Liam''s Perspective


    Orion Valois stepped toward Eamon Greene, his eyes narrow with barely contained fury. In one swift motion, he delivered a sharp chop to the back of Eamon''s neck, silencing him instantly. Eamon crumpled to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.


    "Now that our... informant has been handled," Orion said coldly, "let''s proceed properly." He stepped back, giving Kael Westwood the floor.


    Kael advanced toward me, his body visibly swelling as he approached. Dark golden energy shimmered across his skin like oil on water. His muscles expanded, stretching the fabric of his clothing to its limits.


    "The legendary Liam Knight," he sneered. "Let''s see how legendary you really are."


    Without warning, heunched forward. His fist flew at my face with incredible speed, carrying enough force to shatter stone. I shifted slightly, meeting his attack with my forearm. The impact sent shockwaves through the clearing, rustling nearby leaves.


    The onlookers gasped. Kael''s eyes widened in surprise. I showed no reaction, no sign that his blow had affected me at all.


    "Interesting," he muttered, pulling back his fist.


    He unleashed a flurry of punches next. Each blow would have killed an ordinary man instantly. I blocked or deflected each one, my body barely moving from its position. The sound of our exchange echoed like thunder across the riverside.


    Frustration twisted Kael''s features. He stepped back, reassessing.


    "You''re tougher than expected," he admitted grudgingly.


    I remained silent, watching him carefully. His next move would reveal much about his true capabilities.


    Kael suddenly drove his fist into the ground beside him. The earth exploded outward, creating a pit six feet wide and just as deep. The disy of raw strength was meant to intimidate.


    "That could have been your head," he growled.


    "But it wasn''t," I replied calmly.


    Something dangerous shed in his eyes. He attacked again, this time with greater ferocity. Our exchange became a blur of movement. Each impact created small shock waves that disturbed the air around us. The sound was deafening.


    I matched him blow for blow. When he pushed, I pushed back equally hard. When he struck, I countered with matching force. For several minutes, we tested each other''s limits in pure physicalbat.


    Those watching couldn''t hide their astonishment. Even Orion''sposed mask slipped, revealing genuine surprise. No one had expected me to match Kael''s legendary strength so effortlessly.


    Kael stepped back, breathing heavily. Not from exhaustion, but from growing rage.


    "Enough games," he snarled. "Time to show you my true power."


    He adopted a wide stance, his hands forming intricate patterns before his chest. "Vajra Body Protection Technique!" <small ss="in-imprint-a">Love this story? Show your support on *.</small>


    Golden light erupted from his body. The transformation was immediate and dramatic. His skin hardened and took on a metallic sheen, turningpletely golden. Veins bulged across his body, pulsing with power. The ground beneath his feet cracked from the pressure of his aura alone.


    "This," he announced proudly, "is the culmination of twenty years of cultivation. My invincible Grandmaster body!"


    I remained unmoved. "Impressive light show."


    Fury darkened his golden features. He attacked again, but this time the difference was undeniable. His speed had doubled. His strength had tripled. The first punch caught me by surprise.


    His fist connected with my chest, sending me flying backward. I crashed through several trees before mming into the ground, creating a deep furrow in the earth. Pain blossomed across my torso. That had hurt. Genuinely hurt.


    Before I could fully recover, Kael was above me. His golden form blotted out the sky as he descended, both fists raised overhead. I rolled away just as his attack connected with the ground. The earth split open, creating a massive crater.


    "Run all you want," Kael taunted. "You can''t escape the Golden Titan!"


    I leapt to my feet, reassessing my opponent. His technique had transformed him into something beyond human. Each movement left golden afterimages in the air.


    He charged again. This time I met him head-on. Our fists connected with catastrophic force. The shockwave ttened the surrounding vegetation and sent ripples across the nearby river surface. Pain shot up my arm, but I didn''t falter.


    We exchanged twenty blows in the span of a few seconds. Each impact was harder than thest. I felt ribs crack. Tasted blood in my mouth. But I continued fighting, matching his golden might with my own determination.


    Kael''s grin widened with each sessful hit. "Feel that? That''s what true power feels like!"


    His next punch caught me squarely in the stomach. Air rushed from my lungs as my feet left the ground. I flew backward, crashing into the riverside slope and creating a deep crater in the earth.


    Before I could stand, Kael was on me again. His golden fist hammered down into my chest, driving me deeper into the ground. The pain was blinding. Another blow followed, then another. Each impact drove me further into the earth, widening the pit around me.


    "Where''s your strength now?" Kael shouted between punches. "Where''s the legendary Liam Knight?"


    Earth and stone copsed around me as his relentless assault continued. Soon, I was buried beneathyers of broken ground, each new blow from abovepacting the debris around me.


    From the edge of the massive crater, Orion and the others watched with a mixture of awe and satisfaction.


    "Is it done?" Kendrick asked as Kael finally stepped back, his golden body gleaming with sweat.


    Kael flexed his fingers, looking down at the destruction he''d caused. Where I had stood was now a pit fifteen feet deep, filled withpacted earth and broken stone.


    "No one could survive that," Kael dered, the golden sheen slowly fading from his skin as he deactivated his technique. "Not even him."


    He turned to his audience, arms spread wide in triumph. "You see? This is why I am the strongest! My flesh is truly unrivaled in this world!"


    "That''s not necessarily true."


    The voice—my voice—froze everyone in ce. Kael''s triumphant expression copsed into disbelief as he slowly turned back toward the pit.


    The broken ground trembled. Cracks spread across thepacted surface. Then, in an explosive burst, debris flew in all directions as a golden figure rose from the destruction. My body gleamed with a brilliant light that rivaled Kael''s own former radiance.


    I stood tall amidst the ruins, my eyes locked on the now-speechless Kael Westwood.


    The true battle was just beginning.