Fang Yuan chuckled—a warm, rolling sound that seemed to ripple through the air like heat off stone. "Oh no, Elder Joshua," he said, grinning, "you don't get to retire from yelling at me just yet."
He spread his arms wide, encompassing both the mountain of faith behind him and the absurdity of it all. "Trust me, the younger generation's still a mess. Just look at me."
His words carried the weight of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
"I still need you and the others to keep kicking me in the right direction. Leave me unsupervised for a day and I might vanish into the night. Start a sect. Conquer a city. Who knows. I for sure, don't know myself."
The elders blinked.
His smile turned fox-like, sharp, glinting with mock menace. "And don't think I'm doing all this for the clan out of pure selflessness either."
He leaned in slightly. "Oh no. I fully intend to work every one of you to the bone. Just so I can take longer naps."
