I Stepped on a Bug, and the System Says I Slayed a Dragon?

Chapter 316 - 315: The Public Opinion Craze Continues! Xiaobai Learns Clone and Self-Detonation

"These guys really know how to stir things up..."

Qin Yang felt a sense of resignation.

The news had been spreading like wildfire these past few days.

Every time he opened his phone, he was bombarded by clickbait accounts. They were churning out short videos like crazy, making it impossible for him to avoid seeing them.

It was the top headline on the trending list every day.

As a result of all the media hype,

the biggest change was at the various points of entry into Jianghai City.

The flow of visitors exploded exponentially: tourists, prospective home-buyers, people visiting relatives... Even real estate prices in Jianghai City skyrocketed as a result!

The library where he used to spend his time had even become a popular "check-in" spot for social media.

Because of this, Li Qinghe had complained more than a few times.

With so many people, the Li Family had to work overtime every single day!

It was a familiar process. The steps for creating and deifying someone were complete, and the netizens were getting better at it. They seemed intent on putting Qin Yang on a pedestal...

If a marketing team had been behind this, they would have started monetizing the traffic long ago, posting it all over social media and cashing in on this outrageous fortune.

But...

Qin Yang didn’t care.

Such empty fame was nothing special to him.

He casually tossed aside what others desperately yearned for but could never obtain.

"How meaningless."

Qin Yang rose from the sofa and walked toward the living room, drawn by the fragrant aroma of a meal. No matter how much turmoil was brewing in the outside world, no matter how great the commotion, nothing could compare to the smell of a home-cooked meal.

"Not bad. We’ve got quite a spread today."

Qin Yang glanced at the dining table: mapo tofu, Dongpo pork, and braised spare ribs. It was a mouth-watering sight. Just as he reached for his chopsticks, he saw Xiaobai walk out of the kitchen with another dish.

"Don’t move, Master!"

"Did you forget something?"

Xiaobai untied the apron around her waist and stood before Qin Yang. She tilted her head back, her small eyes widening as she stared at him. "You made a promise to this Fairy, you know..."

"What promise?"

Qin Yang picked up his chopsticks, popped a couple of shrimp into his mouth, and mumbled, "I don’t seem to recall."

"Master, you can’t have forgotten, can you? We had a deal!"

Xiaobai puffed up her cheeks and slammed the dish down on the table with a THUD. She held out her pinky and hooked it. "We even made a pact! You said that when this Fairy broke through to the Grandmaster Realm, you would give me a proper title... a title in the Heaven-Blasting Gang! Master, you can’t go back on your word and play dumb!"

"A title?"

Qin Yang blinked. "I said that?"

"You’re not going to go back on your word, are you... Master..."

Xiaobai pouted, her expression full of grievance as her eyes grew misty. "We agreed before. As long as this Fairy broke through to the Grandmaster Realm... you would let me join the Heaven-Blasting Gang... You meanie, Master..."

As her words faded, Xiaobai’s expression turned pitiful. She pouted, and it looked like little pearls of tears were about to fall.

"Tsk, alright, alright. I was just teasing you. Do I seem like the type to forget something like that?"

Qin Yang couldn’t keep a straight face any longer and quickly placated her. "It’s just a title! Fine! I hereby appoint you as the Handmaiden to the Young Master of the Heaven-Blasting Gang. From now on, you’ll be with me, the Gang Leader, and you’ll eat nine full meals in three days!"

"Handmaiden?"

Hearing this, Xiaobai’s fox ears perked up, and she pouted. "Just a handmaiden...?"

’She was a little disappointed.’

’A handmaiden?’

’Before, I was just Qin Yang’s servant. Now that I’m in the Grandmaster Realm, I’m still just his handmaiden... Didn’t I join the Heaven-Blasting Gang for nothing, then!?’

But on second thought...

’Her foxy brain went into overdrive.’

She stood there, fidgeting with her fingers, completely torn.

"What? You don’t want the title?"

Seeing Xiaobai’s silence, Qin Yang said dismissively, "If you don’t want to join, then forget it."

"Hey, hey! No, wait, Master! Who said this Fairy doesn’t want it!"

"This servant wants it!"

Xiaobai mumbled, pouting as she latched onto Qin Yang’s arm. She squeezed her eyes shut and declared, "Fine, a handmaiden is a handmaiden... It’s not a big deal. As of today, this Fairy is a member of the Heaven-Blasting Gang!"

"Now that the investiture is complete, let’s eat."

Qin Yang was about to sit down and pick up his chopsticks,

but he saw Xiaobai humming a tune as she eagerly sidled up to him. She had a mischievous grin on her face, her little eyes fixed on him.

"What is it now?"

"Hehe, Master... there’s also the Clone Technique and the Self-Destructive Secret Technique..."

Xiaobai wagged her tail, her little face beaming with excitement as she looked at Qin Yang with yearning. "This Fairy wants to play with self-destruction too! And this Fairy wants to know how to make clones! Master, you promised you’d teach this servant when she joined the Heaven-Blasting Gang!"

"Tsk, I knew it."

Seeing her act this way, Qin Yang was left speechless and exasperated.

’I knew it!’

’So her intentions weren’t pure after all!’

’Joining the Heaven-Blasting Gang didn’t matter; getting the Clone Technique and *Heaven and Earth’s Longevity* out of me was Xiaobai’s true goal!’

"Master, you’re not willing?"

Xiaobai grew anxious. She tugged on the corner of Qin Yang’s shirt and said timidly, "If you’re not willing, this Fairy won’t force you... You could... teach me in installments..."

"It’s fine. If you want to learn, I’ll teach you."

Qin Yang was nonchalant about it and nodded generously. "It’s just self-destruction and clones. No big deal."

With that, Qin Yang glanced toward the sofa. "Go lie down over there."

"Okay, Master."

Xiaobai obediently climbed onto the sofa, her delicate body lying down perfectly straight. Her floral dress clung to her snow-white skin, accentuating her exquisite figure. "This Fairy is ready!"

"This might hurt a little. Brace yourself."

Qin Yang placed a hand on Xiaobai’s head and activated their Beast Slave connection, choosing to transmit the knowledge directly into her mind.

The next moment,

a massive amount of information flooded into her!

Countless dancing characters converged into a torrent of information, forcing its way into Xiaobai’s mind and throwing her consciousness into utter chaos.

"It’s so much, Master,"

Xiaobai panted lightly.

After just a moment, she felt like she couldn’t take any more.

Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she was struck by a splitting headache.

’This whole fox is about to break...’

With two entire manuals forcibly crammed into her mind, and without an Enlightenment Space to help her, she would need to put in a lot of hard work to truly understand and master the cloning and self-destruction techniques.

"Just take your time and digest it."

After the transmission was complete, Xiaobai lay on the sofa, thoroughly exhausted. Qin Yang gently stroked her head and glanced at the black holes outside the window.

The nine black holes were still in the sky, emitting a faint, eerie light.

The blazing sun had reached its zenith, yet its light seemed to be torn apart by those holes. The rays were distorted and scattered, drawn into them as if into a bottomless abyss.

’Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.’

Qin Yang contemplated the future.

He had a feeling that the Venerable Alliance and the Beast God Sect would soon be back to cause trouble.

The reason he taught Xiaobai the techniques was so she would have the ability to protect herself.

These black holes hanging in the sky were like swords of Damocles; there was no telling when they might fall. Just in case, he had to understand the dangers they posed as much as possible.

’Meng Tianxuan said that if the Blood Spirit Array isn’t activated, these holes in the sky will disappear, and Earth Star will lose its source of the Power of Stars...’

As he pondered this,

Qin Yang opened his Star Ring and took out the Venerable Order.

Liu Wushuang had given him this token, but he’d never used it. He had originally planned to just keep it as a trinket, but now the situation had changed...

’...He should know a lot about the Blood Spirit Array, right?’