Chapter 205: Third Chief and Arm-Wrestling

The Ten Thousand Vast Mountain lies in the northwest of the Dongyu Cultivation World, twelve thousand eight hundred li from Donglan City, nine thousand four hundred li from Tianyuan Sect's Reclining Saint Mountain, and five thousand nine hundred li from the capital of Sang Guo.

They say it's Vast Mountain, but actually it's a ten‑thousand‑li desert belt; the eye sees nothing but towering stone hills, the hills filled with sand, occasional patchy vegetation, like the spots on a rascal dog.

Here the spiritual energy is thin; for tens of thousands of li it's all sand mountains, a truly remote place—few accomplished cultivators would want to come here.

Thus it gradually became a gathering place for mountain bandits, green‑forest outlaws, murderers, and heretical cultists.

Beside the Ten Thousand Vast Mountain lies the town of Vast River, not small in area, with five streets in all; although constantly blown by wind and sand, it looks grimy, yet the crowds are still packed.

At noon, the scorching sun baked the town; at the eastern edge of town appeared two dust‑covered figures, one large and one small.

The large one is a person, the small one a monkey.

It is Heng Xian and Gou Dan.

The person and the monkey glanced around, then stepped into the town.

"Take a look, have a look, eh—top‑grade small sand‑sea‑corner wolf‑skin cap!"

"Miraculous great tonic pills, sand‑dune hunting, superb supplement!"

"Spirit swords, spirit armor, essential for looting and arson!"

"Unopened Central Plains maidens, only fifty low‑grade spirit crystals!"

The main street was bustling, crowds flowing nonstop, clothing and accessories full of exotic flair.

Vendors and itinerant merchants shouted their wares nonstop, plus there were curses and the restless sounds of fighting.

Heng Xian sized up the town for a moment, then gazed toward the depths of the distant hills.

Is this the place shown by the Profound Yellow Heavenly Hexagram where one can hide and cultivate?

What's the point of this damned place? The spiritual energy is thin and the environment awful.

But the Heavenly Hexagram's indications are never wrong; surely the environment deeper in is fine?

Taking Gou Dan, he continued onward.

He discovered that the people here had low cultivation levels—basically Innate and Qi Refining, with even half being Acquired and ordinary folk.

At that moment he reached a stall selling girls; he saw a group of ragged‑clad girls standing in two rows, trembling in the wind and sand.

Heng Xian stopped and glanced a few times.

The stall owner flung open his fur coat, smiled, and stepped forward: "Customer, have a look—these are all unopened; take them home and they'll make fine wives or maidservants."

The girls quickly lifted their heads, forcing smiles.

Heng Xian gave them a brief look; their hair was disheveled, bones protruding like a rack of ribs—he had no interest and turned away.

Along the way all kinds of trades were available, all petty small‑profit goods.

Heng Xian scratched his nose, glanced at the tens of millions of low‑grade spirit crystals in his Storage Bag, and instantly felt wealthy.

We're rich!

He casually bought two leather caps from a roadside stall, took one himself and gave one to Gou Dan, then continued onward: "Danzi, do you like this place?"

Gou Dan blinked his eyes: "Chirp chirp chirp..."

Heng Xian exclaimed: "Don't like it? This is the inevitable experience for you to become the Supreme Overlord Holy Monkey—you give up too easily, you won't amount to much!"

"Chirp..." Gou Dan slapped his chest hard, indicating "I'm fierce, I can do it."

"The young can be taught!" Heng Xian chuckled.

Just then a noisy clamor came from ahead; a large group of rough men gathered in a crowd, shouting loudly in the street.

The people around slowly gathered.

Heng Xian also curiously took a look and saw that they were arm‑wrestling; the table was piled with spirit crystals, two men locked in a bout, veins bulging on their foreheads, faces flushed, necks thick.

Heng Xian wasn't particularly interested and turned to leave, but suddenly noticed that one of the bald arm‑wrestlers was very familiar.

He thought, could it be the Third Chief of the Righteous Scholars Gang?

"The Righteous Scholars Gang" were the mountain bandits encountered earlier in Sang Guo's Majestic Martial Prefecture, who had been trained by the "monkey"; their Chief Baoyu had even been used by me once to deal with Song Rufeng.

But how did this guy end up here?

He simply stopped his steps and continued watching.

Just then someone nearby said: "The Third Chief of the Righteous Scholars Gang, Tuzi, is at the fourth layer of the Qi Hai Realm and can arm‑wrestle 20,000 catties!"

Another said: "The Fifth Chief of the Fierce Tiger Stronghold, Heixuanfeng, also at the fourth layer of the Qi Hai Realm, can arm‑wrestle 30,000 catties—tsk tsk tsk, arm‑wrestling compares arm strength and power, not cultivation level; Tuzi can't win!"

"Tuzi has wagered a hundred thousand low‑grade spirit crystals—that's the entire fortune of the Righteous Scholars Gang; if he loses, the gang will be reduced to begging!"

"May the best man win—whoever starves to death deserves it!" The crowd roared.

"Bang!"

Just then, Tuzi was slammed down by his opponent.

His opponent, a big‑bearded man, laughed to the heavens: "Hahaha, it's all mine, all mine!"

Having said that, he desperately raked the spirit crystals off the table.

Tuzi's eyes turned red as he roared: "One more round!"

The bearded man blinked: "What do you have to bet? Do you still have money?"

Tuzi pulled out a sharp dagger, slammed it onto the table, and thumped his chest: "I'll bet my life against yours—if I win, you return my money; if I lose, kill me."

The bearded man stroked his chin, sized him up: "You've got guts! Come on!"

"Come!" Tuzi yelled.

"Someone's going to die!" The surrounding crowd erupted in excitement.

Just as the two were about to arm‑wrestle again, a voice suddenly came from the crowd: "Arm‑wrestling is about the thrill; betting your life without money is pointless."

"Whoosh—"

The crowd, including Tuzi and his opponent, all turned toward the source of the voice.

All they saw was a handsome young man.

The bearded big man shouted angrily: "Whose family has a hairless little brat lacking discipline? I'll kick you to death with one foot!"

Tuzi, however, was stunned: "Heng... brother?"

Heng Xian smiled, squeezed into the crowd, and patted Tuzi's shoulder: "Your condition isn't good, no need to go all out, old iron; if you die, whose loss is it?"

Tuzi calmed down, gave an embarrassed smile: "I've lost all the possessions of the Righteous Scholars' Gang!"

"Winning or losing is commonplace, no big deal." Heng Xian smiled, looked at the bearded man across, and said, "Want to play a round?"

The bearded man was first stunned, then burst out laughing: "Are you kidding me?"

""Hahaha..."" the crowd burst into laughter.

At a glance, Heng Xian looked like a youngster, with no aura fluctuation whatsoever—not even that of a cultivator; how could he compare?

The bearded man laughed louder and louder: "You say you're a little brat—can you even lift a woman over a hundred catties? Want to arm-wrestle me? Hahaha..."

Heng Xian waved his sleeve: "Women over a hundred catties? I can carry eighteen of them—you, a brainless fool, I could carry three hundred and it'd be no problem!"

The bearded man's laughter cut off abruptly: "You're saying I'm a brainless idiot?"

"Exactly! I'm talking about you!" Heng Xian said: "I'm willing to play with you—if I lose, you win money; isn't that a good thing? What's there to laugh about? If you're not an idiot, what are you?"

The bearded man grew serious: "Very well, kid, do you have money?"

With a wave of his hand, Heng Xian made the table overflow with countless low-grade spirit crystals: "Twenty thousand—all my worldly possessions; if I lose, you take them!"

Upon seeing this, the onlookers fell silent—anyone who could produce twenty thousand low-grade spirit crystals was certainly no ordinary youth.

The bearded man snorted coldly, likewise producing twenty thousand low-grade spirit crystals: "If you lose, don't go crying to your mama!"

Heng Xian extended his arm, gave a faint smile: "Five breaths—if I can't beat you in a wrist match, I lose; if I win within five breaths, your money is mine, and you have to shout 'Grandpa Heng Xian, mighty!' How about that?"

The bearded man blinked, then sized up Heng Xian: "Five breaths? You're just a kid in your early teens—talk big!"

The surrounding crowd joined in the clamor: "Whirlwind Grandpa, take him down—let him learn the rules!"

The bearded man laughed, also extended his arm, coldly staring at Heng Xian: "Five breaths it is! I'll say this too: if I can't beat you within five breaths, you take all the money, and I'll shout 'Grandpa Heng Xian, mighty!'"

"If I win within five breaths, your money is mine, and you have to shout 'Dad!'"

"Deal!"

"Come on!"

"(End of chapter)"