Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

In the beautiful halls of the emerald palace, a handsome male thunders down the hallway, his feet trampling the beautiful green carpet without care, his face unsightly with both eyebrows lowered, his eyes narrowed and bloodshot while grinding his teeth. Shang Luo felt irritated; no matter how hard he endured his father's stupid punishment, he never expected such a stupid task.

'To watch an inferior no-mag? What kind of a joke!'

Behind him, a beautiful woman with long black hair, cut like a princess, her bangs framing her face, with soft green eyes and a beauty spot beneath her left eye.

Her face looked empty, without emotion, as she followed Shang Luo with silent steps. At her waist, two daggers show her talent for being an Assassin-type knight.

"Mu Yue, tell me, why must we bother with such inferior and useless trash? He somehow ruined my plans with that foolish Drakkur slut and somehow became a prince!" The frustration in Shang Luo's voice caused the woman behind to show a smirk, her eyes looking at the emerald prince with a sharp, hostile glint.

"Luo, we cannot touch him openly. Let us study him. No doubt, His Majesty is interested in this... boy and already knows why we need to observe him and find out more."

Mu Yue lowered her head as she replied to the man. Her footsteps remained calm and measured while keeping several metres between herself and the arrogant prince.

Though her clear dislike of the prince was visible, even when he turned to face her, Mu Yue seemed unable to act on these feelings, instead speaking with great respect, the flash of a black collar between her dress neckline shimmering in the afternoon sun.

Shang Luo feared his father, but that wasn't all. He remembered the vigour and power of Garret Fenix. That loss and the sheer destructive power of that man caused a trauma to form in his heart.

Now, he suffered from night terrors, sometimes dreaming of that huge black sword cutting him down. He stroked his chest, rubbing along his golden buttons with each finger as if a sign to calm him down, while his spare hand grasped the hilt of his sword, holding it in place as a source of comfort.

"Right, you are right, Mu Yue. Still, the barbarian queen is a fool to think this marriage will create any weakness in our great empire!"

Shang Luo spat those words out, showing a look of scorn while glancing at the woman following him with a dark glint.

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The woman's eyes fleetingly gazed towards the east, her lips moving, spelling out a small word... however, even the gods could only guess the name she whispered while following the prince with swift movements.

'Sister...'

***

Many miles away, inside a unique building, there was a room surrounded by bookshelves and filled with a large map on the floor.

A beautiful woman with golden hair, wearing an oversized dress of purple and black with gold embroidery, a magnificent dragon across the lower half while her arms were covered in bright jewellery.

The beautiful princess of the southern border looked at the room's entrance as two men entered the room. The first was a man wearing a red robe with the head of a stag in his hair. His long blond hair covered his shoulders while his face held a mysterious smile.

"Dear brother, you have kept me waiting," Hera spoke with a delightful voice as she skipped across the room, her body gliding along the wooden boards while the second male looked older than the other male, with grey hair and bitter stubble. "Honoured Father, you also came!"

Hera clapped her hands together, her eyes flashing brightly as she jumped into her father's chest, embracing him.

"Daughter! You are lovely as ever." The man sighed with relief as he hugged his daughter while the male in the red robe rolled his eyes.

"Father, do not spoil her; she is the reason Prince Shang Luo chose to limit his alliance with our clan."

"Hmph, Adonis, why do you care about such a stupid prince? We only give our allegiance out of necessity." The old man huffed while his daughter's eyes narrowed into crescents, letting out a lovely laugh.

"That's right, to the ones that slaughtered our true rulers, the Mu clan. How can we serve them or even think of becoming his bride!"

Hera's voice darkened slightly as her eyes hardened. "Still, we had a deal, and I will go through with my promise. So long as you teach me the forbidden magics in the book."

The elder looked like Adonis before smiling. "After your marriage is official and you reach maturity, I will teach you how to activate the legacy of your ancestors!"

"No~ have you not heard? That slimy prince will take me to Silvara with Lady Yue to observe a certain male."

"Yue?" The two males looked at Hera in shock as their eyes widened. "Mu Yue is leaving the capital city!?"

The old man looked at Hera in wonder, his eyes asking the silent question.

"Father, you said that the lady had an older sister, but is there a way to block Mu Yue's desire for revenge if she is dead?"

"It would appear not. Is this a good thing or bad?"

"I'm not sure yet...but maybe things are getting interesting..."

The princess smiled, a new spark in her eyes while her thoughts sped up with each breath.

"Father, as you know, I don't want to be with a man like that, so I am going to utilise him to save our family. Please let me accept the legacy before we leave otherwise. He might try something along the way. Your poor pure girl will be finished!"

Hera pouted slightly. "I can't be allowed to go to a marriage night if the filthy Shang family stains my soul, but I'm defenceless without it!"

She sighed, acting as though a defenceless maiden as the old man grumbled and looked at Adonis. "Take her to the priest. She is right; such a barbarian must not sully her virtue."

Adonis nodded, looking at his sister with a slight smirk. He loved how his father doted on them more than usual lords would, though being a branch of the Mu family that was destroyed limited their growth in this kingdom where the very mention of that clan could get your family purged.

'Hehe, that stupid prince! I will find myself a big and strong barbarian to taint me, or at least pretend to be tainted! Then he will back off, wearing a green hat suits that arrogant coward!'

The princess giggled to herself as she skipped into another room with a mystical aura while her father and brother followed her.

"Oh, Father! Adonis, do not enter while I strip and change for the ceremony!" Hera smiled brightly as the two men walked into another room, where an ancient-looking priest stood in a sapphire robe with his hands hidden in his sleeves.

"It seems the lady finally tricked you into accepting if she undergoes this ceremony... The lady might change forever. Are you aware, my lord?"

Adonis shrugged as his father let out a sigh and smiled bitterly. "She is clever, just like her mother."

The old man smiled as he remembered a beautiful golden-haired woman in his memory as his daughter giggled and bounced to the priest and nodded at the priest.

"I agree, Your Eminence! That little girl who used to run around these pillars and yanked on my robes is about to accept the legacy our Fèng clan has long served both the Mu family, who protects this deity, and our family, who accepts its guidance... But that girl, what if the divine bird truly chooses her as a host? Won't we lose her forever?"

Her father's face stiffened, and his eyes seemed to widen for a moment, but the old lord did his best to recover, muttering his lovely daughter's true name, Fèng He Ran, a foreign family accepted into the empire by the Mu Clan over a thousand years ago, with a mixed bloodline, their allegiance and friendship even now remained strong.

"Her guardian would have been Mu Xue, the eldest daughter of the Mu family. A shame she perished in that massacre." Read latest chapters at empire

The old man bit his lips and recalled how the Fèng family had arrived too late to save any of the Royal Mu family elders.

The younger brother, Mu Yu Dong, vanished in the chaos as well. However, many people had assumed him dead, though no one could be sure until he showed up again.

"Lord father, only your daughter and our son stand before us to uphold the Mu and Fèng legacy!" Adonis reassured his father, looking at his sister dancing around the pillars as she revealed herself in the ceremonial outfit, a crimson dress with golden ribbons and fixtures fluttering behind her as she continued to dance, her eyes flashing red for a moment as the flames of the room flickered around her.

"Child, please be careful!"

"Father! She will be fine!"

The father and son looked on with grave expressions. The priest completed the ritual as the light shone over the princess, while a golden light overtook the girl, and an elegant bird emerged from the flames as it danced in the air.

"Now the true awakening and ritual will begin, Fèng He Ran. Begin your offering and your oath..."

As the flames grew, billowing and curling, Hera looked up to the skies through the small roof and gave a mischievous smile while dancing around the black phoenix.

A beautiful dance and prayer would now be offered by the whimsical young woman who would cause the downfall of the Shang Empire!