Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 5 Breakthrough
The moon is still very bright tonight, hanging in the night sky like the eye of a monster, overlooking the entire town of Wuzhen.

The chirping of insects echoed through the fields, making Wuzhen even more tranquil and peaceful at night.

In the backyard of the Zhao residence, under the old persimmon tree, Ji Cheng kept a close eye on the big yellow dog's movements.

Unfortunately, the big yellow dog didn't cultivate while gazing at the moon tonight.

Ji Cheng guessed that perhaps the timing was wrong, or perhaps the big yellow dog had not yet digested what it had gained from last night's cultivation.

As usual, when it was almost time, the big yellow dog unchained itself and crawled out through the dog hole.

"For demonic beasts to cultivate, there are two methods: first, to acquire a cultivation technique, and second, to become stronger by consuming blood..."

Ji Cheng pondered and found it easy to understand the big yellow dog's behavior.

To cultivate under the moon, one needs a certain opportunity, which cannot be available at any time. Therefore, the big yellow dog needs to go out every night to steal chickens to eat.

Of course, it might not just be chicken; they might eat other things too.

In Wuzhen, chickens are the most abundant animal, and if three or five go missing in one night, no one will usually investigate.

Thinking of himself in relation to the big yellow dog, Ji Cheng also felt a bit craving meat. Eating corn kernels and leftovers every day was no way he could become stronger.

However, there's no rushing this; he should focus on winning the eight cockfighting matches first.

……

The next day, after having breakfast, Master Zhao took Ji Cheng to the cockfighting arena.

Guo Laosi didn't come today; Zhao Erye had a fight with another man surnamed Qian.

Master Qian's fighting rooster is a Qingji breed, which is the most agile among the five major fighting rooster breeds. When this rooster is paired with a Wuji (black-footed rooster), it can make the Wuji run all over the arena.

However, despite Ji Cheng's reputation as a "weakling," the Green Chicken didn't take him seriously and instead chose to approach and attack him.

The green chicken was light and had poor resistance to injury. Ji Cheng's attack severely injured it. As it ran, it seemed to be drunk and staggered to the ground.

Master Zhao was overjoyed, never expecting to win so easily.

At this moment, another person came over and expressed his desire to have a cockfight with Master Zhao.

Master Zhao hesitated for a moment, but Ji Cheng took the initiative and shouted twice, conveying his desire to fight.

Master Zhao immediately accepted the challenge, this time facing a ten-and-a-half-pound black-necked chicken.

The characteristics of the black-necked chicken are that it is tall and thin, with long legs and a long neck. Its head is generally half a head higher than that of other fighting chickens.

These fighting cocks are very powerful with their beaks. They can peck at you from a high place without flapping their wings. If you try to fight them head-on, you will usually be at a disadvantage and have to dodge.

However, this posed no threat to Ji Cheng, who was known as the Lu Bu among chickens. After dodging a peck, Ji Cheng immediately pecked at the other's crop.

His beak was so sharp and deadly that even with the feathers protecting it, it still managed to pierce a hole in the black-necked chicken's crop.

Splash, splash, splash! The dried corn kernels that the black-necked chicken ate that morning leaked out of the hole.

Very cruel.

But that's how cockfighting is done in Wuzhen. Every cockfight is a fight to the death, and only one cock can survive.

The black-necked chicken seemed completely unaware that corn kernels were falling from its crop, and continued its fierce attack on Ji Cheng.

Cockfighting generally employs only two attack methods.

They peck with their sharp beaks and scratch with their claws.

All cockfighting battles rely purely on instinct. In such simple battles, the cocks' raw strength is put to the test, and there are no tactics involved.

It's all about who's stronger, who reacts faster, and who has the sharpest beak and claws.

Ji Cheng easily dodged the black-necked chicken's pecks and seized the opportunity to counterattack. After about ten rounds, he brought down his opponent.

【Title: Weakling (4/10)】

[Bloodline: Golden Rooster (7%)]

[Realm: Poultry (Strong)]

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

Ji Cheng could still continue fighting and stack up the numbers after the "weakling" title in one go.

However, Master Zhao was afraid that he would be too exhausted and in poor condition and might lose, so he refused other opponents who came to challenge him.

Back at the Zhao residence, news of the two consecutive wins spread, and people flocked to see Second Master Zhao's fighting rooster. "Congratulations, Second Master, that's four wins in a row now, isn't it?"

"I didn't realize this fighting rooster was so good at fighting!"

"Yes, this fighting rooster looks quite ordinary. It's neither tall nor strong. How did it win four matches in a row?"

"Look, it doesn't even have a single injury on it!"

The Zhao family members and servants were very surprised. Some even went out to ask and confirmed the truth that Second Master Zhao had won four games in a row.

Master Zhao began to boast to everyone about how his fighting rooster had defeated other fighting roosters.

He told the story in the style of a storyteller, exaggerating and making it sound very mysterious. The steward laughed and said:
"Second Master, the way you describe cockfighting makes it sound like two martial arts masters are dueling."

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed.

"Hey, what do you know? Cockfighting is actually a duel between two martial arts masters, where life and death are decided in the blink of an eye. And my cock is the master of masters among masters!"

After Master Zhao finished speaking in a serious tone, the women all covered their mouths and chuckled.

Master Zhao was furious. He waved them away and glared at the servants who had been laughing.

That evening, Zhao Yan returned from the martial arts school and heard that her father's fighting rooster was still alive and had won two matches that day.

She immediately put down her chopsticks and went to the backyard to catch Ji Cheng and examine him, but found nothing unusual about him.

"It's just luck!"

After Zhao Yan returned, she told Second Master Zhao what had happened, and Second Master Zhao was so angry that he refused to eat again.

……

The night passed.

As dawn broke, a figure began practicing his boxing in the courtyard.

This person was Zhao Yan. He was a dashing figure with a powerful punch. Every move he made was full of the beauty of power, and his movements were so precise that it was clear he had put in a lot of hard work.

The big yellow dog lay in its kennel, squinting as it watched Zhao Yan practice his boxing. Its pupils reflected Zhao Yan's agile and nimble figure.

"This big yellow dog is watching so intently, does it think it can learn a move or two?"

Ji Cheng observed silently, knowing he couldn't understand Zhao Yan's boxing style at all.

But he could sense how terrifying the power contained in Zhao Yan's boxing technique was; breaking this old persimmon tree with a single punch would probably be no problem.

According to the information he had heard, Zhao Yan had studied at the Niu family martial arts school for two years and was only at the initial stage of Qi and Blood cultivation. He couldn't imagine how powerful the martial artists in this world really were.

Zhao Yan practiced boxing in the courtyard for half an hour without stopping, her whole body drenched in fragrant sweat, emitting a faint white mist of heat.

Ji Cheng could sense the strength of her vital energy, far surpassing that of a young man in his prime. Her muscles were not prominent, indicating that she was deliberately maintaining her figure, but in reality, the power she possessed was extremely strong.

"I've broken through! Mid-stage Qi and Blood!"

At one moment, Zhao Yan's aura surged, and she was overjoyed, finally breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi and Blood.

"Wang!"

The big yellow dog stood up and barked, wagging its tail at Zhao Yan, as if it could sense Zhao Yan's joy.

Zhao Yan walked over and patted the big yellow dog's head, promising to feed it a bone today.

So that's why Zhao Yan was practicing boxing in the yard today. It turns out she was at a bottleneck in her breakthrough.

"Is the mid-stage Qi and Blood Realm really that powerful?"

Ji Cheng felt that Zhao Yan, after breaking through, was like a giant furnace radiating heat in all directions. He wondered who was stronger, Zhao Yan, who was in the mid-stage of Qi and Blood, or the big yellow dog in the Demon Transformation stage.
And what level of skill does the master of that martial arts school possess?

That day, Master Zhao did not go to the cockfighting arena.

To celebrate Zhao Yan's breakthrough to the mid-stage of Qi and Blood, the Zhao family prepared a lavish family feast. Second Master Zhao was in charge of going to the market to buy fruits and vegetables, and naturally showed off his daughter to everyone.

While Zhao Yan was practicing his boxing, Ji Cheng's talent for "observation, listening, questioning, and palpation" remained completely unaffected.

He guessed that this talent was probably the demon beast version, only able to absorb a wisp of demonic energy when watching demon beasts cultivate, and that watching Zhao Yan practice his fist techniques was just a feast for the eyes.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at the big yellow dog, looking forward to the dog's next training session.

(End of this chapter)