"Meredith, it's best if you decline the upcoming mission and drop out of the Imperial Academy."
"What do you mean father?" Meredith was surprised to hear her father telling her to drop out of the Imperial Academy.
"Your grandfather and I know about your upcoming mission to the ancient ruins, and we feel that you are not ready." Emperor Lockwood sighed as he knew how prideful Meredith is.
"You are wrong father, I am ready!" Meredith was extremely upset that her family thought she was too weak to complete the mission.
"Meredith, prodigies from the Dark Forces will be inside the ancient ruin with you."
"Cultivators from the Dark Forces are bound to no rules. You may suffer a fate worse than death if you fall to their hands" Emperor Lockwood has received countless of marriage proposals from different kingdoms and influences around the continent.
Meredith's beauty is widely known to all. Emperor Lockwood couldn't let his precious daughter fall into the hands of the enemies.
Meredith turned pale after hearing what her father said. She knew that her beauty would attract disasters, but she was not willing to run away from danger. Her pride refused to do so.
"Father-in-law, if I may interject" Seeing that Meredith's mood turned for the worse, Bruce had to step in.
"Meredith will be the ruler of the Water Kingdom one day."
"She will have to face countless hardships to earn the title of Empress. If you keep sheltering her from danger, she will never realize her true potential"
Bruce walked next to Meredith and held her hands tightly.
"The danger that she will face in this mission is at the highest levels, if she dies then it will be all for nothing" Emperor Lockwood countered Bruce's argument.
"But if she makes it out of the mission, she will grow exponentially. Isn't that right grandpa-in-law?" Bruce looked at Ancestor Lockwood who had not said a single word in the discussion thus far.
"That's correct young man" Ancestor Lockwood replied.
"Meredith, we will support any decision that you make" Ancestor Lockwood warmly smiled at his granddaughter. He too wanted Meredith to take the mission and come out alive, but he also didn't want his granddaughter to die or suffer through cruel acts.
"I …. " Meredith staggered as she didn't know what to do. She looked at Bruce for help.
"I think Meredith should take the mission because the risk will be significantly lower since I will protect her" Bruce held Meredith's hand tightly and looked at her family.
"How would you be able to protect my daughter with your meager strength?" Emperor Lockwood still didn't like Bruce.
"Only Soul Manifestation cultivators can enter the ancient ruin which means I am invincible in there!" Bruce arrogantly proclaimed.
"How are you invincible when you're only at early stage Soul Manifestation?" Emperor Lockwood didn't believe what Bruce just said.
"It's because I am disguising my cultivation, dear father-in-law"
Bruce released the divine artifact that hid his real cultivation and exposed his real cultivation to the group. Peak Soul Manifestation aura leaked out of his body.
Both Meredith and Emperor Lockwood were shocked to witness Bruce's true cultivation. He had reached the peak of Soul Manifestation at such a young age. In the entire continent, Bruce probably held the record for this.
Meanwhile, ancestor Lockwood looked at Bruce quietly.
'Interesting… Bruce Pendragon… Bruce Stellae' He silently thought about what Great Emperor Cortez said in the previous meeting.
"Adam, it's fine to let the boy protect Meredith" Ancestor Lockwood stood up.
"But father…" Emperor Lockwood still didn't want his daughter to go.
Ancestor Lockwood walked to Meredith and patted her head.
"So, what's your decision Meredith?" Ancestor Lockwood asked.
"I want to take the Worldly Supreme Inheritance!" Meredith declared.
"Good, your father and I shall wait for the good news" Ancestor Lockwood smiled at his granddaughter and left the house with Emperor Lockwood.
Seeing that her family had left the vicinity, Bruce sneakily hugged Meredith.
"What are you doing?" Meredith glared at him.
"Hugging my girlfriend" Bruce replied.
"Who allowed you to hug me?" Meredith didn't struggle but wanted to hear Bruce's answer.
"I'm taking a deposit on my payment as the princess bodyguard" Bruce laughed and slumped down the sofa with Meredith.
The two snuggled together and enjoyed the last moment of peace.
While flying in the air, Emperor Lockwood had an annoyed expression when he imagined his daughter being with Bruce.
"Father, are you sure we can leave Meredith's in that brat's hands?" Emperor Lockwood started to regret his decision.
"Adam, Meredith needs to grow to become the empress of our kingdom"
"Edward Solomon will no doubt attempt to take the Worldly Supreme inheritance. Should he succeed, the balance between our kingdom will be forever broken" Unlike Adam Lockwood, Ancestor Lockwood had much more foresight about the situation.
"It's still a risky bet. There's a good chance that everyone from our continent will die in the Ancient Ruin" Emperor Lockwood still didn't feel right about the situation. Something was telling him off about the Ancient Ruin.
"The risks should be significantly lowered if that boy protects Meredith" Ancestor Lockwood replied.
"Father, do you really trust that boy?" Emperor Lockwood snarked with contempt.
"He's a prodigy that appears once in a million years. It's Meredith's good fortune that he's her boyfriend" Ancestor Lockwood answered.
"Hmph, it's that brat's good fortune that Meredith accepted him, but I don't accept him at all!" Emperor Lockwood puffed in anger as he recalled the interactions he had with Bruce.
"You should be careful in the future. Even I can't help you if you anger Great Emperor Cortez" Ancestor Lockwood reminded his foolish son.
"Is that kid really Great Emperor Cortez's apprentice" Emperor Lockwood knew that most Great Emperors don't have apprentice. Even his father had not taken any apprentice over the past thousands of years.
"Yes, I can confirm that he is indeed the apprentice of Great Emperor Cortez." Ancestor Lockwood's answer greatly shocked Emperor Lockwood because it meant that he could no longer bully the boy with his status.
"Father, heavens do not have eyes after all!" Emperor Lockwood cried out loud.
"Why don't you reach Great Emperor stage then if you're bitter about this?" Ancestor Lockwood smiled at his son childish outburst.
"Easy for you to say. I've been stuck at high stage Divine Emperor for hundreds of years. I'm not sure when I will be able to reach the peak" Emperor Lockwood sighed in regret.
"Adam, your talent is good but you're too focused on the politics in the kingdom."
"You should let your wife handle the politics while you focus on cultivation."
"Do I need to remind you that in front of absolute power, tricks and schemes are useless" Ancestor Lockwood chided his son.
Truthfully, Ancestor Lockwood used to be in the same position that his son was in. That is why he left the throne to his son to focus on cultivation. Luckily, he managed to reach Great Emperor stage and solidified the status of the Water Kingdom.
Unfortunately, he was still the true ruler of the Water Kingdom. No matter how hard he tried to get away from the politics, he couldn't completely forgo everything.
Great Emperor Cortez figured this out and never established his own kingdom. Which is why he is one of the strongest Great Emperors in the continent.
"Another reason why you should focus on cultivation is because that kid will probably be stronger than you in a few years" Seeing his son still doubting his words, Ancestor Lockwood decided to throw in the fire.
"Are you joking father? That kid is only at peak stage Soul Manifestation. How would he be able to defeat me?" Emperor Lockwood thought his dad had underestimated him greatly.
"You're forgetting that there's a possibility that he obtains the inheritance of a Worldly Supreme"
"There's no telling what kind of strengths he may reach in the future if he obtains the inheritance"
"If you keep stagnating, the kid will bully you even without relying on his teacher" Ancestor Lockwood calmly explained to his son.
"FUCK!" Emperor Lockwood yelled out loud to the sky.