The chain caught Wei Liang's left wrist before he fully registered the trap had sprung, cold metal biting deep, some kind of qi-suppressing material that dulled the seventh gate's response the instant it touched skin.
"Fight it," Xu shouted, urgent and sharp. "It's designed to bind Void roots specifically. Don't let it lock fully."
Wei Liang wrenched backward with everything he had, tearing the anchor point partially free of the ground before the second chain caught his other wrist, the suppression spreading fast up both arms.
"Cut the chains," Garrow shouted, already moving, blade raised.
"Don't," Bao Chen said calmly, not even raising his voice. "Attempting to sever them mid-activation triggers exactly the catastrophic failure I mentioned earlier. Unless you'd like to test whether an
