A Mage in the Martial Arts World - Chapter 009
To the surprise of Young Master Liu and the others, the old rooster that had just been fed before entering the arena actually started eating the handful of rice scattered by Li Wei.
Seeing its swollen crop, Young Master Liu and the rest sighed in relief.
After eating that much, not to mention that the rooster was already so old it could barely stand — even a strong young rooster wouldn’t have the energy to chase a cricket afterward.
Still, the uneasy feeling in their hearts didn’t fade.
Everyone stepped back and sat down in their seats.
After both sides gave their consent, a restaurant attendant came forward and removed the divider between the cricket and the rooster. What they saw next left everyone dumbfounded.
The old rooster, who had eaten its fill, charged straight at Tai Sui the instant the divider was lifted. Its speed was far beyond anyone’s expectations.
Even Li Wei, who had planned everything, was slightly surprised.
When he fed the rooster earlier, he had secretly mixed in a bun skin ball infused with mana and vitality — the same kind he’d used the night before.
He had expected the rooster to improve somewhat, but not to this extent. After all, compared to a cricket, the rooster was far larger.
As the old rooster shot forward like an arrow from a bow, the crowd was stunned. Tai Sui, the cricket, seemed frozen with fear and didn’t move.
But instead of pecking with its beak as everyone expected, the rooster raised one claw and stomped down hard.
Though Tai Sui was far stronger than ordinary crickets, it couldn’t withstand that blow — its abdomen burst open instantly.
The enraged rooster didn’t stop there; it stomped several more times until Tai Sui was nothing but a smear of meat.
“Coo—!” The rooster lifted its head and crowed triumphantly, like a general returning from victory.
Li Wei felt a familiar energy in its cry — the same faint sensation he had noticed in the cricket that had been fed a mana-infused bun skin ball, though this time it was far clearer.
The rooster’s cry snapped Young Master Liu and the others out of their daze, leaving their faces dark and sour.
“Young Master Liu, you truly are fair and just,” Li Wei said with a smile. “I almost misunderstood you earlier — who could have guessed this rooster would be so fierce? I owe you an apology.”
Young Master Liu felt as though he’d swallowed a fly, but knowing he couldn’t protest, he forced a stiff smile. “Little Marquis, I’m glad you’re satisfied…”
“Cheating! You cheated!” shouted Yu Deshui, who was slower to react than the others.
“Can’t afford to lose?” Li Wei sneered. “If you can’t take it, just admit it. It’s only a few taels of silver — I’m not that petty.”
Ignoring Yu Deshui, Li Wei looked straight at Young Master Liu.
“Young Master Liu, don’t fall for his tricks,” Yu Deshui said anxiously. “That rooster could never defeat Tai Sui on its own — he must’ve done something!”
“Shut up,” Young Master Liu barked. Then, glaring coldly at Li Wei, he said, “Little Marquis, quite the clever trick.”
“Oh, so you’re calling it cheating?” Li Wei laughed. “Sure, let’s say I cheated — what can you do about it?”
“You admit it, then!” Yu Deshui cried out, almost hysterical. “See, Young Master Liu? He said it himself — punish him!”
Young Master Liu’s expression darkened. “Little Marquis, this was meant to be a fair competition. Do you realize what trouble this causes me?”
“You’re not really taking that seriously, are you? I was just talking. I could say I plucked a star from the sky yesterday — would you believe that too? Besides, if you’re accusing me of cheating, where’s your proof?”
“I— You—” Young Master Liu clenched his fists in frustration. Knowing he couldn’t argue, he forced a cold smile. “Fine. The Little Marquis wins this round. But tell me, are you interested in betting again?”
“Of course,” Li Wei said lazily. “I’ll bet that my cricket wins.” He tossed another five million taels’ worth of silver notes onto the table. “Can you match it?”
Young Master Liu exchanged glances with Yu Deshui and the others. All of them hesitated.
Fifteen million taels was no small sum. Winning would be great, but if they lost…
They had plotted carefully to put Li Wei at a disadvantage, but they still had to maintain appearances.
If Li Wei lost, they could use the Duke of Zhen Guo’s name to demand payment. But if Li Wei won — even with that same backing — it would be difficult to avoid paying up. After all, this was the Golden City, the Marquis of Xiaoyao’s own territory. If things turned ugly, they’d be the ones in danger.
Li Wei noticed their uneasy expressions and smirked, but didn’t rush them. He calmly picked up his Leisure Record and began reading.
The longer this dragged out, the better it was for him.
These scheming bastards thought they’d set a perfect trap, but their methods were disgraceful. Once the Li family arrived, everything they’d done would amount to nothing.
He wasn’t afraid of a fair match — not when he had absolute confidence in his crickets, all of which had been fed mana-infused bun skin balls.
Li Wei’s nonchalance made Young Master Liu lose patience. He slammed his folding fan on the table. “Fine! We’ll take your bet. Which rooster will your cricket face?”
“That’s your problem, not mine,” Li Wei replied without looking up. “Why ask me? Do my words decide it?” He yawned loudly. “Better hurry up — I’m getting sleepy.”
Young Master Liu and Yu Deshui exchanged uneasy glances.
They had chosen the rooster for Li Wei before, believing it would easily win — but now they weren’t so sure.
Still, after some hesitation, they decided to stick with their original plan. The rooster they had prepared was strong and well-trained; they just had to trust it.
Once their rooster was placed in the arena, Li Wei set his book aside and nodded to Zuo An.
“Open the case,” he said, pointing at a nearby jar.
Zuo An walked toward the arena carrying the jar, under the watchful eyes of Young Master Liu and the others.
When a purple cricket emerged from the jar, Yu Deshui and his friends were momentarily disappointed — it wasn’t the famous “General.” But they soon relaxed.
The stakes were high, but the true decisive battle would come later. Surely the “General” would be saved for last.
Once both sides confirmed there were no issues, the restaurant staff removed the divider again.
This time, the rooster behaved very differently from the old one earlier. It didn’t charge right away. Instead, it stared intently at the cricket, as if studying its opponent.
A full minute passed. Still, the rooster didn’t move.
The cricket grew impatient, flapping its wings and waving its long antennae, chirping as if to provoke it.
Finally, the rooster lunged forward — but the cricket leapt up at the same time, meeting it head-on.
The rooster clearly hadn’t expected that and froze for a moment — just long enough for the cricket to land on its head and bite deep into its crown.
The rooster shrieked and jumped several feet into the air. Young Master Liu and the others held their breath — if it leapt out of the ring, it would lose automatically.
Fortunately, it landed inside the boundary. The moment it hit the ground, it shook its head violently, trying to throw the cricket off.
But the cricket held on tight.
Yu Deshui and the others weren’t too worried — they had anticipated this and trained the rooster to handle it.
The rooster suddenly slammed its head against the hardwood floor, trying to crush the cricket.
Zuo An gasped, sure the cricket would be smashed into pulp — but instead, it jumped away just in time.
The rooster, dazed from the impact, fell hard and began spinning in circles, clearly disoriented.
“Damn it!” Young Master Liu cursed under his breath, praying the cricket wouldn’t take advantage.
But fate didn’t listen. The cricket darted forward again, landing on the rooster’s head and biting its eye.
The rooster let out a bloodcurdling scream as bl00d gushed from its blinded eye.
Before it could retaliate, the cricket leapt off and waited patiently in the corner for it to tire out.
When the rooster began to falter, the cricket attacked again — from the blind side.
It landed precisely on the rooster’s other eye, blinding it completely.
Watching this, Young Master Liu and the others were both furious and horrified. This wasn’t a cricket — it was a cunning, battle-hardened killer.
Unable to take it anymore, Young Master Liu subtly nudged the hunchbacked old man beside him, signaling him to intervene.
If the rooster lost both eyes, they would be handing fifteen million taels of silver straight to Li Wei.
The old man understood the signal immediately. Without drawing attention, he extended a finger from his sleeve — the tip glowing faintly red — and aimed it at the cricket.