

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

Without hesitation, he pivoted toward Dam Ak.

“Grand Strategist, would you take a look?”

Dam Ak, who had been studying us with eyes sharp enough to cut through our armor, bowed slightly and accepted the scroll.

He read it in a heartbeat, then spoke with absolute finality.

“It is unworthy of consideration. An alliance and an agreement…….”

At the mention of an “agreement,” the sect leaders began whispering amongst themselves.

Some seemed pleased, while others scoffed.

Once the chatter subsided, Cha Seok-du addressed us.

“Is that so? I thought it might be worth reflecting on, though?”

Dam Ak shook his head and refuted him.

“How much persecution have the followers of the Black Path endured from the Murim Alliance until now? Extending an invitation now is nothing more than a desperate attempt to avoid their current threats and shirk responsibility for their past actions.”

“Is that the case?”

“Furthermore, consider the history of the man they sent as Envoy Delegation Leader. Unless they are intentionally insulting the Black Path Alliance, how could they send the notorious Third Hall Master of the Execution Pavilion?”

“Hmm…….”

Cha Seok-du, who had been nodding at Dam Ak’s remarks, turned back to us and stated,

“Regardless, that is our Grand Strategist’s assessment. It is unfortunate, but we cannot form an alliance.”

Well, from Cha Seok-du’s perspective, having just declared himself the Black Thought Alliance Leader, he could hardly be expected to suddenly endorse a pact or alliance.

However, based on his tone, I could strongly sense that if we provided a sufficient justification, he would be more than willing to accept it.

Hmm, if we dismantled the arguments Dam Ak had just presented and offered a refined proposal, then even if a full alliance proved impossible, achieving a peace agreement should be well within reach…….

“I understand. Then there is nothing more to be said.”

Hm? What did he just say?

At Ak Byeong-bi’s words, delivered as though he intended to conclude the entire conversation then and there, I stared at him in utter shock.

Is this man still drunk?