Bruce walked into Chef John's office only to find Deion sitting there grumpily.
"It seems that he called you as well" Bruce sat next to Deion while waiting for their teacher.
"I wanted to nap but he had to ruin the whole thing" Deion cursed under his breath.
"By the way, I'm going to get you back for what happened at the hospital" Deion turned his attention to Bruce.
"I'm simply returning the favor for the last time" Bruce replied.
"You idiot, I did it for your own good!" Deion smacked Bruce's head.
"What would your girlfriend do when she finds out that you have someone else?"
Bruce didn't have an answer because he hadn't thought about it that far.
"You're really stupid when it comes to girls. I helped you out by revealing everything so that the bomb is not detonated much later on" Deion shook his head at his idiotic friend.
"Here are some candy apples" Bruce handed over his favorite snack to Deion as compensation.
"Do I look like I enjoy candy apples?" Deion rejected the crappy gift. He couldn't understand why Bruce liked candy apples so much.
"It's your loss" Bruce took back the candy apples and happily munched on them.
Chef John walked inside the office with a grim expression on his face. Deion and Bruce stopped messing around and greeted their teacher.
"Teacher, is something wrong?" Bruce asked.
"The Dark Forces have placed a hit on both of your heads" Chef John pulled out two wanted posters.
"Oh cool, I look pretty good in this picture" Deion immediately grabbed the poster and judged his look.
"Mine looks good as well" Bruce also liked his new look on the wanted poster because it captured his elegance.
"You idiots!" Chef John smacked the two idiots on the head.
"This means that assassins will forever be hunting you both down until the day you die"
"I mean isn't that obvious teacher?" The Dark Forces would do everything that they can to kill Bruce and Deion since both of them have shown great potential. Everyone in the world now knows that the Alliance of Kingdoms has two prodigies who are more talented than Edward.
"The Dark Forces have placed 1,000,000 high energy crystals bounty on your head Bruce"
"Deion, your head is currently worth 500,000 high-energy crystals"
"We did not expect them to put up such a hefty sum of money for two Divine Kings" Chef John sighed.
"I don't see a problem with that" Bruce interrupted his teacher's train of thought.
"The Dark Forces will do everything that it can to ensure its survival."
"We will do the same as well"
"What do you have in mind Bruce?" John wanted to get Bruce's opinion on the matter.
"As long as the Dark Forces don't cross the line and come after my family, I'm okay with them putting a target on me" Bruce smiled as he nonchalantly ignored the assassins going after his head.
"The Alliance of Kingdoms has already sent out a message to the world that we would start a war if both of your families are involved" John reassured his students. It was a known taboo in the cultivation world to use one's family to draw him or her out of hiding. A chain of reactions could easily occur if an incident like this happens.
"Heh, they won't be able to get to my family because we are hidden from the world" Deion didn't care about the threats of the assassin. His family would kill anyone who dared to enter its premise.
"Teacher, both Deion and I will cultivate using the resources that we obtained from the trial."
"Since more people are offering their fortune to us voluntarily, we'll be sure to treat them well" Bruce smiled evilly.
"Bruce, assassins have different methods of killing you. You won't be able to defend yourself against poison" John thought his students were too naïve. There are countless methods employed by assassins to kill a target. Bruce and Deion were not prepared to face assassins just yet.
"Teacher, have some more faith in us" Deion put his hands behind his head.
"If we survive this, we will grow even further so you don't have to worry all that much" Bruce reassured his teacher.
"Fine, but I want you two to never leave the Imperial Academy until you're strong enough to defend yourselves"
"What?"
"Nooo…"
Deion and Bruce complained because staying in the Imperial Academy would be too boring. They wanted to go out on dates with their girlfriends.
"This is not up for discussion. If you two idiots dare to sneak out of the Imperial Academy, I shall personally bring you back and carry out divine punishment" Chef John got out his knife and sliced the air.
"Teacher, we don't want to turn into old men in the Imperial Academy" Deion complained.
"This is for your own good" John immediately shut down any complaint his students had.
"When will we be able to leave the Imperial Academy?" Bruce asked. It was impossible for him to stay within the Imperial Academy all the time. There were still many things that he needed to do.
"When you're strong enough to defend against a Great Emperor" John replied.
"How long would that take?" Deion didn't like where this was going.
"When you reach the Great Emperor realm" Chef John lightly coughed because he also didn't want to be in the position that his students were in. It's unfortunate that his students shined too brightly recently that the Alliance of Kingdoms could not afford to have them die early.
"Fart, this is bull shit!" Deion cried.
"Well, I can assure you both that if you step outside the Imperial Academy, there will be Great Emperors coming to kill you."
"Can we leave the Imperial Academy if we have Great Emperors as our protectors?" Bruce asked.
"Yes, you can" Chef John smiled.
"However, all Great Emperors from the Alliance are busy at the moment so you both will need to stay put in the academy until they are free"
"Teacher, you're free right now!" Deion excitedly said.
"You stupid brat! I only have a few moments today to inform you of the news"
"I have to head out momentarily for a mission. Headmaster Steven will be watching over you two while I'm gone"
Both Deion and Bruce made a yucky expression when hearing that an old man would be watching over them.
"Teacher, how come you have black hair while Headmaster Steven looks like an old man?" Deion always wanted to ask this question. He hoped that becoming Great Emperors won't turn his hair gray.
"Isn't it obvious? It's because I'm more talented than Steven" Chef John laughed heartily at Headmaster Steven's expense.
"Oh, is that right John?" By some miracle, Headmaster Steven stood behind everyone.
"Headmaster Steven, it's good that you are here. I'll leave the boys to you" Chef John coughed awkwardly and left the office in a hurry. He didn't want to piss off the old man.
Headmaster Steven didn't say anything but instead shook his head. Both students and teachers were equally childish.
"Your teacher must have informed you of the current situation. As of right now, both of you are to stay in the Imperial Academy and diligently cultivate"
"Got it" Both Bruce and Deion nodded.
"Bruce, I noticed that you preferred to use hand-to-hand combat in battle. Why is that?" Headmaster Steven asked.
"I'm not sure myself but it feels the most comfortable for me" Bruce replied.
"I see, though it's unfortunate that your skills in hand-to-hand combat are still lacking" Headmaster Steven inspected Bruce's body from head to toe.
"Your movements with your fist are chaotic. You only defeat your opponents by being faster and stronger than them"
"If you meet someone who is stronger than you, your weapon of choice would drag you down" Headmaster Steven concluded his assessment of Bruce's skills.
Bruce saw no hint of mockery in Headmaster Steven's words which means that his assessment of Bruce was objective.
"What do you suggest Headmaster Steven?" Bruce knew Steven wouldn't bring up this topic without hinting at something greater.
"Take this token with you to the Imperial Library to reach the highest floor" Headmaster Steven passed the token to Bruce.
"When you reach the highest floor, go look for a book called Way of the World"
"Way of the World?" Bruce didn't understand why Headmaster Steven wanted him to read something like that.
"It was written by a legendary figure in the past who used to be known as…." Headmaster Steven hesitated for a few moments.
"The God Fist"