Chapter 49: Reward - Unlimited Pet Space

After shaking off the confrontation with those malicious individuals, Li Taixing turned his focus toward his own journey of cultivation.

His Master had mentioned that he now had the strength of a Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Stage cultivator, so Li Taixing chose to head straight into the heart of the Forest of Beasts. This area was teeming with various beasts, their levels ranging from the Qi Gathering Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The first thing Li Taixing did was find a place to call home during his time in the forest. Using his perception ability, he quickly located a cave that seemed suitable.

However, the cave wasn't empty—it was occupied by a bear spirit, a creature of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Li Taixing stood outside the cave, sensing the presence of the bear spirit, which in turn noticed this unexpected intruder. The bear spirit let out a low growl, clearly displeased.

"Roar."

This was its territory, and it had no intention of allowing an outsider, especially a human cultivator, to trespass. The bear spirit eyed Li Taixing warily, recognizing that despite his youth, this human must have some capability to have made it this far.

"Hey, spirit bear, I'm taking over your cave," Li Taixing declared, pointing at the cave as if it already belonged to him.

The bear spirit, enraged by this blatant trespass, let out a louder roar in protest.

"Roar!"

Li Taixing, unfazed, summoned the Flying Sword that hovered behind him, preparing for a possible confrontation.

The bear spirit responded by slamming its powerful paws onto the ground, causing large cracks to spiderweb across the cave floor.

"Hehe," Li Taixing chuckled softly. "You don't agree?"

With a flick of his thoughts, dozens of Qingyue Swords materialized beside him. The bear spirit froze, its eyes locked on the swords, momentarily unsure.

"Bang bang."

But the bear spirit, determined to defend its home, slapped the ground again, showing its resolve.

Li Taixing merely smiled as he summoned hundreds of Qingyue Swords, surrounding the bear spirit in an instant. Before the bear spirit could even process what was happening, the number of swords multiplied to several thousand.

"Gulu."

The bear spirit swallowed nervously, its bravado fading. Realizing it was outmatched, it stepped aside, gesturing for Li Taixing to take the cave.

Satisfied with the bear spirit's submission, Li Taixing approached it and said, "You're quite sensible. How about you stay here and guard the entrance for me? Don't worry; there will be plenty of benefits in it for you."

The bear spirit hesitated, but seeing the countless swords still hovering around, it nodded in agreement.

Li Taixing grinned, pleased with its cooperation. "Good, let's see how well you perform."

With a wave of his hand, Li Taixing conjured a roast suckling pig, placing it in front of the bear spirit.

"Gulu."

The mouth-watering aroma immediately enticed the bear spirit, causing it to drool.

"See? Stick with me, and you'll have all the food you could ever want. And it's not just suckling pig—I've got lamb, duck, chicken, goose, you name it."

As he spoke, Li Taixing materialized an assortment of roasted meats. The bear spirit, overwhelmed by the feast before it, looked like a joyful little cub in a paradise of food.

"It seems you're very satisfied," Li Taixing observed.

The bear spirit eagerly nodded.

"Alright then, that settles it," Li Taixing said with a chuckle. The bear spirit quickly nodded again, a contented smile on its face.

"Hahaha, good!" Li Taixing laughed.

Suddenly, the bear spirit offered a glowing essence to Li Taixing, catching him by surprise.

"What's this?" he asked, puzzled.

The bear spirit pushed the essence toward him, seemingly as a token of gratitude.

Li Taixing wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but he had a general idea—it was likely a gift in return. As he reached out to touch the essence, a familiar system notification rang in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations on acquiring your first pet: Bear Spirit. Unlimited pet space unlocked.]

[Ding! 10 billion time multiplier triggered: You have received 10 billion Bear Spirits.]*

[Ding! You can summon a massive number of spirit bears to fight for you.]

Li Taixing was stunned.

"Is this for real?"

"System, you're amazing!"

With 10 billion bear spirits at his disposal, it felt as if the entire world was within his grasp.

Li Taixing couldn't help but grin. "If the bear spirit can do this, maybe other beasts can too."

An idea began to form in his mind, and a mischievous smile spread across his face.

But then, another thought crossed his mind. "Wait, system, do I need to feed all these creatures?"

[Host, please rest assured that the creatures in the pet space do not require feeding. However, if summoned, the host will need to provide for them.]

"Got it."

Li Taixing wasn't worried. After all, he had more than enough food to go around.

"By the way, system, can a living person be a pet?"

[Only if they willingly acknowledge you as their master. However, note that all pets, except for the first one, are replicas, so they have certain flaws.]

"Flaws?"

[They are ruthless, fearless of death, but completely loyal.]

"Oh? Is that all?"

[Yes.]

"Good to know."

As long as they didn't betray him, Li Taixing had no issues with these "flaws."

Entering the bear spirit's cave, Li Taixing wrinkled his nose at the foul odor. "Looks like this place needs a good cleaning."

Without hesitation, he summoned several bear spirits.

The original bear spirit's eyes widened in shock as it saw identical copies of itself suddenly appear.

It rubbed its eyes, tilted its head, and stared at the many copies in confusion.

Seeing this, Li Taixing chuckled. "What's the matter? Don't recognize your own kind?"

"Oh, by the way, they're not exactly your kind—they're copies of you."

"Alright, let's get to work."

With a thought, Li Taixing summoned cleaning tools. The spirit bears, now acting like diligent workers, began to scrub the cave clean, removing bones and other debris.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuanwu, who had been watching from the shadows, was so shocked by the sight of multiple identical bear spirits that he forgot about the roast chicken in his hand.

"Eh? When did so many bear spirits appear? And why do they all look exactly the same? Like they came out of a mold?"

Wang Xuanwu was utterly bewildered.

"Could it be that this spirit bear had multiple births?"

"Tsk, it seems my precious disciple tamed one and got a few more as a bonus."

"Why does this feeding scene feel oddly familiar?"

Wang Xuanwu frowned, glancing between his roast chicken and the roast suckling pig the bear spirit was devouring.

Suddenly, he felt a bit uneasy, realizing that, just like the spirit bear, he might have become a pet in someone else's care.