Chapter 241

Brother Qiang’s group waits eagerly to watch Fang Yuan’s arm break, joking that Shang Xin Ci only delayed his punishment by sending him here. Fang Yuan sits at the stone table and clasps hands with the monkey king; when it strains against him, his arm does not move, and the monkey king’s eyes shrink with astonishment at the strongest human it has ever faced. ^{ch. 241}

Fang Yuan privately reasons that he could have beaten this same monkey king even with only the strength of two boars, let alone now with an added half of a crocodile’s strength; already worn down from its earlier matches, the monkey king is, in his own judgment, certain to lose. He reflects that strength types like bear, horse, rabbit, tortoise and crocodile strength each suit a different kind of use rather than differing only in amount, that arm wrestling favors the bandit monkeys’ own bred in arm strength, and that a person’s full strength rarely comes out in one narrow motion, a punch being weaker than a kick, except through some legendary Gu he does not name. To hide his advantage he feigns strain, letting his arms shake, and only slowly forces the monkey king’s arm down to win. ^{ch. 241}

The crowd is stunned; onlookers call his strength innate and divine, and clan heads want to recruit him on the spot, since using him would cost them nothing and still turn a profit. Brother Qiang’s group is horrified at how outmatched they had been and drops all thought of revenge, worrying instead that Fang Yuan might come after them. Chen Clan’s old steward fears the vice leader’s blame, and the vice leader himself now suspects Zhang Clan’s earlier demand for the two servants was a ploy to claim Fang Yuan, though the matter is already settled. Xiao Die is speechless. Shang Xin Ci’s worry turns into a smile. ^{ch. 241}

Fang Yuan wins his first two matches at the checkpoint, letting most of Zhang Clan’s caravan through, then deliberately loses the third to protect his disguise, costing the clan a share of its goods. Back at camp, Shang Xin Ci thanks him with a gift of one hundred and fifty primeval stones, saying her mother taught her never to judge by appearance. Fang Yuan refuses twice, insisting he helped her only to repay her kindness and that he would refuse even a thousand primeval stones rather than be treated as if he wanted payment; Shang Xin Ci gives up and puts the stones away. Fang Yuan then offers to keep using his strength for her, calling it repayment of a life debt. ^{ch. 241}

Over the more than twenty days it takes to cross bandit monkey mountain, Fang Yuan competes at further checkpoints, deliberately winning some and losing others to keep his act believable. By the time the caravan clears the mountain its goods have shrunk by almost half, and only Zhang Clan is pleased, since Fang Yuan’s wins kept their own losses far below what they had expected. He becomes known across the caravan, and though many clans send servants offering generous terms to recruit him, he turns them all down and stays with Zhang Clan. Fang Yuan cares only what Shang Xin Ci and Zhang Zhu think of him, and suspects Zhang Zhu has already begun to doubt him. ^{ch. 241}

Bai Ning Bing privately tells Fang Yuan that refusing the primeval stones was a mistake for someone posing as poor, and suggests pausing their nightly cultivation to avoid Zhang Zhu’s scrutiny, but Fang Yuan refuses and keeps cultivating regardless; Bai Ning Bing goes along, indifferent to being exposed and, if anything, more willing to see him fail. Her snow silver primeval essence speeds his progress, and on the night they leave Fei Hou mountain’s region he advances from rank two’s initial stage to its middle stage. By the time the worn out caravan reaches Huang Jin mountain, he finishes cultivating crocodile strength Gu completely and gains a crocodile’s full strength for good. ^{ch. 241}

Huang Jin mountain is rich in gold, its streams yielding dozens of grains when filtered from the sediment, and in this world where primeval stones serve as currency the gold is valued only as a material for refining Gu. Two rival clans hold the mountain, Huang village to the south and Jin village to the north, with a rivalry the chapter compares to that of the two clans on Qing Mao mountain. Both clans send word that the caravan may visit only one of them, since caravans have been used before to help one clan strike the other, so the assembled caravans split in two and camp outside each village rather than entering. ^{ch. 241}

Zhang Zhu, after days of secret investigation, tells Shang Xin Ci that Hei Tu and Bai Yun are very suspicious and urges her to evict them from the group. ^{ch. 241}