The World's Greatest Troublemaker

Chapter 124

"Ugh!"

The opponent's urgent scream. But the opponent also quickly pulled back his sword and ducked his head to avoid Won Gagyeol's sword. And then he pulled his sword up from below.

'The opportunity is when the opponent counterattacks. Don't retreat, stick to them.'

Won Gagyeol used the force of swinging his sword to slightly move to the left and rotate his body. His body naturally moved to the left front.

'You can't attack the entire range. So if you just know the time and place, you can dodge it anytime.'

Won Gagyeol confirmed the meaning of those words. It wasn't a very big movement. That was enough. He was able to slightly deviate from the trajectory of the opponent's sword that was coming up from below.

Thwack.

Won Gagyeol's sword was placed on the shoulder of the opponent who was holding his sword high. The opponent's dazed pupils.

"Won Gagyeol wins!"

The referee declared that the match was over.

"Haaah..."

Won Gagyeol let out a big breath and sheathed his sword. The tip of the sword touched the ground with a thud. He didn't even have the strength to hold the sword properly. But it didn't matter. Because the match was over.

"Ugh!!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd. It was the sound made by the Zhongnan Sect colleagues. From here and there, they sent applause to Won Gagyeol. There were also people who gave him a thumbs-up.

"So this is what it feels like to win."

Won Gagyeol went down from the stage. He just wanted to rest quickly. But his colleagues didn't leave him alone. They rushed over, grabbed him, hugged him, and made all sorts of fuss. He could hear the sound of people shouting Won Gagyeol's name from all sides. To be honest, it felt good.

'It's good to be in the cheers of people like this.'

Won Gagyeol thought that. Even though he was about to collapse from lack of strength, a smile naturally formed on his lips.

* * *

The Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly's Western Academy preliminaries was a tournament with a series of upsets. Thanks to that, there was a place that was incredibly lively. It was the gambling house.

"It's a scam. A scam!"

"Does this make any sense?"

There were people who were protesting or getting angry violently. There was also a person who shouted that the match was fixed and demanded his money back. But it was just an empty shout.

What can you do? Your own choice was wrong. The money that someone won at the gambling house is the money that someone else lost.

"Heh. To think there's a place like this..."

Daoist Master Chongun clicked his tongue at the sight he was seeing for the first time in his life. It was because the heat here was too hot, and the scale was too large. But more than that, it was because he couldn't believe that such a gambling house was openly near the tournament venue.

"Well, this friend doesn't know how the world works."

Mugwang clicked his tongue.

"This is also one of the Huashan Sect's sources of income."

That's why there could be such a gambling house at the place where the tournament was held. Chongun sighed.

"I've heard of it, but seeing it in person feels strange."

"If you're so surprised by this, you'll faint when you see something more."

Power is bound to corrupt. The prestigious righteous sects that form the backbone of the Murim Alliance were no exception. This gambling house was not something to be made an issue of. Because they were doing things that were much worse than that.

"By the way, where is this friend?"

Mugwang looked for Dogwang, one of the Three Freaks. The reason Mugwang had come to the gambling house was to meet his old friend Dogwang. And it was also to show Chongun that there was a place like this.

Daoist Master Chongun had been in Chang'an and had become an observer of the Western Academy preliminaries. Since Huashan was very close to Chang'an. So rather than sending someone from afar, they had entrusted that mission to Daoist Master Chongun.

"But why can't I see anyone who has won?"

"Shouting that you've won is only when you're playing something like dominoes."

In a gambling game where you sit down, since you win and lose, there are sometimes people who cheer or shout when they win. But in a gambling game where you predict the outcome like this, you don't.

"Is there a reason to spread the rumor that you have money?"

It's a rough world. If you say you have money, you don't know what will happen to you. So the person who has lost shouts and makes a fuss like that, but the person who has won quietly takes the money and leaves. In a gambling house, what's more important than winning money is to go to a safe place with the money.

Mugwang was telling such a story and then found Dogwang.

"Hehehe. What a windfall."

Dogwang was incredibly excited as he took the money. It was because he had bet on the Zhongnan Sect disciples and had made a pretty good profit. Seeing that, Mugwang stood on his tiptoes and cautiously approached. When he arrived right behind Dogwang.

"Hey. Does a bear not make a sound when it walks softly?"

"You knew?"

"I'm always careful in a gambling house."

A gambling house is a place where you can go to your grave if you're careless for a moment.

"By the way, why did you want to see me?"

"I just wanted to see your face after a long time."

"It's not a face worth seeing, so what's there to see?"

Dogwang said with an indifferent expression. But Mugwang laughed heartily and said.

"This tournament. Isn't it really fun?"

"Of course. It's the best among the tournaments I've seen."

Dogwang's expression brightened up.

"Today's Gwak Wol match was a jackpot. I'm telling you, most people bet on the other side."

Both Gwak Wol and Deungroe had won. Thanks to that, Dogwang had won a lot of money.

"The problem is tomorrow. Tomorrow's duel between Gwak Wol of Zhongnan and Gyojin of Huashan!"

There are a considerable number of first-generation disciples who came out in the individual competition from the Huashan Sect. But if you were to pick the strongest, you would pick two. Gyojin and Guyeohae. The two were the ones who were competing for the top spot among the first-generation disciples.

"Guyeohae is one thing, but they say Gyojin can even aim for the championship."

"Nonsense. With their skills, what championship? In my opinion, they're not at the championship level. At best, the round of 8?"

At Mugwang's words, Dogwang also nodded.

"Well, that's what they say. Anyway, everyone knows they're considerable masters."

They are martial artists whose skills have been proven over time. So in this tournament, probably the biggest difference in bets was placed. Of course, the Gyojin side was overwhelmingly more.

"Where did you bet?"

"Of course, I bet on Gwak Wol. Hehehe."

Dogwang clenched his two fists and trembled.

"Just thinking about watching tomorrow is really thrilling. It's going to be amazing. Besides, I heard that the two matches tomorrow will be held at the main stadium."

Not all stadiums are the same size. There were also two main stadiums that were made so that many spectators could gather. The matches where many spectators gathered were held at the main stadium, and the match between Gwak Wol and Gyojin was a bit of an exception.

"I see. Huashan is trying to show their power."

"I guess so. So I'm hoping Gwak Wol wins."

Mugwang and Dogwang were people who were constitutionally incompatible with large sects. Besides, since the so-called prestigious righteous sects were doing dirty things, they had come to despise them even more.

"By the way, I heard there's something strange about the match-up table this time."

"The match-up table? What do you mean by that?"

Chongun approached and asked. What he was doing was to see if there was any problem with the tournament. A problem with the match-up table. That was something that Daoist Master Chongun couldn't just let go.

"When a lot of people gather, there are all sorts of people, right? But there's a person who has been writing down the records of the participants one by one since the first day of this year."

But the match-up table he had predicted was very different. In fact, since the principle of making the match-up table is fixed, it's not difficult to predict the match-up table if you just know all the records. But it was said that it was completely different.

Dogwang was also on familiar terms with Daoist Master Chongun through Mugwang's introduction. With the very simple logic of 'a friend of a friend is a friend', Dogwang spoke comfortably to Chongun. Daoist Master Chongun, due to his personality, couldn't do that.

"Is that so? But who is the person who recorded that?"

"They say it's Manbakja."

Daoist Master Chongun thought he had to investigate it once.

* * *

"Let go of me. What did you say?"

Baek Seokhu shouted with his eyes turned upside down. A disciple of Huashan was trying to stop him, but his momentum was too fierce.

"Let's sit down for now."

Taeseokgwan also had nothing to say. He had said that the disciples of Zhongnan would not last long. But the disciples of Zhongnan had survived on the day he had predicted.

"Phew... Alright. Let's talk. Lady Jang, please sit here too."

Lady Jang's expression was also not good. Even though she had prepared all the money, the result was like this, so who wouldn't be angry?

"For now, you know about Gwak Wol. She's having a duel with Gyojin today."

Even though Taeseokgwan spoke, the two showed no reaction. It means their trust had hit rock bottom.

"You know that Won Gagyeol also barely won last time, right? This time, he's up against a much stronger opponent, so he'll be eliminated."

"We'll know when we see the result."

Baek Seokhu spat out his uncomfortable feelings as they were.

"And the kid named Deungroe is the problem. It will be difficult for him to win against the opponent he will face this time."

Deungroe had a large build and monstrous strength, and his speed was not slow. Everyone thought he was a tricky opponent.

"He's the most difficult opponent to face, so how can he win?"

Besides, the opponent was not a strong person who had often advanced to the main tournament like Gyojin. But Taeseokgwan looked around and then told all the disciples to leave.

Even after all the disciples had left, Taeseokgwan stood up and looked around once more. And then he sat down, bowed his head, and spoke secretly.

"What I'm about to say must never leak out."

At Taeseokgwan's action, both Baek Seokhu and Lady Jang became tense. Because anyone could tell that there was a huge secret. Taeseokgwan lowered his voice and said.

"You must have heard of the Gwanghyeoldan."

At that moment, Baek Seokhu's eyes widened. He also lowered his voice and said.

"Isn't the Gwanghyeoldan something that the Blood Cult used?"

A medicine that allows even an ordinary person to exert monstrous strength. The Gwanghyeoldan was what made them go crazy and kill everything in sight. The Blood Cult had fed it to their followers and sent them to the battlefield. The followers who had eaten it had fought with monstrous strength until they died in a state of not being in their right minds.

"We have steadily researched it and have succeeded in making it so that they can exert monstrous strength but not go crazy."

At Taeseokgwan's words, both Baek Seokhu and Lady Jang were surprised. It was a truly amazing thing if that had become possible. But there was a fatal side effect.

"After using it, the body is so damaged that you have to rest for a few years. It's because it draws on the true origin qi."

"No. Then isn't it useless? After using it once..."

As he was speaking, Taeseokgwan closed his mouth. Because he knew what it meant to give that to the person who would face Deungroe this time.

"After winning that match, he decided to withdraw, saying he was injured. We decided to give him a considerable reward. How about it?"

"Hmm. If it's that much, it will be difficult for the second-generation disciples of the Zhongnan Sect to survive."

Lady Jang said. But Baek Seokhu thought for a moment and then gave an answer that was neither an agreement nor a disagreement.

"Let's see the result and talk. I can't be sure of anything rashly now."

"Alright. Let's do that."

Taeseokgwan said in a confident tone this time.

"Then let's go and see. What happens."

The three of them went out together and headed to the main stadium. The main stadium was not that far from where Taeseokgwan was. There, the preparations for the duel were already over.

"The duel between Gwak Wol of the Zhongnan Sect and Gyojin of the Huashan Sect will now begin!"

With the referee's declaration, the match began.

(End of Chapter)