Sacred Duel

Xia Lun leaped down the passage. Slick walls of flesh rushed past him in the howling wind.

As he plummeted, the sickening sensation of weightlessness gripped him. The light spilling through the entrance narrowed to a faint glimmer, then dwindled to a speck too small to see, just like Renee standing at the opening and watching him go.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

As he fell toward the planet's core, the pulsing of the fleshy walls on either side grew clearer. The muffled rumble made his eardrums tremble.

The closer he came to the core, the clearer the grotesque landscape became. Even without activating Flesh Sight, he could see yellowish globules of fat writhing wildly, black eyeballs rolling among them, and bone-white teeth devouring the surrounding tissue. This was the Flesh Planet's true form.

The fall felt awful, but Xia Lun paid it no mind. He even took stock of the resources he could still use. He had expended Curse Severance from the Short Sword Night Plume, and King Guewen had temporarily sealed his Endash Quiet Speaker ability. His trump cards were all but spent. Yet he still had Heightened Focus, Wind Whisperer, Life Drain, and Curse-Reversal Strike. Paired with his current, exceptionally high attributes, those remaining tools could be devastating!

"Xia Lun, can you hear me?" Renee's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

Xia Lun's thoughts stirred. "I can," he replied silently.

"I'm speaking to you through the Holy Flame Banner. I've made contact with the Lightbearers outside and taken command of them. We're clearing the Light Puppets from the city. Is everything going smoothly on your end?"

Xia Lun glanced toward the surface, now farther away than ever, and described his situation honestly. "I haven't landed yet."

Renee fell silent for a moment, then laughed in his mind. "And