Chapter Summaries

After establishing his rule over Europe, Chen Mo helped Alexander Corvinus restore William from his Lycan form, though William emerged with a newborn’s mind and no memories. The chapter ends with William settling into family life with Selena as the Empire prospers through peace, reforms, and expanding industry.

• Chen Mo spared Marcus, honored his service, and restricted the nobles’ military authority as the Empire organized its defenses and administration.
• Chen Mo and Alexander Corvinus opened William’s cage, and Chen Mo restrained the raging Progenitor Lycan while Corvinus fed him Pure Blood.
• William returned to human form but had lost his memories and understanding, and Alexander Corvinus accepted that his son could begin life anew.
• Selena joyfully cared for William and taught him to speak, while William grew attached to her.
• Chen Mo’s Empire introduced tax relief, new farming methods, and expanding factories, raising living standards and bringing peace and prosperity.

After three years of prosperity and modernization, Chen Mo prepared to leave the Empire and sought someone to succeed him as Emperor. Andrew, Victor, Amelia, and Marcus all refused the throne, leaving Chen Mo without a successor.

• Chen Mo transformed Europe through expanding agriculture and industry, building roads, waterworks, and schools, and improving ordinary people's lives.
• Former nobles became teachers as Chen Mo promoted education, while his first subjects settled in the growing imperial capital around the Imperial Temple.
• After three years of rule, Chen Mo summoned Andrew, Victor, Amelia, and Marcus and announced that he would soon leave and the Empire needed a new Emperor.
• Chen Mo offered Andrew the throne, but Andrew refused and declared that he would remain Chen Mo's loyal Knight.
• Victor and Amelia also rejected the throne, and Marcus decided he would not dare claim Chen Mo's position; Chen Mo secretly recognized that Marcus's ambition had nearly cost him his life.

Chen Mo weighed who should inherit his empire before preparing to leave, but Andrew refused the throne out of devotion to him. Chen Mo then presided over a gathering of knights and officials in the newly built Thunder Temple.

• Chen Mo judged that Marcus could remain a duke and vampire elder, trusting Andrew, Amelia, and Victor to prevent him from threatening the empire.
• Chen Mo considered Andrew the best heir because of his loyalty and support among the knights, but Andrew had firmly refused to become emperor.
• Chen Mo watched Selena chase William for candy after drinking Pure Blood and gaining enhanced strength and speed.
• Chen Mo sat on the Throne of God in the Thunder Temple as hundreds of Temple Knights and imperial officials assembled below him.

After unifying the continent and destroying the werewolves, Chen Mo announced that he would return to heaven and appointed Selena both Holy Maiden and Empress. The nobles accepted her rule after the Temple Knights and four grand dukes pledged their support, while Chen Mo prepared for his loyal vampires to eventually take over governing the Empire.

• Chen Mo told the gathered ministers and nobles that he would leave after eight years, prompting panic among his subjects.
• Chen Mo summoned Selena and appointed her Holy Maiden to govern the temple as his apostle in the mortal world.
• Chen Mo crowned Selena Empress and declared that the imperial throne would belong to her.
• Andrew, Victor, Amelia, Marcus, and the Temple Knights knelt and acclaimed Selena, persuading the nobles and officials to follow.
• Chen Mo reflected that the officials had little power and planned for the Temple Knights to study administration and eventually govern the Empire.

Chen Mo departed after crowning little Selena empress and declaring he would return in a thousand years. Selena eventually realized he had truly left, but with Andrew and the others supporting her, she became empress while keeping time to enjoy her childhood.

• Chen Mo crowned Selena, announced that he would return in a thousand years, and vanished before the assembled subjects.
• The people accepted Selena as empress and knelt before her, while she secretly treasured the candy Chen Mo had given her.
• Selena mistook Chen Mo's disappearance for a game of hide-and-seek, then searched the palace and Castle and broke down crying when she could not find him.
• Selena mourned Chen Mo's departure and recalled how he had been her childhood hero, teacher, and beloved family member.
• Andrew, Victor, and the other temple knights secured Selena's rule, and they helped her learn to govern while preserving time for her childhood.
• Chen Mo's enhanced warhorse became Selena's mount Thunder, she kept his final bag of candy uneaten, and Alexander Corvinus took charge of the empire's Intelligence Department.

After leaving the Underworld, Chen Mo returned to the deserted island in the real world and reflected on the empire and people he had left behind. He resolved to stay cautious at home, where his family and his ability to travel between worlds mattered most.

• Chen Mo gave up the vampires’ ability to read memories from blood because it required him to become a vampire and offered him little practical benefit.
• After Chen Mo left, Selena neglected her duties as empress until old Kane ordered Bert to discipline her, and she began studying how to rule.
• Old Kane continued leading the Imperial Royal Academy of Sciences and developing the knowledge and technology Chen Mo had left behind.
• Chen Mo returned to the deserted island, where only an instant had passed in the real world despite his years in Underworld.
• Chen Mo reminded himself that his power could not protect him from the real world’s military and that he could not risk losing the ability to return to his family.
• Chen Mo concluded that his changed appearance would keep the people searching for him from recognizing him, and that leaving the island would let him start over.

After returning from the Underworld world, Chen Mo reflected on his gains and settled back into life on the island, while the stranded survivors gradually gave up hope of rescue. Wang Jianqiang began planning to take control of the island and claim the women for himself, starting with Su Wan.

• Chen Mo reviewed his improved swordsmanship, expanded spatial storage, and immortal body after returning from the Underworld world.
• Chen Mo changed into casual clothes and relaxed in a hammock as the survivors gathered food before sunset.
• A month and a half after the crash, the survivors accepted that rescue was unlikely and that they might spend their lives on the island.
• Wang Jianqiang decided the island would be his territory and that he would take the women for himself, beginning with Su Wan.

Wang Jianqiang attacked Su Wan while she searched for food, but she resisted until he overpowered her and grabbed her hair. An icy voice ordered him to let go as a tall figure in black emerged from the woods.

• Wang Jianqiang secretly followed Su Wan to a secluded stretch of shallows and revealed that he intended to force her to submit.
• Su Wan warned Wang Jianqiang away and struck at him with a rock, but he seized her wrist and blocked her kick.
• Wang Jianqiang threw Su Wan into the water, then chased her and grabbed her by the hair as she tried to escape.
• An icy voice ordered Wang Jianqiang to let go, and a tall figure in black emerged from the woods.

Chen Mo confronted Wang Jianqiang, who had lured him out and tried to kill him with a spear. Chen Mo caught the attack and returned it with lethal force, leaving Wang Jianqiang dead in the shallows.

• Wang Jianqiang used his abuse of Su Wan as bait to draw Chen Mo out, believing he could defeat the hidden assassin in a direct fight.
• Chen Mo emerged from the woods as Wang Jianqiang pushed Su Wan into the seawater and prepared to attack him.
• Wang Jianqiang hurled a spear at Chen Mo, but Chen Mo caught it effortlessly.
• Chen Mo recalled that he had monitored the island and come to stop Wang Jianqiang after hearing his intentions toward Su Wan.
• Chen Mo threw the captured spear back with tremendous force, impaling Wang Jianqiang and killing him.

Chen Mo rescued Su Wan from Wang Jianqiang, then brought her to his hidden camp and gave her dry clothes. Su Wan trusted Chen Mo and emerged from his tent in his oversized combat clothes as the deserted-island arc neared its end.

• Chen Mo killed Wang Jianqiang after stopping his ambush, and Su Wan thanked Chen Mo for saving her.
• Chen Mo invited Su Wan to follow him, and she went with him through the woods to his camp.
• Su Wan discovered Chen Mo's well-equipped military tent and changed into the spare black combat clothes he provided.
• Su Wan emerged from the tent wearing Chen Mo's oversized clothes, while Chen Mo noticed her beauty.

Chen Mo returned to camp with Su Wan after killing Wang Jianqiang, while Zhao Jianmin and the others set out to find her. They recognized Chen Mo as their rescuer, learned what had happened, and thanked him.

• Chen Mo retrieved Wang Jianqiang's body from the shallows and walked farther into the sea with his spear.
• Zhao Jianmin learned that Su Wan and Wang Jianqiang had not returned, suspected she was in danger, and led Zhang Lan, Xu Shan, Zhang Xin, and Xu Qing toward the western shallows to find her.
• Zhao Jianmin and the four women saw Su Wan returning beside a masked stranger and raised their spears in alarm.
• Zhang Xin and Xu Qing recognized Chen Mo as the man who had rescued them, and Su Wan explained that he had killed Wang Jianqiang after he tried to harm her.
• The survivors thanked Chen Mo for saving them, and he lowered his spear to reveal a large sea fish impaled on it.

Chen Mo improved the stranded survivors’ lives by providing a feast, leading them in building a spacious shelter, and supplying fishing rods. Despite their new security, the elderly man’s heart disease worsened after his medication ran out, and he died in his sleep less than a week before Chen Mo could leave for the next world.

• Chen Mo caught a giant sea fish and shared it with the survivors, then secretly cut and gathered straight tree trunks.
• Chen Mo brought the survivors lumber and directed them to build a large wooden cabin, which they completed before sunset.
• Chen Mo provided fishing rods, and the survivors used them to secure a steady food supply while living comfortably in the cabin.
• The elderly man ran out of his heart medication, suffered recurring attacks, and died in his sleep with less than a week remaining before Chen Mo could travel to the next world.

After the old man died, Chen Mo and the other survivors cremated him and scattered his ashes at sea. Chen Mo discovered that one of his available worlds was Iron Man’s, traveled there, and found himself back at his former HYDRA base, where he called Eddie.

• The old man died peacefully in his sleep, and the survivors mourned his loss.
• Su Wan and the others followed the old man’s wishes by cremating him and scattering his ashes into the sea.
• After another week on the island, Chen Mo examined two possible worlds and chose the one where he had seen Iron Man.
• Chen Mo changed out of his conspicuous gear and traveled through his space.
• Chen Mo arrived at his former office in HYDRA’s Norway Secret Base and confirmed that the Iron Man world had developed from his past Captain America world.
• Chen Mo pressed the intercom button labeled Eddie.

After returning to the world, Chen Mo reunited with Albert and learned how HYDRA had developed during his seventy-year absence. The chapter ended with Albert reporting that Tony Stark was picking up women.

• Chen Mo summoned Albert, who nervously greeted his returned master and served him coffee from their old Liverpool coffee set.
• Albert explained that HYDRA had grown into a powerful, deeply infiltrated organization under his management, with Dr. Zola and Colonel John assisting him.
• Albert told Chen Mo that he, Dr. Zola, Colonel John, and loyal HYDRA recruits had taken the Improved Super Soldier Serum and entered cryogenic sleep as Winter Soldiers.
• Chen Mo asked about S.H.I.E.L.D., and Albert described its public leadership under Nick Fury and its hidden leadership by Colonel Phillips, Agent Carter, Steve, Howard, and Dr. Erskine.
• Chen Mo asked about Howard's son, and Albert reported that Tony Stark had inherited Stark Industries and was currently picking up women.

Chen Mo learned how S.H.I.E.L.D.'s old guard, Wang Kun, and Steve and Carter's daughter Sharon had fared, then considered how the Iron Man storyline might unfold despite his changes to the world. With Tony not yet headed to Afghanistan and HYDRA's recruited talents ready, Chen Mo ordered Albert to wake Dr. Zola and Colonel John.

• Albert told Chen Mo that Huang Quan and other enhanced agents served as S.H.I.E.L.D. leaders, while Wang Kun had expanded the Seven Precepts Gang and retired to teach martial arts.
• Albert explained that Steve and Carter had a daughter, Sharon, and had left her in Tony Stark's care after faking their deaths; Chen Mo decided he should check on her and considered enhancing Tony.
• Chen Mo reasoned that the Iron Man storyline was still largely following the movie, though Tony had no current plans to travel to Afghanistan to demonstrate the Jericho Missile.
• Albert revealed that Howard had faked his death in a car accident and Steve had staged a plane crash into the sea to commemorate Chen Mo.
• Albert reported that HYDRA had found and recruited everyone on Chen Mo's list, then asked whether to wake Dr. Zola and Colonel John; Chen Mo agreed.

After returning, Chen Mo learned that HYDRA had advanced its energy weapons under Dr. Zola and Anton Vanko. He tested the new NS-7 pistol and then examined the NB-7 rifle, which Dr. Zola said could make up for the pistol’s limitations.

• Dr. Zola and Colonel John visited Chen Mo after waking from cryogenic sleep and greeted him with “Hail HYDRA!”
• Dr. Zola reported that HYDRA’s technology and military strength had grown, while Anton Vanko’s work had improved its energy weapons and storage devices.
• Chen Mo tested the NS-7 energy pistols, rapidly destroying humanoid targets, vehicles, and a concrete wall.
• Chen Mo found that the pistols suited his combat needs but were less effective against heavy armor, then stored them and took spare energy magazines.
• Chen Mo examined the NB-7 energy rifle, and Dr. Zola explained that its greater power, range, and accuracy could compensate for the pistol’s weaknesses.

Chen Mo tested HYDRA’s energy rifle and conventional pistol before traveling to Greenland in a hypersonic fighter. He arrived above the ice-covered seabed where the Valkyrie Goddess lay, preparing to begin again at the place where he had ended seventy years earlier.

• Dr. Zola demonstrated the NB-7 energy rifle, and Chen Mo tested its power against a heavy tank.
• Colonel John showed Chen Mo the Kongsberg K1 pistol, which Chen Mo tested and ordered three more of, along with ten crates of magazines.
• Chen Mo left the Norway Base with Colonel John aboard a HYDRA hypersonic fighter after spending two days there.
• The fighter landed on the Greenland Ice Field near the southern tip of Greenland.
• John showed Chen Mo a satellite map locating the Valkyrie Goddess beneath the ice, more than three hundred meters north of them.

Chen Mo dived beneath the glacier to reach the submerged Valkyrie Goddess and entered its frozen cabin. After equipping his gear in the control room, he used a miniature aircraft to seal the ice hole and erase signs of his passage.

• Chen Mo ordered John to return according to plan, then leaped into the sea while John flew away in the HYDRA fighter.
• Chen Mo swam beneath the ice sheet and found the Valkyrie Goddess's exposed wing after traveling several hundred meters.
• Chen Mo entered the damaged wing, cut a passage through nearly ten meters of ice with the King's Sword, and climbed into an air-filled cabin.
• Chen Mo changed into his Adamantium Armor and combat gear, then walked across the slanted, frozen cabin to the control room.
• Chen Mo deployed a miniature aircraft and used it to repair the ice hole and conceal his footprints.

Chen Mo entered a controlled frozen hibernation inside a glacier, where a survey team discovered him three days later and alerted the Strategic Homeland Defense, Attack, and Logistics Agency. He awakened at the agency’s Washington headquarters, ready to see his old friends.

• Chen Mo lowered his bodily functions and let the cold freeze him while preserving faint brain activity, relying on his enhanced cells and Adamantium armor to stay safe.
• Three days later, a Greenland glacier survey team found a huge triangular steel object buried in the ice and reported it to the agency.
• Two agents entered the object and recognized the frozen Chen Mo by his shield and sword, then one urgently contacted headquarters to reach a colonel.
• Chen Mo opened his eyes at the agency’s Washington headquarters, sat up in a room styled after the 1940s, and decided to visit his old friends.

After waking from seventy years frozen, Chen Mo learned that the war had ended and his former companions were believed dead. He rejected Nick Fury’s offer to stay and traveled to New York, where he began seeking out his past.

• Chen Mo saw through the staged recovery room, confronted the agents, and learned he had been asleep for about seventy years.
• Nick Fury explained the postwar history and told Chen Mo that Steve, Howard, and the others were dead.
• Chen Mo declined Fury’s offer to stay and said he was going to New York.
• Chen Mo concluded that Fury was not part of S.H.I.E.L.D. and flew from Washington to New York.
• Chen Mo took a taxi to Brooklyn, got out early, and walked toward his destination.