I Stepped on a Bug, and the System Says I Slayed a Dragon?-Chapter 51: Hardworking Li Zixuan

The second floor of the library.

Rows of sandalwood bookshelves stood tall, interspersed with pillars of gilded and inlaid silver.

Each pillar was carved with an Ancient Star Map, profound and mysterious. The Star Force wafting from the books made the entire second floor seem utterly extravagant.

It was as if the starry vault of the heavens had descended upon the mortal realm.

As Qin Yang walked onto the second floor, the man and the fox ambled forward, as if strolling through the vast, starry river of the cosmos.

Seeing the magnificent scene before him, Qin Yang couldn’t help but blurt out, "Holy shit." This left Xiaobai speechless.

’What kind of reaction is that?’

The books gathered here were all treasures collected by the Hall Master of Jianghai City, the condensed wisdom of countless Martial Arts predecessors.

’And all you can say is "Holy shit"?’

Qin Yang noticed Xiaobai’s expression and glanced at her. Startled, she quickly turned away and pointed to a nearby Postnatal Expert, saying:

"Master, feel free to browse. All these people have been caught in my Illusion Technique. They won’t be breaking free anytime soon."

"How long can you maintain it?"

"That depends on how long you want to read, Master."

"???"

Hearing this, Qin Yang froze for a moment.

’That’s badass!’

’I can read for as long as I want?’

’Xiaobai’s Illusion Technique is just too overpowered!’

At this, Qin Yang couldn’t help but glance at the nearby Postnatal Expert. He saw the man’s vacant eyes and unfocused pupils, and wondered what kind of Illusion Realm Xiaobai had trapped them in.

But he figured they wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

"Not bad, not bad. This is great."

Qin Yang placed Xiaobai from his shoulder onto the floor and waved his hand. "Alright, go play by yourself. Don’t disturb my reading."

His tone was cold and heartless, as if he were casting aside a useless tool.

"You!"

After landing on the floor, Xiaobai’s fur bristled and her ears shot up. She was about to get angry, but then she met Qin Yang’s cold gaze.

"Y-You take your time, Master... This humble one won’t disturb you."

With that, Xiaobai transformed into a little white-haired girl. She ran barefoot across the starlit floor, frolicking innocently among the bookshelves.

After sending Xiaobai off, Qin Yang went to the Swordsmanship section to look at the collection of True Understandings of Sword Dao.

A dazzling array of book titles met his eyes, like *Supreme Heartless Sword*, *True Understanding of Red Sun Sword Intent*, and *Profound Yin Nine Swords*. The sheer number was dizzying.

Qin Yang picked up a few volumes and skimmed through them, his gaze sweeping over line after line of text.

Soon, the contents of the books were memorized without a single error, completely imprinted upon his mind.

’It’s about time I perfected One Sword Opens the Celestial Gate.’

Qin Yang thought about the Swordsmanship techniques he possessed.

Currently, he only had two that were presentable.

One was the Emperor Level Martial Arts, *Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique*. This Cultivation Technique was already at a high enough level that it didn’t need improvement, nor could it be improved for the time being.

But his other Swordsmanship technique, *One Sword Opens the Celestial Gate*, had significant room for improvement.

’To merge the Sword Daos of a thousand schools into a single sword, for the student to surpass the master—that is true invincibility.’

At this thought, Qin Yang’s heart filled with anticipation, and he continued to browse the Swordsmanship books on the shelves.

After memorizing two Innate Realm Cultivation Techniques, he took out his phone to check the time.

He was still on the clock.

Coming up to the second floor was like sneaking a break, using the excuse of a bathroom trip to slack off. He had to get back to his post.

Thinking of this, Qin Yang glanced over the contents of the book in his hands, committed it all to memory, then placed it back on the empty shelf. He turned to the frolicking Bai Li.

"Come on, Xiaobai. We’re heading back."

"Oh, okay! Coming, Master."

At his call, Xiaobai bent over and transformed back into her fox form. She trotted over, leaped onto Qin Yang’s shoulder, and curled up into a ball.

Then, using the Seven-Star Dragon Roaming Step, Qin Yang silently left the second floor and returned to his post on the first floor to continue working.

...

As Qin Yang pushed a cart of books to reshelve them, he closed his eyes and organized his memories.

In his mind, all the Swordsmanship techniques he had absorbed were being restructured at his will. Characters peeled away to form sentences, which then merged into the Cultivation Technique of Sword-Opening Celestial Gate, causing his progress to advance by leaps and bounds.

’Tsk. This isn’t much different from AFK farming, is it?’

Several days passed.

Qin Yang’s life could be described as quite relaxed and comfortable.

His daily routine was a straight line between two points: from home to the library to clock in for work.

While at work, he would find time to slack off and take Xiaobai to the second floor, pulling out a couple of new Innate Swordsmanship manuals to absorb their insights and raise the Realm of his One Sword Opens the Celestial Gate.

After work, he would go home to eat dishes cooked by Xiaobai: Mapo Tofu, crispy sweet and sour pork, braised pork chops... He enjoyed a rotating menu of cuisines from all over the country, never eating the same thing twice.

.........

One day, Qin Yang and Xia He were slacking off together as usual. Xiaobai was lying lazily on the railing, quietly listening to their conversation.

"Hey, Old Qin, look over there. That chick is here again."

Xia He took a drag from his cigarette, suddenly gesturing for Qin Yang to look toward the rest area.

The midday sun was warm and gentle. Li Zixuan was sitting at one of the tables, a thick stack of books piled on top, looking serene and dignified as if immersed in a sea of literature.

"Why do you think she works so hard, Old Qin? She’s so talented, yet she’s still grinding this hard. How are ordinary people like us supposed to survive?"

Xia He took a frustrated drag on his cigarette, then flicked his fingers, using Star Force to extinguish the butt.

Li Zixuan had been coming to the library a lot these past few days.

Seeing such a genius work so diligently instantly gave Xia He a considerable sense of crisis.

But fortunately, seeing Qin Yang act as if nothing mattered, still just a slacker, put his mind at ease.

"Who knows? Maybe she has other things on her mind."

Qin Yang gave a perfunctory reply, his eyes on Li Zixuan in the distance, as he casually petted the Xiaobai beside him.

Seeing the affectionate gesture, Xia He was instantly filled with envy. He reached out, wanting to stroke Xiaobai’s back as well.

But as soon as his hand got close, Xiaobai bared her teeth and let out a fierce growl, scaring him into quickly pulling his hand back.

"Damn, Old Qin, your Xiaobai is really vicious."

Xia He said, "I want to pet her too. As her master, can’t you give me a chance?"

"Definitely next time."

Qin Yang said with a grin, "You can dream about it for now."

Xia He: "..."

The sound of their conversation traveled across the sea of people, reaching Li Zixuan’s ears intermittently and making her frown slightly.

’So noisy.’

At that moment, she was irritable and felt immense pressure. The slightest disturbance could ignite a flame of anger in her heart.

Very soon, the genius disciple of the Grassland Sword Saint would arrive in Jianghai City.

Time was short, and as the representative of Jianghai Martial Arts Academy, she had to master *One Sword Opens the Celestial Gate* as quickly as possible. She absolutely could not lose.

Otherwise, Jianghai Martial Arts Academy would be disgraced, and she would cause her teacher to lose face.

Thinking of this, Li Zixuan felt the pressure mount.

Anxiety flared in her heart, making even the book in her hands feel incredibly obscure. Her once-firm Sword Heart began to show signs of fracturing.

Her agitated emotions unconsciously spread out and were inadvertently captured by Qin Yang’s Spiritual Power.

"Old Qin, stop staring at her. You don’t still have a thing for her, do you?"

Xia He said, noticing Qin Yang staring at Li Zixuan.

"..."

Qin Yang didn’t answer him, but instead frowned. His powerful perception allowed him to see at a glance that...

...something was very wrong with Li Zixuan right now!