"Dad…" Bruce was speechless. His father wasn't wrong because Bruce was already involved with multiple women.
"Old fool, mind your own business!" Elizabeth smacked Logan in the back and signaled him to be quiet.
Sensing that his wife was upset, Logan stopped talking about it.
Bruce shook his head and told the truth to everyone.
"Everyone, indeed, I have another girlfriend. Her name is Meredith Lockwood"
"Isn't she the princess of the water kingdom?" Jennifer was surprised to find her grandson so popular with the ladies.
"Yes, she is grandma. She knows about me and Sophia and we're trying to work it out" Bruce didn't mention the other ladies because it would have made things more complicated.
"You little brat, don't you dare play with the hearts of these women got it?" Elizabeth pulled Bruce's ears as she lectured him. She did not want him to become a playboy.
"Mom, I'm dead serious about these girls" Bruce let his mother yank his ears as she wished.
"Where is Lisa?" Bruce asked. He looked around to find Lisa, but he didn't find her anywhere.
Everyone in his family turned saddened when he mentioned Lisa. Bruce immediately knew something was wrong.
"Grandma, where is Lisa?"
"Bruce, I'm sorry… But she got taken away by someone" Jennifer looked at Bruce apologetically.
At that moment, Bruce's world fell apart. He tried his best to calm himself down, but he couldn't.
"What do you mean someone took Lisa away?" Bruce was shaken up by the news. No one should have taken advantage of Lisa while his grandmother was protecting the family.
Jennifer began to tell Bruce what happened after he left.
"Lisa progressed extremely fast as she cultivated the darkness manual that you gave her before leaving."
"Two years ago, she reached Early Stage Soul Manifestation. Her talent in cultivation was much better than I expected"
"One day, as I cultivated in the courtyard, I sensed an extremely powerful aura arrived in the city"
"When I went to investigate the aura, I found Lisa was knocked unconscious by a cloaked person"
"Unfortunately, I was too weak to do anything against that person" Jennifer shook her head in regret.
Over the past couple of years, she had treated Lisa like her own granddaughter. Seeing Lisa taken away in front of her eyes made her feel helpless. She could only blame herself for being too weak.
"Grandma, did you notice anything from the cloaked person?" Bruce asked as he struggled to breathe. Lisa was precious in his heart and yet she was taken away by someone.
"The masked person was a female which gives me hope that Lisa will be okay" Jennifer replied.
"To make you feel that helpless means that the person must be at least a Great Emperor…"
"Teacher, do you know any female Great Emperor?" Bruce turned to Chef John for help.
"There are a few ancestors from ancient families that are female. But I don't think they have the leisure to stroll around cities to kidnap people" John felt the entire situation was weird. Great Emperors generally don't carry out these misdeeds.
"It's very likely that the person has decided to take your friend as an apprentice" John gave out a hypothesis that he thought made the most sense.
"Apprentice?"
"Yes, it's very likely that the expert went around the continent to gain enlightenment and found a good seedling."
Looking at Bruce who didn't seem to believe him, John shook his head.
"Bruce, Great Emperors live for a very long time. Most do not take any apprentice because most people do not have the talents to reach the Great Emperor realm."
"If the girl has the talent, then it's most likely that the Great Emperor wants her to be the apprentice"
"But it doesn't make it right for her to take Lisa away forcibly!" Bruce raised his voice.
"It doesn't matter now because it already happened. I'm sure you'll meet your friend again in the future" John reassured Bruce.
"I hope you are right, teacher" Bruce sighed.
"Oho, when am I ever wrong?" John smirked at Bruce.
Bruce felt a little bit better after hearing his teacher's thoughts. Seeing that everyone's mood was heavy, he decided to lighten up the room.
"You were wrong that one time when told us it's harmless to steal the egg from the arctic fox."
"There was also this one time where you put too much seasoning on the meat and caused the meal to be too salty"
"Deion also doesn't think you make good choices regarding fashion"
"Last week you…" Bruce was interrupted before he could say anything else.
"STOP TALKING YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!" Chef John yelled as his face turned into a tomato. He thought he had earned his student's utmost respect by now, but he was wrong. He couldn't believe that Bruce would tarnish his reputation in front of everyone.
"Bruce, you shouldn't disrespect your teacher!" Elizabeth yanked Bruce's ears. She was pleasantly surprised to find that her son's teacher is the Great Emperor Cortez. Seeing how her son was mouthing off his teacher, she couldn't help but blame herself for not raising him better.
"Mom, I'm sorry!" Bruce cried out. The world doesn't have any justice at all. He didn't even mention to everyone the hell he went through with Deion under the guidance of Chef John.
"Bruce, I know that you are worried about Lisa, but I believe that she'll be fine" Jennifer came over and consoled her grandson. She felt much better about the entire situation after talking with Great Emperor Cortez.
Bruce nodded but he still felt empty inside because he really wanted to Lisa again.
"Sophia, why don't we get to know each other?" Elizabeth grabbed Sophia's hand and led her to a private room. Sophia was flabbergasted by the request but didn't refuse. The two women shut the door and began chatting.
"Your luck is good Bruce since you managed to obtain the favor of the flower of the Church of Light" John commented.
"I would say so myself" Bruce chuckled.
"I'm going to return to my residence. You guys have fun among yourselves" John left the dorm leaving Bruce and his family alone.
"Son, how strong are you now?" Logan asked after examining his son's aura. Bruce exerted an Early Stage Divine King aura but he felt that his son was much more powerful than that.
"I should be comparable to an Early Stage Divine Emperor" Bruce casually answered.
"Impossible!" Logan gasped.
"Nothing is impossible for our boy wonder" Jennifer happily smiled. She knew that her grandson was a monster ever since he was born.
"How long will you guys stay here?" Bruce asked.
"The Alliance of Kingdom has granted all of us a courtyard to stay near the Imperial Academy"
"We will be staying there until the threat from Dark Forces is eliminated" Jennifer replied.
"This is unfair for everyone, I'm sorry…" Bruce felt terrible for making his family leave their home for him.
"It's not an issue because the Alliance has already placed a substitute in my stead to rule the country"
"I think of this as a vacation" Logan heartily laughed.
"What about grandpa?" Bruce thought his grandpa was currently sightseeing the Imperial Academy.
"Do you really think anything would happen to your grandpa with your paternal grandmother around?" Logan smiled at his son's ignorance.
"Well, I have never met her…" Ever since he was born, he had never met his paternal grandmother. All he knew was that his paternal grandmother kept a tight leash on his grandfather.
"It's not your fault Bruce" Logan stopped smiling and became sullen when he thought about his own mother.
"It's a miracle that we are still alive today"
"Since you're old enough now, I will tell you why you have never met your paternal grandmother"
"It is because your paternal grandmother is under house arrest" Logan sighed.
"House arrest? What do you mean dad?" Bruce was stupefied.
"Your paternal grandmother comes from a very ancient family. It was forbidden for her to marry your grandfather due to insufficient background from his side"
"The two got eloped and made the entire family furious"
"As a condition for letting our family stay alive, the clan leader placed your grandmother under house arrest"
"Over time, your grandmother got so powerful that she managed to force the clan to allow your grandfather to visit her"
"Where is she now?"
Bruce was furious when hearing the truth from his father. He wanted to go out outside and smack everyone who harmed his family. From the ancient clan to the damned Great Emperor.
"Bruce, we are related to the ancient family of the forest"
"The Albero Family"