Recovery

"Bruce!" Deion and Sophia yelled out after seeing Bruce fainting on the ground. They knew he would win the battle, but it was a hard-fought one.

Bruce had to take damage from Mona's attacks because he wasn't faster than Mona. Bruce had to rely on his raw offensive power to win the fight at the cost of his body.

"He'll be fine" John came over to pick up Bruce's body while channeling energy to heal him.

"Deion, why are you so worried?"

"Who do you think took out the profound beasts while you were unconscious?" John reminded his apprentice of Bruce's feat.

"You are right, teacher" Deion relaxed his expression and stabilized. To Deion, Bruce is invincible. He had always bailed out the duo whenever they faced the impossible. It was a shock to him to see Bruce fainting after a battle.

"Carmen looks like your faction will rise in this era" James Bennet looked at the fainted Bruce. He was very pleased to see his son-in-law surpass his expectations. He wanted to bring Bruce back to the church immediately but he also didn't want to oppose his daughter's wish.

"I'm delighted to hear you say that James" Great Emperor Fargo smiled at James Bennet. It was clear from the battle that Bruce would be the future of the Alliance of Kingdoms.

"I will escort my daughter and her group back to the Imperial Academy now" James nudged his daughter who was still longingly looking at Bruce. Sophia looked back at her dad and nodded.

Seeing Sophia's interest in Bruce, the other Great Emperors felt something was amiss since she already has a fiancée. It'd be good if Bruce could marry Sophia in the grand scheme of things because it would unite the Church of Light and Alliance of Kingdoms together. Little by little, everyone began to make plans.

"My dear students, you guys did a great job coming back alive" Headmaster Steven spoke up.

"Let's head back to the Imperial Academy so that you guys may rest"

"Finally…." Everyone sighed in relief.

Two days later.

Bruce opened his eyes slowly as he felt great pain throughout his body.

"Hmmm… where am I?" Bruce muttered.

When his eyes were fully opened, he saw five old men staring at him with great interest. Sensing that he was in hell, Bruce decided to close his eyes again. He had done nothing but good deeds back when he was alive and yet he was sent to hell. The world was indeed a cruel place.

"Bruce, stop pretending to sleep!" Chef John yelled out. He couldn't believe that his apprentice was disrespecting everyone in the room.

"Teacher…. I really don't swing that way…" Bruce cried.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Chef John smacked Bruce on the head which displeased Carmen. Great Emperor Fargo was irritated at John for hurting Bruce as Bruce is the future of the Alliance of Kingdoms.

Bruce begrudgingly put his back against the bed and looked at the old men staring at him. He really didn't have a good feeling about this.

"I know that I am very handsome, but you guys are way too old and not my type!" Bruce went ahead and rejected everyone in the room.

Everyone: "….."

"Brat, what's wrong with your head!" Chef John smacked Bruce in the head again. This time, Great Emperor Fargo even applauded John for doing so.

"Bruce, my name is Carmen Fargo" Great Emperor Fargo began to introduce everyone.

"Next to me are John Lockwood, Michael Solomon, and Steven Bochner"

"Together, we are the leaders of the Alliance of Kingdoms"

'I thought you were going to say power rangers…' Bruce internally thought but was afraid to say it out loud for fear of getting abused by his teacher again.

"Tell me, is your name really Bruce Stellae?" Carmen Fargo asked.

"Yes, indeed my real name is Bruce Stellae. My father is the ruler of the Meropis country of the Fire Kingdom" Bruce truthfully replied. He was tired of living as someone else. He missed his family so much over the past 6 years.

"I see, so that is the case" Carmen nodded.

"We would like to apologize to you first for not protecting you from the threats of the Dark Forces" Carmen bowed down to Bruce which greatly surprised him. Great Emperors have tremendous pride. He certainly didn't expect the leader of the Alliance of Kingdoms would bow down to him.

"In the past, we had chosen to neglect you in favor of Edward Solomon. That decision was made to preserve the status quo between both factions."

"I now recognize that decision was a mistake because your potentials are much greater than those of Edward Solomon" Ancestor Solomon didn't feel good about the statement, but he had to admit that Bruce is much more powerful than his grandson.

"We would like to offer you the title, Prince of Alliance Kingdom, for your efforts in this mission" Carmen stopped talking to gauge Bruce's reaction.

"Prince of Alliance Kingdom?" Bruce raised his eyebrows when he heard the title.

"It is a title given to the future leader of the Alliance of Kingdoms"

"With the title, you're entitled to cultivation resources every month along with the protection of a Great Emperor"

"All the kingdoms under the Alliance of Kingdoms will have to treat you with the utmost respect"

"In summary, the title grants you endless benefits that every cultivator dreams of" Carmen replied with a smile.

"What's the catch?" Bruce knew there was no such thing as free lunch in the world. Every faction works for its own interest.

Carmen's smile never faded because he knew Bruce would ask about this. To lie low for 6 years and escape the grasp of the Dark Forces as a child requires an extremely intelligent mind.

"You have to swear by the heavens that you will annihilate the Dark Forces in the future"

"I see. Then our interests are fully aligned."

"I accept the title" Bruce shook hands with Carmen. He was bound to destroy the Dark Forces one way or another. Having the complete backing of the Alliance of Kingdoms would make things a lot easier.

"But I'd like to reject the protection of a Great Emperor at all times" Bruce raised up a counteroffer.

"Having handsome old men such as you guys around all the time would be a detriment to my health" Bruce coughed awkwardly.

"Is it because you want to pick up more girls?" Ancestor Lockwood asked in a grim tone. He was sure that as soon as his granddaughter woke up, she would run into the arms of this brat.

"Not at all grandpa-in-law." Bruce immediately refuted.

"That's fine as well. The Alliance can't afford to have one of our powerhouses to protect you at all times either."

"However, we will give you a talisman to inform us whenever you are in danger" Carmen handed Bruce the communication talisman.

"Remember this Bruce, the Dark Forces will do everything in their power to kill you." Ancestor Lockwood warned.

"I know that full well. You guys know that they can't afford to send out their powerhouses as well, right?" Bruce wasn't worried about the Dark Forces.

"That's correct. The balance will shift drastically if either side loses one Great Emperor." Carmen nodded.

"As long as they don't send out Great Emperors to kill me, I'm confident that I will be able to escape" Bruce said with great conviction.

"Very well, I'll take your word for it." Everyone bade Bruce farewell and left the room.

Bruce began to inspect his loot from the mission. After robbing the dragons and demons, his wealth increased tremendously. The reward from the Imperial Academy didn't even mean that much to him anymore. Bruce needed millions of medium energy crystals to break through the stages of Divine King.

Since he became the Prince of the Alliance of Kingdoms, his cultivation speed should increase as well. He laid down on the bed to go back to napping. As he was about to fall asleep, he realized he forgot something.

"I need to visit Meredith!"