Chapter 84: Should He Win or Should He Lose?

After confirming they were safe, Jin Ying also looked at the ghost mastiff with some liking.

He had actually wanted to buy a fighting dog long ago, but Jin Buhuan would not allow it.

If cockfighting was a pastime for ordinary people, fighting dogs were a different matter entirely.

They were more aggressive and far more formidable in battle.

In the same realm, it was rare for any beast to be a match for a fighting dog.

Of course, that referred to fighting dogs below the level of Great Beast Master.

Once a beast reached the level of Great Beast Master, it would awaken its innate ability.

Fighting dogs were fierce in their early years, but their aptitudes were usually unremarkable.

Even if they awakened an innate ability, it would only be an ordinary one, nothing that could compare with truly powerful beasts.

For this very reason, Jin Buhuan had strictly forbidden the four brothers from keeping fighting dogs, so that he would never have to suffer the sight of his sons being bitten by dogs.

Because of this, they had grown especially fond of cockfighting.

Xiao Yang said nothing and simply held out one hand.

At once, the eyes of the four Jin brothers lit up slightly.

“Big brother, that’s an insane bargain. A top-tier fighting dog like this only cost five hundred thousand taels?”

As he spoke, he even seemed tempted to reach out and touch the ghost mastiff.

Xiao Yang did not bother to say more.

If others said it cost that much, then that was the price; in any case, he was not losing out.

“Woooo.”

A dull, low growl rumbled from the ghost mastiff.

A faint killing intent rose from its body.

It lifted its head slightly and looked toward the four members of the Jin family.

“The person beside you is someone I can’t afford to provoke. Who the hell are you? You want to touch me?”

It bared its sharp teeth, preparing to take a bite out of each of the four.

But in the blink of an eye—

Bang!

A fist struck the ghost mastiff squarely on the head.

At the same time, a calm voice rang out.

“You looking to get smacked?”

The ghost mastiff felt its head go blank for a moment, but it quickly came back to its senses.

Only after seeing that it was Xiao Yang who had hit it did it reluctantly glance at the four men before lying back down on the floor.

The four young masters of the Jin family were so tense they could hardly breathe, afraid the ghost mastiff would lunge at them.

But after seeing Xiao Yang bring his fist down, all of them were stunned.

Since when did a fighting dog become so well-behaved?

Though they were full of questions, none of them dared ask.

They did not even have the courage to get near Xiao Yang.

Just look at those sharp teeth; if they got bitten once, amputation would probably be the least of it.

With their skinny arms and thin legs, it was better to keep their distance.

“Come on, come on. What are you doing crouching here?”

Xiao Yang urged them on directly.

He was very busy.

He still had to rush to two matches later.

If he dawdled and both sides finished, then he would be losing four million taels of silver.

That was enough resources for two minor realms; he had to take it seriously.

“Then, young masters, please follow me.”

Wang Xi stepped forward again.

However, because the ghost mastiff was blocking the doorway, he could not get through and could only look at Xiao Yang expectantly.

Xiao Yang understood at once.

He pushed the ghost mastiff aside and rebuked it somewhat impatiently.

“Why are you so lacking in awareness? Can’t you see you’re blocking the way? Move aside, now.”

The ghost mastiff rose with some grievance and left the private room.

Wang Xi then slipped past by hugging the doorframe.

His impression of the dog was clearly very poor.

Under Wang Xi’s guidance, they soon arrived at the cockfighting grounds.

It was a vast open area.

Every three zhang, there was a fenced enclosure.

It was clearly the designated area for the cockfighting event.

By now, many people had already arrived.

At a glance, there had to be three or four hundred of them.

Almost every person had brought a fighting cock.

They were waiting for the match to begin.

“Young master, this is your number.”

Wang Xi took out a numbered token and handed it to Xiao Yang.

But Xiao Yang immediately passed it to the four young masters of the Jin family.

This time, he was only here to watch.

Their names were on the entry list, and they would be the ones sending Chicken Overlord into battle.

At this point, Wang Xi also began explaining the rules of the preliminary round.

The four young masters clearly already knew them; he was only saying it for Xiao Yang’s sake.

“Six cocks will be placed in one arena, and the last one standing advances.”

“And the prize money will go to the one whose bird spends the shortest time in battle.”

After hearing this, Xiao Yang said directly to the rooster in his arms,

“Finish it quickly. Don’t waste time.”

Chicken Overlord nodded, clearly understanding.

Only then did Xiao Yang hand it over to Jin Ying with peace of mind.

“Go.”

“Yes, big brother. I’ll definitely bring back the preliminary champion.”

Jin Ying took Chicken Overlord somewhat timidly, afraid the rooster would bite him.

Fortunately, after Xiao Yang had given his instructions, the bird would not do anything to Jin Ying for the time being.

It did listen to Xiao Yang.

Because they were worried about an empty bracket, all the matches this time were determined by random drawing.

What kind of opponent they met depended entirely on luck.

Just then, an old man appeared on the central stage.

He coughed twice to draw everyone’s attention.

Once he felt it was about right and all eyes were on him, he spoke.

“Everyone knows the rules, so this old man won’t waste words.”

“Now, let the draw begin!”

“Fifty-five and seventy-nine... enter Arena One.”

One by one, the numbers were called.

Many of the contestants beside Jin Ying had already begun fighting.

The entire venue was filled with the shrill cries of chickens and their furious crows.

In no time at all, feathers were flying everywhere.

It had turned into utter chaos.

Soon, at last, they called the number in Jin Ying’s hand.

“One, two hundred and eight... ninety-seven, form a group and enter Arena Thirteen.”

Jin Ying did not waste a second and hugged Chicken Overlord as he ran toward Arena Thirteen.

All the while, he still said uneasily,

“Brother Chicken, you have to finish this as fast as possible. Consider it a favor to me.”

“Otherwise, I’m really going to be miserable.”

“Cluck cluck cluck!”

Chicken Overlord answered with obvious disdain.

To it, those cocks were no more than chicks.

Dealing with such trash did not even require it to lift a claw.

Very quickly, they reached Arena Thirteen.

Inside were already three fighting cocks, all looking warily at the others.

“Brother Chicken, my happy life is in your hands now.”

As he said that, he even planted a kiss on Chicken Overlord.

At once, Chicken Overlord was displeased.

You can carry me if you want, but the hell are you doing with your mouth?

When it jumped down, it viciously shoved Jin Ying with its wing.

Jin Ying nearly lost his footing and fell.

Looking again, Chicken Overlord had already walked into the cage on its own.

The other three also sized up this newly arrived opponent.

The next moment, all three could not help it.

They laughed out loud.

“Is this thing a speckled hen?”

The other two wore equally strange expressions.

A bird like this was not fit for battle; it was only good enough to serve as a side dish with wine. Who knew which idiot had actually sent such a thing into the competition?

Thinking of that, they could not help but study Chicken Overlord’s owner.

When they looked over—

All three of them trembled.

They all had the same feeling: as though a dog had just been shoved down their throats.

Why him?

They had all clearly recognized Jin Ying.

The eldest young master of the City Lord’s Manor.

Instantly, all three began to wonder whether this match could still be fought at all.

Should they win, or should they lose?

Looking at the speckled hen, all three fell into deep thought.