CHAPTER 163: 163-

Elder Chen nodded, his earlier curiosity replaced by matching gravity.

"It’s a significant setback. The Clan Head must be informed about this immediately. This impacts cultivation schedules, resource allocation... and most importantly the morale."

"Agreed," Joshua said, already turning towards the path leading out of the ravine and back towards the heart of the estate. "We must consult the Clan Head."

"I know where my nephew is currently situated," Elder Chen offered, falling into step beside Joshua.

"I saw him heading to where Senior Doctor Mu was staying. Likely still there, or nearby. Follow me."

"Lead on, Elder Chen," Elder Joshua acknowledged.

With purposeful strides, the two elders left the unnaturally quiet Eastern Ravine behind, their figures moving swiftly down the winding path towards the outer regions of the sprawling Fang estate, the weight of the inexplicable failure pressing upon them.

When Fang Joshua and Fang Chen reached doctor Mu’s residence, they found Fang Yuan and Fang Lian already in the midst of something.

Fang Yuan stood in the cleared dirt yard, bathed in the late afternoon sun.

Before him, Fang Lian watched with rapt intensity, her earlier pallor replaced by a focused flush.

"The Golden Shell Armor," Fang Yuan’s voice rang clear, calm yet commanding, each word seeming to settle in the quiet space, "has multiple forms. So far, we’ve only uncovered three of them."

Fang Lian’s eyes widened, her breath catching for a heartbeat.

"But Master..." she leaned forward slightly, "before you came and altered that technique, there wasn’t even a second form, everyone knows that."

A rare, genuine smile curved Fang Yuan’s lips. "That’s true. But think about it... modification implies—" his gaze glinted faintly, "—potential for more."

He let the words hang, like bait in still water.

But Fang Lian’s mind had snagged long before the end of his sentence, going back at the exact moment he had said three forms.

The clan was still reeling from when he had taken the Tyrant Light Sword and not only forged a second form, but a third. And now... had he done the same with the Golden Shell Armor?

She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry.

"Master..." her voice came out in a near-whisper, trembling between disbelief and a rising thrill, "there’s... a third form as well?"

Fang Yuan’s smile widened, radiating a quiet, undeniable confidence.

"Lian," he stated simply, the words resonating with the weight of proven accomplishment, "I am a genius. Expect the impossible."

He held her gaze, letting the sheer audacity of the claim sink in.

Fang Lian visibly gulped, the reality of learning under such a figure hitting her anew.

"Focus," Fang Yuan commanded gently, drawing her back. "For now, the Second Form: Bravery. I know you’ve grasped its shadow, maybe even felt its edge. But your execution..."

He shook his head minutely."... it’s still a bit flimsy."

His tone shifted into something more deliberate, almost instructional. "Suppose two attacks come at you, front and back, striking at the exact same instant. What do you do?"

Fang Lian’s brows drew together, her mind already running the scenario. "If they land together..." she murmured, thinking aloud, "then the First Form: Cowardice, is the only choice. We can’t call forth two Braveries at once. The focus would fracture, and the shield would collapse."

"Wrong." Fang Yuan’s voice cut through her assumption, sharp but not unkind.

He raised a single hand.

"You can. Concentration isn’t about brute force; it’s about understanding the core."

He snapped his fingers and a single, seamless sphere of shimmering golden energy encased him completely, the perfect, impenetrable defense of the First Form: Cowardice.

"Behold the root," Fang Yuan declared, his voice echoing slightly within the sphere.

"Cowardice. It offers total protection. Shutting the world out and protecting you, sheltering you."

"But," his tone deepened, carrying a quiet, dangerous edge, "it drains you. Every heartbeat inside it is carved straight out of your own qi. Hide in Cowardice all your life..."

His gaze hardened, like a blade pressing against the mind.

"...and you are paving the road to your own destruction. Because once your qi runs dry—" he paused, letting the silence press in "—you’re nothing more than a fish laid bare on the chopping block."

"But now," he continued, his gaze locking onto Fang Lian’s with the weight of unshakable insight, "instead of cowering inside it... break it down. Tear Cowardice apart."

His hands moved in the air, miming the slow, deliberate rending of the sphere into shards. "Not destroy it but instead fragment it. Study each piece. Understand its essence, one fragment at a time."

His hands moved again, slower this time, drawing intricate patterns in the air.

The Cowardice shield that covered himself disintegrated into pieces.

It was no longer one shield but dozens, even hundreds.

Each flickering into existence around him, each a tiny, focused point of golden light.

They danced, interwove, and solidified into a shimmering, responsive latticework of miniature barriers.

"Each fragment," Fang Yuan explained, his voice low and intense, "each piece of that primal, all-encompassing fear... you wield it. Not to hide, but to intervene. To block a specific threat you once used your entire being to shield against. That is Bravery."

He held the complex, shimmering network of golden shields effortlessly.

"Bravery is not the absence of Cowardice, Lian. It is the overcoming of it. It is taking that instinctive urge to cower, that desperate need for total safety, and forging it into a weapon of focused defiance. You channel the energy of protection outward, selectively, with precision."

He let the shields wink out. "By mastering the breaking down of Cowardice, I forged Bravery. Making it more effective and more efficient in saving qi usage. True strength lies not in hiding, but in choosing where to stand firm."

Fang Lian stood utterly still, breath caught in her throat.

It wasn’t just a lesson in qi manipulation; it was a lesson in confronting fear itself.

"Think on it," Fang Yuan commanded Fang Lian, his voice dropping from profound teacher to pragmatic leader in an instant.