The scholar stared intently at the Sword Tiles with eyes that simply could not believe it.

"... Nonsense. Definitely... definitely... with a ninety-nine point three percent chance..."

Muttering something incomprehensible, the scholar began to rummage through the other Sword Tiles one by one.

I quickly sent a sound transmission to Ilmyeong.

- Dive at me.

- Huh?

- Do you not want the Vajra Rosary back?

- N-No!

Ilmyeong suddenly shouted with an excited face.

"B-Benefactor Jin! Amazing! You really won!"

The bald senior put on an awkward performance, diving in as if to hug me, and I grabbed his clothes and threw him onto the table.

"Tsk, why are you jumping at me so disgustingly?"

While I dusted off my hands.

The table broke, and the silver and gold coins placed on it tumbled and scattered all over the floor.

The gamblers watching from the surroundings slyly stuck out their feet, hiding the coins near their feet one by one.

Even though the money he had won was secretly disappearing, the scholar remained unable to move.

"I will be taking these back."

When I picked up the Vajra Rosary and the Black Dragon Sword that had fallen to the floor, the scholar finally raised his head.

"... Did you really break through those odds?"

"Well, as you can see."

"If so... you are truly a lucky person."

'Lucky, huh...'

'Well, if I were lucky, would I have ended up in the Minor Orthodox Unit?'

'Because the Minor Orthodox Unit was a place where only the unluckiest bastards in the White Wolf Pavilion went.'

'Not only that. I was so unlucky that whenever I drew a fortune without using sleight of hand, I kept getting the worst possible draw.'

"Well, I suppose you could say that."

'If making your own luck also counts as luck.'

'Yeah, I guess I am on the lucky side.'

I subtly shifted my gaze.

The gamblers who had surrounded us were slyly slipping away.

'Hmm, looks like everyone secured a solid share...'

'It seems the scholar was robbed of more than half the money he won. Is he okay with that?'

"How about you gather your money first?"

The scholar looked at the gold and silver coins scattered at his feet, then lightly kicked them away as if completely uninterested.

The observing gamblers now blatantly lit up their eyes and lunged like a pack of wolves.

The scholar stared blankly at the sight and said.

"These were not the things I wanted."

"..."

"Anyway, it was fun. I thought my fortune was the best. To think someone with a better fortune than me would appear..."

The scholar looked at me with a complex and subtle gaze.

"It seems there is a reason the name Black Flame Dragon echoes across the world."

Puzzled, I asked him.

"I turned it around with one game, but considering the overall win rate, yours is still higher, so I don't think you need to be discouraged."

The scholar shook his head.

"If you fail to win at the decisive moment, winning countless games is meaningless. Just like today's match..."

The scholar, whose face had briefly shadowed over, soon formed a highly favorable smile and clasped his fist.

"Come to think of it, I have not introduced myself. I am Gun Yuhyeon of the Cheongwan Sect."

"I am Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect."

"If fate connects us again, I hope we can enjoy another match."

'Given that he participated in the Underworld Alliance's founding ceremony, he must definitely be an Underworld figure, yet he truly did not feel like someone who fit in with the Underworld.'

"Oh, right, and do you know this?"

"... Huh?"

"Regarding the Five Heavenly Kings hand. In fortune-telling, it signifies great luck, but..."

STEP-

He firmly stepped on the fallen tile with the tip of his foot, then smiled brightly.

"At the complete opposite end, it also signifies the annihilation of all things. Is it not truly contradictory?"

After saying that, Gun Yuhyeon turned and walked away.

'Hah. That guy.'

"Seeing that cheeky tone of his, he's definitely an Underworld figure."

'After all, there's no way a normal person would willingly throw themselves into the Underworld Murim.'

* * *

On the way back to our quarters.

I continuously rummaged through my mind, searching for information on Gun Yuhyeon.

'A person with extraordinary talent who also understands himself very well.'

'Furthermore, that attitude in front of money.'

'He's no ordinary guy.'

But even after shaking out the library in my head, there was no data on him.

Moreover, the Cheongwan Sect was a sect I had never heard of before.

"Senior Ilmyeong, have you ever heard of a sect called the Cheongwan Sect?"

When I turned my head, I locked eyes with Ilmyeong, who was smiling foolishly while rubbing the Vajra Rosary against his cheek.

"..."

'What is that, a puppy?'

Ilmyeong, perhaps feeling awkward himself, let out a couple of dry coughs.

"Ahem... Well. With this humble monk's limited knowledge, I do not know."

"... Is that so?"

"After the Underworld Night March incident, many Underworld sects that had been holding their breath emerged. It must be one of those sects."

"Hmm..."

'The size of the Underworld Murim has definitely grown larger than in my past life.'

'In terms of history changing, it's a welcome thing, but regardless, the number of bad guys is increasing, so I wonder if I should truly consider this good...'

"More importantly, Benefactor Jin..."

At Ilmyeong's call, I looked at him again.

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"In the last game."

"Huh?"

Ilmyeong let out a small sigh.

"Benefactor Jin, it is shameful, but this humble monk also knows the rules of Sword Tiles. The final match was definitively Benefactor Gun's victory."

"I guess I was just luckier than him."

"With barely... a zero point seven percent chance?"

"Anyway, there is no such thing as a one hundred percent victory, is there?"

Ilmyeong let out a long sigh this time, as if feeling frustrated.

"If so, then Benefactor Jin possesses luck that transcends mortal standards."

Come to think of it, the things in my sleeve were bothersome, so I pulled them out.

"Ehh?"

Ilmyeong's expression changed comically.

"Benefactor Jin, aren't those... Sword Tiles?"

I shrugged, feigning ignorance.

"Ah, come to think of it, these somehow ended up in my sleeve at some point."

"Excuse me???"

Ilmyeong tilted his head as if he couldn't understand.

I explained the situation from back then as if it were no big deal.

"When I got hit by the guy next to me. After I got up and sat back in my seat, my sleeve felt heavy. Truly lucky, wasn't it?"

"Then... did you commit gambling fraud?"

"Eyy! What do you mean fraud? I said I was lucky."

'Why is this person making false accusations?'

'I was just lucky, I'm telling you.'

'Sure, it was luck I manufactured myself, but anyway, luck is luck, isn't it?'

At that moment, Tang Seo-hee's sigh could be heard from the side.

"You were the truly terrifying one? I can trust no one anymore."

'Eyy, seriously, these people. It really was luck, you know?'

* * *

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

Tang Seo-hee, perhaps quite shocked by what she experienced on the first day, no longer went out to do anything. Ilmyeong also began facing a wall, claiming his asceticism was lacking instead of spreading the teachings.

'Does he really want to face a wall when Ak Byeongbi is right next to him, drinking alcohol day and night whenever he's awake?'

"You bastard... Hic. You're definitely a s-spy... Hic. ... Yeah."

And Ak Byeongbi interrogated me the entire time he was drunk.

It was a non-compulsory interrogation and utterly ridiculous, but hearing the same words for three whole days was driving me insane.

"Hic, hic... Definitely a spy... Hic. A spy... Hic."

'Did that human join the Inspection Pavilion because he's persistent? Or did he become persistent because he joined the Inspection Pavilion?'

Leaving Ak Byeongbi behind, I too sat next to Ilmyeong, facing the wall, and began researching the martial art I obtained from the gambler.

The sect's secret art passed down by the gambler pursued only one single thing.

Cunning.

It was astonishing that martial arts had been developed this way just to deceive opponents.

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

Beautiful Deceit Divine Art.

'Seriously, it's ridiculous no matter how I think about it. Beautiful scam?'

'Unless you were crazy, you wouldn't attach such a name.'

Regardless, I slowly recalled the Beautiful Deceit Divine Art I had inherited.

'This is the First Form. One Bean Deceiving the Eye.'

A bean-sized energy materialized in my hand.

The energy spread into red, changed to green, and finally turned black.

It was the technique the gambler used when he made the bean appear and disappear.

'The Second Form. Deceitful Go Stones Under the Pine.'

Two Go stone-sized energies appeared and swapped colors with each other.

'It seems he mostly used this when playing fraudulent games of Go against high-ranking officials. The gambler even gave me the advice(?) to be careful, as he almost got his wrist cut off while using this.'

'The Third Form. Flower Field Under the Moon.'

The Go stone-sized energies scattered and vanished without a trace.

Right then.

"Ahem... why are my eyes so stiff?"

Suddenly, Ilmyeong broke his wall-facing meditation beside me and rubbed his eyes.

His eyes had grown stiff due to the influence of the Third Form, Flower Field Under the Moon.

'Haa...'

Casting the martial art, I stopped my movements out of a deep sense of shame.

'Anyway, what I needed was to figure out the principle of infusing color into this bean.'

'Just like how Hyeoltu projected his voice, and how the gambler infused color.'

'I thought that if I could infuse my will into it, I might be able to execute the Void Destruction Fist.'

The color of the bean definitively changed at will within my hand. It was fascinating how the energy's color transformed into various hues the moment I envisioned it.

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

No matter how much I tried to change the color, it refused to change at all and simply disappeared instead.

The Beautiful Deceit Divine Art that the gambler was so reluctant to pass down was not the clue to the Void Destruction Fist after all.

"It's difficult."

"... What is so difficult?"

"Huh?"

Ilmyeong, who had been rubbing his eyes, pressed his palms together at me.

"One's own energy and the energy of nature are not incompatible with each other. Acknowledging the fact that the two are not different energies is the beginning."

"Are there teachings regarding this in Buddhism?"

"It is not exactly the same, but there is something similar. Namely... the Hundred Steps Divine Fist."

"Ah!"

'The Hundred Steps Divine Fist, which suppresses the opponent in all directions from a hundred steps away.'

'Doesn't the Hundred Steps Divine Fist also transform internal energy separated from oneself?'

'In a way, it is the form most similar to the Void Destruction Fist.'

Ilmyeong's explanation continued.

"The first step of the Hundred Steps Divine Fist is to merge one's own energy with the energy of nature."

"I know it in theory."

"Of course you do. However, knowing in theory and actually feeling it are different. Only when you truly feel the energy of nature piercing through your body can you genuinely say you know it."

At the explanation containing the core essence, I tilted my head.

"But, isn't this a secret art of the Shaolin Sect? Is it okay for you to just teach it to me like this?"

Ilmyeong, whose eyes had turned bloodshot, smiled gently.

"Consider it the price for recovering the Vajra Rosary."

"Hmm... Then I will accept it without burden."

'There's no reason to put on airs when he's offering to teach me. And it's true that I found the treasure for him, isn't it?'

"By any chance, what must I do to allow the energy of nature to pierce through?"

"It is not very difficult. After facing a wall for a hundred days and nights, purging all internal fire with only water and salt..."

'What kind of terrifying thing is he saying with such a nonchalant expression...'

"Wait, wait! Please tell me a training method a human can actually do."

On the contrary, Ilmyeong asked back with a bewildered expression.

"Isn't it something anyone can do?"

'No, do they not teach common sense at the Shaolin Sect?'

* * *

The eve of the founding ceremony continued for a week, and now the interior of the Underworld Alliance formed a sea of people, as if all the Underworld figures in the world had truly flocked here.

On our fifth day—that is, the fourth day of my interrogation, right before I was about to go crazy—we finally received a summons from the Leader of the Underworld Alliance.

On the way to the Leader's office.

Inside the Underworld Alliance, three times as many Underworld figures as the day we arrived were swarming about, drinking alcohol and gambling.

Looking at the Underworld figures with eyes bloodshot from alcohol poisoning, Ak Byeongbi muttered quietly.

"All the scum of the world have gathered."

'You fool, you came here to sign an agreement.'

'What do you really expect to accomplish with that attitude?'

Ilmyeong spoke to Ak Byeongbi.

"Still, if this agreement is not reached, blood will flow in Jianghu."

"It is humiliating, but it cannot be helped."

Still, Ak Byeongbi, seemingly knowing what was important, adjusted his official hat and began walking again.

Our delegation party trailed closely behind him.

The place we entered, guided by a servant, was a massive grand hall.

Looking at the center, the current leader, Cha Seokdu, was sitting on an iron throne, and lining both sides of the grand hall were the notorious villains of the Underworld Murim.

I subtly glanced at Ak Byeongbi.

'His body must be itching with the desire to arrest them.'

For Ak Byeongbi, it was truly a situation where all his prey were gathered in one place.

However, perhaps possessing a sense of responsibility for coming as the head of the delegation, he didn't change his expression in the slightest.

"I am Ak Byeongbi, head of the Murim Alliance delegation. I pray for the boundless development of the Underworld Alliance."

"Welcome. It must not have been an easy journey. Thank you for coming. Were your accommodations not uncomfortable?"

"They were slightly uncomfortable, but bearable."

"..."

At Ak Byeongbi's prickly words, Ilmyeong and I let out small sighs.

However, the Leader was not easy to deal with either.

"Hmm... That could be. Do hypocrites not care a lot about useless formalities? It must be natural that a place gathered with such honest people feels uncomfortable."

"... I am enduring it."

A fierce verbal spar went back and forth between the two for a moment, and Ak Byeongbi looked at Ilmyeong.

Then, Ilmyeong extended the scroll he held in both hands forward.

"This is a congratulatory message sent by Strategist Zhuge, the Chief Strategist of the world's number one Murim Alliance."

Cha Seokdu stroked his chin and spoke.

"Those words are now incorrect. Because the Underworld Alliance, the world's number one alliance, has been formed."

"That is something we will have to wait and see."

The surroundings fell instantly silent due to the fierce battle of spirits.

A brief silence flowed.

The Leader nodded once.

"Anyway, since a congratulatory message was sent, I shall read it."

The scroll that was in Ilmyeong's hands was passed through a servant's hands to Cha Seokdu.

While Cha Seokdu unrolled the scroll and read its contents.

I subtly raised my head and observed the faces inside.

'The Black Death Gang, Nine Dragons Gang, Blood Tiger Sect, Four Dragons Sect, Demonic Blade Sect, Blood Sword Sect, Hwangsa Sect...'

All of the Five Sects, Two Gangs, and One Peak, often referred to as the premier forces of the Underworld Murim, were present.

Following that, I examined Hwang Bushik standing to Cha Seokdu's left, and the man standing to his right.

'That person is...?'

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

'His sharp impression was so striking that I could recall him immediately.'

'Hidden Dragon Dam-ak! Why is that person here?'

Dam-ak was the Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist in my past life.

'A genius of military tactics who spearheaded the Orthodox-Demonic Great War after Zhuge Somyeong was assassinated!'

'I thought the location where the Underworld Alliance was situated and the layout of its buildings were extraordinary.'

'It all came from that person's mind.'

'What the hell is going on?'

Meanwhile, Cha Seokdu, having finished reading the scroll, let out a long groan.

"Hmm, you've brought quite a difficult proposition."

Then, without delay, he turned to look at Dam-ak.

"Chief Strategist, will you take a look?"

Dam-ak, who had been glaring at us with a sharp gaze as if trying to pierce through us, bowed his head slightly and accepted the scroll.

After reading it in an instant, he spoke firmly.

"This proposition is not even worth a single consideration. An alliance and an agreement..."

At the word 'agreement' uttered by Dam-ak, the heads of each sect began to whisper among themselves.

Some welcomed it, while others threw sneers.

After a brief commotion passed, Cha Seokdu looked at us and spoke.

"Is that so? I think it is a matter somewhat worth considering, you see?"

Dam-ak shook his head and retorted.

"How much oppression have the Underworld figures suffered from the Murim Alliance until now? Reaching out a hand now is nothing more than an act to evade responsibility for their past faults and temporarily tide over their own danger."

"Is that so?"

"Furthermore, look at the background of the person they sent as the head of the delegation. Unless they were trying to mock the Underworld Alliance, how could they send the notorious Third Hall Leader of the Inspection Pavilion?"

"Hmm..."

Cha Seokdu, who had been nodding at Dam-ak's words, looked at us once again and said.

"Anyway, our Chief Strategist says so. It is a pity, but we cannot form an alliance."

'To be fair, from the perspective of Cha Seokdu, who just became the leader of the Underworld Alliance, he couldn't just suddenly accept an agreement or alliance.'

'However, looking at the words he had spoken just now, I could strongly feel his intention that he was more than willing to accept it as long as he had a justification.'

'Hmm, if I can just shatter the premise Dam-ak mentioned and make a decent proposal, even if it doesn't lead to an alliance, we could definitely form a peace agreement...'

"I see. Then it cannot be helped."

'Huh? What did he just say?'

At Ak Byeongbi's words trying to end the conversation right then and there, I looked at him with an appalled feeling.

'Is this human still not sober?'