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Deep inside the royal palace, the princes sat around a long, heavy table.
The room was filled with the smell of rich food and expensive wine.
Music played softly in the background.
They were celebrating, but their hearts were full of greed.
"The tax from the eastern farms is too small,"
The First Prince complained. He slammed his golden cup against the wood.
"Send the soldiers tomorrow. Tell them to take all their grain."
"But brother, the people will starve,"
The Second Prince laughed. He did not sound sad. He sounded completely amused.
"Let them starve,"
The First Prince said coldly.
"If they cannot pay, take their children. Sell them to the deep iron mines. We need more gold."
The Third Prince wiped his mouth.
"We need all the gold for the great war. When we finally march into the Blue Wind Nation, I want to lead the first army. I want to break their walls myself."
"We will take every single Purple Veined Divine Crystal they have hidden,"
The Second Prince added.
"If the Blue Wind people try to stop us, we will burn their cities to ashes. We will make them slaves. They are just stepping stones for our glory. Everything belongs to us anyway."
The princes clinked their cups together. They were rotten to the absolute core.
They oppressed their own people just to get richer.
They wanted to start a bloody war just to get more power.
They had no idea that their lives were about to end tonight.
High up on the dark roof of the palace,
Sam looked down through a large glass window.
He heard every word they said.
Jean stood on his left.
On his right stood a young girl. Her name was Sue Grey, the daughter of Phoenix Force.
She looked very young, but the power sleeping inside her was ancient and completely true.
Jasmine stepped out of the night shadows.
She crossed her arms and frowned.
"They are disgusting,"
Jasmine said.
"Why don't we just let Feng Xue'er handle this? She will be the new Emperor. She should learn how to clear her own house. A ruler needs a strong hand."
"Normally, I would agree,"
Sam answered softly.
"I would let the ruler deal with their own trash. But not Feng Xue'er."
"Why?"
Jean asked.
"Because she is far too pure,"
Sam explained.
"She has lived her entire life hidden away from this dirt. She truly believes her family is kind. She thinks her brothers are good men."
Sue Grey looked at Sam.
"You want to protect her heart."
"Yes,"
Sam nodded.
"If she learns how evil they really are, it will break her apart. If she has to kill her own flesh and blood, it will ruin her soul forever. I will not let her carry that sin. I will cut this karma clean myself."
Sam turned away from the window.
He jumped off the high roof and landed heavily in the center of the main courtyard.
Jean, Jasmine, and Sue Grey dropped down right beside him.
They did not try to hide.
They let their heavy, terrifying energy spill out into the open air.
Instantly, loud warning bells rang across the entire palace.
Heavy wooden doors burst open. Dozens of old men flew into the courtyard.
They wore bright red and gold robes.
These were the Sovereign Profound Cultivators.
They were the absolute strongest guards in the empire.
They surrounded Sam and the girls in a wide circle.
The head guard stepped forward.
He pointed a long, flaming sword directly at Sam's chest.
"Who are you?"
The head guard yelled.
"You dare break into the Divine Phoenix Palace? You are seeking death!"
Sam didn't draw a weapon. He kept his hands relaxed by his sides.
"I am here for the princes,"
Sam said calmly.
"Stay out of my way, and you get to live."
The head guard laughed loudly. It was a mocking, arrogant sound.
"Fool!"
The guard shouted.
"We have the divine blood of the Phoenix. We command the highest fire!"
The guards pushed their power to the maximum limit.
The courtyard became blindingly hot. The thick stone floor began to melt into lava.
Jean took one single step forward.
She released the power of the Mother Flame.
The angry fire from the guards suddenly stopped burning.
Their flames shrank into nothing.
The intense heat vanished from the air. Jean held the very origin of all fire.
To the guards, she felt like the ultimate creator.
Their profound energy refused to fight her.
"What is happening?"
The head guard gasped. He looked at his shaking hands.
"My fire will not obey me!"
Then, Sue Grey stepped forward.
She didn't speak. She just looked at the old men.
The True Phoenix power flowed out of her young body.
It was the purest, most perfect divine energy in the universe.
The guards felt a massive weight crash down on their souls.
It was not fear. It was absolute, biological submission.
The tiny drops of Phoenix blood in their human veins forced them to obey her.
The head guard dropped his flaming sword.
His knees hit the ground hard.
The other guards fell to the floor immediately.
Every single Sovereign Profound Cultivator knelt in the dirt.
They pressed their foreheads flat against the cold stones.
They could not move a finger. They could not even resist at all.
"A True Phoenix,"
The head guard cried. Tears ran down his wrinkled face.
"Please forgive us."
Sam walked right past the kneeling men.
He did not look down at them.
"Keep them here,"
Sam told Jean and Sue.
"I will go inside and clean up the trash."