Chapter Summaries

Li Congxin learned that a Time Vortex had likely sent him nine years into the future and greatly increased his strength, while warning him not to enter one again. When he returned home, Nalan Bai punched him hard enough to send him flying, revealing that she had somehow gained extraordinary strength too.

• Li Congxin’s new tests showed that his physical abilities had increased more than tenfold, prompting Old Pi to compare him to a superhero.
• Old Pi explained that he believed a Time Vortex had caused Li Congxin to cross nine years in an instant and might have granted both him and Mindy special benefits.
• Old Pi warned Li Congxin that the Time Vortex was dangerous and unlikely to grant the same benefits twice, then took him home to see everyone.
• Nalan Bai confronted Li Congxin for leaving her waiting nearly ten years and punched him through the air into the courtyard wall.
• Li Congxin got up and invited Nalan Bai to keep hitting him, while she wondered how an ordinary person could have sent him flying and found her anger fading.

After recounting the fight with Kingpin and Bullseye, Li Congxin proposed investing heavily in a business opportunity based on Tony Stark shutting down Stark Industries’ weapons plants. He assured the group the event would happen, and they began raising money to profit from the company’s stock fluctuations.

• Li Congxin told everyone about his battle with Kingpin and Bullseye after Mindy revealed they had fought some bad guys.
• Old Pi took Matthew to his laboratory to discuss something, so Li Congxin postponed his money-making plan and caught up with Mindy, Hope, and Nalan Bai.
• Li Congxin announced that a major business opportunity required as much startup capital as possible, and Nalan Bai asked whether he had inside information.
• Li Congxin revealed that Tony Stark would shut down Stark Industries’ weapons plants in a few months, and Old Pi questioned whether the future could change.
• Li Congxin said he was one hundred percent certain, reasoning that events in the Marvel universe would prevent him from disrupting Tony’s transformation into Iron Man.
• The group trusted Li Congxin and began doing everything they could to raise money.

Li Congxin gathered billions in loans and entrusted Nalan Bai with managing the funds and Nirvana Pictures while he focused on growing stronger and researching the Quantum Realm. Old Pi revealed a captured symbiote, and Li Congxin and Old Pi decided to seal it away until they could rescue Aunt Pi.

• Li Congxin mortgaged Nirvana Pictures and the rights to Doupo Cangqiong, while Daredevil and Old Pi contributed borrowed funds, bringing the total to 20 billion.
• Li Congxin gave the money to Nalan Bai to short Stark Industries stock and kept her as Nirvana Pictures' CEO.
• Li Congxin and Old Pi began planning research into the Quantum Realm, and Old Pi took Li Congxin to see a captured symbiote in his laboratory.
• Old Pi explained that he and Matthew had found Kingpin possessed by the symbiote, driven it out with fire, and captured it after Kingpin died.
• Li Congxin shared what he knew about symbiotes, and he and Old Pi decided to seal the creature away until they rescued Aunt Pi.

Li Congxin profited from Tony Stark’s decision to shut down Stark Industries’ weapons division, becoming a major shareholder while gaining widespread attention. After completing the Mark II armor, Tony investigated who had arranged his kidnapping and began to suspect Clark Li because he had benefited most from the crisis.

• Li Congxin hit a physical training bottleneck, developed a new martial art, and failed to find inspiration for rescuing Aunt Pi from the Quantum Realm.
• Tony Stark escaped his kidnapping in Afghanistan with the Mark I Armor and announced that Stark Industries would stop manufacturing weapons.
• Li Congxin shorted Stark Industries stock, then bought up shares until he controlled thirty-three percent of the company.
• News outlets publicized Li Congxin’s stock-market gains, making him a media sensation and bringing him hundreds of millions of Impression Points.
• Tony Stark concluded that a traitor inside Stark Industries had helped arrange his kidnapping.
• Pepper Potts advised Tony to look at who had benefited most, and Tony read a newspaper headline about Clark Li’s gains.

Tony Stark suspected Clark Li of secretly manipulating events at Stark Industries and invited him to a fundraising gala to test him. Li Congxin accepted the invitation, then faced reporters, brushed off questions about his stock trades, and announced Nirvana Pictures’ upcoming film, Frozen.

• Tony Stark and Little Pepper discussed the suspicious clues surrounding Clark Li, while overlooking Obadiah Stane as a suspect.
• Tony Stark decided to invite Li Congxin to his firefighters’ families fundraising gala and test him.
• Li Congxin accepted Tony Stark’s invitation after considering a possible reason to attend.
• Reporters questioned Li Congxin about his Stark Industries stock trades, and he claimed he had relied on his business instincts.
• Li Congxin dismissed a reporter’s doubts, then announced that Nirvana Pictures would release Frozen in the second half of the year.

Li Congxin attended Tony Stark's charity gala in Los Angeles to find the Cosmic Source Will and collect BGM cards. After helping reporter Christine plan a way to hurt Tony, he watched Tony arrive and looked forward to seeing what she would do.

• Li Congxin mistook a white-haired old man in red for Old Li, then received a Random BGM Draw Card from the Cosmic Source Will and drew “Yi Jian Mei.”
• Christine showed Li Congxin photographs of terrorists using Stark weapons, and he redirected her questions to Tony Stark.
• Li Congxin suggested a way Christine could get revenge on Tony, and they headed into the hall together.
• Li Congxin greeted the old man again, received another Random BGM Draw Card, and drew the trial version of “Moon Prism Power Make Up!”
• Christine reacted to Li Congxin downing a Bloody Mary, and Tony Stark arrived at the gala as Li Congxin urged her to act.

At Tony Stark’s gathering, Christine confronted him about his weapons and mocked his sexual performance, earning Li Congxin a large haul of Impression Points. Agent Coulson then questioned Li Congxin about his disappearance and his bet against Stark Industries, but Li Congxin refused to give him a real explanation.

• Christine waited for a chance to confront Tony while Li Congxin checked the system’s new Moon Prism Power Make Up! BGM and its one-minute invincibility effect.
• Christine showed Tony photographs of terrorists with Stark weapons, then told him she had expected more from him in bed and walked away.
• Li Congxin received 99,999 Impression Points from Tony and reflected that he had only suggested how Christine could hurt Tony.
• Coulson asked Li Congxin where he had been during his nine-year disappearance and how he had anticipated Stark Industries’ troubles.
• Li Congxin told Coulson to guess, then brushed off questions about his investment plans as business instinct and said he had no obligation to explain himself.

At a Stark Industries gathering, Li Congxin sparred verbally with Tony Stark and danced with Little Pepper while dodging her questions. After leaving the hall, he mistook a white-haired man for Old Li and was struck by a sudden, powerful backlash.

• Coulson gave Li Congxin his contact information and left as Tony approached.
• Tony teased Li Congxin about a record claiming his combat power was 9.58 seconds, so Li activated the song "Yi Jian Mei" and accepted Little Pepper's dance invitation.
• Little Pepper questioned Li Congxin about his business instincts and kung fu, while Tony grew jealous and earned Impression Points from the scene.
• After Li Congxin left, Little Pepper told Tony that he had dodged her important questions and praised how quickly he learned to dance.
• Li Congxin mistook a white-haired man in a red robe for Old Li, slapped his shoulder, and was knocked backward, coughing blood.

After leaving Christine and running home, Li Congxin weighed whether to get involved in future Marvel conflicts and decided the coming battles offered too little benefit or too much risk. Back at his New York villa, he found Mindy awake and asking to join the Heroes Alliance, then froze when she claimed to be twenty-one.

• The system unlocked Trigger Playback, and Li Congxin noticed that the white-haired old man and the women around him had disappeared.
• Christine chased after Li Congxin, fell asleep in his arms, then insisted she was sober and walked away on her own.
• Li Congxin ran from Los Angeles to New York while considering potential disasters and deciding to avoid the upcoming conflicts involving Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor.
• Li Congxin returned to his villa around midnight and found Mindy watching television.
• Mindy asked to join the Heroes Alliance and claimed she was already twenty-one, leaving Li Congxin stunned.

Li Congxin rejected Mindy’s request to join the Heroes Alliance, then recovered from his injuries and went to Nirvana Pictures to choose a singer for “Let It Go.” He discovered that the three finalists were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Natalie Romanoff, Maria Hill, and Sharon Carter, and decided to inspect their profiles rather than dismiss them outright.

• Li Congxin told Mindy she was too young to join the Heroes Alliance and teased her about needing to master four-digit arithmetic.
• Li Congxin’s injuries healed after he slept, and Xiao Bai called to invite him to choose among three finalists for the company’s new singer.
• Li Congxin drove to Nirvana Pictures and explained to Xiao Bai that he wanted to expand the company into a broader entertainment business.
• Li Congxin saw that the three finalists were Natalie Romanoff, Maria Hill, and Sharon Carter, and recognized them as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
• Li Congxin decided that keeping the three agents was safer than sending them away and began reviewing their profiles for genuine information.

Li Congxin tried to recruit Carter, Hill, and Black Widow as performers for Nirvana Pictures, while S.H.I.E.L.D. debated whether to leave Carter behind to monitor him. Tony seized the chance to investigate Li at a book launch and recruited Obadiah Stane, who secretly planned to capture both men and remove obstacles to taking over Stark Industries.

• Li Congxin offered Carter, Hill, and Black Widow acting contracts lasting ten years, and all three said they needed time to consider them.
• Black Widow reported the offer to Nick Fury, who suggested that only one agent continue monitoring Li; she recommended Carter because Li had chosen her to sing the Frozen theme song.
• Tony, frustrated that Li had avoided him since the charity gala, heard that Li would hold a book launch and decided to attend.
• Tony asked Obadiah Stane to help investigate his kidnapping, and Obadiah began planning to capture Tony and Li and seize control of Stark Industries.

Li Congxin prepared the launch of his new book, Swallowed Star, while debuting Sharon Carter as Nirvana Pictures' first signed singer. The event began with a dramatic presentation of the book's setting and Sharon's performance of “Legends Never Die.”

• Sharon Carter drove Li Congxin to Nirvana Pictures and questioned him about the promised Frozen theme song, which he said he had already written.
• Li Congxin sent Sharon to get ready for her performance and dismissed the reporters waiting outside.
• Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane arrived to support Li Congxin, and he welcomed them into the launch event.
• Li Congxin's new-book launch opened with a projection introducing the alien invasion, the R-Virus, and the world of Swallowed Star.
• Sharon Carter appeared onstage in battle-worn armor and began singing “Legends Never Die.”

Li Congxin launched his Marvel-influenced version of Swallowed Star at a crowded event, while Sharon Carter’s attempt to uncover a secret in his office failed. As Tony Stark and Obadiah secretly searched the office, Obadiah paralyzed Tony with an Infrasound Generator and revealed his plan to frame Li Congxin for Tony’s murder and take his Arc Reactor.

• Li Congxin explained why he had switched from adapting Coiling Dragon to a heavily modified Swallowed Star.
• Sharon Carter sang at the launch, and Tony Stark took the stage before Li Congxin answered reporters’ questions.
• Sharon Carter tested Li Congxin by mentioning her lipstick, but he casually handed her the office key, convincing her there was no secret in his office.
• Tony Stark and Obadiah hacked the building’s surveillance and searched Li Congxin’s office, finding no evidence on his computer.
• Obadiah used Tony’s Infrasound Generator to paralyze him and planted a video he said would frame Li Congxin for Tony’s murder.
• Obadiah revealed that he had ordered Tony killed and aimed a special instrument at Tony’s Arc Reactor, intending to take it.

Sharon Carter found Tony Stark in Li Congxin’s office near death and helped restore power to his chest electromagnet. After hearing Tony explain why he suspected him of arranging the kidnapping, Li Congxin angrily refuted him, then agreed to drive him home.

• Sharon Carter entered Li Congxin’s office and found Tony Stark struggling to power the electromagnet in his chest.
• Tony asked Sharon to help him, and she restored the electromagnet while Li Congxin left the press conference in Nalan Bai’s hands.
• Li Congxin returned to his office, saw Tony and Sharon, and asked Sharon to fetch a car battery.
• After Sharon left, Li Congxin scolded Tony for wrongly suspecting him of orchestrating the kidnapping and explained how Tony’s decision to end weapons manufacturing had driven the stock market turmoil.
• Sharon returned with the battery, and Li Congxin agreed to drive Tony home as Tony carried the battery outside.

Li Congxin saved Tony from Obadiah Stane’s attack and agreed to buy him time to put on the Iron Man suit. Tony began transforming under fire while Li Congxin’s qi shield deflected the bullets.

• Li Congxin sensed danger and pulled Tony out of the way just before a bomb blasted through the wall.
• Obadiah Stane arrived in the Iron Monger and attacked Tony and Li Congxin, but Li Congxin struck the suit and sent it flying.
• Tony asked Li Congxin to let him handle the fight, then fled toward his laboratory as Obadiah targeted him.
• Tony promised Li Congxin an Arc Reactor in exchange for one minute of help, and Li Congxin knocked the Iron Monger down.
• The Iron Monger fired at Tony as he began putting on the Iron Man suit, but Li Congxin’s invisible qi shield deflected the bullets while a lively melody played.

Tony fought Obadiah while Li Congxin watched, and Jarvis permanently mutated after absorbing Tony’s transformation music. Li killed Obadiah, and Tony agreed to give Li an Arc Reactor before carrying him off to Stark Tower.

• Tony transformed into Iron Man and fought Obadiah as Jarvis announced that she had become “Your Majesty.”
• Tony led Obadiah high into the sky, but Obadiah survived and pinned him down after their battle continued.
• Li mocked Tony, then killed Obadiah with a silent blast through his forehead.
• Tony took Obadiah’s Arc Reactor for his suit and promised Li another reactor in exchange for a Stark protagonist in Li’s next story.
• Tony locked Li in a mechanical hold and flew with him toward Stark Tower to retrieve the reactor.

Li Congxin rode on Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit to New York and took the Arc Reactor from Stark Tower after Tony tried to stall him. He left Tony behind and revealed he had miniaturized the reactor with Pym Particles.

• Tony flew Li Congxin from Los Angeles toward New York, but Li climbed onto his back and stayed steady as the suit accelerated past the sound barrier.
• Li sang while riding Tony’s suit, earning more Impression Points from Tony.
• At Stark Tower, Tony showed Li the giant Arc Reactor and claimed he would need a year or two to make another one.
• Tony ordered Your Majesty to shut down the reactor, then restored the tower’s backup power and told Li to take it.
• Li revealed the giant reactor had vanished, warned Tony not to implicate him in Obadiah’s death, and left Stark Tower.
• Li pulled a miniaturized reactor from his pocket and attributed the feat to Pym Particles.

After making a fortune from Stark Industries stock, Li Congxin repaid his debts, planned to expand Pym Laboratories, and began building influence through media and entertainment acquisitions. By the end of 2008, his first film, Frozen, premiered with celebrities and Obama in attendance.

• Li Congxin repaid Old Pi with Stark stock and advised Matthew to give The Hand's subordinates bonuses while keeping most of the investment in Stark Industries.
• Li Congxin explained the Arc Reactor's origins to Old Pi and proposed expanding Pym Laboratories with new research teams.
• Li Congxin told Old Pi that he would write a screenplay called A Song of Ice and Fire rather than simply glorify the Stark family.
• Li Congxin began acquiring media, entertainment, and other companies to build the influence needed to challenge powerful officials.
• At the end of 2008, Frozen premiered as Nirvana Pictures' first release, and Obama attended with his daughter.

After the Frozen premiere, Li Congxin reunited with T'Challa, the Wakandan prince he had saved nine years earlier. T'Challa asked Li to track down the people who stole Wakanda’s vibranium, offering the recovered metal and Wakanda’s friendship as a reward.

• Obama attended the Frozen premiere to show support for Li Congxin and repay part of an old favor, while the film’s success pushed Li’s Impression Points past one billion.
• After leaving the theater with Xiao Bai, Mindy, Hope, and Sharon, Li was stopped by a young Black man who thanked him for saving his life nine years earlier.
• Li recognized the man as one of the children rescued from The Hand and followed him to his Lamborghini for a private conversation.
• The man introduced himself as T'Challa, prince of Wakanda, and explained that Li had saved him when he was kidnapped during a visit to America with his father.
• T'Challa asked Li to find the people who stole five hundred kilograms of Wakandan vibranium and killed Wakandan citizens, promising Li the vibranium and Wakanda’s lasting friendship if he captured them.

Li Congxin accepted T'Challa’s request to help capture Ulysses Klaue and received Wakandan gifts in thanks for saving T'Challa years earlier. After promising Tony Stark that a Stark would lead the next season of A Song of Ice and Fire, Li Congxin discovered the Kimoyo Beads and vibranium cloak’s capabilities.

• Li Congxin imagined a quest to capture Ulysses Klaue and agreed to help T'Challa find him.
• Tony Stark confronted Li Congxin over Ned Stark’s death in A Song of Ice and Fire and persuaded him to make a Stark the protagonist of the second season.
• T'Challa gave Li Congxin a briefcase containing Kimoyo Beads, a vibranium cloak, and instructions for using them.
• Li Congxin put on the Kimoyo Beads and examined the cloak, which bore the words “Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns!”