episode_0358

*** ***

Oh Kyung thought as he looked at Ho Cheon-an holding the goal plaque.

‘Time flies.’

It seems like only yesterday that Ho Cheon-an first appeared in an underground gambling hall and was astonished by the technology he displayed, but five months have already passed.

Five months.

It was enough time for Ho Cheon-an, who knew nothing about martial arts gambling, to become a loser in an underground gambling hall.

Ogyeong looked at the bundle of bone cards.

In bone tile gambling, the side that knows which tile is in what position in the stack of tiles has an overwhelming advantage. Therefore, as the level of goal betting increases, mixing the cards becomes more important than drawing cards and placing bets.

Oh Kyung looked at the bundle of bone chips that Ho Cheon-an had mixed up and smiled bitterly inwardly.

‘It’s been a while since you’ve had the upper hand on me, even on the goal board.’

Among the thirty-two bundles of cards, there were only a few that Ogyeong could clearly understand.

On the other hand, what about Hocheonan?

Oh Kyung expected that Ho Cheon-an had figured out at least half of the composition of the bone pack.

It was a situation where they were being pushed back overwhelmingly, but Oh-gyeong was steadily holding on, giving up little by little and shaking up the game.

In gambling, luck is bound to come your way someday.

And Oh-kyung, who shuffled the cards and checked who won first, felt that the luck had come.

“I’ll bet you 10 pieces.”

At the end of one round, the four cards had no choice but to be completely revealed. Goal cards are when you show your cards to your opponent and compare scores.

The fortunes of those four cards and the cards that Ogyeong knew finally matched.

The first loss, whose identity was unknown, was 12. And the subsequent loss that followed was 24.

On the other hand, the number that Ho Cheon-an holds in his hand is 17, and the number he will draw is probably 30.

‘Even if it’s not 30, the number will be 32 in the late 20s.’

There is no particular combination of 17 in genealogy, but if it is a number in the 30th range and 17, it is enough to chew up and swallow a considerable number of genealogies.

‘I know my first loss is 12, so it must be tempting. If it’s not 24, there are only a few cases where you can win even if you apply all the unknown cards.’

Even if Hocheonan felt ominous, it was food that he had no choice but to bite.

Some say that gambling is based on intuition, but intuition is nothing more than a material for choosing one side when the probabilities are similar. It was not the proper attitude of a gambler to filter out options that had ample evidence and had a high probability just because they did not have a good feel.

‘You would never make that judgment.’

“Received.”

Ho Cheon-an’s mouth opened as if responding to the five-year-old’s assurance.

All the expert gamblers who were watching the two people held their breath and waited for the results.

Two people each picked up a tile.

It was Ho Cheon-an who revealed his hand first.

17 and 30.

Oh Kyung breathed a sigh of relief when Ho Cheon-an’s card came out as expected.

Then, looking at Ho Cheon-an’s facial expression, his face hardened.

Ho Cheon-an is looking at the board without any wavering.

Oh Kyung’s hand shook slightly as if he was confident of his victory.

‘no way…’

Wu-gyeong denied his assumption and slowly moved his hand to pull out the diaphragm.

If there is a misconception among non-gamblers, it is that they believe that gambling technology allows them to freely change their hands.

However, that was only possible when the skill gap with the opponent was overwhelming.

He can stand on his head and fight against a subordinate who is no match for him, but how can he fight on his own when dealing with Dong-su?

The sleight of hand at the gambling table was the same.

There was clearly an area of the hand that could be changed by deceiving the opponent, and the latter card to be drawn was clearly a goal card that was outside that area.

Oh Kyung thought as he turned over the card.

‘If this hand is not 24….’

Four rounds ago, I was caught as Ho Cheon-an’s hand of 24. If this hand was not 24, I could only say that I had completely missed Ho Cheon-an’s technique.

Not once, but at least two or three times.

Or more.

widely!

The card was turned over and placed on the floor, and Oh Kyung sighed lightly.

Because the number of goals revealed was 1.

Looking at those numbers, Wu Qing had no choice but to admit that he was no longer a match for Hu Cheonan.

“…I lost. Now you’re better than me.”

“Good job.”

Watching Ho Cheon-an calmly go undefeated, the onlookers let out a light exclamation.

Five extreme gamblers, each with a distinct specialty.

Over the past five months, Ho Cheon-an has been gambling against five extreme experts.

Ho Cheon-an chose gambling, which is the main sport of the masters of the underground gambling hall, and defeated them one by one.

By defeating Wu Qing today, Ho Cheon-an achieved a landslide victory over five gamblers.

“Ssi-eup, in the end, even the Five Classics of the corrugated plate are broken…”

“I have no choice but to admit that you are the best among the best.”

Ho Cheon-an looked around at the masters of the underground gambling hall, who were each expressing their impressions, and slightly lowered his head.

“I have been very indebted to you so far.”

“Um.”

The experts at the underground gambling hall felt that Ho Cheon-an would no longer come to the gambling hall after seeing his attitude.

“It’s unfortunate. However, I have a rough guess of the situation…”

The experts at the underground gambling hall also guessed that Ho Cheon-an and Wi Ji-cheon were competing.

This was because, like Jeon-ip, they were also summoned to Cheonmajeon by Wi Ji-cheon and Wi Seo-ryeon.

“I can’t cheer you on, but I wish you a good match.”

When they heard that the Heavenly Demon and the Hocheonan were coming together, the five people who were members of the Demonic Cult had complicated feelings.

Looking at the five people with ambiguous expressions, Ho Cheon-an chuckled and stood up.

“Have a good time. Thank you so much.”

“Yes. I’ll see you again someday.”

“Goodbye.”

Ho Cheon-an exchanged fists with five people and left the underground gambling hall.

Sakhwi, who was staring at the place where Ho Cheon-an disappeared, opened his mouth.

“Who will win?”

“Umm…”

It was a difficult question.

“The master of Shingyo has now mastered martial arts gambling, so his chances of winning are probably high.”

“Hmm. I think so too. It won’t be an easy fight if it’s just our skills, but you’ve definitely perfected your own skills. I think that technique has a chance of winning.”

On the other hand, there were some who predicted Hocheonan’s chances of winning.

“I think it’s still too early. You will certainly demonstrate advanced martial arts gambling skills, but don’t both martial arts and gambling techniques require practical experience?”

“I also think that Hocheonan will have the upper hand. The Supreme’s gambling skills are now flawless…but if you think about Hocheonan’s gambling skills…”

Looking at the gamblers in the underground gambling hall bickering, Oh Kyung retrieved his empty pocket.

“Then why not make a bet between us?”

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Oh-kyung. They looked at each other for a moment and then nodded.

“Good! I bet ten on Ho Cheon-an!”

“I’ll bet on the Most High!”

“Hehe, you’re going to wake up tomorrow and be bitter!”

“You, make sure you take care of your flight tomorrow!”

Those who regretted parting ways with Ho Cheon-an.

Oh-gyeong shook off his regrets and smiled, looking at the gamblers in the underground gambling hall who were noisy and excited as always.

“Now, I will bet on the Most High!”

“This person! I was holding a grudge because I lost to Ho Cheon-an!”

The 158th day of Hocheonan and Wijicheon’s gambling expedition.

It was the night two days before the final match.

*** ***

“Did Hocheon-an visit the underground gambling hall again today?”

“That’s right.”

Wei Seo-ryeon held out the goal card and said.

“You do your best until the end. So, what are your achievements?”

The black cat sighed instead of answering.

Although he collected all of the ten secret levels that Ho Cheon-an had pointed out, he did not actually make much progress while learning the secret levels.

“grunt.”

Wei Seo-ryeon chuckled as the black cat, which had lost helplessly in a gamble, let out a groan, showing that it was in a bad state of mind.

The black cat, annoyed by that laugh, glanced at Wei Seo-ryeon and said.

“Is tomorrow the day of sparring between Socheonma and your senior?”

“Yes.”

“The day after tomorrow is a very important day, so I think it would be better to give my senior a break~”

Wei Seo-ryeon looked at the distressed black cat.

The pleasure that gambling brings is also a pleasure, but unlike Wi Ji-cheon, Wei Seo-ryeon still had a long way to go up the mountain of martial arts.

“Let me take care of it.”

“Heung!”

Wei Seo-ryeon smiled and comforted the black cat before going to bed.

Unlike the intense early morning training, Wi Seo-ryeon is lightly relaxed and waiting for the spectator, Black Cat, and his non-music partner, Ho Cheon-an, in the training hall.

“Did you come?”

“You were waiting.”

Wei Shulian looked at Hu Tianan in silence.

In the matches that continued every week, Hocheonan lost entirely.

After meeting Cheonma Bigo, Ho Cheon-an became explosively stronger like a fish in water, but that did not allow him to develop to the point where he could surpass Wei Seo-ryeon’s capabilities.

Wei Seolyeon knew the reason well.

‘Ironically, it’s probably because you changed my daily life.’

I spent three months working with Wei Seo-ryeon.

Since then, Wi Ji-cheon completely extracted the brain essence and the six-month gambling match began. It has already been nine months since he came to the Demonic Cult.

For nine months, Wiseoryeon developed without interruption.

Although there were no achievements that could be considered great, the life of Demonicism and the internal satisfaction that changed with the appearance of Ho Cheon-an were enough to lead to the development of Wiseoryeon.

Six months ago, the match against Wi Ji-cheon began.

From around that time, Hocheonan’s explosive growth began to slow down… Since then, the gap between the two has widened, not narrowed.

Still, Wei Seo-ryeon did not feel disappointed or disappointed with Ho Cheon-an.

It wasn’t simply because it taught me about the world of gambling.

This was because Ho Cheon-an did not neglect his promise to himself.

After engaging in daily gambling matches with Wei Ji-cheon, Hu Cheon-an’s situation gradually became more and more pressed for time.

He had to gamble with his wife, and every night he practiced his gambling skills in the underground gambling hall.

Nevertheless, Ho Cheon-an continued to visit Cheonma Bigo, sought ways to improve his skills, and trained based on those methods.

Even though his growth rate was greatly reduced due to Cheonma Bigo and he had the excuse of competing with Wei Ji-cheon, Ho Cheon-an faithfully participated in his teamwork with Wei Seo-ryeon.

Wei Seo-ryeon smiled as she watched Hu Cheon-an’s flag-raising ceremony. Official matches took place once a week, but over the course of nine months, there were many times when we lightly mixed hands, so the actual number of matches was much higher than that.

Wi Seo-ryeon, who understands everything about Hocheonan based on her rich experience in Daejeon.

Because it was such a strange thing, the moment Hocheonan took the lead, I could immediately feel that Hocheonan had grown a little more compared to last week.

‘You worked hard for your promise to me this week too.’

Even though the last gambling match at stake is tomorrow, Ho Cheon-an never neglected martial arts.

Realizing that fact, Wei Seo-ryeon took a step back.

“…?”

Ho Cheon-an’s face, who had accepted Wei Seo-ryeon’s gaze as the beginning of a fight, turned into bewilderment. Wei Seo-ryeon, who burst out laughing at the sight, looked back and said.

“ was done.”

Ho Cheon-an, who knew full well that Wei Seo-ryeon was waiting for this time every week, opened his mouth.

“Um, do you mind?”

“Even though you were almost kidnapped and invited to the Demonic Cult, you faithfully worked hard to keep your promise to me every week. My wife also wanted to express her gratitude to you through consideration at least once on an important day.”

“Um.”

“Wouldn’t it be more fun to have a fight with you after obtaining the Thunderbolt? I will consider it an investment for him.”

Ho Cheon-an nodded his head and expressed his gratitude to the indirect encouragement to defeat Wi Ji-cheon.

“Try to rest well today so that you can prepare for tomorrow’s game in perfect condition.”

Wei Seo-ryeon, who smiled slightly as she looked at the black cat with an uneasy expression, probably not expecting her to give in, left the training ground without saying a word.

“…I received consideration.”

“Because tomorrow’s game is that important.”

Ho Cheon-an scratches the bridge of his nose, feeling quite awkward about receiving consideration from Wi Seo-ryeon. Looking at Hocheonan like that, the black cat chuckled.

“As Socheonma said, let’s prepare today for tomorrow’s match. Today, I will also be on standby for my senior, so let me know if you need any help.”

“Thank you.”

“What, once again. Just tell Socheonma earlier.”

The black cat, who lightly struck the tiger’s eye, gently waved his hand and returned to his quarters.

Black cat and Wiseo-ryeon.

Ho Cheon-an, who was completely alone thanks to the consideration of the two people, was in his room, enjoying breakfast and resting to improve his physical condition to the best of his ability. Ho Cheon-an recalled his gambling match with Wi Ji-cheon.

‘Except for everyday gambling, there are four times that can truly be considered a game.’

About once a month, Wi Ji-cheon would challenge Ho Cheon-an to a real gambling match.

Ji-Cheon Wi, who added his own skills to martial arts gambling based on the skills he learned from gamblers in underground gambling halls.

Each time, Ho Cheon-an achieved a narrow victory.

Ho Cheon-an, recalling the four matches, shook his head with a tired look on his face.

‘If Wijicheon wasn’t Cheonma, it wouldn’t have been surprising if everyone had lost.’

The only targets with which Heavenly Demon Wi Ji-cheon could truly determine the winner were Wei Seo-ryeon and Ho Cheon-an. Even if they were gamblers who received orders from the Most High, they could not truly compete with the Heavenly Demon, the object of their faith.

Technology is something that is perfected by chipping away at things and adding them little by little while accumulating various practical experiences.

Wi Ji-cheon had devised techniques that could give Ho Cheon-an a chance of victory, but those techniques were bound to have gaps due to the lack of actual combat, so Ho Cheon-an managed to win by squeezing in those gaps.

But will there be such loopholes in this match as well?

Ho Cheon-an didn’t think so.

A real sword battle that lasted every month.

It has already been two months since the fourth real sword battle took place.

Wi Ji-cheon prepared for the match by hiding himself for two months. Just how sharp will the techniques that Wi Ji-cheon developed over the past two months be?

“Well, if I made you this happy, wouldn’t it be okay to just give it to me?”

Ho Cheon-an grumbled, remembering Wi Ji-cheon, who still had no way of knowing his true intentions. The improvement in my relationship with my daughter had a dramatic effect, and I had fun with my new hobby for six months, and it was more than worth the damage, but I can’t believe I’m trying to get rid of this until the end.

“Ugh, if I have to peel it, I should peel it.”

Ho Cheon-an grumbled and lay down on the bed and covered himself with the blanket. It was a few hours earlier than my usual sleeping time, but on days like this, I really needed to sleep well.

The final match between Wi Ji-cheon and Ho Cheon-an.

It was the night before.