The Alliance of Kingdoms
At the center of the Valrok continent, there stands a gigantic building with guards surrounding it. The guards are surprisingly all at the Divine King cultivation stage. The building looks majestic from the outside and on the inside. This is the headquarter of the Alliance of Kingdom.
The Alliance of Kingdoms is one of the three factions that controlled the continent. The Dark Forces and the Church of Light being the other two. The Church of Light remains as a neutral entity that will only get involved if provoked. The Dark Forces and The Alliance of Kingdoms are opposite of the spectrums and have fought against one another for centuries.
At the top floor of the building is a gargantuan room with a large table in the center. 5 people were sitting at the table discussing something important. These 5 people are the leaders of the Alliance of Kingdoms with Great Emperor cultivation.
On the left side were Great Emperor Cortez and Bochner. On the right side were ancestors of the Water Kingdom and Phantom Kingdom. At the center was the leader of the Alliance Kingdom, Great Emperor Fargo.
"When will the ruins be opened?" Great Emperor Bochner asked.
"By our estimates, the ruin will be opened in 3 months" Great Emperor Fargo replied as he read the documents provided by the Alliance of Kingdoms' intelligence.
"We have to send all our talents into the ruins this time" Ancestor of Water Kingdom, Michael Lockwood, made a proposal to the table.
"Are you insane? We can't afford to sacrifice the golden generation!" Ancestor of Phantom Kingdom, Jared Solomon, opposed the proposal.
"You don't have to worry about that Jared. The Dark Forces will also send their prodigies to the ruin" Great Emperor Fargo interjected the argument.
"Even so, we can't send everyone to the ruins. If they all die, then we'll lose the golden generation" Jared Solomon still did not agree with the proposal.
"What do you guys think?" Great Emperor Fargo now turned to Steven and John for their opinions.
After all, they are the ones who control the Imperial Academy that sheltered the golden generation.
"We need to send them into the ruins because this is the only chance we have to compete against the other continents." John answered in a distinguished tone unlike his casual tone with Bruce and Deion.
"That's correct, the other continents will invade us in the near future. If our geniuses can kill their geniuses, then that's even better"
"Furthermore, there may be treasures in the ruins that will allow us to defend ourselves against the attack. This chance is too great to half-heartedly send in a few students" Steven agreed with John's answer as well.
Steven then looked to Jared Solomon.
"Your descendant will be part of the mission so I understand your concern. He will either die in the ruin or blossom immensely if he come out"
"Easy for you to say when you don't have any descendent to send in" Jared mocked Steven.
"Don't forget that your descendent is my student Jared!" Steven glared back at the Phantom Kingdom ancestor.
"Hmph." Jared did not bother to reply.
"That's my thought as well. Should Meredith survive this ordeal, she'll be the next empress of the water kingdom." Michael pushed forward the proposal because he also knew that they needed to accelerate the strengths of their geniuses.
"Even with the strengths of Worldly Supreme, it would take them decades to breach past the continental walls." Great Emperor Fargo sighed as he only foresaw the continent's doomsday in the future.
"That concludes this quarter's executive meeting. You all may return to your posts" Before everyone got a chance to leave. Great Emperor Cortiez interrupted.
"Hold on a minute everyone"
"What is it John?" Great Emperor Fargo asked.
"6 years ago, a prodigy with the name Bruce Stellae died under the assassination of the Dark Forces. How come we didn't send several Divine Emperors to protect him?" John asked.
"It is truly regrettable to lose someone like Bruce Stellae, but it was a choice we had to make" Great Emperor Fargo looked at Jared Solomon.
"That's right John, I made that decision. Since my descendant, Edward, rivaled the Dark Force prodigy, Magnus Monet, the Dark Forces were not willing to let another prodigy rise in the Alliance" Jared Solomon sighed.
"Protecting Bruce Stellae would mean an all-out war with the Dark Forces. Given the circumstances, we can't afford the war right now"
"Oh, so you chose your descendant over someone else who's more talented" John coldly looked at Jared Solomon.
"Unfortunately, that is how the world works" Jared Solomon didn't care about someone he didn't know about. Protecting Edward is his top priority.
"You will regret your decision that day, I can ensure you that" John stood up and headed toward the door.
"Oh, is that a threat?" Jared Solomon released his aura, but it didn't faze John one bit.
"Don't get me wrong, Jared. I'm not going to do anything, nor do I plan to do anything" John looked back at Jared.
"But I know someone who holds a grudge for a very long time. When he finds out your decision in that day, he'll come for you" John left the room leaving everyone beside Steven contemplating on what he meant.
John knows his apprentice very well. Once Bruce finds out Jared Solomon was the reason why he was kept away from his family all these years, Bruce will most likely seek revenge.
Bruce is the most talented person he has ever seen in his life. He has no doubt that Bruce will become a Great Emperor one day. Perhaps even further than that. When that day comes, Jared might have to offer his entire fortune to Bruce to appease his anger.
As for Deion, he was also extremely talented. However, all his thoughts are about chasing skirts rather than cultivation. Without Bruce pushing him, Deion would still be at the bottom of the barrel.
John chuckled as he recalled the first moment that he met his students. He had finished a long mission for the academy and was suggested by Steven to take a vacation. He decided to teach a culinary class for fun. Unexpectedly, the two idiots walked into his class expecting to pick up girls.
It has been 6 years since he took them under his wings, and they have grown magnificently. Unfortunately, they're still idiots. Bruce always eats and naps in his free time. Deion always chases girls when he's not looking.
He wished that he could go back to the academy to train his students more but unfortunately, he has to deal with some Dark Forces rats before he could return to the academy.
Meanwhile at the Imperial Academy, two people were enjoying a relaxing date.
"Meredith, just relax while I finish cooking"
Due to the lack of a kitchen in his small dorm room, Bruce convinced Meredith to let him borrow her kitchen in her house.
Today he planned to cook a delicious meal for the both of them.
"Bruce, are you sure you know to cook?" Meredith looked at Bruce with Skepticism. She thought that Bruce would spend all his time training rather than learning how to cook.
"Are you kidding me? I've been taking Culinary Essentials for 6 years!" Bruce proudly showed his certification.
"Wouldn't you have to be a very bad cook to not pass it in 1 year" Meredith giggled.
"That's because of my teacher! He's a very strict person so he forced Deion and me to take the class every year" Bruce wanted to cry when he remembered all the tortures that he went through.
"Oh who is your teacher? You mentioned that your teacher can kill the Fire Kingdom Emperor like a headless chicken last time" Meredith was curious about Bruce's teacher. Killing a Divine Emperor was not possible unless one is significantly stronger.
"My teacher is Chef John. He is also known as John the Butcher" Bruce replied.
"Pffth. What kind of name is John the Butcher?" Meredith laughed out loud when she heard John's title.
"You joke now but even the headmaster had to be respectful to my teacher"
"No way, you're lying. Why would headmaster respects someone named John the Butcher"
"2 years ago, the headmaster came by to see my teacher. He said something that my teacher didn't like and got punched in the face." Like Alain, Steven got punched in the faced by John due to Bruce and Deion.
"No way!" Meredith didn't believe that someone like the headmaster would be punched by a butcher.
"It's true. You can go ask the headmaster about it" Bruce smirked when he recalled the headmaster running away from Chef John.
"Whatever, is the food ready yet?" Meredith dropped the topic and looked into the kitchen. She saw Bruce skillfully chopped the meat and added many spices to the pot. At that moment, he looked like a real professional chef.
"My girlfriend is really hungry today huh" Bruce continued to cook as he chatted with Meredith.
"Who's your girlfriend? I haven't accepted you yet!" Meredith blushed when Bruce mentioned the word girlfriend.
"That's okay. You'll accept me after you taste my cooking" Bruce laid out the food in front of Meredith. Grilled pork chops with tomato soup.
The soup had a fragrance of spring while the pork chops radiated the room with its spices. Meredith looked at the meals prepared for her and gulped.
Meredith took a small bite out of the pork chops, and it was delicious. Combined with the tomato soup, it created a flavor that she never knew before. It was extremely addictive, much better than the food back at her kingdom.
"So, will you be my girlfriend?" Bruce asked the girl who clearly enjoyed his food.
Meredith stopped eating and saw a smirk on Bruce's face.
"No…" She continued to drink the soup.
"Guess I won't be cooking for you anymore" Bruce started to pack up his equipment and head home.
"You dare!"
Under Meredith's threat, Bruce was forced to cook for her every week.