Royal Meal 

Bruce only had about one hour to cook the meal because he didn't want Meredith's family to wait for him too long. He finalized his thoughts for the meal and began preparing the ingredients. Bruce skillfully chopped up the vegetables and delicately handled the meat.

All of his movements were much more refined than before. Not only was his strength increase tremendously after reaching Divine King, but so were his culinary skills.

"Looks like your husband is actually outside cooking for us" Empress Lockwood teased her daughter. It's been a long time since the two had a casual conversation.

"Mom…" Meredith blushed when her mother called Bruce her husband. She wanted to bury herself in her pillows and never come out again.

"Honey, you can't fall to that brat's tricks!" Emperor Lockwood did not like how his wife addressed Bruce.

"But isn't he the perfect candidate for our daughter?" Empress Lockwood turned around to look at her husband who still didn't like their future son-in-law.

"He's extremely talented and has good background"

"He's also very handsome and has proper manners"

"Proper manners? That brat has been disrespecting me the entire time!" Emperor Lockwood raised his voice.

"It's because you also antagonized him" Empress Lockwood glared at her husband.

"Tell me, which person from the young generation is better than Bruce?"

"I… I don't know but I know that I don't like him!" Emperor Lockwood struggled to even find a candidate that could potentially be comparable to Bruce.

"Well, it doesn't matter because Meredith has the final say on who her husband is." Empress Lockwood ended the argument.

"Princess, do you want him to be your husband?" Empress Lockwood turned back to teasing her daughter. Her daughter had never shown this feminine side of her before. She found it quite adorable that her daughter was hiding her face behind the pillows.

"Mom… Stop asking me those types of questions…" Meredith begged her mother to stop. It was too embarrassing for her to proclaim her love for Bruce in front of her parents.

"Alright, I'll stop" Empress Lockwood giggled.

"Princess, just tell me whenever you want to break up with that brat! I'll make sure he disappears from your life forever" Emperor Lockwood wanted to nudge his daughter in the right direction.

Meredith put down her pillows and coldly looked at her dad.

"Dad, I won't talk to you anymore if you keep saying things like that"

"Meredith…" Emperor Lockwood wanted to cry but had no tears. His precious daughter had been robbed by a hooligan.

"Everyone, food is ready!" Bruce yelled from the kitchen. He was quite happy with the meal he just made.

"Let's go out and try your boyfriend's dish" Empress Lockwood held her daughter's hands and the two left the room. Meanwhile, Emperor Lockwood grumpily walked behind the two.

The Lockwood family walked out to the dining room only to find a high-end meal waiting for them at the table. The appetizer was a lobster salad with beetroot. The entrée was braised duck with cranberry sauce reduction. Lastly, the dessert was a chocolate souffle.

"Bruce, these look amazing" Empress Lockwood gave out praise. She was truly impressed that Bruce managed to cook these meals within 1 hour.

"Thank you, mother-in-law," Bruce smiled.

Meredith was also surprised as her mother because she had never seen Bruce cook anything like this before. He had always used cheap ingredients to create delicious food. Looking at the meals on the table, she knew that he had used high-quality ingredients to prepare the meal. She gave him a thumbs-up and sat down.

Emperor Lockwood gulped when he saw the food on the table. He couldn't believe that the brat cooked everything on the table. He had been suspicious that Bruce bought these meals beforehand, but he knew that wasn't the case since he had been watching Bruce like a hawk for any trickery.

Emperor Lockwood still wasn't convinced by Bruce's cooking, and he hoped that the food would taste terrible.

"Let's sit down and eat everyone" Bruce pulled out the seat for Meredith and Empress Lockwood. He also tried to pull out the seat for Emperor Lockwood, but the latter declined.

Empress Lockwood picked up the knife and fork and tried the appetizer. She took a little bit of everything in the salad and put the fork in her mouth.

"Bruce, this salad is delicious!" Empress Lockwood was pleasantly surprised to find such a delicious meal cooked up in a shabby kitchen. Even the food prepared by the royal chefs would be lacking when compared to the salad she just tasted.

Emperor Lockwood also enjoyed the salad greatly but couldn't say any praise due to his pride. He had accepted that he lost the war. He knew his wife's personality pretty well. His wife is the biggest foodie there is! Even if Meredith didn't choose Bruce to be her husband, his wife would force the couple to marry each other.

Meredith enjoyed the meal as well. She had expected Bruce to cook an extremely delicious meal. She happily enjoyed the meal with her mother. Both of them screamed a little when they tasted the duck and the dessert. Both mother and daughter were foodies.

"Bruce, I have to say that I regret being born in a different generation than you" Empress Lockwood sighed.

"Had you been in my generation, I would definitely gobble you up and make you my husband" Empress Lockwood said in a seductive tone.

"Mother!"

"HONEY!"

Both father and daughter stepped between Empress Lockwood and Bruce for different reasons.

"I'm very honored to hear your praise mother-in-law" Bruce blushed a little when he heard what Empress Lockwood just said.

"Mother-in-law, you are very beautiful yourself. In the case that father-in-law is no longer around, we could…"

"Bruce, what the hell are you thinking!" Meredith pinched Bruce's ear.

"Brat, I truly cannot live under the same sky as you!" Emperor Lockwood was enraged to hear Bruce planning to steal his wife from him.

"I'm just kidding" Bruce reassured Meredith and charmingly smiled at Empress Lockwood. He wanted to return the teasing of his mother-in-law. Seeing that her expression didn't change one bit, he knew that he was still immature compared to a mature woman like her.

"Fufu, I like you more and more Bruce" Empress Lockwood said seductively. The whole scene reenacted again as the daughter and father tried to stop what was happening.

"Jokes aside, I'd like to know more about your family" Empress Lockwood stopped teasing everyone and got back onto topic.

"What's there to talk about my family?" Bruce innocently asked.

"I believe your grandma is the Ice Empress, Jennifer Blackthorne, correct?" Empress Lockwood replied.

"That's correct. Your intel is scary mother-in-law" Bruce had a scared expression on his face.

"Due to the delicate balance on the continent, the royal family needs to keep track of every major power on the continent." Empress Lockwood continued to enjoy the dessert as she spoke.

"What are the major powers on the continent?" Bruce curiously asked. He knew that the continent was much more complex than it seemed.

"On the surface, people believe that The Alliance of Kingdoms, The Dark Forces, and the Church of Light held the majority of powers on the continent."

"That's not necessarily correct" Empress Lockwood put the fork down.

"There are ancient families that existed for hundreds of thousands of years"

"There are also old monsters with unimaginable strengths who silently cultivated and left the society"

"Bruce, your strength may be powerful but know that there are many beings on this continent who alone can wipe you out" Empress Lockwood warned.

"Thank you for your advice, mother-in-law"

"But my philosophy is to never provoke anyone. However, if someone were to hurt me or people I care about, then I'll make sure to wipe them off the map" After seeing the battle in his memory, Bruce had a different perspective on the continent or the entire world.

The man in the scene slaughtered gods like they were chickens. Ultimately, what matters the most in the world is strength. The ancient families or old monsters may be more powerful than him right now, but their potentials are limited. What Bruce currently aims for is the stage beyond Worldly Supreme.

"Quite a scary statement coming from a Divine King" Empress Lockwood teased.

"Mother-in-law, since you are well informed in everything happening on the continent, I'd like your help on something" Bruce said with a serious expression.

"Sure, what is it?" Empress Lockwood nodded.

"Do you know any powerhouse on the continent with the name Lydia?" Bruce asked.

"Lydia…." Empress Lockwood thought for a few moments.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone with that name"

"That's unfortunate" Bruce sighed. He knew finding the woman in the scene would not be that easy.

"Who is she?" Meredith curiously asked.

"Someone very important, but I'm afraid I can't say anything more about this" Bruce didn't want to reveal anything about his memory to anyone just yet.

"How fishy…" Meredith felt something was wrong.

"Oh my, is she one of your long-lost girlfriends Bruce?" Empress Lockwood joked.