Chapter 1134: Heading Into the Experimental Zone

Ning Chen had no doubt about Little Qiongqi's words; he looked at Xiao Han and nodded to it.

Immediately, Ning Chen gave Little Qiongqi its next order: "Little Qiongqi, take Xiao Han to the center."

Little Qiongqi reluctantly approached Xiao Han.

Xiao Han smiled slightly at it, showing he meant no harm.

But Little Qiongqi glared at him and growled: "Listen, get rid of that smile, and tone down all that kindness—you're dealing with a ferocious beast, a ferocious beast! I hate the smell coming off you!"

But despite complaining, Little Qiongqi still moved behind Xiao Han, grabbed the back of his clothes, and lifted him into the air.

Little Qiongqi successfully carried Xiao Han to the center of the lake.

Xiao Han landed steadily on the central spot.

Because Xiao Han was tall, Ning Chen could see clearly.

Beneath Xiao Han's feet, it looked as if there were a platform allowing him to stand on it.

After returning, Little Qiongqi went behind Ning Chen, grabbed his clothes, and lifted him into the air.

Looking down from above, the entire lake became clearly visible.

Ning Chen noticed the lake was circular, and a line ran along its bottom at the center.

"Little Qiongqi, fly up a bit higher."

Upon hearing Ning Chen's words, Little Qiongqi carried him higher.

Then Ning Chen saw the entire lake formed a Yin-Yang Bagua pattern.

After imprinting the lake's shape into his mind, Ning Chen told Little Qiongqi to set him down.

Ning Chen stood beside Xiao Han, staring at the ground beneath his feet.

When he landed, there was clearly ripples beneath his feet, but his shoes remained dry.

Ning Chen stomped hard on the ground—he could distinctly feel something beneath, separating the water below from the surface above.

Bending down, Ning Chen touched the spot beneath his feet; it was cold, and the texture felt like ice.

"How about it? Can you handle this?" Ning Chen stood up and asked Xiao Han, who was examining his surroundings.

Xiao Han glanced at Ning Chen, then walked to the edge of the platform and jumped into the water, sinking beneath.

Not long after, Xiao Han surfaced from the water, his eyes filled with amusement as he looked at Ning Chen.

It seemed he had found what he was looking for.

"Get ready—we can begin."

Ning Chen nodded, called Little Qiongqi over, and had it carry him back to the lakeshore.

After seeing Ning Chen reach the lakeshore, Xiao Han sank into the water again.

Suddenly, bright light erupted from the center, and the surroundings shook violently; the trembling lasted only about one or two minutes before stopping.

Suddenly, Xiao Han shot out of the water—not by his own power, but as if pushed upward by some force.

He flipped midair and landed on the central platform, drenched but with an unexpectedly resolute gaze.

Xiao Han clasped his hands together, formed a hand seal, then struck toward the very center.

With Xiao Han's movement, Ning Chen distinctly felt something wrong with the air around him.

An intense sense of danger surged through the surroundings.

Ning Chen scanned all around but saw nothing—yet the danger came at him from every direction.

Ning Chen tensed all over, extending his senses to investigate the environment.

But strangely, there was nothing there—or at least, he couldn't detect anything.

Ning Chen closed his eyes and carefully sensed his surroundings.

Suddenly, a sharp sensation struck from directly ahead—he instantly dodged.

Where Ning Chen had stood, a mark appeared on the grass—like a cut from a sword or knife.

The mark was extremely deep, clearly made with tremendous force.

Ning Chen frowned slightly—what was going on?

Gradually, Ning Chen began to understand what was happening.

Around him, figures began appearing—one by one, rapidly shifting from transparent to solid.

Ning Chen roughly counted them—seven or eight.

All the figures were men, their eyes wide open but devoid of light, utterly vacant; each held an identical sword.

Without warning, all the "men" attacked Ning Chen at once.

Each moved swiftly, their blades razor-sharp, radiating an aura of death.

These "men" clearly intended to kill Ning Chen—every move was lethal.

After dodging the attack from the front, Ning Chen lifted his leg, spun, and delivered a side kick that knocked the weapon from the "man" attacking from the side.

The disarmed opponent showed no urgency; it stood still, and the sword on the ground slowly vanished, while a new one slowly materialized in its hand.

The moment the sword fully appeared in its hand, the "man" resumed its attack.

As Ning Chen fought them, he observed their behavior—he could still handle these "men."

These "men" clearly came from one sect; each moved identically, as if following a single system.

Once he roughly understood their patterns, Ning Chen could begin to predict their moves.

Earlier, when he kicked the sword from one "man's" hand, the peculiar way it reacted made Ning Chen want to verify something.

Finding an opening, Ning Chen kicked another "man's" sword away—the same thing happened: the opponent froze, and the sword on the ground slowly disappeared.

Seeing this, Ning Chen kicked swords away from two or three more "men"—their reactions were identical.

Ning Chen now understood: these "men" needed their swords as a medium to act—but if so, these "men" weren't real people at all, merely puppets.

Ning Chen began trying to destroy these puppets.

Ning Chen counterattacked these puppets, striking almost every part of their bodies.

Ning Chen discovered that besides attacking the back of their heads, striking anywhere else was completely useless.

Even if their hands or feet were severed, they would recover very quickly; the severing only slightly hindered their movements for a moment.

But after being struck in the back of the head, they would immediately collapse motionless, their bodies gradually turning transparent before vanishing.

Now that the weakness was found, things were simple; Ning Chen took them down one by one, and in no time, several puppets lay defeated.

They were indeed agile and possessed great strength, but they had a fatal flaw: they lacked the ability to think, could not engage in tactical reasoning like humans, and simply attacked forward without pause.

Ning Chen looked toward the center of the lake; Xiao Han had flown into the air at some point, with green light continuously pouring into the lake's center.

Ning Chen thought for a moment, wanting to go to the middle to help him.

Before he could call Little Qiongqi, many more puppets appeared around him; this time, the number was double what it had been just now.