Chapter 34: Chapter 30: The Young Gambling God (End)
Translator: 549690339
Donned in the black attire with silver stripes, the young man strolled towards the Tang Martial Arts Hall.
The stuffed white cloth bag on his back let out dinky dink sound as he walked but no one dared to look at him with ill intent.
This was not because Xiling was safe, but because the meaning represented by the attire did not give chance for mischief.
The attire was black with silver stripes and there was a golden “Tang” character on the front and back, which was the training uniform of the Tang Clan.
Only the young masters and ladies of the main lineage, and branch family servants who have made great contributions to the Tang Clan, were eligible to receive this uniform from the Tang family.
With a poker face, Tang Luo walked on the left side of the road. All passersby leaned to the both sides of the road, not daring to stand in his way.
The crowded road spontaneously opened up a path wide enough for him to pass through.
Tang Luo scanned the streets, his eyes met the docile gaze of the pedestrians. The curious looks from the children were hastily pulled away by their parents, whispering some reprimands.
Even the warriors within the Mortal Realm who had values above 3000 stepped aside silently upon seeing Tang Luo.
“Seems like I should have ridden a beast chariot next time.” Tang Luo shook his head, not quite used to walking under the stare of others.
Tang Luo’s original plan was to wear a long robe and walk out but then he realized he was just a teenager. If the gambling house wanted to wriggle out of paying his 500 gold stakes, it would be troublesome. Therefore, he ended up wearing the Tang Clan’s training uniform.
But he had underestimated the deterrent power of this training uniform.
Just by looking at the people on the road, one could tell how dominant and tyrannical the Tang family must be, forcing them to lower their gaze.
As he walked along and observed, Tang Luo couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with emotions.
Luckily, the Baiyan Martial Arts Hall was in close proximity to the Tang Martial Arts Hall, and within just ten minutes, he was back at the Martial Hall.
Tang Luo looked up and saw Chang Fu waiting for him at the entrance.
“Uncle Fu? What are you doing here?”
“Young Master, your father asked you to come see him when you return.” Chang Fu respectfully bowed and took a step forward to take the clothes and white cloth bag from Tang Luo’s hands.
His father, Tang Sen, was looking for him? Must be about the chariot charging into the Martial Arts Hall. Tang Luo thought in his mind.
“Uncle Fu, please help me put the things in my room.” Said Tang Luo, handing his belongings to Chang Fu, and promptly headed towards the Battle Hall.
The Battle Hall collectively refers to the war room, smelting room, and scripture room inside the Martial Hall. This is the place where the top-notch fighters of the Tang Clan gather. It is located to the east of the Martial Hall, covering a few acres of land with a dozen buildings connected together. The most important among them is a ten-meter-high steel building, the core dojo of the Martial Hall – the Steel Bone Tower.
As soon as Tang Luo set foot in the Battle Hall, he felt enlightened.
All warriors who passed by him had values not lower than 5000.
Some middle-aged individuals hurriedly passed by, with values rising above 30000.
Tang Luo was surprised but also wondered how Tang Sen managed to become the Sect Head when he saw five to six people with higher values than Tang Sen. Could it be some internal arrangement? Tang Luo speculated quietly in his mind. Then he arrived at Steel Bone Tower.
The heavy iron doors were wide open. Dozens of bustling figures were moving around making the first floor of the Steel Bone Tower quite noisy.
This steel-made high-rise had three floors. The first floor was the headquarters of the Tang Clan steward’s office. All matters including job nominations, registrations, transfers, and training were conducted here, which made this floor extremely noisy.
The second floor was the war room, where elite soldiers of the Tang Clan devised attack plans and disseminated combat missions. As the Martial Arts warriors of the Tang Clan, this second floor was the place they visited the most.
The third floor was the dojo and cultivation room of the First Head of the Martial Hall.
As soon as Tang Luo got to the third floor, he saw Tang Sen standing in the center of the reception room, wearing heavy armor, his back facing Tang Luo.
This was the first time Tang Luo met him outside home. The feeling was totally different from the one he got at home.
Tang Sen was a man of few words but very generous. He had the same affectionate attitude towards all the children.
Even though he was serious at times, he always showed an affable side at home.
But the silhouette he saw now seemed like a completely different person.
The dark, heavy armor made Tang Luo look a size or two larger. Standing there, he emanated a majesty like towering jade columns that held up the heavens, and even more astonishing was Tang Sen’s aura, which enveloped the entire third floor. This potent aura, even with eyes closed, could be sensed, making one’s heart quiver as if confronted with an ancient beast.
Tang Luo was taken aback internally; such a formidable aura was ostensibly from a higher tier of being, exerting an oppressive influence. No wonder the battle prowess of someone from the Fierce Realm was far more significant than that of someone in the Mortal Realm.
Tang Sen turned around and first nodded at Tang Luo, beckoning to him to approach and converse.
Tang Luo went over to him, saluting, “My Lord Father.”
Tang Sen scrutinized the youth beside him with an air of admiration and sentiment.
He always thought Tang Luo was not resolved and ruthless enough as a martial artist, but judging from today’s event, he did have the audacity.
Tang Sen felt a touch of pride; after all – as the proverb goes – a tiger does not father a dog. He patted Tang Luo’s shoulder, “Well done.”
Tang Luo was taken aback; he had thought Tang Sen summoned him to discuss matters concerning the Lunjiang Martial Arts Hall and its students. Why did it turn into encouragement instead?
This was a lot different from what he initially anticipated.
Before he had time to react, Tang Sen said, “That’s all, you can go.”
Just like that, Tang Luo exited the Steel Bone Tower, looking utterly confounded.
Although he expected nothing major would happen, this feeling was as if he had accomplished something worthy of praise. That’s not how the script was supposed to go.
Tang Luo sighed with sentiment. No wonder clans often produced disobedient descendants; if every parent were as indulgent as Tang Sen, it would be easy to raise disobedient children.
He was genuinely worried about the future of the young Tang Xing.
Life returned to normal.
As a Martial Technique Instructor for a training yard, Tang Luo had adequately organized the trainees of Cultivation Ground N0.7. Before they began anew on their martial techniques, Tang Luo was in a rather idle condition. Nonetheless, Tang Bin was unaware of this; otherwise, he would have exploited Tang Luo again.
So, the only official task remaining for Tang Luo was to study the Combined Attack Technique. For the rest of his time, Tang Luo took leave and went gambling again.
At Shanchi Martial Arts Hall, in the Mortal-Level Minor Sword Saint Contest, he turned three thousand gold into nine thousand.
At Juyang Martial Arts Hall, in the transformation-level spiritual armor contest, nine thousand gold became twenty-five thousand.
At Jingshan Martial Arts Hall, in the transformation-level armored contest, twenty-five thousand gold became a hundred thousand.
At Guyuan Martial Arts Hall, in the transformation-level brawl involving a hundred people, a hundred thousand gold became three hundred and fifty thousand.
The Extreme Truth Martial Arts Hall held a transformation-level grading contest in which one hundred fifty thousand gold became seven hundred thousand.
In just one month, under the alias Gao Jin, Tang Luo swept the gambling tables of every major Martial Arts Hall in Xiling. If Tang Luo appeared, the stewards who collected the bets were seen trembling. The pressure was so great that some would faint.
No one could stand Tang Luo’s all-or-nothing bet anymore.
Gambling was supposed to be about balance. Why would the casino always make the bulk of the profit? Because the complicated array of bets spread everyone’s chips out.
Yet, Tang Luo always seemed to find the line of victory in the complex situation, pushing all his money onto the champion. It was as if he was there to share the casino’s money.
At first, the casinos could bear the loss of several tens of thousands of gold. As a month passed, this madman already had a few millions of gold. To some of the smaller martial art halls, it wasn’t just a question of sharing profits anymore. He was forcing them into a corner!
For the first time in the history of Xiling, an absolute monopoly of casinos was forced into dire straits by a gambler. They had no choice but to band together to resist Tang Luo.
Their combined countermeasures entailed introducing a new rule: limiting the maximum bet of each gambler. For mortal level matches, the stake was limited to five thousand gold. For transformation level contests, the limit was a hundred thousand gold.
The united front of the martial arts halls appeared to be a concession to Tang Luo. For the first time ever, gamblers realized that, with superior betting skills, someone could indeed shake the system.
Instantly, Gao Jin became a name revered by gamblers in Xiling. He was venerated as a deity!
In just one month, the legend of the young Gambling God, Gao Jin, was spreading through Xiling..
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