Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 233 - 194: Shen Qingming Says, “Screw Your Damn Romance” (Double Length)

Fortunately, throughout this whole battle, it was Wang Jiu piloting Shen Qingming, keeping the girl in a constant frenzy state to drive the Steel Giant. Otherwise, forget about the agile footwork in the middle and late stages of the battle—she couldn't even walk slowly.

But in reality, towards the end, both Shen Qingming and the Steel Giant reached their limits. If the giant's fist were to land, it could indeed break Lu Fangchen's last layer of tower defense, but the recoil was enough to dismantle the giant. As for Shen Qingming, countless times she was left with Qi Blood churning in the cockpit, her bones becoming mushy, and her stamina showed signs of exhaustion.

This giant could truly be considered an inferior product polished at the last minute, but Wang Jiu had calculated that even as a flawed product, its performance was enough to ensure a smooth advancement in the semifinals.

And facts proved Wang Jiu's calculations to be extremely precise. Just as both the driver and the giant reached their limits simultaneously, Lu Fangchen was the first to concede defeat, announcing the end of the match.

Wang Jiu communicated through the Mind Passage to Shen Qingming, saying, "Congratulations, you've successfully advanced to the Cyan Cloud Competition finals."

"...I don't know why, but I can't feel happy at all. It feels like we've utterly tarnished this big competition in the Immortal Cultivation Realm."

Wang Jiu said, "It's not surprising for someone like you, with an Intelligence Index of 3.3 who cannot understand the romanticism of steel and iron, to have such foolish worries, but you needn't bother yourself over it."

"...Why?"

"With your comprehension, it's difficult to grasp the essence, so there's no need for you to understand the specific reasons. Just remember the conclusions."

"Hey!" Shen Qingming was so furious she wanted to rush to the stands and battle Wang Jiu to the death, but at the moment, she was in the sweltering cockpit, her whole body aching and weak, having no strength to argue with a Whiteboard Stupid Sword.

Seeing the cockpit door open, Shen Qingming snorted, stood up and leapt to the edge of the cockpit, but her legs went soft upon landing, tumbling like a rolling pumpkin.

"Wang Jiu!?"

"The battle is over, so as per agreement, I've returned control of your body to you."

"Can't your intelligence index of 9 figure out when the control rights should be swapped!?"

"Designing and assembling this Steel Giant overnight is a concrete representation of my intelligence; questioning my intelligence is meaningless."

"You're so annoying!" Shen Qingming gritted her teeth, then mustered her strength to stand up, looking disheveled and far from being a victor.

Whereas across from her, Lu Fangchen just took down his remaining three Defense Towers, with a trace of loneliness, yet more excitement on his face. In comparison, it seemed like Lu Fangchen was the one who won.

"What is that!?"

After Shen Qingming stood up, Lu Fangchen approached proactively, hardly able to conceal his excitement and curiosity in his tone.

Shen Qingming glanced at him, reluctant to speak, yet not wishing for others to claim she lacked the victor's demeanor, she patiently said, "It doesn't have a name, but roughly it's a bunch of iron pieces brought to life using Mechanical Puppet technology."

However, Lu Fangchen shook his head, saying, "How can you downplay it like that? It's definitely the most genius, stunning design I've ever seen! The gigantism, humanoid form, steel structure, sharply defined appearance, just combining these elements alone is priceless! Even without considering performance, it's an aesthetic breakthrough in the Immortal Cultivation Realm! Do you understand, the beauty residing within cold steel?"

"..." Shen Qingming looked at the ever-growing spark in Lu Fangchen's eyes, feeling she was facing a live lunatic, involuntarily stepping back a few paces to avoid having her limited intelligence polluted.

But Lu Fangchen grew even more excited as he spoke, "Moreover, the performance of this thing is astonishing! If I'm not mistaken, its ultimate output is at least equivalent to a late Cloud Flipping Realm Cultivator! And thanks to its massive body, its sheer destructive power surpasses that of an ordinary late Cloud Flipping Realm Cultivator! Not to mention its robust defense capabilities. Such a remarkably performing Mechanical Puppet only requires a Wind-Rising Realm Cultivator to operate, which is simply incredible. Of course, you're not an ordinary Wind-Rising Realm Cultivator, but even a mid-stage Cloud Surge Realm Cultivator would suffice to operate this giant normally, wouldn't it?"

"Uh, probably."

"Oh, one more question, what's the principle behind its power system? Such a heavy Steel Giant can't rely solely on Spirit Stones for power; it would be too wasteful. Though I can see from the armor's gaps that a large amount of Spirit Stones were used in the auxiliary power units, yet the core part is directly connected to the cockpit, leaving no clue about its principle, so about this aspect..."

Shen Qingming sighed tiredly, waving her hand, "Don't ask me such questions, I'm just a foolish driver with an Intelligence Index of 3.3; I neither know the principle behind it nor understand the romanticism of men."

"Ah, well said, the romanticism of men! Indeed, it's precisely that—the romanticism of men! I must pay a visit to the master who designed this armor! I swear that he must be the manliest among men, a model for all men, able to so clearly articulate every man's inner desires and materialize them!"

Shen Qingming weakly said, "Your words sound like you're praising a famous courtesan."

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away." Lu Fangchen scratched his head, smiling self-deprecatingly, "But honestly, I'm ready to devote myself to that genius designer. With such a design, I'd give up anything."

"...I'll convey your perverted affection on your behalf."

"Oh, there's one last question." Lu Fangchen suddenly remembered something, quickly pulling out a small black hammer and a white jade-like tower-shaped chess piece from his pocket.

Shen Qingming asked puzzled, "And what's this?"

"Suffering Hammer, a multifunctional enhanced version, and the chess piece is a multifunctional portable Defense Tower. Together, they can transform into a temporary construction base. As long as you draw the design or state basic functional requirements, and provide some basic materials, it can build the structure you want... I intended to use it as a repair tower in today's battle, but I was caught in your rhythm from the start, pressed too tight, no chance to use it. After today, I'm withdrawing from the competition, so it becomes useless to me; thus, I wish to..."

Shen Qingming laughed, "Gift it to me? Thanks."

"...No, I want to exchange it for your Steel Giant."

Speaking of this, Lu Fangchen's breathing quickened slightly, his heart rate started to increase, and his eyes flickered, resembling a bashful young man confessing under a tree, awaiting a reply.

Shen Qingming was momentarily startled, and couldn't help but laugh softly.

That pile of scrap metal, someone actually treats it like a treasure; indeed, what Sister Wanqing said was right, men are fools... Hey, wait, isn't this thought of mine somewhat unsettling?

However, Shen Qingming's smile conveyed a different meaning to Lu Fangchen, and the young man, growing anxious, hastily added, "Of course, I know that just this mobile construction base is far from enough to exchange for a valuable treasure, which is why... I'm also offering this!"

As Lu Fangchen spoke, he took a golden talisman out of his pocket, "This contains all the data of several new technologies our Lu Family has developed recently, including portable construction, Mechanical Manipulation Skill, etc. I'm willing to trade these, along with the mobile base, for your Steel Giant..."

Before he could finish, a figure with a livid complexion suddenly appeared on the field.

It was the second head of the Lu Family Mansion, Lu Xin, who seemed ready to explode, glaring at Lu Fangchen, trembling all over.

Lu Fangchen's eyes lit up, "Second Uncle, you're here?! That's great, look at that romanticism of steel and iron, so astounding, so wonderful, ah, I just…"

"You're simply insane!" Lu Xin grabbed Lu Fangchen by the collar and without another word dragged him away like a carcass of pork. Lu Fangchen attempted to struggle and explain, but was frozen into a block of meat by a spell, immobile.

As the uncle and nephew pair left the arena, Shen Qingming only felt utterly exhausted.