The game between the two people involved betting on the outcome of the dice placed in a cup.
There were two dice inside the cup.
“Then I’ll go.”
Swish! Shishik!
Sak Hwi’s hand moved quickly.
Like the swift unsheathing of a sword, Sak Hwi’s hand shook vigorously five times from side to side.
Tack!
As if not wishing to give time for his opponent to perceive any changes, he immediately finished shaking the cup.
“Haha, what do you think? This is exactly the Martial Arts Gambling Technique.”
“…Hmm.”
Sak Hwi smiled confidently at Ho Cheon-an, who was looking at the cup with a flustered expression. Who would have experienced such speed in gambling before? Those who came to the underground gambling den for the first time all wore similar expressions.
‘Some gamblers say their hands are faster than their eyes, but even the eyes have their limits.’
To a skilled martial artist, the movements of gamblers looked as slow as a tortoise.
Those experts, who had only seen such gamblers on regular occasions, couldn’t comprehend the pace of gambling that truly matched their level.
“Four.”
Sak Hwi opened the cup to reveal the number.
The number inside the cup was six.
Ho Cheon-an silently took out one Military Currency from his pocket to pay.
“Then it’s my turn.”
The gaze of six people focused on the cup that Ho Cheon-an grasped. All six were interested in Ho Cheon-an’s gambling skills.
Even if one could roughly guess someone’s level, their gambling techniques were something entirely different until demonstrated on the table.
Tap!
Once the dice bounced, soon the cup in Ho Cheon-an’s hand began making a loud noise.
Tatata!
The eyes of the six watching Ho Cheon-an’s hand movements widened.
When dice collide with the cup or with each other, it naturally creates noise. In other words, the collision sounds were a signal indicating the dice changing numbers inside the cup.
The sound of dice hitting each other was unexpectedly loud, despite the furious movement of the cup.
Although one would typically have to shake the cup quite vigorously for such a noise, Ho Cheon-an’s shake was far from that level.
Tatatatatatatatatatatatat!!!
In fact, the more Ho Cheon-an shook the cup, the louder the noise from inside became.
It was almost as if the dice would break apart and collide with the remnants of the cup.
However, the ears of the six sharp-minded martial artists and gamblers rejected that doubt. It was impossible to produce such familiar collision sounds from shattered dice fragments.
Tack!
When Ho Cheon-an finished shaking the cup, the six remained silent.
To guess the number on the dice, one needed to infer the movement of the rolling dice inside the cup. There were two main clues: the movement of the cup and the sound of the dice colliding within it.
Yet, the technique Ho Cheon-an just showcased was completely incomprehensible.
The movement of the cup and the movement of the dice were entirely disjointed.
Sak Hwi, the one betting, as well as the other five, were completely unable to grasp the changes initiated by Ho Cheon-an.
It was truly a masterful play.
“…This person is no ordinary individual.”
One of the peak experts watching the match between Sak Hwi and Ho Cheon-an spoke, articulating everyone’s feelings.
“Ugh, six.”
Sak Hwi’s answer was incorrect, and he returned the Military Currency he had just used.
The duel between Ho Cheon-an and Sak Hwi continued.
Ho Cheon-an looked at the sword hanging from Sak Hwi’s waist with keen interest.
‘A swift sword technique, huh?’
Slightly thinner and longer than a regular long sword, its explosive acceleration of the hand was shown in an instant.
It was a gambling technique reflecting the cultivated martial arts.
‘Not the best compatibility.’
Ho Cheon-an evaluated Sak Hwi’s Martial Arts Gambling Technique that way.
Fast hands were undoubtedly important at a gambling table. But that speed needed to be accompanied by a crucial modifier.
A fast hand must also be accurate.
Explosive speed inevitably sacrifices precision.
‘Or maybe he’s employing techniques tailored to the type of gambling.’
There are various rules in cup dice gambling. A common one is that even if the opponent fails to guess the dice number, if you don’t know your own, you can’t take the money.
The current game structure was simply one where if the opponent guessed wrong, you immediately took the money, prompting such extreme measures.
Well, learning about it from here on out would be sufficient.
Ho Cheon-an made that judgment as he continued with the game.
As the game proceeded, more Military Currency piled up in front of Ho Cheon-an, and Sak Hwi’s expression hardened.
“Hmm, shall we change the game here?”
Sak Hwi said with a sigh, rubbing his forehead.
“Ugh, what a bad day! I’ll be out of this one!”
When Sak Hwi stood up, Ho Cheon-an looked around. The remaining four exchanged glances with others, then sat down at the table.
“Don’t let your guard down; Sak Hwi is the weakest among us.”
“Who’s the weakest? You punk!”
“I’m O Gyeong.”
“And I’m Ho Cheon-an.”
With the jumping Sak Hwi in the backdrop, the game changed.
Go Stop.
Ho Cheon-an shared the Go Stop cards with O Gyeong and thought.
‘He’s definitely on another level.’
The difference was clear between Sak Hwi, who threw cards just like he did with his quick swordplay, and O Gyeong, who showcased techniques that embodied secrecy and precision, which could be deemed as the principles of gambling.
‘Hmm…’
Ho Cheon-an lightly sighed as he looked at his hand. Based on how cards were dealt, he should have received 6 and 14, while his opponent should be holding 3 and another card.
Given the combination of 6 and 14 was a quite strong hand, Ho Cheon-an resolved that this was the moment to go on the offensive…
But the drawn card was a 7.
Ho Cheon-an looked at O Gyeong with curiosity. He felt the energy using internal strength as the game continued. However, even so, he couldn’t take his eyes away—was there no way he could perceive the changes in the cards being shuffled?
‘There seems to be more than meets the eye.’
Now, Ho Cheon-an felt as if he had finally joined the gambling table.
The flow seen on the surface was different from the undercurrents at play. Reading these undercurrents and twisting them to shape a favorable game was the essence of the gamblers’ duel.
O Gyeong was a skilled gambler.
“I’m done for.”
Feeling the shifting energy, Ho Cheon-an reluctantly gave up his slightly advantageous position.
However, after the game ended, O Gyeong’s hand displayed exactly what Ho Cheon-an had anticipated.
‘He merely manipulated the energy but didn’t actually employ any techniques.’
Ho Cheon-an nodded, reflecting. Although it was a den of crazies, he had made the right choice coming to this underground gambling den.
The Martial Arts Gambling Technique displayed by O Gyeong was profound.
Ho Cheon-an recognized and accepted that Martial Arts Gambling Technique was a new dimension of gambling.
He recalled the Martial Arts Gambling Technique that Wi Ji-cheon had showcased the previous day.
In fact, Wi Ji-cheon’s Martial Arts Gambling Technique was like a bomb;
To a martial artist, the movement of Qi was akin to wielding a weapon. With a blade flipping back and forth in front of them, could one possibly focus solely on the gambling table?
‘Yet in the end, I’ll get used to it.’
Regardless of how threatening Wi Ji-cheon’s movements with Qi were, they were merely illusions that couldn’t directly attack Ho Cheon-an.
If a blade suddenly flipped before one’s eyes, it would indeed surprise a person; yet once they understood that the blade could never harm them, they could begin to ignore it.
However, Ho Cheon-an felt a sense of danger emanating from the Martial Arts Gambling Technique displayed by Wi Ji-cheon.
The Martial Arts Gambling Technique was an area of gambling he had never before encountered.
The confrontation between the experts who have been excluded from the gambling table!
For Ho Cheon-an, who had reached great heights in gambling during Iryu’s era, this was an entirely unexplored territory.
He had believed he possessed absolute superiority over Wi Ji-cheon in every aspect, yet he now recognized there was an entirely vacant expanse to which he had never arrived.
Ho Cheon-an stared at O Gyeong before him.
Though he was looking at O Gyeong, his mind was filled with the inscrutable face of Wi Ji-cheon.
‘This truly is the real gamble, Heavenly Demon.’
Wi Ji-cheon’s gambling skills were growing rapidly. But no matter how fast he improved, could he secure victory in a gambling match against the already legendary Ho Cheon-an?
It was a challenge.
Yet such a Wi Ji-cheon had gained an area in which he could surpass Ho Cheon-an.
That was the Martial Arts Gambling Technique.
Ho Cheon-an sensed it in the match the day before.
An undiscovered domain of which neither Wi Ji-cheon nor Ho Cheon-an fully comprehended—the Martial Arts Gambling Technique.
This contest over the Martial Arts Gambling Technique would undoubtedly become the turning point in his gambling duel with Wi Ji-cheon.
As a martial artist renowned for his overwhelming level, the Heavenly Demon must blend typical gambling skills with the Martial Arts Gambling Technique.
In contrast, Ho Cheon-an, though still at peak, merely needs to dig deeper into the realm of Martial Arts Gambling Technique.
Five months later, which of Ho Cheon-an or Wi Ji-cheon would claim supremacy in the Martial Arts Gambling Technique?
How intricately would Wi Ji-cheon be able to wield the Martial Arts Gambling Technique, and could he imbibe the defensive skills to counter such sublime techniques?
It was a problem even the famed Ho Cheon-an could not easily predict.
“Draw your cards.”
With O Gyeong’s urging, Ho Cheon-an wiped Wi Ji-cheon’s image from his mind and turned his gaze back to the game.
“Now, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Ho Cheon-an, the renowned underground gambler.
And Wi Ji-cheon, the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
In their respective corners, the duel of their growth began.
