Dan exhaled slowly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Great. He's naming the fight already. This never ends well."
Minjun's grin returned, but it carried an edge now. "No, my friend," he said, eyes still on Wuxie. "This is exactly how it starts."
The words hung between them like the first roll of thunder before a storm.
All around them, the tournament continued, but the weight of the coming fight lingered like a storm on the horizon. Even the spectators who had been skeptical now found themselves glancing toward Wuxie again and again, wondering some with doubt, others with anticipation whether they were about to witness a humiliation or a spectacle.
