I Stepped on a Bug, and the System Says I Slayed a Dragon?-Chapter 116: Li Qinghe Breaks Down, the System Pays Out Big

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Li Qinghe Breaks Down, the System Pays Out Big

The evening wind was cold.

Li Qinghe’s heart turned ice-cold. Staring down at Qin Yang walking along the path below, she felt as if her entire worldview had been shattered.

The moment she saw Qin Yang enter the array, she had started timing him. ’Even if he can break the array, it should take him forty minutes, right?’

But the result...

This time, Qin Yang’s array-breaking was even more absurd than the last!

Less than thirty seconds...

What can you even do in that time?

It’s not even enough time to eat a meal!

I painstakingly spent an hour setting up this array!

And you broke it in thirty seconds?!

Can’t you show a little respect?

And here she was, so full of confidence, certain she would win this time and drive this bastard out of Jianghai City.

Extremely indignant, Li Qinghe felt her head spin. She struggled to steady herself in the night wind as she dropped from the pavilion eaves to the ground.

The aftereffects of her depleted Spiritual Power, combined with a sudden surge of rage, left her in a terrible state.

An array is something every Array Master pours their heart and soul into.

She had put in so much painstaking effort, carefully laying it out.

And this was the result she got?!

’The Ten Thousand Array Map, the Illusion Array... in Qin Yang’s eyes, it’s all just trivial child’s play... How am I supposed to compete with that?’

At this thought, Li Qinghe clutched the Ten Thousand Array Book and knelt on the ground, utterly devastated. Her face was pale and she looked completely listless.

...

"Well? The array is broken now."

Amidst the overgrown grass, Qin Yang slowly approached her, squatted down, and patted her cheek with a smile. "Shouldn’t you fulfill your promise now, my good disciple?"

"I..."

Li Qinghe started to speak, then stopped. Coming back to her senses, she looked up with indignation in her eyes. "Qin, how on earth did you do it?"

She considered herself a person of her word. Since she had lost the array duel, she at least needed to understand why she had failed.

Only then could she accept her defeat wholeheartedly.

"How did I do it?"

Hearing this, Qin Yang feigned confusion and looked around before slapping his forehead and teasing, "Oh! You mean your Illusion Array? Isn’t it... something anyone with hands can do?"

His calm words fell.

"You!"

Li Qinghe gritted her teeth, struggling internally. ’Impossible!’

This time, Qin Yang’s array-breaking was far more absurd than what he’d done at the library.

Last time, he at least tried to find the array’s eye, breaking the whole thing from a single point by using the scattered Star Stones.

But this time?

He didn’t even pretend. He just laid all his cards on the table!

He didn’t even use any knowledge of the Array Dao. He just relied on an explosion of Star Force, using brute force to overcome skill, and completely crushed the Third Level Array, turning everything upside down!

’Just how powerful is this Qin guy?’

Li Qinghe felt a wave of frustration as she looked at the nonchalant Qin Yang before her.

’I’ve never seen him do any Cultivation usually...’

’How is it that he breaks arrays as easily as drinking water or eating a meal?’

’Don’t tell me... I really have to take this slacker as my master?’

As she thought about it, Li Qinghe hesitated. Suddenly, she remembered Li Zixuan.

’Qin Yang has gotten so close with her these past few days. What if he brings this up with my cousin Zixuan? When they compare notes, won’t my image be completely ruined?’

At this thought, Li Qinghe’s brow furrowed. She was suddenly tempted to go back on her word.

’If my cousin Zixuan finds out that I’ve become her Senior Brother’s disciple...’

’How would we even sort out the seniority?’

’Would the three of us just ignore the connections?’

’Zixuan would call him Senior Brother, I’d have to call her Martial Aunt, and she’d still call me Older Cousin?’

"Hiss~"

Just imagining that scene made Li Qinghe’s stomach ache. She was filled with regret and really wanted to give her past, boastful self a huge slap in the face.

The more arrogant she had been before, the more her face stung now.

"Hey, have you made up your mind yet?" Qin Yang, still squatting in front of Li Qinghe, couldn’t help but ask with some suspicion after seeing her hesitate for so long.

"You’re not thinking of going back on your word, are you?"

"Bullshit! Why would I go back on my word!"

At his words, Li Qinghe lifted her small face and panted wearily. "I’m just a little tired. I need to rest for a moment."

"Tsk, don’t pull that act with me. With Spiritual Power like yours, you call yourself an Array Master?"

"It’s just one word. Are you going to say it or not?"

After speaking, Qin Yang studied her handsome face for a moment, then closed his eyes, patiently waiting for her answer.

After all, he had gone to all this trouble to come all the way out here. He couldn’t let it be for nothing.

「A few moments later.」

The night wind rustled, moonlight washed over the reeds, and the mountain wilderness was silent.

Li Qinghe hesitated for a long time, her expression shifting several times until her face finally became ashen. With a swallow, she finally forced out that one word—

"Master..."

Her voice, as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, mingled with the chirping of crickets under the moonlight.

It was as if she had mustered all her strength to say it.

Humiliation. Indignation.

Qin Yang cleaned out his ear. Hearing her words, his mood instantly brightened.

This little gal had finally caved.

This duel hadn’t been for nothing after all.

SOB SOB SOB~

Soft sobs could be heard.

As soon as the word left her lips, Li Qinghe’s delicate frame began to shudder. She buried her face in the grass, her whole body trembling as she started to cry.

She had been pampered since childhood and was exceptionally talented. Having rarely faced any setbacks, she was truly a flower raised in a greenhouse.

"?"

"Huh? She’s crying already?"

Hearing the sound, Qin Yang glanced at Li Qinghe and was left speechless.

’Seriously...’

’I didn’t even make you do anything, did I?’

’It was just calling me Master. Is it really worth having a total breakdown over?’

’This girl is all bark and no bite. Her ability to handle pressure is even weaker than I thought.’

But in the end, she did fulfill her promise.

He had been fully prepared for her to go back on her word, thinking he’d just let it go if she did. He hadn’t expected her to actually call him Master.

...

Lying in the grass, Li Qinghe thought of the "Master" she had just uttered and felt both ashamed and furious. Her eyes grew misty.

’I’m the dignified young miss of the Li Family! When have I ever been subjected to such humiliation?’

But now, after meeting Qin Yang, she couldn’t beat him in a fight and could only swallow her grievances.

’So frustrating!’

’It’s so unfair!’

"Go ahead and cry. Take your time. You’ll have plenty more to cry about in the future."

Listening to her cries of frustration, Qin Yang just smiled faintly, paid her no more mind, and turned to walk toward Xiaobai.

After all, a bet is a bet.

Li Qinghe had been headstrong and willful for too long these past few days. She had brought this suffering upon herself, and in him, she had finally met her match.

Letting this naturally proud and arrogant young miss be humbled a little was actually a good thing for her.

In the future, she wouldn’t fall apart over every little setback.

’I wonder what the reward will be for making Li Qinghe break down this time?’

Just as Qin Yang was thinking this in anticipation,

the system’s voice, fashionably late, rang out—

"Detected that the host has broken Array Dao Grandmaster Li Qinghe’s Ten Thousand Array Map. Reward: Fifty-fold amplification!"

"Obtained an Array Dao Law Fragment and an Array Core."

Hmm?

Seeing this, Qin Yang checked the reward’s description.

What was an Array Core?

An array has an eye, which can fix the cardinal directions and help seek fortune while avoiding disaster.

But this Array Core was even more profound. It allowed one to align themselves with the Array Dao of Heaven and Earth, merging into the myriad laws.

"I am the direction. I am fortune and calamity. All things in every direction are mine to command."