Chapter 1146: Water Ability

The rampaging puppets had attack power more than ten times their original strength; under these conditions, Ning Chen had no way to block attacks from all three simultaneously.

All three puppets launched at once—in an instant, two had reached Ning Chen's front and back.

Ning Chen raised his hand and blocked the puppet in front of him.

The one behind was intercepted by Little Qiongqi, who reacted instantly.

Under these circumstances, he might still have had a chance to fight back—but the problem was, one puppet remained.

That puppet swiftly moved to Ning Chen and Little Qiongqi's side, drew its sword, and swung to strike Ning Chen.

Ning Chen felt the attack coming from his side, but he couldn't dodge—and had no time to dodge.

He rapidly planned everything in his mind, needing to optimize every action.

Since he couldn't avoid it, he couldn't let himself be critically wounded.

Ning Chen shifted his posture slightly—under these conditions, the opponent could only drive the sword into his shoulder.

The expected pain never came; Ning Chen glanced behind him.

The sword had stopped less than a meter from him, encased in a ring of water; even the puppet's wrists and ankles were bound by water rings.

All the water rings formed a shackle, locking the puppet firmly inside; then another current of water circled Ning Chen, restraining the puppet before him as well.

This power came suddenly—so suddenly Ning Chen felt unprepared—but clearly, it was unstable, the water flow gradually slowing.

Ning Chen already had a rough guess; taking advantage of the puppets' restricted movement, he moved to eliminate them immediately.

Far away, in the center of the lake, Xiao Han retracted his ability and landed silently.

Time was up—he had reclaimed what needed reclaiming.

Ning Chen glanced at Xiao Han, then strode quickly toward the Fangche Sect; exhausted like an old dog, Little Qiongqi resignedly returned to the lake center to fetch him.

As Ning Chen reached the Fangche Sect's door, he saw Gu Yanqi slumped against it, eyes closed, as if asleep.

Around Gu Yanqi, tiny water droplets scattered on the ground.

Ning Chen picked up Gu Yanqi and sat down on the sofa with her.

At this moment, Xiao Han had reclaimed his items; the forest returned to normal, and the strange force vanished.

Lin Yi and Facing Huo Jinglin awoke.

They had merely been drawn in by the force—not lost their memories—and recalling the foolish things they'd done while out of control, both felt utterly ashamed.

But they couldn't leave now—they were bound all over.

Lin Yi was about to call out to Ning Chen for help untying his ropes when Facing Huo Jinglin silenced him with a glance.

Ning Chen was gazing tenderly at Gu Yanqi.

Holding Gu Yanqi's hand, Ning Chen realized her hand was unnaturally cold—this must be the aftereffect of overusing her ability right after awakening.

Ning Chen slowly infused his Light Ability into Gu Yanqi's body, letting it circulate within her to soothe her turbulent power.

Soon, Gu Yanqi's complexion turned rosy, her body warmed, and she seemed fine.

Xiao Han and Little Qiongqi returned to the Fangche Sect; Xiao Han, having reclaimed part of his belongings, visibly improved in mood—even untied Lin Yi and Facing Huo Jinglin.

Afterward, he asked, "Are you two alright?"

How could Lin Yi and Facing Huo Jinglin describe their current state? They were troubled—but not really.

The most conflicted was probably Facing Huo Jinglin—he imagined himself back in the past with a time-reversal machine, just to slap himself twice.

Come on, who was that stupid, dazed fool? How could it possibly have been him?

Compared to Facing Huo Jinglin's turmoil, Lin Yi, after a moment of shame, simply accepted it with his shameless, unrepentant nature.

Even if he'd been humiliated, so what? It couldn't be changed—and the past was past.

Lin Yi took it well; soon he grinned and went to bathe—they were all filthy.

Gu Yanqi awoke in Ning Chen's arms, both lying in her room.

Ning Chen lay on his side outside, propped on one elbow, head resting on his hand, the other arm wrapped around Gu Yanqi.

Gu Yanqi nestled against him like a small bird, so close she could smell his cool, crisp scent.

Ning Chen instantly sensed her awakening; he opened his eyes and met her gaze.

Waking up, Ning Chen exuded a languid, undeniably sexy charm.

He spoke softly, voice slightly hoarse, utterly captivating: "How are you? Any discomfort?"

Gu Yanqi shifted, pulling away from Ning Chen's embrace.

She felt nothing wrong—instead, she sensed a warm current flowing through her body.

Then she remembered something, turned sharply to Ning Chen, her expression urgent.

"N-Ning-ge, I—I have an ability!"

The more she hurried, the less she could express herself; her face was full of frantic urgency.

Seeing this, Ning Chen sat up, pressed his hand on her shoulders, and calmed her.

"Yanqi, don't rush. Take your time. I'm right here."

Ning Chen's voice held an inexplicable magic—even her name, spoken by him, sounded uniquely beautiful.

When Gu Yanqi finally emerged from his words, she realized she had calmed down.

"Phew, Ning-ge, I—I have an ability!"

Gu Yanqi was thrilled; she'd always feared holding the team back, and being powerless had been unbearable.

Now, suddenly, she had an ability—she could hardly believe it.

Ning Chen smiled, delighted by her joy.

"Mm, I saw it. You saved me, Yanqi. You're amazing."

Hearing him, Gu Yanqi's cheeks flushed red.

At the time, she hadn't thought much—she'd only felt a sharp pain when she saw that monstrous thing lurching toward Ning Chen.

By the time she realized it, she noticed her hand extended, with many droplets of water crawling across it.

Immediately afterward, Gu Yanqi made a crucial decision: to use her ability to help Ning Chen, which led to what had just happened.

Thinking of this, Gu Yanqi said, "Brother Ning, I'm truly glad I could help you."