Chapter 176: Arrival of the Dragon Kings
The entropy field collapsed instantly as Jiaolong spun toward the source of the commanding voice. Through the chamber’s entrance came five figures.
Ao Run led them. Beside him strode Ao Qin, the Dragon King of the South Sea, his scales a deep volcanic red. Ao Shun followed, ice crystals forming in the air around his body. But it was the two figures behind them that made Jiaolong’s expression shift to annoyance.
Bi’an and Suanni—his own brothers, sons of Ao Guang like himself, but uncorrupted by Mo Xuan’s influence.
"Brother," Bi’an said. His voice carried deep sadness beneath its strength. "Look what you’ve become."
Suanni’s lion-like mane rippled with golden fire as he surveyed the chamber—the fallen corrupted dragons, the awakening Dragon Emperor, and Jiaolong himself standing amid the chaos. "Father sent us to bring you home, Jiaolong. He’s been waiting for you to come to your senses."
"Home?" Jiaolong laughed, but the sound held no humor. "There is no home! Not while the realms continue to tear themselves apart with petty politics and territorial disputes. I’m fixing everything—can’t you see that?"
Ao Qin stepped forward, his volcanic presence making the chamber’s temperature rise noticeably. "By awakening a power that was sealed for good reason? By corrupting yourself with Mo Xuan’s influence?"
"Mo Xuan is a tool," Jiaolong insisted, but Grim noticed a flicker of uncertainty in his black eyes. "A means to an end. When the Dragon Emperor awakens, I will absorb his power and I will judge this broken world and remake it into something better."
"And you believe you can control what happens next?" Ao Run asked. "You believe the corruption flowing through your veins won’t influence that judgment?"