Chapter Summaries

Xiao Han enslaved Howard Stark and showed him visions of advanced future technologies to recruit him as a scientist. Howard embraced the chance to explore a bigger world and swore loyalty to Xiao Han.

• Xiao Han enslaved Howard and explained that he wanted Howard's scientific talent to study the Tesseract.
• Xiao Han freed the maids from his control but kept Jarvis enslaved, then refused Howard's request to be released.
• Xiao Han argued that Howard's work for the military wasted his abilities and hinted at discoveries beyond Earth.
• Xiao Han used Soul Power to show Howard visions of future technologies, including Iron Man Armor, Space Battleships, and Pacific Rim mechs.
• Howard, stunned by the visions, declared his loyalty to Xiao Han and eagerly sought the advanced knowledge he had glimpsed.

After accidentally meeting Steve Rogers, Xiao Han rejected a mission that required him to take over HYDRA and recruit Steve, Bucky, Carter, and Howard. He remained focused on obtaining the Space Gem from the Tesseract so he could absorb its energy and cultivate.

• Xiao Han sent Howard back to help Dr. Erskine with the Super Soldier Serum research, then wandered through Brooklyn and reflected on the war recruitment posters.
• Steve Rogers ran into Xiao Han, apologized, and hurried away, leaving his enlistment form behind.
• Xiao Han picked up the form and realized the frail young man was Steve Rogers, triggering a mission to replace Red Skull as HYDRA's leader and recruit Steve, Bucky, Carter, and Howard.
• Xiao Han rejected the mission and reaffirmed that he wanted the Space Gem to absorb its energy and strengthen his cultivation.
• Xiao Han planned to obtain the Tesseract's Space Gem and then go to Kamar-Taj to learn True Magic.

Xiao Han fought Hela in the Hell Dimension and replaced his failing sword with a Heavenly Fire Greatsword. Back on Earth, Xiao Jiana awakened and formed an energy cycle with the Demon Armor, helping Xiao Han reach the Nine Star Dou Grandmaster level.

• Steve lost his forged enlistment form and lamented to Bucky that his frail body kept him from serving at the front.
• Xiao Han teleported to the Hell Dimension and fought Hela, switching to a Heavenly Fire Greatsword after his Crimson Refining Sword nearly broke.
• Xiao Han defeated Hela, left her hanging from a cliff, and returned to Earth.
• Xiao Han found Xiao Jiana awake on his bed, and her feeding triggered the Demon Armor to draw energy from her in a cycle.
• Xiao Han absorbed the energy flowing through the Demon Armor and reached the Nine Star Dou Grandmaster level while Xiao Jiana recovered her strength.

Xiao Han recoiled when Xiao Jiana revealed her tentacled form, then hurt her feelings by treating her like a monster. Ancient One watched the incident through the Time Stone and saw a possible future in which Xiao Han confronted Dormammu with Xiao Jiana beside him.

• Xiao Jiana revealed her tentacled form and said she was modeled after Cthugha, making Xiao Han vomit and wonder whether she could grow into an Evil God.
• Xiao Jiana headbutted Xiao Han through a wall after sensing that he was disgusted by her, and Xiao Han apologized when he realized she was hurt.
• Xiao Han held Xiao Jiana as she cried and bit his chest, and promised not to call her a monster again.
• Ancient One observed Xiao Jiana's transformation through the Time Stone and noted that Xiao Han would not reach Kamar-Taj soon.
• Ancient One saw a possible future in which Xiao Han stood before Dormammu with Xiao Jiana and a holy white longsword.

Xiao Han brought Xiao Jiana into the Hell Dimension, where she accidentally nearly killed Hela before helping care for her. He then arranged for Bucky to become a candidate for the Super Soldier Serum and set out to meet him.

• Xiao Han took Xiao Jiana to the Hell Dimension, where she enjoyed the abundant resentment and struck Hela after Hela destroyed her dress.
• Xiao Han healed the badly injured Hela, and Xiao Jiana made her a bed while she recovered.
• Xiao Han asked Howard about the Super Soldier Serum project and suggested James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th Infantry Regiment as a candidate.
• Xiao Han realized Howard had mistaken his suggestion of Bucky for a lead on Steve Rogers, then decided Bucky could become Captain America instead.
• Howard found Bucky's address, and Xiao Han drove there to meet him.

Xiao Han arranged for Howard to recruit Bucky Barnes as a candidate for the Super Soldier Serum project, with Steve Rogers present. In Germany, Red Skull learned that Dr. Erskine was in New York and ordered his agents to act, leaving Dr. Zola fearing he might be discarded.

• Xiao Han and Howard met Bucky at a hotel, where Steve arrived with him and Xiao Han invited both friends to stay.
• Howard explained the Super Soldier Serum project, and Bucky agreed to be interviewed as a potential test subject so he could better protect Steve.
• Howard prepared to take Bucky to meet Dr. Erskine, while Steve felt envious but was glad for his friend.
• Red Skull reviewed reports that Dr. Erskine had been found in New York and ordered Hydra agents to act against him.
• Dr. Zola worried that Red Skull might eliminate him once he was no longer useful.

Bucky Barnes guarded Dr. Erskine and intervened when he saw a boy being bullied, while a Hydra assassin followed them. Xiao Han learned that Erskine had been shot dead, leaving the Super Soldier Serum project in jeopardy.

• Howard introduced Bucky Barnes to Dr. Erskine as his bodyguard and candidate for the serum experiment.
• Bucky rescued a teenage boy from thugs and secretly gave him money after Dr. Erskine let him leave his post.
• A Hydra assassin followed Bucky and Erskine, preparing to kill the doctor.
• Xiao Han waited for a chance to capture the Hydra assassin and use him to reach the Tesseract.
• Xiao Han learned that Dr. Erskine had been shot dead, threatening to postpone the serum project indefinitely.

After Dr. Erskine was murdered, Xiao Han absorbed the scientist’s lingering soul and gained the Super Soldier Serum formula. He uncovered a Hydra spy at the military club and left with Howard to make the serum in Erskine’s laboratory.

• Xiao Han learned that Hydra had murdered Dr. Erskine and used the Swallowing Spirit Technique to absorb Erskine’s soul fragments and knowledge, including the serum formula.
• Xiao Han asked Howard to confirm that all the research personnel were present, then controlled the crowd and asked whether any of them were Hydra spies.
• A military guard identified himself as a Hydra spy after Xiao Han’s Soul Power reached him, and Xiao Han enslaved him to obtain information about Hydra’s network and an upper-rank informant.
• Xiao Han handed the spy over to Howard and asked about Dr. Erskine’s laboratory.
• Xiao Han and Howard headed to the laboratory so Xiao Han could show Howard how to make the Super Soldier Serum.

Xiao Han convinced Colonel Phillip that he was Dr. Erskine’s student and secretly restarted the Super Soldier experiment, with Bucky as the first test subject. Bucky survived the serum injections and endured the Life Ray as the transformation began.

• Xiao Han presented himself as Dr. Erskine’s student, and Colonel Phillip believed his account and planned to resume the experiment in secret.
• Xiao Han urged Bucky to overcome his guilt over Erskine’s death and prepare to become a super soldier who could avenge him.
• Colonel Phillip gathered Erskine’s former researchers, and Xiao Han impressed them by directing the procedure with Erskine’s knowledge and mannerisms.
• Xiao Han diluted the concentrated serum and injected Bucky, who survived the injection stage.
• Xiao Han exposed Bucky to the Life Ray, and Bucky endured the painful next stage of the experiment.

Xiao Han helped Bucky survive the Super Soldier experiment, gave Steve the last vial of serum and instructions to seek out Howard, then went to a hidden Hydra contact base. The chapter left Xiao Han crawling through a filthy dog-sized passage into the secret base.

• Bucky endured the life-ray treatment and became a Super Soldier, drawing strength from memories of Dr. Erskine and Steve.
• Xiao Han left the laboratory with concentrated serum and met Steve, who was relieved to learn Bucky had survived.
• Xiao Han gave Steve the last vial of Super Soldier Serum and a notebook of injection precautions, telling him to find Howard at Stark Manor.
• Xiao Han released the wealthy family from his influence, cured their chronic ailments, and drove to the dock to meet a contact.
• Xiao Han exchanged passphrases with a scavenger, followed him to a hidden passage, and crawled into the Hydra contact base.

Xiao Han set out to obtain the Tesseract as Schmidt prepared to turn its energy into weapons. In Asgard, Thor defeated Sif again, leaving her to realize he saw her only as a friend.

• Xiao Han sent an enslaved Hydra spy to surrender to Howard, then took Assassin’s mini stealth craft toward the Tesseract.
• Doctor Zola showed Schmidt a tank that could stabilize the Tesseract’s energy, and Schmidt ordered him to begin developing missiles.
• Thor beat Sif in a sparring match and focused on the damage to her sword instead of comforting her.
• Sif forced herself to stand and decided she would never make Thor see her as more than a childhood friend.

Xiao Han infiltrated Schmidt’s Hydra base, enslaved Schmidt and Doctor Zola, and took possession of the Tesseract. After a system mission prompted him to form an organization, he spared Schmidt, renamed him Carl, and founded Nidhogg with Carl as its leader.

• Xiao Han controlled Hydra soldiers and disguised himself to enter Schmidt’s heavily guarded base.
• Schmidt shot Xiao Han, but the bullet failed to hurt him, and Xiao Han knocked Schmidt through a wall and enslaved him.
• Xiao Han enslaved Doctor Zola and took the Tesseract after Schmidt presented it to him.
• The system gave Xiao Han a mission to establish an organization with ten elite members, so he decided to spare Schmidt.
• Xiao Han renamed Schmidt Carl and named the new organization Nidhogg, with Carl as its leader.

Xiao Han took the Tesseract, expanded Nidhogg, and traveled toward the Himalayas. On the plane, he asked the system how to repair his Crimson Refining Sword and learned that a full repair with advanced materials would cost 10,000 Energy Value.

• Xiao Han stored the Tesseract, ordered Carl to prepare a plane to the Himalayas, and gave Doctor Zola advanced knowledge and Doctor Erskine's research to study.
• Xiao Han told Doctor Zola to return to his laboratory, then boarded the plane with Carl and two Hydra pilots.
• Xiao Han examined the cracked Crimson Refining Sword and asked the system about repairing his Lifesource Flying Sword.
• The system quoted 1,000 Energy Value for the repair, then explained that replacing the sword's materials with Vibranium or Uru Metal would raise the cost to 10,000 Energy Value.
• The system warned that replacing every part of the sword would raise the question of whether it was still the same sword, and Xiao Han understood the problem.

Xiao Han reluctantly severed his bond with the ruined Crimson Refining Sword and kept it as a memento. The system then reminded him about his Da Dou Shi breakthrough reward box, which he hoped would provide a replacement weapon.

• Xiao Han decided not to reforge the Crimson Refining Sword and used Essence Blood and an incantation to sever their life-bound contract.
• When the sword began to fall apart, Xiao Han held it together with Soul Power, smoothed its cracks with blue flames, and stored it away.
• Xiao Han mourned the sword, then asked the system whether it had a System Shop and admitted he wanted a new weapon.
• The system teased Xiao Han with comparisons to an inflatable doll and a former lover, then revealed his forgotten Da Dou Shi Breakthrough Reward Box.
• Xiao Han prayed for a rare weapon and said he hoped to get the Ancient Wasteland Dust Light Sword, while the system warned he might instead receive Yang Guo's Black Iron Heavy Sword.

Xiao Han received the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword, which confronted the Demon Armor inside his Spiritual World before accepting him as its master. Their contract was completed, and Xiao Han lost consciousness as the holy sword began to shine.

• Xiao Han obtained the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword, then passed out when a violent headache struck.
• Inside Xiao Han’s Spiritual World, the holy sword challenged the Demon Armor, which threatened to force it out of his body.
• The Demon Armor revealed Xiao Han, and he told the holy sword that the Demon Armor was a trusted companion, not an enemy.
• The holy sword shrank into a Three-foot Green Blade and invited Xiao Han to take its hilt.
• The holy sword gave Xiao Han an incantation, cut his finger, and formed a contract with him despite a black mark on his left hand striking away the Magic Array at first.
• The holy sword flashed with blue-white light, and Xiao Han lost consciousness again.

Xiao Han woke to find that the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword had manifested as Aisite, a silver-haired Sword Elf who became attached to him. After learning about her powers and repairing his damaged sword, he prepared to take her to meet the powerful people of this world.

• Xiao Han discovered naked Aisite beside him and recognized her as the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword after their blood connection activated.
• Aisite read Xiao Han’s memories and changed into a maid outfit, then said she wanted to stay with him because she liked him and disliked being inside Demon Armor.
• Aisite confirmed that the giant sword in Xiao Han’s Spiritual World was her true form and asked him for an ordinary sword.
• Xiao Han gave Aisite the Crimson Refining Sword, and she repaired it and demonstrated that she could alter and control blades and swords.
• A Hydra soldier announced that they had arrived in the Himalayas, and Xiao Han told Aisite he would take her to meet the powerful people of this world.

Xiao Han searched the Himalayas for Kamar-Taj and used Aisite’s sword form to amplify his Soul Power enough to find its concealed entrance. He broke through the magical barrier and encountered the Ancient One inside.

• Xiao Han flew into the Himalayas with Aisite after abandoning his plan to travel to Kathmandu.
• Xiao Han searched the snowy peaks with his Soul Power but could not detect Kamar-Taj’s concealment.
• Aisite explained that her Elf Magic could boost Xiao Han’s abilities, then transformed into the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword when he invoked her spell.
• Xiao Han used the sword’s boost to sense the hidden realm, then flew through its barrier and entered Kamar-Taj.
• The Ancient One appeared and told Xiao Han that powerful sorcerers from outside had visited in the past thousand years.

Xiao Han arrived at Kamar-Taj with The Ancient One and Aisite, where the temple’s protective magic mistook him for an evil spirit and summoned a crowd of mages. After The Ancient One resolved the confusion, she took Xiao Han and Aisite to the library so he could begin learning magic.

• The Ancient One welcomed Xiao Han and led him toward Kamar-Taj, while Aisite appeared beside him after the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword vanished.
• Kamar-Taj’s binding spell trapped Xiao Han at the entrance, and The Ancient One freed him and explained that the Demon Armor had triggered it.
• Dozens of mages rushed through Space Gates to attack the supposed intruder, but The Ancient One stopped them and explained that the alarm had misfired.
• An old mage questioned The Ancient One about the neglected spell, prompting her to scold the group as the older mages fled through Space Gates.
• The Ancient One dismissed the remaining young mages and took Xiao Han and Aisite to Kamar-Taj’s library to begin his magical training.

Xiao Han visited Kamar-Taj’s library with Aisite and received the Book of the Vishanti as his first introductory spellbook. The Ancient One warned him about the dangers of his demonic power and revealed that Aisite’s curse could drain his life if he formed a contract with her, leaving Xiao Han stunned.

• The Ancient One led Xiao Han and Aisite into the library, where two mages argued loudly over how to cast a spell.
• The Ancient One told Xiao Han that spellbooks chose their owners, and the Book of the Vishanti floated to him.
• Xiao Han released his Demonic Qi, drawing dark-magic books toward him, but the Ancient One stopped time and prevented them from striking him.
• The Ancient One warned Xiao Han that the demon within him could use and abandon him, and advised him to make good use of his qi.
• The Ancient One cautioned Xiao Han that forming a contract with Aisite would let her curse consume his life force, leaving Aisite pale and Xiao Han in disbelief.

Aisite revealed that the holy sword’s curses had killed her previous contract holder, and Xiao Han helped her accept the Demon Armor’s power to transform and absorb the curses. He then studied the Book of the Vishanti for ten days before finally withdrawing from its Spiritual World.

• Aisite explained that the curses she stored had overwhelmed her and killed her previous contract holder, while the Demon Armor confirmed it had known she was a demon sword.
• Xiao Han reassured Aisite, and the Demon Armor offered to absorb her curses if she accepted its power; Aisite agreed to stay in the Spiritual World until they fused.
• The Demon Armor began Aisite’s transformation, and Xiao Han briefly saw her wrapped in demonic flames before being pushed out of the Spiritual World.
• Xiao Han asked the system about learning all the magic in the Book of the Vishanti, learned it would require reaching Vishanti’s level, and began studying the book.
• Xiao Han spent ten days immersed in the book, rapidly absorbing magical knowledge and growing his Soul Power, then withdrew from its Spiritual World as the eleventh day began.