CHAPTER 143: 143-2ND ROUND [3]

The golden shield slammed down to deflect a crushing overhead blow from Gu Jian’s staff, the impact jarring Fang Yuan to his bones and making the golden light sputter.

It swept desperately to disperse a concentrated cloud of Lin Pe’s Sleep Dust billowing towards his face.

He moved with inhuman speed and precision, conserving qi where possible, but the sheer volume and coordination of the attacks were relentless.

Sweat mixed with the blood trickling from his nose and split lip.

His breaths came sharp and fast.

"Keep pressing!" Gu Lanyue’s voice, strained but venomous, cut through the din from where he struggled to rise.

"He just unleashed Four Stars! From the display of that technique, it definitely devours qi like a black hole! He must be running on fumes! Don’t let him breathe! Drain him dry!"

Fang Yuan internally scoffed, even as he narrowly avoided a vine lash that tore a gash in his robe. Fumes? Hardly.

His strong foundation and the thrumming system points meant his reserves were vast, deeper than they could ever fathom.

But the constant defense was taxing, and Gu Lanyue’s words sparked a brilliant idea.

Seeing an opening, Gu Jian roared, "TOGETHER! FINISHING BLOW!"

All three attackers converged in a terrifying symphony of destruction, Gu Jian leaped high, staff held overhead like a divine punishment, gathering crushing earth qi meanwhile Lin Xukong thrust his staff forward, unleashing a concentrated beam of splintering wood.

Lastly and also the least, Lin Pe darted low, twin daggers aiming a scissoring cut at Fang Yuan’s ankles while releasing his thickest cloud of Sleep Dust directly upwards.

Trapped, pressured, and seeing no path to dodge or block individually without catastrophic injury,

Fang Yuan did exactly what they hoped for.

He abandoned his efficient, mobile defense.

"COWARDICE!" Fang Yuan screamed, the word raw with seeming desperation.

A blinding eruption of golden light engulfed him.

The First Form: Cowardice, the full-body, impenetrable golden shell he’d been avoiding snapped into existence.

It was a shimmering, perfect sphere of radiant energy, sealing him within.

CRACK-BOOM-SHING!

Gu Jian’s attack hammered onto the dome like a falling peak.

Lin Xukong stabbed into it with concentrated force.

And Lin Pe’s Sleep Dust cloud washed over it, and his daggers skittered uselessly off the flawless surface.

The dome held. Not a scratch.

But the visible drain was instant and enormous.

Fang Yuan, visible inside the golden sphere like an insect in amber, visibly staggered.

His face contorted in effort, veins bulging at his temples.

The golden light pulsed violently with each impact, dimming perceptibly as it consumed staggering amounts of qi to maintain absolute defense against three simultaneous high-level techniques.

Gu Jian landed, eyes blazing with triumph. "SEE! He’s forced to use it! The qi drain is immense! KEEP HAMMERING! BREAK THE SHELL AND HE BREAKS WITH IT!"

Lin Xukong redoubled the force of his lance. Lin Pe drew back, gathering more pollen.

They pressed their attacks relentlessly against the immobile golden dome, the air shuddering with the concussive force.

Inside, Fang Yuan screamed again, his voice muffled but filled with what sounded like terrified outrage:

"NO! THIS ISN’T FAIR! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!"

His cry, perfectly pitched with panic and exhaustion, was the sweetest music to his enemies’ ears.

They redoubled their efforts, pouring their own qi into the assault, utterly convinced they were moments from grinding him down.

From the side, Gu Lanyue suddenly barked. "Hurry! We don’t have all day! I just received a message that those four damn Saberfangs are almost upon us!"

And then the old patriarch suddenly uncorked a vial of berserk potion and downed it in one gulp.

Muscles surged beneath his robes, veins knotting as years of disciplined training burst forth in seconds.

He looked twenty years younger, hulking, primal and unstoppable.

Before the transformation could wane, he gulped a second brew, an elixir to replenish his qi.

The energy roared back into him... but the cost was brutal: once the effect faded, he’d be utterly qi-empty for a week, as mortal and defenseless as any peasant.

Risk be damned.

He raised a trembling hand, voice low and feral. "Gu Swarm!"

He slashed his forearm in one practiced arc. His blood welled in the air, then exploded into a writhing cloud of crimson insects, thousands of them, their wings clicking like chitinous drums.

They surged toward Fang Yuan, hungry for living qi.

Fang Yuan’s eyes flared.

A flicker of genuine horror passed his features as he continued to maintain the brilliant golden shell of light.

Golden Shell Armor, First Form: Cowardice.

The barrier continued to aurround him, shimmering like molten brass but each second cost him precious reserves of qi.

Gu Jian seized the moment.

"Now! Retreat as far as you can!"

His voice cracked like a whip.

Lin Xukong and his son, Lin Pe, didn’t hesitate, they turned and sprinted for the exit, boots slamming against the cracked stone floor as the swarm clung to the golden barrier like sticky gum on the sole of a shoe, refusing to fall away.

Behind them, the insects writhed, thickening, pulsing, growing unstable.

Gu Lanyue’s eyes gleamed with cruel anticipation as he raised his hand and roared,

"Gu Swarm—Explosion!"

And they did.

One after another, the blood-born insects detonated in rapid succession, a chain reaction of fiery bursts erupting against the golden shell.

The hall trembled under the barrage, the heat distorting the air, each blast meant to obliterate the man inside.

But Fang Yuan didn’t flinch or panic.

In fact, he couldn’t.

Because something inside him had already snapped into place.

Instead of fear, a sharp, electric thrill surged through his veins.

His heart pounded not with dread, but exhilaration.

And then he laughed.

Low at first, almost disbelieving, and then deeper, rising like the crackle before a lightning strike.

It echoed across the shattered hall like a blade drawn from its sheath.

This is it! his mind roared, not with alarm, but with euphoria.

A clear, ringing pulse of adrenaline-fueled clarity.

This was the moment.

Cradling Fang Lian gently in his arms, his eyes gleaming like molten gold, he whispered slowly,

"Golden Shell Armor: Third Form... Take Back What’s Yours."