Learning in Secret Isn't Stealing

"What's going on?!"

Just over ten minutes later, someone noticed something unusual about the Miniature Ferocious Beast.

"Look at the Spiritual Power displayed by the Scanner. There are actually tiny wisps of Spiritual Power leaking out of Yi Chen's Qi Sea."

"And they're leaking outward from his body, all of them being absorbed by the Miniature Ferocious Beast lying beside him."

"That really is the case. According to the Scanner, all the Spiritual Power leaking from Yi Chen's Qi Sea has been absorbed by this Miniature Ferocious Beast and converted into its own energy."

"Good heavens, it's stealing Yi Chen's Spiritual Power!"

"Damn it, wouldn't that slow down Yi Chen's cultivation?"

"Not really. The Miniature Ferocious Beast is only absorbing tiny wisps of Spiritual Power. It has virtually no effect on Yi Chen's cultivation."

"What the hell is this thing? It can actually absorb other people's energy and turn it into its own?"

The viewers in the Live Stream Room were all completely baffled.

In the Milky Way, there were Ferocious Beasts of every kind, as numerous as the hairs on an ox.

These Ferocious Beasts also possessed all sorts of bizarre abilities.

But never before had there been a Miniature Ferocious Beast that took thousands of years to hatch.

And after hatching, it was only a Level 1 infant-stage Ferocious Beast.

Even stranger, a mere Level 1 Ferocious Beast possessed the special ability to absorb others' Spiritual Power for its own use.

"Could there be something wrong with the Chaos Art?"

After the Miniature Ferocious Beast had lain beside Yi Chen and slept comfortably for over two hours,

Yi Chen's brow furrowed slightly.

As early as two hours ago, he had sensed faint Spiritual Power leaking from his Qi Sea toward a certain direction outside his body.

At the time, he had not thought much of it.

The leaking Spiritual Power was so negligible that it could scarcely affect his cultivation at all.

But after it continued for so long, he had no choice but to take it seriously.

This might not be a short-term anomaly, but some flaw in the Chaos Art that he had failed to notice.

After hesitating for a moment,

he stopped cultivating and prepared to study the incantations and Meridian Cultivation Chart of the Chaos Art once more.

Yet he discovered in astonishment

that even after he stopped cultivating, wisps of Spiritual Power still continued leaking out of his Qi Sea in one direction.

He could not help lowering his head to look in the direction where the Spiritual Power was leaking.

The Miniature Ferocious Beast came into view, its little stubby paws and legs spread wide as it lay beside him, sleeping soundly in comfort.

"Yi Chen must have noticed something was wrong."

"It dared to steal Yi Chen's Spiritual Power. This Miniature Ferocious Beast is dead for sure."

"The little thing is so cute. I think Yi Chen will keep it as a pet. Besides, the Spiritual Power it absorbs has no real effect on his cultivation."

"I really want to become the little thing and be taken in as Yi Chen's pet."

"Are the girls upstairs joking? With Yi Chen's personality, how could he possibly keep something like this as a pet? Slapping it to death would be more his style."

"No way! You all said my Yi Chen was some ruthless overlord, that he could never teach the improved version of the Chaos Art in order to preserve his authority and prestige. But what happened? Didn't he still teach everyone the improved Chaos Art?"

"Exactly! Yi Chen is not only supremely talented, dashing and handsome, diligent and hardworking, and exceptionally intelligent—he also has a compassion ordinary people lack. He'll definitely keep such an adorable little thing as a pet."

"If Yi Chen doesn't kill this Miniature Ferocious Beast and instead keeps it as a pet, I'll livestream myself doing a handstand while eating shit!"

Seeing that Yi Chen had discovered the anomaly, the viewers in the Live Stream Room abruptly split into male and female camps and began arguing.

Inside the Wooden House,

Yi Chen stood up and took a few steps.

Then he inspected his Qi Sea inwardly.

Just as he had expected, the Spiritual Power was no longer leaking out.

As for the Miniature Ferocious Beast, it seemed to sense that something was wrong.

Its plump body wriggled a few times before it rolled toward Yi Chen.

With a thud, it fell to the floor.

The impact jolted it awake.

Its tiny mung-bean eyes opened, sweeping around the room. When it spotted Yi Chen, it happily waddled over again.

It lay down by Yi Chen's feet.

After stretching lazily and contentedly, it actually began snoring again.

Yi Chen once again sensed wisps of Spiritual Power leaking from his Qi Sea.

The direction was precisely where the Miniature Ferocious Beast lay.

He was so angry that he laughed.

"Stealing my Spiritual Power, and after I discovered it, you still dare to keep stealing openly?"

Yi Chen raised his right foot.

Spiritual Power surged and gathered at the tip of his foot.

Then he kicked the Miniature Ferocious Beast.

Squeak...

The Miniature Ferocious Beast let out a shrill cry.

Its body shot away like a tiny golden cannonball.

With a bang, it crashed into the sturdy wooden wall.

It immediately went still.

Its body had already been deformed.

Yi Chen returned to the wooden bed, sat cross-legged, and continued cultivating.

All the female viewers in the Live Stream Room were struck dumb.

"Ha, see? I told you! With Yi Chen's personality, how could he possibly spare this Miniature Ferocious Beast, much less keep it as a pet?"

"Exactly! It dared to steal Yi Chen's Spiritual Power. If he were not too lazy to waste time, he would probably have ground it to dust and scattered its ashes."

The male viewers in the Live Stream Room were smug with pride.

"But come to think of it, we're also stealing Yi Chen's cultivation methods. If he finds out someday, will he be so furious that he kills everyone he sees?"

That sudden question

made the entire Live Stream Room fall silent as a graveyard.

"I think learning in secret doesn't count as stealing..."

Someone suddenly offered a rebuttal.

"Yes, yes, learning in secret doesn't count as stealing. We're only secretly learning Yi Chen's cultivation methods, and Yi Chen suffers no loss at all. How can that count as stealing?"

"That's right. This Miniature Ferocious Beast was directly stealing Yi Chen's Spiritual Power. Even if it was only a little, it still caused Yi Chen a direct loss."

"Not only that, Yi Chen is of the same race as us. Those not of our race are sure to harbor different hearts—how can that Miniature Ferocious Beast be mentioned in the same breath as us?"

"Besides, given Yi Chen's contributions to all humanity, once he has exhausted his talent and can no longer create New Cultivation Methods, it will be inevitable for him to be specially pardoned and released. When that time comes, we'll definitely give him sufficient compensation."

"That's right. I think Yi Chen should be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Humanity and the title of Teacher of Humanity. On every Life Planet controlled by the Human Race, we should build statues of him to commend his contributions to all humanity!"

Soon, rebuttals rose one after another, voices chattering like a flock of sparrows.

Everyone was trying to find a way to save face for themselves.

Even those who had raised doubts earlier, though they could refute these reasons, did not argue back.

Because they had also learned the Chaos Art, and planned to keep learning it.

There was no helping it. The cultivation methods Yi Chen created were simply too tempting.

Just breaking through to Spirit Release Realm First Level and raising one's maximum lifespan to two hundred and forty years was a temptation no one could refuse.

While everyone's attention was focused on whether secretly learning counted as stealing,

in a corner of the Wooden House,

that Miniature Ferocious Beast, whose body was deformed and devoid of all signs of life,

began, strangely, to return to its original shape.

Its chest also slowly began to rise and fall.