Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 232 - 194: Shen Qingming Says

Lu Fangchen's mind raced, and he quickly exerted his Divine Sense with all his might, simultaneously covering all the remaining Defense Towers. No longer relying on the interconnected network like a linked ship, he fully operated them with his own strength, overloading them.

Self-destruction!

At this moment, Lu Fangchen did not hesitate to choose the tactic of a gecko shedding its tail. He detonated the self-destruct cores of the seven Defense Towers near the Steel Giant, unleashing a cataclysmic explosion. The instantly dispersed dust and fog blotted out the sky and turned the main arena into a place where one couldn't see their own hand.

As the seven Defense Towers turned to dust, the faces of several Lu Family Elders on the podium twitched involuntarily.

Fangchen, this kid, is truly decisive and resolute. Simultaneously detonating seven Defense Towers... He should know that each of these Defense Towers is worth thousands of Spirit Stones—even without considering the labor cost of Elder-level cultivators—these 33 Defense Towers have never been mere consumables. Yet he unhesitatingly blew them up!

But at this very moment, the Elders had to admit that there was no other way on the field to contain that terrifying and dreadful Steel Giant. A direct assault that instantly breaches Righteous Towers in such a way that even cultivators of the Cloud Flipping Realm would feel ashamed!

However, can Lu Fangchen truly restrain his opponent by blowing up seven Defense Towers?

No one dared to make such a guarantee. Shen Qingming's super-sized Steel Mechanical Puppet has power that transcends common sense. Now, even Li Jinglun on the commentary seat, along with many Great Cultivators, are desperately trying to analyze its structure with the eyes of an immortal cultivator, and so far, no one has been able to accurately gauge its performance limits! 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The only thing people knew was that amidst the clouds of dust, following the seven consecutive explosions, the clashing of steel and rock continued to resound throughout the main arena, causing the audience to feel their eardrums numb and their chests tremble.

The Steel Giant was still in action, undeterred by the seven blasts, unimpeded by the all-encompassing dust, and even Lu Fangchen, who mastered tower defense tactics, couldn't stop it!

The Steel Giant's blood-red eyes were the only clear light piercing through the dust, growing brighter as the battle continued. Through those blood-red eyes, people could see the Steel Giant's lightning-fast actions, its shadow darting and flickering through the smoke, as if it had countless duplicates ready to appear anywhere on the battlefield.

That initial awkward step seemed like a deliberately laid trap, with the seven-zhang-tall giant deftly weaving through the battlefield, destroying one Defense Tower after another.

The battle lasted less than ten minutes.

Many could swear that these were the longest ten minutes of the Qingyun Competition, and while watching, people couldn't help but hold their breath... If it lasted a little longer, they might have truly suffocated.

Before the dust cleared, Lu Fangchen's voice, filled with helplessness and exhaustion, echoed in the arena.

"I admit defeat."

"Alright, the match result is confirmed. In this match, Shen Qingming wins!"

The next moment, as the referee confirmed the match result and waved his hands, the dust and smoke on the arena instantly cleared, allowing people to finally see the scene on the battlefield.

A land of devastation.

Of the thirty-three Defense Towers, only three remained, forming a triangle around Lu Fangchen in the center, while the other thirty Defense Towers were reduced to rubble and debris.

And the Steel Giant was equally battered and bruised. Most of its armor plates had been destroyed by the Defense Tower's firepower, with barely a third remaining, dented and on the verge of collapse. Its heart position was directly breached to its core, allowing a view into the cockpit where Shen Qingming was seated.

Moreover, sparks of Spiritual Energy continuously flickered at the joints of its ankles and knees, indicating that its components had reached their limit, nearing breakdown. Clearly, that nimble body technique wasn't without cost.

However, regardless of anything else, it was this Steel Giant that stood last in this battle, and at the moment Lu Fangchen admitted defeat, it had already lunged at him. Its right hand, with two fractured fingers clenched into a fist, descended like a Warhammer from above. If Lu Fangchen had admitted defeat just a second later...

This battle, this result, left tens of thousands of spectators in a moment of silence, still immersed in the passionate clash of steel and rocks.

Including the two competitors on the field, unmoving, as if the scene was frozen.

Until the expressionless referee frowned and reminded, "Alright, the match is over, please exit the stage promptly."

Only then did the Steel Giant tremble slightly, shattering the tranquil scene. A nearly ruined steel plate over the giant's chest was forcefully opened, and Shen Qingming struggled to emerge from the cockpit, appearing exceedingly strained.

Piloting this Steel Giant, the burden was indeed extraordinarily heavy.

For such a massive mecha, Wang Jiu had assembled it with just over ten thousand components, hinting at the lack of complexity in its internal structure. During assembly, Wang Jiu heavily used off-the-shelf parts available from the Dobao Pavilion; only the core armor plates and power units were personally forged by Shen Qingming.

Thus, this Steel Giant, which left countless spectators breathless, was still just a semi-finished product. It possessed fatal flaws in maneuverability, stability, and lifespan. During its operation, Shen Qingming often couldn't rely on Spirit Stones affixed to the giant's limb joints for power but had to use her flesh and blood to haul tons of weight...