Julian had stayed in the Ruin for more than nine months and had assumed that by now there would be many people lined up to challenge the Steel-type Gym. But when he checked, he saw that no one had challenged it.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that challengers had come, but they had all been defeated by the temporary Gym Leader, Jake.
This surprised Julian a bit. In the past, whenever he was away, Jake had never bothered with the challengers—he always left them for Julian to handle upon his return.
But this time, Jake had actually helped him deal with all those challengers.
While it did lighten Julian’s workload, it also deprived his Pokémon of valuable training opportunities. After all, any trainer bold enough to challenge the Steel-type Gym was at least at the late-stage Elite level.
Julian had a strong suspicion that Jake’s true motive wasn’t to help him out—but instead to use those battles to train his own Pokémon—so that he could break through to the Champion tier.
His father might always claim that he didn’t mind if his son surpassed him soon, but deep down? He cared a lot.
His mother Tina had also said that during this time, Jake had been fishing less and going to the Oreburgh Great Wall Secret Realm more often.
Clearly, the man was secretly grinding.
Cavendish Family Residence, Orient City
Since Henry and Alice’s wedding date had been set, Julian’s grandmother, Evelyn, naturally had to be informed.
John had planned to just call and tell her, but Julian insisted on delivering the news in person. He was afraid that if his grandpa just called, it might upset her so much that she wouldn’t even come to her eldest son’s wedding.
"My dear grandson, have some of this—Grandma made it just for you."
At the dinner table, Evelyn placed a massive braised pork knuckle onto Julian’s plate. Without hesitation, he devoured it in a few bites—no empty compliments, just pure action proving his appreciation.
Evelyn looked visibly pleased and kept putting food onto Julian’s plate, and he finished it all.
Thankfully, his enhanced physique allowed him to eat like a beast—anyone else would’ve thrown up from overeating by now.
"This child’s always had a big appetite. No wonder he’s so strong!"
Evelyn beamed as she watched her dear grandson finish an entire pot of aged duck soup in one go.
To her, a healthy appetite meant a healthy body.
As for Henry’s wedding, Julian had already told her, and Evelyn of course agreed to attend—even though she and John had divorced long ago.
But Henry was still her son. And now that this old bachelor was finally getting married, how could a mother not go?
"Grandma, this is for you."
Julian gave her a piece of Ambrosia. Last time, Mew had given him a massive chunk—enough to extend the lifespan of every family member by 200 years.
Everyone in the Walker family had already taken their share—even Alice, his future aunt, wasn’t left out.
Of course, his dear grandmother got hers too.
"Ambrosia? My dear grandson, you should keep this for yourself. Grandma’s already old—I don’t need something ," Evelyn refused outright.
Through his Aura senses Julian could tell his grandmother truly meant it.
Feeling moved, Julian smiled and said, "Grandma, I already ate mine. This piece is for you."
Evelyn hesitated, then feigned disdain. "That old man’s health has always been weak, and Catherine is a damn fox spirit. Give it to him instead—wouldn’t want him getting drained dry by that vixen."
Hearing such a unique kind of concern, Julian stifled a laugh.
"Grandma, everyone in the family’s already had theirs. This piece is yours."
Just then, the Cavendish family head walked in. The moment he saw the Ambrosia in Julian’s hand, his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.
This thing was a legendary treasure capable of extending human lifespan—so rare that in his entire life, he’d only seen a piece the size of a thumb.
Yet the chunk Julian held was as big as a small watermelon.
"After eating this, Grandma, you’ll outlive that fox spirit for sure!"
Ever since Evelyn had eaten the Glossy Ganoderma last time, her appearance had changed from a woman in her seventies to looking around forty. Now she looked completely like a beautiful middle-aged woman.
"Right. I’ll outlast that homewrecker."
Nodding firmly, Evelyn accepted the Ambrosia and began eating it slowly.
The Cavendish family head was green with envy. A piece that large could increase her life by at least two hundred years.
But he didn’t dare say a word. The Walker family’s influence was growing stronger and stronger—even as relatives by marriage, the Cavendishs had to tread carefully around them.
A treasure like the Ambrosia? Julian would never give it to him. Saying anything would be useless and would only make Julian unhappy.
If John was the Walker family’s unshakable pillar now, Julian was its future pillar—with potential even greater than his grandfather’s.
Unfortunately, the Cavendish family’s main line had no suitable daughters. Otherwise, the patriarch would definitely have tried to arrange a match.
The branch families had plenty of girls, but none of them were worthy of Julian’s status.
"My dear grandson, how are things with that Nicole girl?"
After leaving the Ruin, Nicole had returned to Imperial University. Just yesterday, the two had a long phone call.
"She’s a good girl. Don’t you dare let her down. If you dare follow your grandfather’s example, I’ll beat your father to death." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novᴇlfire.net
Julian: 'As expected of grandma.'
Jake: 'That’s my mother, alright.'
Cavendish family head: 'Isn’t this favoritism a little extreme?'
Hearing that, Julian was half-tempted to call Nicole right then, fake a breakup, and see if his grandma would actually beat his dad up.
Jake: 'This unfilial brat...'
"How could that be, Grandma? Don’t you know? Across campus, I’m famous as the model gentleman. I don’t have a single scoundrel gene in me!"
The grandmother and grandson were chatting and laughing, as if they hadn’t even noticed the Cavendish family head who had walked in, which left him feeling a bit embarrassed.
Julian had noticed him, but since the man hadn’t spoken, he couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge him either.
As for Evelyn? She genuinely hadn’t seen him. Her eyes were fixed entirely on her beloved grandson—there was simply no room for anything else.
The Cavendish family head finally felt that standing there silently wasn’t right, so he spoke softly.
"Hm? When did you get here?"
Evelyn finally looked at him, puzzled.
Cavendish family head: 'I’ve been standing here for five minutes already.'
"Aunt, people from the Adder family have come. They’re here to discuss the engagement."
"Oh, I almost forgot if you hadn’t reminded me." Evelyn suddenly realized.
"Adder family? You mean the one from Springvale Province?" Julian asked curiously.
"That’s right, do you know someone from the Adder family?"
"I have a classmate from that family," Julian said.
The Adder family was a Poison-type specialist clan, much like the Nox family (current Poison Elite Brad's family). Between them, they practically monopolized the position of the Poison-type Elite in Drakoria.
In each generation, the Poison-type Elite was almost always either from the Adder family or from the Nox family. It was very rare for the position to be held by someone outside these two clans.
Naturally, the two clans didn’t get along. When both sides were equally determined to be the top Poison-type specialists, rivalry was inevitable.
One of Julian’s classmates in the Special Recruitment Class was Mason Adder, though they weren’t particularly close—just ordinary classmates.
They were nowhere near as close as he was with Luis, Shen, and Dalton. Besides, Miao You had a naturally cold and distant personality, which didn’t make things easier.
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