"Do you wish to continue?"
Those five words resounded like thunder in Lin Ming's mind, his heart racing as the light whisperings of deadly crisis rang heavily in his thoughts, subtly giving him the urge to reject, to formulate a rebuke towards this newly elevated difficulty. While his inner pride had refused to allow him to consciously choose the easier path, a consequence that might have severe implications on his self-confidence and willpower, he also was fully aware of his limitations.
An entity at the Star Core Phase was far, far beyond his current strength. Even if he considered all his trump cards, every single desperation-type art, spell, maneuver, and method that he could deploy, he found himself unable to give himself a chance of victory. If it was an entity at the Temporal Eye Phase, while his chances might be low, it wasn't non-existent
He felt stuck, his throat sealed by words that he wanted to say, but his instincts begged him not to.