“Let’s begin.”

Amidst the tense atmosphere, the game of cards blended in. The three people were pretending not to know each other, staring at the mixed cards. And then, Ho Cheon-an…

“Digging your nose…?”

Yoo Gyeong, who was watching from the spectator stand, muttered in disbelief.
“I can’t help but recognize your courage.”

“Hmph.”

Yoo Gyeong scoffed at Ho Cheon-an after observing the nervous gambler mixing the cards and the others who were intently focused on the mixing.
“Let’s see how you escape from this round.”

“Hmm.”

Ho Cheon-an let out a snicker after looking at the cards mixed by Hak Jo. It was a “two” card, known as a “tungso”. Rather than using a number one, the card game uses numbers from two to thirty-three. The score varies based on combinations, but usually, the score follows the sum of the numbers.

“Are you planning to die?”

The bald head next to Hak Jo, Heukjeo, openly provoked Ho Cheon-an. However, when Ho Cheon-an shot him a glance, the smirking bald man’s face instantly stiffened. Cheong Seo and Hak Jo felt the tension rise after witnessing Heukjeo’s swift defeat in their silent stare-off.

“One gold.”

After placing his basic bet, Ho Cheon-an accepted the cards.
The gambling with the game of cards involves competing sums and card rankings. After receiving the first card, a basic bet must be placed to get the second card. After that, betting occurs freely after all cards are revealed.

This round had a total of sixteen, and the combination with “two” is quite strong. Judging by the rankings, it would probably place in the moderate tier.

“Die.”

But Ho Cheon-an wasn’t concerned about what card came up. Just confirming the identity of his hand was enough.
Ho Cheon-an tossed down his cards confidently, and the three exchanged glances. Could he really be a professional gambler? At least, it seemed he was assessing the situation until he had some grasp of the cards.

“It’s your turn.”

“Hmm. Isn’t the order usually determined by turning right?”

“You naive fool… in Nangyang, the order always goes left!”

“What’s that about?”

Claiming such a regional rule as a reason to overturn the general rules was a sufficient cause to storm out of the gambling table, but Ho Cheon-an had no intention of engaging in a quarrel.

In general, card games involve taking turns mixing the cards. The three stared intensely at Ho Cheon-an as he mixed. It was an honest mix without any deceit.

‘He lacks knowledge of the cards to execute complex techniques. It’s a standard approach.’

Hak Jo nodded internally. The game was progressing smoothly. His spirits, once overwhelmed by the opponent’s unyielding focus and courage, were revived. In truth, there was no reason to be scared. Hak Jo, who had experienced many rounds as a gambler in Nangyang for over twenty years, had never encountered such a perfectly orchestrated game.

As the game flowed as anticipated, the other gamblers regained their composure and concentrated on Ho Cheon-an’s movements.
During this round, eight cards were shown. That amounted to only one-fourth of the thirty-two cards. Since the remaining twenty-four cards were unknown, showcasing techniques would be insufficient.

Swish.
Watching Ho Cheon-an’s hand move, the three’s eyes lit up.
‘He’s got the basics down.’

He placed the highest number, thirty-one, from the previous round in his second card position. Presumably, he might be hoping to score high.
Thirty-one… while it’s a high number, it’s usually not preferred in the game of cards governed by multipliers.

Calculating his cards as he received Ho Cheon-an’s mixed cards, Hak Jo nodded internally. The card in Ho Cheon-an’s hand was fifteen. Combined with thirty-one from his second card, it would create a score sufficient for competition. But Hak Jo held a ten, and the number entering from the latter side was twenty, securing a completed ranking with a total of fifty points.

They placed their bets.
“Place it.”
“I’ll take.”
“I’ll take and place three gold.”
“I place five.”
“I’ll put ten.”

When it came back around to Ho Cheon-an, the betting amount reached ten gold. In an instant, Ho Cheon-an raised the amount.
“Thirty.”

Thirty gold. The winner of this round could gain one hundred gold in a single shot. The enormous betting amount made the other three gamblers gasp. It made them suddenly realize the scale of the game. Nevertheless, they put on poker faces and hid triumphant smiles. Ho Cheon-an’s confident demeanor made them wonder, ‘Could it be that I haven’t penetrated his technique after all?’

Outside, the other gamblers signaled: just once. They hadn’t detected anything other than when Ho Cheon-an slipped the thirty-one into his latter card.
‘While you might only see us, in reality, the entire gambling hall is watching you.’

Would there only be three gamblers outside of Nangyang who could play? Disguised in various forms, a multitude of angles were scrutinizing the scene, all renowned gamblers. To deceive a player in the gambling ring itself might be possible, but it is impossible to trick all the surrounding gamblers.

“Alright, thirty.”

The gamblers placed their bets of thirty gold without hesitation onto the gambling table. The betting was complete, and the gamblers revealed their hands in turn.

“Wow, Hak Jo’s hand looks the best.”
“Eh, I thought I had the highest.”

With their banter, Hak Jo flashed a mischievous smile while urging Ho Cheon-an, who still held his cards.
“You must show your cards to move to the next round, right?”

The two had already started pushing their bets toward Hak Jo. It was a typical provocation, but if they could shake Ho Cheon-an even a little, it was worth it.

“Right.”

Ho Cheon-an calmly tossed down his cards, and the eyes of the three widened significantly.
“Thirty. Thirty-one.”

Wasn’t it fifteen? Unless he used a technique, there was no way thirty could be revealed. The three looked toward the outside gamblers. Seeing their eyes tremble, Hak Jo felt like closing his eyes tightly.

In the state of being encircled by dozens of gamblers, their gazes were fixated.
Yet not a single one of those numerous gamblers had witnessed Ho Cheon-an employ a technique?

“Honestly, I don’t like going all out from the very first round.”
At Ho Cheon-an’s words, the three recoiled slightly.
“Even among martial artists fighting for life and death, it’s considered courteous to yield the first attack or give three chances. It’s rather rude to start with a full-on assault at the gambling table.”

“What nonsense…”
Heukjeo muttered unintentionally. What is more crucial than establishing the upper hand in a gamble?

“But I need to make a considerable amount today… so I decided to discard any niceties and go all out.”

Ho Cheon-an reached out and pulled the gold in front of Hak Jo toward his position. Then, he casually tapped the bundle of cards.

“What are you doing? Hurry and mix.”

“…You brat.”

Hak Jo grimaced. If no one had seen Ho Cheon-an use a technique, could it be that he didn’t just use it once? What if he had used it two or three times?
In that case, the remaining bundle of cards might be in a completely different state from what Hak Jo had grasped. The only thing he could be sure of… were the eight cards that had just been revealed.

“Those overflowing with confidence must pay the price.”

Hak Jo squeezed his eyes shut at Ho Cheon-an’s words and picked up the cards. Indeed, that made sense. If they had rotated in the ordinary order without any tricks, they would have effortlessly gnawed away at Ho Cheon-an’s gold over three rounds, but by taking a defensive stance, he had immediately developed a craving and twisted the order.

With the game set up this way, he had the confidence to believe he could win no matter the opponent’s abilities.
And so, he paid the price. Only the eight cards were confirmed, while the other twenty-four cards fell into a mystery. The equal battle to decipher the cards would begin again until Ho Cheon-an received the cards once more.

Hak Jo organized his thoughts while shuffling.
The order of cards was Ho Cheon-an, Hak Jo, Heukjeo, Cheong Seo.

Even while Hak Jo was shuffling the cards, and Heukjeo’s turn was left, their gazes met Cheong Seo’s. Before the cards passed to Ho Cheon-an, he had to use some skills to trick Ho Cheon-an while mixing. Otherwise, Ho Cheon-an would play his cards, knowing the majority of them while employing unseen techniques known only to himself, the flow of the gambling would disrupt entirely.

To wrap it up, Hak Jo’s round ended with a betting amount of four gold. Since nobody knew the card compositions, they couldn’t casually place their bets.

Next was Heukjeo’s turn, also culminating in a round of four gold. Heukjeo crafted a hand from the known numbers, making the victory obvious, so no one bet.

Next came the true hand of Cheong Seo.
“Your gambling skills are impressive. Where do you hail from?”

“What of it?”
“Hmph, just a gambler pretending to be fancy.”

While Cheong Seo shuffled the cards, Heukjeo openly taunted Ho Cheon-an, and Hak Jo asked various questions in an attempt to shake Ho Cheon-an’s concentration.
But Ho Cheon-an exhibited no signs of distraction, merely observing Cheong Seo’s card mixing with an indifferent expression.

Cheong Seo, sweating profusely from nerves, placed down the cards. The deception had to work. If Ho Cheon-an had seen through all of Cheong Seo’s tricks, the course of the card game itself would collapse.

Cheong Seo’s shuffled round also wound up being a four gold game, with Ho Cheon-an taking three gold.

Finally, the cards came into Ho Cheon-an’s hands.
As he began shuffling, the underground gambling hall fell silent. Gamblers disguised as normal patrons and those impersonating ordinary workers prepared to expose their cover, focusing solely on Ho Cheon-an’s movements.

And Ho Cheon-an bet ten gold. Hak Jo, Heukjeo, and Cheong Seo contorted their faces at Ho Cheon-an’s wager.
“To see someone else’s cards, you’ve got to spend some money.”

“…Alright. Ten gold.”

Did Ho Cheon-an fall for Cheong Seo’s ruse or see through it? And did he assemble his cards using a technique or not? To answer those two questions, it was necessary to inspect both Ho Cheon-an’s front and back cards. Ho Cheon-an was well aware of this fact, hence the ten-gold wager’s need for confirmation.

Then Ho Cheon-an’s cards were revealed.
“Fifteen. And thirty.”

“…The highest point.”

Cheong Seo’s face turned pale, while Hak Jo and Heukjeo squeezed their eyes shut, and the underground hall was engulfed in a heavy atmosphere.
Cheong Seo’s trickery had failed, and Ho Cheon-an’s recognition and use of the technique he employed were blatantly revealed.

The ruler of this game, Ho Cheon-an, spoke.
“To fill five hundred gold, we need to move swiftly, so let’s shuffle those cards.”

The veteran with ten years in the martial world and an outcast for eight years, Ho Cheon-an.
Master of all gambling techniques, capable of deceiving even the heavens’ scales.
In terms of gambling, no one could surpass him—the unrivaled master.
Thus, the Gambling God Ho Cheon-an began his earnest play.