Chapter 81

Could it be that this Mr. Yan owns that legendary recipe?

"My stomach hurts again," Xiaohai suddenly clutched his stomach.

"Did you eat something bad just now? But that's strange, we're all fine," Deng Mengmeng asked with concern.

"It's nothing, nothing. I'll be right back," Xiaohai said as he hurriedly slipped out.

He went to a distant shop and, as soon as he entered, asked, "Do you have crickets for sale?"

"Yes, yes," the shop owner quickly invited the customer in. "We have all kinds, Qingqing, Leling Huang, Danbai Moya. What price range are you looking for?"

"The cheaper, the better."

Upon hearing this, the shop owner's smile immediately vanished. He pointed to a basin in the corner, "There, inside. Pay and take your pick."

Xiaohai walked over and saw that there were over a dozen crickets inside, all quite large, but with three tails and not chirping.

This... these are oil crickets!

These crickets are called oil crickets, which are common and don't fight. They are usually bought for children to play with.

"Alright, I'll take this one," Xiaohai picked one at random and took out ten yuan. "I'll also buy a bamboo tube, no need for a good one."

You want a good bamboo tube for ten yuan? The shop owner lazily handed him a bamboo tube.

As soon as he stepped out of the shop, he immediately established a mental connection with the oil cricket, "Can you fight?"

"No," the oil cricket answered honestly.

"Do you want to be a fighting cricket?"

"Of course, I do," the oil cricket's eyes lit up.

Which cricket doesn't want to be a fighting cricket? Look at those fighting crickets, they eat well, live well, each in a 'single room,' and everyone has a house, with someone to clean for them. Now look at the oil crickets? So many crammed together, how much space does each one get?

But their fate is bad; they are born without the chance to be fighting crickets.

However, this oil cricket Xiaohai picked at random was different from its companions:

It was a cricket with ambition!

Yes, oil crickets are a type of cricket. Heaven gave it an oil cricket's body, but it had the heart of a fighting cricket!

It endured the ridicule of its companions. Those who lived with it always tried to persuade it: they were born as oil crickets, and their best fate was to hope a child would like them, take them home, and feed them some rice or vegetable leaves. The best outcome was to die of old age, or to be thrown away when the child got tired of them.

This is fate!

No, this oil cricket was unwilling to live like this.

It was a cricket with ambition!

It told its companions, "Don't call me oil cricket, call me fighting cricket!"

It had once tried. By chance, the shop owner put it in a basin with a fighting cricket to train it. The oil cricket was eager to try, but as soon as the fight started, it was chased around by the fighting cricket.

From then on, it despaired, knowing it would always just be an oil cricket...

But now, the opportunity had come again!

Xiaohai's finger gently touched the oil cricket, and immediately, it felt an incredibly powerful force enter its body!

This spiritual energy was nothing much for humans or large animals, but for a tiny cricket, it was incomparably powerful! Like a mountain flood, it washed and transformed the oil cricket's body.

This was the spiritual energy of the Dragon Spirit Pearl!

The spiritual energy circulated through the oil cricket's body and then completed the transformation.

The strongest cricket in history was born!

Xiaqiang—this was the name Xiaohai gave the oil cricket.

Powerful energy surged within Xiaqiang, as if a voice was constantly urging it:

Fight—Xiaqiang!

For the honor of all oil crickets—fight!

It entered the bamboo tube with great confidence, eagerly awaiting the upcoming battle...

...

"Is there anyone else?"

No one among the onlookers spoke. Qingmatou had lost, and no one could even pass the first round. Who dared to try?

Mr. Yan was extremely pleased. He had obtained a secret recipe by chance, which recorded how to prepare a drug to increase a fighting cricket's combat power several times. After a trial, it proved effective, so he came up with the idea of the three challenges.

First, to enhance his shop's reputation, and second, to win many good things.

He knew when to stop.

"I'll do it!"

Just as Mr. Yan was about to announce the end, a voice rang out.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi exclaimed simultaneously:

"Xiaohai!"

Xiaohai walked over with a smile, "I'm here."

Mr. Yan immediately became serious and did not ignore Xiaohai because of his youth.

In the cricket-fighting world, there is a saying: "I'm not afraid of the fierce, I'm afraid of the old and the young."

This means that no matter how powerful your cricket is, you must be cautious when facing an old person or a child. Old people have rich experience and have seen many scenes, so they always bring the best. As for children, there is a legend:

In ancient times, an emperor loved cricket-fighting and demanded a large number of fighting crickets from the people every year. One family couldn't catch a powerful cricket and was about to be arrested by the authorities. Their child suddenly turned into a fighting cricket at night. The parents tearfully offered this cricket, and it proved invincible.

So, it is said that crickets and children have a special connection, and the most powerful crickets are always found by children.

Mr. Yan calmed himself, "Alright, but do you know the rules?"

"Yes, yes," Xiaohai smiled and took out the jade scorpion from his neck, "How about this?"

This jade scorpion was made from a fragment of the He Shi Bi. It was originally mistaken for a yellow jade, but after Xiaohai absorbed the little bit of spiritual energy it had, he always wore it close to his body, nurturing its spiritual energy anew.

Xiaohai's Dragon Spirit Pearl had already broken through the third level, and the energy it emitted was incredibly powerful. Even the jade scorpion benefited greatly, recovering at least half of its spiritual energy, and the yellow color was gradually turning into a light golden hue.

If Guo Wenhe saw it now, he would probably regret it.

Mr. Yan took it and immediately knew it was a valuable item. He nodded.

He then fed the "Iron Qingqing Back Living Yama" some rice and placed it in the fighting basin, "Young man, what about yours?"

Xiaohai watched Mr. Yan's actions and guessed the secret must be in the rice. He smiled, "Mr. Yan, if I win, does the purple-blue macaw belong to me?"

"Yes!"

Mr. Yan pointed to the shop.

Xiaohai had already seen the beautiful pair of parrots inside, which were indeed the purple-blue macaws!

"I have one more request. If I win, this jade bracelet also belongs to me," Xiaohai suddenly pointed to the jade bracelet that Lu Ziyi had lost.

Mr. Yan thought for a moment. Compared to the purple-blue macaw, the jade bracelet was nothing. Besides, even if this boy's cricket was powerful, how could it pass all three rounds? He still had his strongest cricket in reserve. He nodded.

Xiaohai was satisfied, "Mine is incredible, it's the 'Great Supreme Commander who likes vegetable oil, bean oil, and salad oil.' Mr. Yan, you have to be careful."

Mr. Yan and the onlookers had been fighting crickets for years, and this was the first time they heard such a strange name. Their curiosity was piqued.

But when Xiaohai solemnly poured the cricket out of the bamboo tube, the crowd burst into laughter, and Mr. Yan's face turned iron gray, "Are you making fun of me?"

An oil cricket! They saw an oil cricket!

Isn't this "likes vegetable oil, bean oil, and salad oil"?

"Mr. Yan, that's not right. Have you ever seen someone use such a valuable jade to make fun of someone?" Xiaohai said indifferently.

Indeed, Mr. Yan suppressed his anger. Although he didn't know what Xiaohai was up to, the jade was already the prize.

"What is Xiaohai up to?" Xu Yunqi whispered.

Deng Mengmeng shook her head in confusion...

The Living Yama, after eating the rice, was completely stimulated by the drug. As soon as the fighting grass touched its antennae, it rushed forward eagerly.

This Living Yama was powerful, but who did it encounter?

The strongest cricket in history—Xiaqiang!

Xiaqiang coldly watched the opponent, with powerful spiritual energy circulating in its body. When the Living Yama rushed to its front, Xiaqiang used its strong body to block it, then with a forceful push, it threw the Living Yama out in a move similar to a "shoulder throw" in wrestling.

This was called "shaking the basin," a technique often used by fighting crickets, but it was surprising to see it used by an oil cricket.

The crowd was amazed. An oil cricket fighting was already a rare sight, and now it was using "shaking the basin"?

This throw enraged the Living Yama. It was a cricket from light-colored soil, and as the saying goes, "deep soil crickets are good fighters, light soil crickets are the fiercest." After suffering such a loss, it revealed its ferocity, flapping its wings and making a "chirping" sound as it charged again.

The last time Xiaqiang encountered a fighting cricket, it was chased around the basin. This was its first real battle, so it was inevitably nervous.

The two crickets quickly bit and clawed at each other's sharp teeth, legs, and heads, trying to quickly kill the other.

Gradually, Xiaqiang grew more confident, while the Living Yama's speed began to slow.

It had fought many rounds already, and the drug had a side effect: it could enhance a cricket's abilities, but the effect was short-lived. So, a cricket that had taken the drug had to win quickly.

The Living Yama's movements slowed slightly, and Xiaqiang bit its long antennae.

This bite was incredibly powerful, and the Living Yama's antennae were actually bitten off.

The crowd gasped in shock. Once the antennae were broken, the cricket was ruined.

Mr. Yan was dumbfounded. His "Iron Head Qingqing Back Living Yama" was defeated by an oil cricket?

This was not just any oil cricket; it was a cricket with ambition:

The strongest cricket in history—Xiaqiang!