Chapter 169: Master
As they prepared to leave the map room, Ao Run’s expression grew even more troubled. The Dragon King moved to a different section of the charts, one that had been hidden in shadow until now. When he gestured toward it, the symbols on this particular map began to glow with an unsettling dark light.
"Before you go," he said, his voice carrying a weight that made everyone stop and turn back. "There is something else you must know. Something that changes everything about what you believe you’re facing."
The map he revealed showed locations, but together they resembled a face.
"Jiaolong is not acting alone," Ao Run began. "His corruption, his knowledge of the realms, his understanding of the Dragon Emperor’s tomb—none of this came from his own research."
Lin felt a chill that had nothing to do with her ice magic. "Someone’s been helping him."
"Not helping," Ao Run corrected grimly. "Controlling."
He pointed to the map he had been staring at. "Mo Xuan. A sorcerer who was already ancient when I was young. He was banished from the sea realms over two thousand years ago for practicing forbidden magic."
"What kind of forbidden magic?" Captain Zhen asked, though his voice suggested he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Soul manipulation," Ao Run replied. "The ability to influence minds across vast distances, to plant thoughts and desires that the victim believes are their own. Mo Xuan became obsessed with dragons—not just our power, but our very essence."
General Huoyan studied the map’s dark connections. "You’re saying Jiaolong’s grief has been... enhanced?"
"Twisted," Ao Run confirmed. "His love for Lanshen was real, as was his pain at her death. But Mo Xuan took that genuine emotion and fed it, amplified it, shaped it into the consuming obsession that drives him now."