Reborn as the Last van Ambrose
Chapter 182: Soul Dominion

Chapter 182: Soul Dominion

Mo Xuan writhed in agony as Ao Guang’s blood magic tore his body from the inside out. But even through the pain, his mind was racing. Something wasn’t adding up.

"Wait," he gasped, his voice strained as another blood spear pierced his arm. "How are you even here? The prison I had Gongfu place you in should have held you for centuries!"

Ao Guang’s expression didn’t change as he continued his methodical torture. "Prison? You mean that lovely little pocket dimension where I’ve been relaxing for the past few months?"

"Impossible," Mo Xuan snarled, trying to focus through the pain. "I designed that prison specifically to hold a Dragon King. The magical bindings were powered by—"

"By Gongfu’s own corruption and self-hatred," Ao Guang finished calmly. "Yes, very clever. A prison that grew stronger the more my son despised himself for what he had become."

Another blood spear formed, this one aimed at Mo Xuan’s leg. "But you made one crucial error in your design."

"What error?" Mo Xuan demanded, even as the spear pierced through his thigh.

"You assumed the prison was meant to be permanent," Ao Guang replied. "But I understood something you didn’t—the corruption you fed my son was always going to burn itself out eventually. Gongfu is too strong, too fundamentally good, to remain twisted forever."

Mo Xuan’s eyes widened with realization. "You knew. You knew he would find his true name."

"Of course I knew," Ao Guang said with mild amusement. "He’s my son. I’ve watched him struggle with his identity for centuries, always trying to be what others expected rather than what he truly was. The corruption forced him to confront his real nature."

"The prison was designed to break when he found his true self," Mo Xuan breathed, understanding dawning.

"Exactly. The moment Gongfu accepted who he really was—not Jiaolong the corrupted, idealistic prince trying to fix the world, but Gongfu, heir to the Eastern Storm—the magical bindings shattered like glass."

Mo Xuan felt a rage building inside him that went beyond physical pain. "You let me corrupt your son. You let me orchestrate his mate’s death. You let me torture him for fifteen hundred years, all so he could have some kind of spiritual awakening?"

"I let you think you were in control," Ao Guang corrected. "But everything you did served my purposes in the end. My son needed to experience true loss before he could transcend his limitations. You simply provided the catalyst."

The ancient sorcerer’s composure finally cracked completely. Not from pain, but from the realization that even his greatest manipulation had been anticipated and allowed to proceed.

"You think you’re so clever," Mo Xuan hissed, dark energy beginning to gather around his body. "But I still have options you haven’t considered."

"Such as?" Ao Guang asked with genuine curiosity.

Mo Xuan’s answer was to begin the most forbidden technique he had ever learned. "Soul Dominion: Essence Transmutation!"

The sorcerer’s scream echoed through the chamber, but this time it wasn’t from Ao Guang’s torture. Mo Xuan was deliberately tearing pieces of his own soul away, sacrificing fragments of his very existence to fuel a transformation beyond anything he had attempted before.

"Fascinating," Ao Guang observed as he watched Mo Xuan’s blood begin to change. "Self-mutilation on a metaphysical level. I’ve never seen anyone desperate enough to attempt this."

Where Mo Xuan’s blood had been liquid, it was now becoming something else entirely. His blood crystallized into fragments of pure energy. His circulatory system had transformed. Instead of blood, it was just mana in his body now.

"You can’t control what isn’t blood anymore," Mo Xuan laughed maniacally as the transformation completed. "And now we fight as equals!"

Ao Guang’s blood magic faltered as it tried to affect a substance that no longer existed in Mo Xuan’s body. The spears that had been piercing the sorcerer simply passed through him harmlessly.

"Impressive," Ao Guang admitted, his tone carrying the first note of actual interest he had shown. "Though I notice you’re no longer entirely human."

Indeed, Mo Xuan’s appearance had changed dramatically. His pale skin now had a translucent quality, showing the crystallized soul-mana flowing beneath. His eyes had become pure white.

"Humanity is a weakness I can no longer afford," Mo Xuan replied, his voice now hurt to listen to. "Let’s see how your blood magic fares against pure soul force!"

The battle that erupted was unlike anything the chamber had ever witnessed. Mo Xuan’s soul-powered attacks struck with the force of concentrated anguish and rage, while Ao Guang was forced to rely on more conventional water magic without his blood manipulation advantage.

"Aquatic Dominion: Tsunami!" Ao Guang summoned massive waves of water from seemingly nowhere, each one carrying enough power to level cities.

"Soul Dominion: Despair Cascade!" Mo Xuan countered with waves of pure negative emotion given physical form, turning Ao Guang’s water into something that burned like acid.

The two forces collided in the center of the chamber, creating explosions that cracked the pillars and sent shockwaves through the very foundations of the Dragon Emperor’s tomb.

"You’re stronger than I anticipated," Ao Guang called out as he dodged a blast of crystallized soul energy. "The self-mutilation has enhanced your power considerably."

"At the cost of everything I was," Mo Xuan replied, his attacks becoming more erratic but more powerful. "But it will be worth it to destroy you!"

The battle intensified as both combatants pushed their abilities to the limit. Ao Guang’s mastery of water in all its forms met Mo Xuan’s desperate soul-fueled fury in a clash that seemed to threaten the stability of reality itself.

"Aquatic Dominion: Pressure Collapse!" Ao Guang created a sphere of water pressure so intense that it should have crushed Mo Xuan instantly.

But the sorcerer just ohased through the attack. His counterattack struck Ao Guang directly, and for a moment, the Dragon King staggered back.

"Clever," Ao Guang admitted, blood running from a cut on his forehead. "But you’re fighting with borrowed time. How much of your soul can you sacrifice before there’s nothing left?"

"Enough to kill you," Mo Xuan snarled, preparing his next attack. The crystallized soul energy around him flared brighter as he drew on even more energy.

But as he gathered power for what would be his most devastating assault yet, both combatants became aware of something else. The air in the chamber was changing, becoming thick with a power that made even their epic battle seem insignificant.

Above them, the Dragon Emperor’s egg was showing new cracks, spreading faster than ever before. The colorless mana seeping from within had become a torrent, and the ancient chains holding the shell were straining audibly.

"No," Mo Xuan breathed, realizing that his battle with Ao Guang had accelerated the awakening process beyond his control.

The two enemies found themselves in the unprecedented position of having their personal conflict interrupted by something far more significant—the imminent awakening of the most powerful being in existence.

But Mo Xuan’s soul-sacrifice had pushed him beyond rational thought. Instead of recognizing the danger, he saw only opportunity.

"Perfect," he laughed, his voice now completely inhuman. "When the Emperor awakens, I’ll be ready to claim his power!"