Who is being conquered?

"Really? That's good. Get some rest, and I'll take you out for breakfast."

"Mmm... um, Bai Jun, how are you so strong? You're even more amazing than the uncles and older men I've met before..." Su Shang, lying flat, gazed at the sky gradually turning the color of fish belly and softly asked Bai Jun beside her.

"If you ask me how I got this strong, I'll tell you to practice more. But if you're asking why I'm this strong, I can't answer that. If I had to say, it's probably what they call talent."

"Eh? Okay..."

"Su Shang, you're doing great. Much stronger than I expected. You just lack practical experience. Perhaps in another ten years or so, you'll be able to surpass me."

Bai Jun no longer looked as impassive as usual. A smile appeared on his face as he highly praised Su Shang's talent. This made the dejected Su Shang beam with joy. She sat up despite her body's pain and patted her chest:

"Hmph, of course! This young lady is going to become a great hero whose name will be recorded in history!"

"Yes, yes... Su Shang is the best. Alright, since you can get up, let's hurry and get breakfast. If we're late, there won't be any seats." Bai Jun stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and extended his hand to Su Shang.

"Eh? But I still hurt so much..."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Carry me!"

"Huh? You're not embarrassed, being this old? No, no, no!"

Bai Jun flatly refused her. He wouldn't do anything that would damage his image.

Chapter 60: Bai Jun Frowned and Immediately Shielded Su Shang in Front of Him (4.7k)

On the gradually bustling street, people yawning in unison cast their gazes towards the two figures in a close embrace.

If one were to ask the reason, it was probably because they hadn't seen such an affectionate young couple in a long time. Romantic and vibrant scenes always made people involuntarily want to praise and celebrate the beauty of youth.

"Oh, oh, there are more people now."

Su Shang's arms were wrapped around Bai Jun's neck, her light body pressed against his back. Although they went through some difficult processes, she eventually got Bai Jun to carry her as she wished.

Upon reaching the street, the number of passersby was clearly much larger than before. Looking at the rolling shutters of shops rising with a clatter and the faint aroma of food wafting through the air, Su Shang's body suddenly tilted backward. With one hand still around Bai Jun's neck, she directed him towards the shop with the sign that read 'Cheung Fun'.

"Bai Jun, I want to eat that!"

"Don't shout. Don't you think it's embarrassing? And your hands are so dirty, stop rubbing them on my face..."

Bai Jun's face showed a look of disgust. He firmly supported her long, fair legs with his hands, leaning his body forward slightly to adjust his balance so that Su Shang wouldn't fall.

Fortunately, Su Shang's body was very light, and it wasn't strenuous to carry her all the way. Feeling the warm, soft body temperature and a delicate touch from behind, Bai Jun's heart remained as calm as a still pond. He even silently quickened his pace.

Inside the shop, many people were sitting on long benches, chatting about everything under the sun. Mixed with this warm atmosphere was the aroma of food that whetted the appetite.

This was one of the most famous breakfast shops in Changle Heaven. The owner was still too lazy to exchange pleasantries. Young students, stylish men and women, office workers, and withered old people sat opposite each other, all eating the same smooth, tender cheung fun.

Crossing the interior, passing through the noisy crowd, Bai Jun joined a queue of several people.

Su Shang followed behind him. According to the ordering sequence, she learned from Bai Jun and ordered a bowl of beef cheung fun, two tea eggs, a small plate of pickled mustard greens, and a large piece of char siu. The only difference was that she didn't order the thing called Soda Mung Bean Milk.

The noisy customers were dining. People sitting together ate while discussing their plans for the next holiday, or complaining about family and work. It was all idle chatter.

Bai Jun found an empty seat and walked over, crossing the noisy voices. Su Shang followed closely behind him.

"Bai Jun, are you going to work later?"

"No, today is a rare day off. I plan to go to the Crafting Department later."

Bai Jun habitually peeled the tea eggs and set them aside, then poured the char siu into the beef cheung fun. At the same time, he picked up the tender and juicy char siu and the steaming cheung fun and put them into his mouth. After the tenderness of the meat and the sweetness of the cheung fun fully blended, he took a bite of the tea egg, which had been boiled in black tea, enjoying its rich flavor and long aftertaste.

"Crafting Department... Bai Jun, what are you going there for?"

Su Shang also imitated Bai Jun's way of eating. Realizing that eating like this tasted very good, she silently sped up, stuffing two tea eggs into her mouth at once, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel as she mumbled her question.

"To... why are you asking this? Hurry up and eat yours, and then go back to your Cloud Cavalry work."

Without a word, he pushed away Su Shang's small hand that was stealthily reaching for the tea eggs in his bowl. Bai Jun didn't answer her question and continued to eat his breakfast.

"Actually, the daily duties in the Cloud Cavalry are very relaxed. Even if I patrol everywhere with full strength, I don't encounter any petty theft or mischief. So if you need help with any trouble, just call me!"

Su Shang knew that everyone had their own privacy, so she didn't say much more, just sincerely expressed her feelings.

Bai Jun waved his hand generously, but then he thought that forging really would be much more convenient with a helper. So he stroked his chin and looked at Su Shang tentatively, "Hmm, are you sure you can be called for any trouble?"

"Of course! Anything!"

"Alright, then accompany me to the Crafting Department later. This meal is on me."

Bai Jun clapped his hands, took Su Shang's wallet out of his pocket, and paid the bill generously. The simple-minded Su Shang didn't realize she had fallen into a trap and was still thanking Bai Jun foolishly.

After settling the bill, the two of them sped up their eating and finished breakfast in less than ten minutes.

"By the way, Bai Jun, what is that thing you haven't finished drinking? Is it soy milk?"

Su Shang pointed at Bai Jun's unfinished Soda Mung Bean Milk, voicing the doubt that had been hidden in her heart. If it were soy milk, the color would be too dim, wouldn't it? It looked like green bean juice mixed with soy milk.

"Luofu's specialty, Soda Mung Bean Milk. Even gourmets praise it after trying it. Don't believe me? Try it yourself?"

Su Shang looked curiously at the mung bean milk in front of her. She just leaned forward to sniff it, and a strong sour and pungent smell hit her face, scaring Su Shang so much that her face turned pale. "Gah, is... is this for people to drink..."

"I think it's good. It's very beneficial for teenagers."

Bai Jun calmly picked up the cup and took a big sip, as if unaffected. "Mmm... cool and thirst-quenching. It has the fragrance of beans, and a faint sweetness. And this sweetness is different from the sweetness of fructose; it's a unique sweetness from food fermentation."

"Try it. Although many people are scared by its smell the first time, if you can accept it, mung bean milk is really delicious?"

Because the previous scene with the steamed rice rolls made Su Shang subconsciously think Bai Jun was a good eater, and his words further misled her, Su Shang immediately became suspicious and prepared to give it a try.

"O-okay, I'll try it..."

She nervously took the mung bean milk Bai Jun pushed towards her. After a fierce internal struggle, and out of trust in Bai Jun, she abruptly closed her eyes, furrowed her brow, and took a sip.

"Blech..."

Well, it seemed she really couldn't handle it.

After finishing breakfast, the two took a journeying raft to the entrance of a bright, circular grand hall in the Crafting Department.

As soon as they disembarked, the pale-faced Su Shang let out a long sigh of relief, complaining, "Ugh, that mung bean milk is truly awful. Just remembering the taste made me almost throw up on the starship just now."

"Being dramatic. You'll behave once you're hungry enough."

"Speaking of which, is this the Luofu's Crafting Department? It's not what I imagined..."

Su Shang observed the desolate surroundings. Apart from the heavy stone door in front of them, there seemed to be nothing else. There wasn't even a guard. It couldn't compare to the Crafting Department in their homeland, Yaoqing!

"This is the back entrance. Remember to talk less later."

Bai Jun gave her a speechless glance before walking directly to the hall's entrance. He casually grabbed a piece of paper, folded it into a bird shape in a few strokes, spoke a word, and the paper bird swiftly flapped its wings and flew away.

A moment later, as if a mechanism somewhere had received a command, a mountain-shattering vibration echoed from all around the hall. The circular walls of the hall continuously separated and contracted, gradually leaving only the main entrance. Movement also came from within the department, and soon the large door was pushed open from the inside, revealing a man in uniform.

"Lord Zhu Lun, you're back... Ah, it's actually Hundred—"

The man's expression turned to surprise, but before he could finish greeting, Bai Jun gestured for him to be quiet.

"No need to be so formal. And from what you said, doesn't the Zhu Lun Department Head seem to be absent from the Crafting Department?" Bai Jun asked casually as he walked through the entrance.

The positions within the Crafting Department were divided into six tiers, with the Department Head at the very top, followed by Chief Craftsman, Craftsman, Master Artisan, Artisan, and the lowest level, Apprentice.

"Yes! Lord Zhu Lun went to Zhuming to observe and learn some time ago. Currently, the affairs of the Crafting Department are being handled by two Chief Craftsmen, Master Gongshu Liang and Master Cong Huan. However, since Master Cong Huan usually stays within his clan, only Master Gongshu is here at the Crafting Department. Do you need me to notify Master Gongshu?"

The man, a Master Artisan, couldn't hide his excitement, as if he had just seen an idol and was about to hand over an autograph paper to Bai Jun.

"Uh, no need, I can go myself."

Bai Jun was a little overwhelmed by such enthusiasm. He patted the man's shoulder and led Su Shang towards the interior of the department.

Inside the Crafting Department, apprentices with focused expressions and anxious artisans were everywhere. The former were learning key points in four technical fields—weaponry, shipbuilding, mechanical design, and materials science—from the Craftsmen, while the latter were busy submitting their overdue academic papers.

"Hey! Senior brother, stop fiddling with that thing. I bought two movie tickets, want to go together?"

"Get lost, you silly woman. This is the external skeletal mecha I've poured three years of effort into! Plus, I have to submit my results next month. If you delay me and prevent my promotion to Master Artisan, can you bear the responsibility?" Scenes like these were commonplace. For those who genuinely came to the Crafting Department to learn, it was a temple of thought and soul. Titles like Master Artisan, let alone Craftsman, were by no means simple statuses; they signified the true starting point for embarking on the path of forging. They pursued exquisite craftsmanship, striving to complete the "Hundred Refinements Grand Ceremony" and attain the title of "Hundred Refinements Master."

It was vastly different from where they had just been. The lighting design inside the Crafting Department was extremely well-executed, dazzling and brilliant, as if it were sparkling.

The polished, gleaming corridors were not just free of trash; they were utterly spotless. Su Shang walked along the corridor. Her long boots made almost no sound on the floor because they were made of various sound-absorbing materials, a thesis project of a former Craftsman here, no, now a Chief Craftsman, Master Gongshu Liang.

Along the wide, clean corridor, apprentices and artisans were scattered about, most of them reading books while fiddling with parts at hand.

"It feels so amazing..."

Su Shang obediently followed behind Bai Jun, observing how familiar he was with the place, as if he came here often. Coupled with the incomplete title the man at the entrance had called him, Su Shang felt a spark of curiosity.

"Bai Jun, what was that person calling you just now, Hundred—what was it?"

"You must have misheard. He wanted to call me Bai Jun."

Bai Jun didn't look back, merely giving a perfunctory reply. Under Su Shang's disbelieving gaze, he rounded a corner and walked up to a familiar residence. Before he could even knock, he heard the muffled, exasperated scolding of a man from inside.

"What on earth are you idiots doing! You can't even handle a simple task like recording data for the 'Rongzhu'? You haven't even started the repair work yet, and you've already messed up this badly. What kind of Master Artisans are you? Get back to being apprentices and start over! Oh dear, how could I, the esteemed 'Number One Craftsman of Melting Gold and Smelting Iron,' teach such foolish disciples..."

Bai Jun didn't knock but pushed the door open directly. Inside, a line of ashamed men and women knelt. The one scolding them was a tired man with a beard. Hearing that someone dared to enter without knocking, Gongshu Liang's temper flared even more. He glared with angry eyes at the newcomer:

"Who let you in? Didn't I teach you not to—Ah, Lord Hundred Refinements Master! Why are you here!"

Upon recognizing the visitor, Gongshu Liang performed a dramatic change of expression in front of all his disciples. Just as he was about to bow, Bai Jun immediately raised a finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture, signaling him to shut up quickly.

Coincidentally, these words had already reached Su Shang's ears. She finally understood what the man at the entrance had meant to say earlier.

Hundred Refinements Master... such a familiar title. Su Shang felt she had heard it before in Yaoqing, but despite that, it still felt distant and unfamiliar, as if the term could never be related to her.

While Su Shang was pondering, Gongshu Liang on the other side, after a brief moment of thought, seemed to have misunderstood. After organizing his thoughts, he mistakenly believed there was an issue with his respectful address to Bai Jun and quickly changed his tune:

"Sorry, Liujing—"

"Just call me Bai Jun."

With a muffled sound, Bai Jun's hand covered his mouth, and he warned him with a slightly dangerous tone. Master Gongshu's eyes nearly popped out. Only after he nodded in agreement like a pecking chicken did Bai Jun release his hand.

"Lord Bai Jun... uh, anyway, why have you suddenly come here today?"

"I need to borrow the workshops and materials here."

"Of course, of course. Use them however you wish. However, right now..."

Master Gongshu wiped his sweat and explained with some difficulty, "As you probably heard, due to a mistake by my disciples, the Golden Automaton 'Rongzhu' placed in the workshop has gone out of control. So, you'll have to wait a little while. You can enter after we've dealt with it."

"No need for such trouble! Leave controlling Golden Automatons to this young lady!"

Her mind almost overheating as she tried to recall the meaning of "Hundred Refinements Master," Su Shang, upon hearing about a chance to showcase her skills, excitedly jumped out, patted her chest, and loudly guaranteed.

"You, who are you?"

"Hmph, no need for pleasantries. Tell me where I am? This young lady will be back in a flash!"

Master Gongshu frowned, instinctively wanting to call someone to throw out this clumsy-looking fellow. But seeing that Bai Jun knew her, he pointed towards the workshop. Su Shang haughtily lifted her chin and dragged Bai Jun towards the door.

The so-called Golden Automatons were auxiliary robots forged by the Xianzhou Alliance using ancient mechanical arts. Countless years ago, they accompanied the Xianzhou on voyages to seek elixirs, overseeing and assisting humans in warfare.

After a thousand years and the catastrophe of the Golden Automaton Rebellion, most Golden Automatons today are only one to three meters tall, with varying functions.

The Golden Automatons widely used in the Alliance are mostly one to two meters tall, specifically designed as tools for loading and unloading cargo. As for the combat-type Golden Automatons Su Shang had seen, they were at most around three meters and moved sluggishly. Compared to the Xuanyuan Sword, they were practically toys.

The idea was beautiful, but reality was harsh.

Looking up at the workshop, she saw a terrifying Golden Automaton as tall as a small mountain, nearly six meters high, entirely black. It held a golden, glowing punishment rod in its left hand, and its eyes emitted a soul-stirring fierce glare. Su Shang swallowed hard, feeling that this thing could finish her off with just one elbow.

"Bai, Bai Jun, is, isn't this a bit... off?"

"Yeah, it's much trickier than I imagined. This might be a very difficult battle."

Bai Jun's voice suddenly came from a distance. Su Shang turned around in terror, only to find that he had already run outside and was preparing to lock the door. She immediately shouted at him anxiously, "No, Bai Jun! You're so powerful, you should be the one fighting!"

Bai Jun looked confused and sighed innocently, "What are you talking about? How can the esteemed Cloud Cavalry hand over the enemy to a mere civilian? Besides, didn't you say earlier that you could handle any trouble?"

"Good luck! I'm going to get reinforcements. Please do your best to stop this rampaging Golden Automaton with the remaining time."

"You, you can't leave me! Help!"

Amidst Su Shang's terrified, tearful screams, Bai Jun slammed the door shut with a bang.

Chapter 61 "Sacred Judgment of Heavenly Fire" (4k1)

When Bai Jun returned with people, about fifteen minutes had passed.

Loud smashing sounds were still coming from the workshop. But the good news was that Su Shang's embarrassing screams could no longer be heard. Perhaps she was engaged in an intense battle with the Golden Automaton.