Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 2 The Lame Yellow Dog
After unhooking its collar and breaking free of its chains, the big yellow dog ignored Ji Cheng and the big red rooster and crawled out through the dog hole in the wall.

"Is this big yellow dog... possessed by a spirit?"

Ji Cheng didn't know where the big yellow dog had gone. He realized that this world was not simple, and perhaps there really were demons and monsters.

With a thought, a string of information appeared before his eyes.

【Title: Weakling (1/10)】

[Bloodline: Golden Rooster (7%)]

[Level: Domestic Poultry (Weak)]

[Talent: Observation, Listening, Inquiry, and Palpation]

Without a doubt, he has a cheat code that allows him to cultivate and become stronger. One day he may be able to embark on the path of demon beast cultivation, but he doesn't know how to use it yet.

After fiddling around for a while, Ji Cheng still had no clue.

Looking at the number in parentheses in the title "Weakling," he guessed that he would probably need to participate in cockfighting to improve.

He stopped dwelling on that and instead turned his attention to the study of speech.

"Naturally" refers to speaking in a human language.

There are five main breeds of fighting cocks in Wuzhen: black-footed chicken, white-feathered chicken, green chicken, golden chicken, and black-necked chicken.

These five breeds of fighting cocks each have their own characteristics and are of mixed lineage.

However, it cannot be denied that these chickens are birds, and the structure of their tongues and throats is very similar to that of parrots and mynas.

Theoretically speaking, even if Ji Cheng turned into a chicken, he could still speak human language. If he practiced well, he might even be able to rap.

While the big yellow dog was away, Ji Cheng quickly practiced.

This skill might be crucial in a critical moment.

……

In the middle of the night, the big yellow dog crawled back through the dog hole.

Its belly was swollen, and its mouth tasted of blood.

Ji Cheng buried his head in the wings, pretending to be asleep, so he saw and heard nothing.

The big yellow dog returned to the old persimmon tree, put the collar back on its neck, and lay down on the ground to sleep comfortably.

At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), it was still dark.

Ji Cheng suddenly felt a tickle in his throat, an discomfort that made him feel like he wanted to sneeze but couldn't. He didn't know what was wrong.

"Oh oh oh-"

Just then, a large red rooster not far away stretched its neck and let out a loud crow.

OK, Ji Cheng knew what was going on, and he forcibly suppressed this instinctive impulse.

Soon, it was dawn.

The servants of the Zhao family got up one after another, some sweeping the floor, others tending the fire, and smoke began to rise from the chimney, thus beginning their day.

Ji Cheng subtly observed the people coming and going in the backyard, memorizing their names and identities, and even their accents and habits.

Because of his "weakling" title, his presence was greatly reduced, and the servants naturally ignored Ji Cheng when they came to feed the big red rooster.

Fortunately, he called out a few times, which attracted the attention of the servants, who fed him a handful of corn kernels.

That evening, the same scene from the previous night repeated itself.

During the day, the honest and kind-hearted lame yellow dog took off its collar and crawled out through the dog hole.

When it returned, its belly was full, and its mouth tasted of blood, which was somewhat frightening.

For the next two days, it was the same. After the Zhao family had all gone to sleep, the big yellow dog would run out to steal food, and then come back and put the collar back on itself. The Zhao family never noticed anything unusual.

Ji Cheng was already used to it.

He guessed that the big yellow dog must have gone to steal chickens, because once when the big yellow dog came back, there were still a few tufts of chicken feathers stuck to its mouth.

During this time, Master Zhao came over to check on his precious fighting rooster.

The day of the duel with Guo Laosi had arrived, but seeing that the wound on his precious fighting rooster's head had not fully healed, Master Zhao decided to let it rest for a few more days.

……

"The moon is so round and bright tonight."

At night, Ji Cheng looked up at the sky. In his memory, he had only seen such a bright moon when he was a child in the countryside in his previous life.

In the backyard of the Zhao family mansion, the shadow of the old persimmon tree was clearly visible, as was the shadow of the big yellow dog.

Ji Cheng estimated the time and guessed that the big yellow dog would sneak out to eat chicken again soon.

He was glad that the big yellow dog was smart enough to know that the family's big red rooster and his fighting cock couldn't be eaten; otherwise, Ji Cheng would have been reduced to nothing but chicken feathers and bones long ago. After a while, he felt a little strange. He hadn't heard any noise. Why hadn't the big yellow dog gone out tonight?

Soon, he witnessed a scene that sent chills down his spine.

There, the big yellow dog sat cross-legged under the old persimmon tree, its body upright, its front paws clasped together, facing the moon, like an old monk in deep meditation.

The moonlight shone on its face, and soon a faint white mist began to emanate from its body, the aura instilling in Ji Cheng and the big red rooster an instinctive fear.

[You watched the dog demon gaze at the moon, absorbing a wisp of demonic energy from the Demon Transformation Realm!]

At that moment, information flashed through Ji Cheng's mind, and a demonic aura suddenly appeared within his body.

Ji Cheng was thrilled. So this was a dog demon. He knew it; its behavior was far more than that of a smart dog.

This is his talent [observation, listening, questioning, and palpation]; he actually obtained a wisp of demonic energy from watching the dog demon Wangyue cultivate!
Judging from the information, the big yellow dog's cultivation level is not high; it is still in the critical stage of transforming into a demon and has not yet truly cultivated into a demon beast.

At this moment, the big red rooster was so frightened that it kept shaking inside the cage.

"Refining!"

Without hesitation, Ji Cheng immediately decided to refine this demonic energy.

Ji Cheng's eight-and-a-half-pound fighting rooster was quite small. This wisp of demonic energy quickly circulated around him several times, permeating his bones and blood.

A wisp of demonic energy from the Demon Transformation Realm isn't much, but for an ordinary fighting rooster, it's still a tremendous amount of energy.

It took a full hour to complete the refining process. Ji Cheng felt as if he had been reborn, and the power within his body had increased several times over.

【Title: Weakling (1/10)】

[Bloodline: Golden Rooster (7%)]

[Realm: Poultry (Strong)]

[Talent: Observation, Listening, Inquiry, and Palpation]

Ji Cheng discovered that his realm had changed.

The level of "Poultry (Weak)" skipped directly to "Poultry (Medium)" and arrived at "Poultry (Strong)".

Among all poultry, chickens, ducks, and geese, geese are the strongest fighters, with some male geese growing to 20 pounds.

Even the fiercest fighting rooster would be no match for a goose, given the vast difference in size.

Ji Cheng has now refined a wisp of demonic energy, directly advancing to become a top-tier fighter among poultry. Putting aside everything else, he is at least on par with Lu Bu among all breeds of fighting cocks.

"I wonder what realm I'll reach if I refine another wisp of demonic energy?"

Ji Cheng concealed his aura and glanced curiously at the big yellow dog.

The big yellow dog's training was about to end, so Ji Cheng quickly buried his head under the wing and pretended to be asleep, not wanting the other dog to notice his unusual behavior.

That night, the big yellow dog did not sneak out.

After finishing its cultivation, it lay down, seemingly comprehending and digesting what it had just learned, and then fell asleep.

……

The next day.

"Oh oh oh-"

The big red rooster stretched its neck and crowed again, and a new day began.

Ji Cheng discovered that this big red rooster was very narcissistic, which could be seen from the way it walked.

Sometimes the servants would let it out of its cage, and it would stroll around the yard, letting people admire its majestic appearance.

Last night, the big yellow dog was meditating under the moon, which frightened the big red rooster so much that it kept shaking. As a result, when the servant came to feed it, he found it to be rather listless.

The servant suspected that the big red rooster might be sick, so he quickly went to inform the steward.

Actually, a big red rooster isn't worth his concern. This rooster in the Zhao family is only raised to crow and tell the time; it might be killed and eaten during the New Year.

The servant was worried that if the disease of the big red rooster spread to Master Zhao's fighting rooster, things would get really serious.

"Wang! Wang!"

"Da Huang, sit down."

Before long, Master Zhao, Second Master Zhao, and the steward came over to check on the big red rooster.

Master Zhao bent down, grabbed the big red rooster by the neck, looked at its eyes from side to side, pried open its beak to look at the color of its tongue, shook his head, and said, "It's not plague, it seems to have suffered some kind of fright."

It was a false alarm. Master Zhao said, "It's good that it's not the plague."

"Hey, are the injuries completely healed?" Master Zhao glanced at the wounds of his precious fighting rooster and was overjoyed. "Excellent! Today we'll go and show Guo Laosi our power!"

(End of this chapter)