William had no way of knowing that the shadow in the forest—the silent observer who had catalogued his lethal, unconventional efficiency—was the very man he had come to meet: Kong, the legendary and terrifying "old monster" of the Long clan.
To be stalked by a patriarch of such renown without sensing a single ripple in the air was a testament to the gap that still existed between William's current vessel and the peaks of power he once navigated.
However, William was a creature of iron discipline. He suppressed his internal alarm with the speed of a closing shutter, his expression smoothing out into that unsettlingly mature mask once more.
He wasn't here to play the role of a startled child; he was here to negotiate from a position of perceived strength.
"So, how is the winner decided?" William asked. His voice was steady, devoid of the frantic energy that usually preceded a spar between a junior and a titan.
