Stashing the three hundred and some change he made from selling pheasant eggs into his pocket, Wang Xiaoqiang walked out of the farmers' market. To the left of the market's exit, under a big locust tree, were three layers of onlookers gathered, intermittently erupting into excited shouts, "Bite it, bite it to death..."

"Go for it, Big Steel Fang, get it... Overthrow it..."

"Ah haha... My Big Steel Fang wins again, come on, come on, pay up..." A short, plump middle-aged man seated on a small stool in the middle of people laughed triumphantly.

Hearing this noise, Wang Xiaoqiang knew right away that they were hosting a cricket fight.

Cricket fighting was an ancient form of local entertainment. It usually involved male crickets battling it out, with the losing cricket either escaping or being deemed the loser if it fled the fight. Naturally, there were also instances where it got killed on the spot. The big locust tree at the exit of the farmers' market was one of the main venues for cricket fighting.

But looking at this group, it seemed they were not just having fun; they were also gambling on it.

Having successfully sold the pheasant eggs and learning their market price, Wang Xiaoqiang was in high spirits. At this moment, he, too, wanted to join in the excitement. Scanning around the crowd surrounding the cricket fighters, he saw several people holding small bamboo cages, from which came the rustling chirping of crickets.

Wang Xiaoqiang knew they were selling crickets, so he approached one of the middle-aged, portly men and pointed at a small cage in his hand: "Boss, how much for this cricket?" "Ah ha, young man, you've got an eye for quality.

Look at my cricket, with its green head and red whiskers, golden wings—this is the latest breed 'Golden Clamp'!" The cricket seller, thinking that Wang Xiaoqiang, who seemed earthy and inexperienced with cricket fighting, began to boast about his cricket, which was only a load of nonsense... "Young man, I can tell you're straightforward, so I won't ask you for much.

This cricket is 100 yuan each, take it if you like it!"

If it were someone who understood crickets, they would know that the cricket he described was the worst among the fighting breeds—a "Dogfly Yellow" one could catch in bucket loads in the fields. When they emerge from the ground, they have heads the color of a common country dogfly, or dried leaves, with a muted wing sound.

But after the dew season, the wings turn a reddish-gold, and their chirping grows resonant. People who fight crickets know that the Dogfly Yellow breed is the lowest of the low, with extremely poor combat abilities, essentially just cannon fodder.

As for the price, such Dogfly Yellow crickets typically went for six yuan each.

Although Wang Xiaoqiang was not much of a cricket connoisseur, he was familiar with Dogfly Yellow, the ordinary "earth cricket" as the locals called it, and he wasn't about to be fooled by the seller. He replied with a cold laugh: "Boss, do you take me for a fool? This Dogfly Yellow, we can gather a bunch in our fields. You ask for a hundred, okay, how about this?

Tomorrow I'll catch a hundred or so and sell them to you at fifty a pop, you interested?"

The seller had not expected Wang Xiaoqiang to see through his ruse so quickly and instantly his face turned red with embarrassment, and he pursed his lips awkwardly, "Ten yuan each, I can't go any lower."

"Five yuan, not a cent more!" Wang Xiaoqiang said bluntly.

"Alright, I guess it's fate that I've met a young man like you today. I'll take a loss and sell you one." Saying so, the cricket seller pushed the cage containing the Dogfly Yellow into Wang Xiaoqiang's hands.

He was somewhat baffled; knowing it was a Dogfly Yellow, why would the young man still spend money to buy it? Surely he wasn't planning to use the Dogfly Yellow in a cricket fight? That would be embarrassing and a sure way to lose money.

Wang Xiaoqiang handed over five yuan to the seller and then took the Dogfly Yellow to a quiet corner. He stuck his forefinger inside the cage and infused some Wood Element Spiritual Qi into the body of the Dogfly Yellow, then directed some Metal Element Spiritual Energy into its mandibles. After that, he carried it back among the crowd of cricket fighters.

The Dogfly Yellow in his cage, nourished by the Spiritual Energy, shed its dull and clumsy demeanor and became lively and sharp, seemingly getting quite hot-tempered, bouncing around the cage as if wanting to burst out of its "prison." Its mandibles, after being infused with Metal Element Spiritual Energy, were now emitting a fierce white light invisible to the naked eye.

As Wang Xiaoqiang brought the Dogfly Yellow into the throng, another person had just been defeated, storming out of the crowd, disgruntled at being beaten by the "Big Steel Fang."

Glancing over, Wang Xiaoqiang could see that in front of the chubby middle-aged man lay a gray ceramic pot the size of a footbath, inside of which a fierce-looking cricket sat squat. This creature was dark as ink with a subtle hint of purple shimmer; its head resembled jet-black jade, and its prominent black mandibles were as sharp as the blades of a sawyer beetle on a summer willow tree.

One could tell it was a fine breed. It was raring to fight, boasting an intimidating presence.

No wonder it had won several times in a row. It was indeed a freak.

With its overwhelming might, Big Steel Fang had won several fights in a row, and momentarily, there were no Challengers daring to face it.

The middle-aged fat man looked around at the crowd with a smug expression, seeing that no one else dared to come forward, he planned to pack up and leave.

"I'll give it a try!"

Wang Xiaoqiang plopped himself down on the small stool opposite the middle-aged fat man and placed the cage containing Dogfly Yellow in front of everyone.

The middle-aged fat man sized up Wang Xiaoqiang and then glanced at his Dogfly Yellow, sneering dismissively. Just as he was about to speak, the surrounding crowd burst into roaring laughter.

"Ahahaha~~~ It's my first time seeing someone challenge Big Steel Fang with a Dogfly Yellow!"

"Dogfly Yellow is just trash, not even enough for one bite from Big Steel Fang..."

"Not even in the same league, just cannon fodder. Do you have too much money? Bringing Dogfly Yellow is asking to lose!"

The middle-aged fat man thought Wang Xiaoqiang was joking at first, but seeing his serious demeanor, he realized he was in earnest.

"Well then, if someone's willing to throw away their money, I won't complain about it being too hot to handle, hahaha~~~" The middle-aged fat man laughed triumphantly.

"Don't get too happy too soon, who wins and who loses is not yet certain..." Wang Xiaoqiang replied coldly with a smirk, radiating confidence.

"Be my guest..." The middle-aged fat man frowned slightly at these words, shouted, and the surrounding crowd quickly began placing bets, undoubtedly betting on Big Steel Fang to win!

Pitting Dogfly Yellow against Big Steel Fang was like using an egg to smash a rock, a definite loss. With such a sure bet, not betting on Big Steel Fang would be foolish!

Wang Xiaoqiang cracked a slight smile, opened the bamboo cage door, and released his Dogfly Yellow into the clay pot!

Squeak squeak squeak!

The already agitated Dogfly Yellow, once freed from the cage, displayed a lively and vigorous demeanor, flipping into the battle arena and slightly startling everyone.

Upon landing, Dogfly Yellow stood on its hind legs, erect like a human!

It adopted a standing posture, just like a person, and its golden wings kept emitting sharp, squeaky sounds!

Has this thing become a spirit!?

Watching the Dogfly Yellow stand upright in the clay pot, everyone was dumbfounded!

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