Chapter Summaries

Ba Di rejected Yada Edge’s overtures at the banquet, angering the Family members who expected him to show deference. He then openly flirted with a married woman, prompting Yada Edge to roar his name across the hall.

• Ba Di refused Yada Edge’s hug and ignored the guests’ criticism of his manners.
• Yada Edge invited Ba Di to drink and meet women, but Ba Di declined and toasted the crowd as he walked away.
• Ba Di approached a married woman and directly asked to spend the night with her.
• The banquet guests stared in shock, and Yada Edge roared, “Ba Miu Luo Di!”

At the Family banquet held to celebrate Ba Di’s possible entry into the 18th Seat, he defied Yada Edge and declared himself the host, turning the guests against him. The chapter ended with Family members denouncing Ba Di and threatening his business while Yada Edge watched in approval.

• Ba Di rebuked Yada Edge and acted as though he were the host of the banquet.
• Yada Edge revealed that the banquet had been arranged to celebrate Ba Di joining the Family’s 18th Seat, prompting guests to say Ba Di had ruined his chance.
• Ba Di raised his glass and declared that he was the center of the banquet and its host.
• Seeing Yada Edge’s anger, several Family members denounced Ba Di and threatened to have his company’s products blocked and reported to the Drug Administration.
• Yada Edge watched silently as the crowd turned against Ba Di.

At a banquet, Yada Edge and the gathered Families humiliated Ba Di and demanded he apologize to every guest, while Ba Di stayed calm. Just as the crowd pressed him to kneel, a cane struck the floor and an aged voice rebuked Yada Edge for going too far.

• Members of the Families mocked Ba Di after learning he would not receive a Family seat, while he calmly drank champagne.
• Yada Edge told Ba Di to apologize to everyone if he wanted their approval, presenting himself as a powerful authority.
• With Yada Edge’s apparent approval, Family members demanded Ba Di bow, kneel, and even wipe wine from someone’s shoes.
• Ba Di watched the crowd’s demands and turned his attention to Yada Edge as a woman in a purple evening dress observed in silence.
• A heavy cane struck the floor, silencing the banquet, and an aged voice told Yada Edge he had gone too far.

The Colvin Family Head rebuked Yada Edge for trying to humiliate Ba Di and apologized to Ba Di on behalf of the gathering. Ba Di revealed that the Colvin Family Head had been observing him for a proposed cooperation and cut the promised benefits in half, leaving the nobles stunned and Yada Edge worried that he was losing control.

• The Colvin Family Head publicly told Yada Edge to apologize to Ba Di and put aside his vanity.
• The Colvin Family Head apologized to Ba Di, who remained calm and introduced himself as Ba Di rather than by his surname, Tratrusgu.
• Ba Di asked whether Little Luther had visited, and the Colvin Family Head confirmed that he had agreed to the proposal.
• Ba Di accused the Colvin Family Head of observing him to gain an advantage in their cooperation and cut Little Luther's promised deal in half.
• The Colvin Family Head admitted he had acted dishonestly and apologized, while Yada Edge grew uneasy about the arrangement.

Ba Di negotiated with the Colvin Family Head and the Dodge Family Head, who accepted reduced benefits to secure cooperation with him. The banquet guests and Yada Edge were left stunned by Ba Di’s influence and alarmed by how badly they had underestimated him.

• Ba Di cut the Colvin Family Head’s expected benefits in half, and the Colvin Family Head accepted the terms.
• The banquet guests and Yada Edge reacted with disbelief as they realized Ba Di was leading the cooperation with the Colvin Family.
• The Dodge Family Head stepped forward, said Luther had promised him twenty years, and asked Ba Di about the terms.
• Ba Di offered the Dodge Family Head forty percent because he had been the second to step forward, and the Dodge Family Head agreed to cooperate.
• The guests learned that the rival Dodge and Colvin Families were both seeking Ba Di’s partnership, while Yada Edge wondered what Ba Di had done.

At the banquet, Ba Di’s carefully arranged negotiations persuaded several powerful nobles to leave the Family Alliance and join his side. The seventeen-seat Family fractured, with seven members defecting to Ba Di.

• The Lan Dao Family Head asked Ba Di whether there was any way to improve the elders’ terms for the final twenty percent.
• The Dodge Family Head announced that the Dodge Family was withdrawing from the Family Alliance.
• The Colvin Family Head announced that the Colvin Family was also withdrawing from the alliance.
• The Lan Dao and Lawrence Family Heads announced their withdrawals and brought other Family members over to Ba Di’s side.
• Seven of the Family’s original seventeen seats defected to Ba Di, leaving the banquet guests stunned while Ba Di remained composed.

Ba Di consolidated seven families around himself, confronted Yada Edge, and learned that Luther had orchestrated the banquet’s provocations to test him. As Ba Di prepared to leave with several women, Mike called with news from Kansas: they had found Kryptonite.

• Ba Di rewarded the families who joined him, and the banquet divided into his new group, Yada Edge’s remaining alliance, and the uninvolved guests.
• Ba Di apologized to Yada Edge’s wife, then warned Yada Edge that he would not hold the assassination attempt against him and urged him to defeat Lex Luthor.
• Ba Di rejected the woman in the purple evening gown, accepted an apology from the pomade-haired heir, and then learned the heir’s insults had been arranged by Luther to test him.
• Ba Di told the heir to keep their conversation secret and was about to leave the banquet when Mike called to report that his team had found Kryptonite in Kansas.

Ba Di oversaw Cosmic Biotechnology Co., Ltd.’s research and expansion plans while preparing Bruno and Tuo Bai E Si for enhanced roles in Star City and Coast City. As he waited for Mike, sunlight suddenly brought weakness to his fingertips, signaling that Mike had returned with Kryptonite.

• Ba Di woke after a night with several women, washed, and had Gentle Hera report on research, construction plans, and Mike’s expected arrival.
• Ba Di toured Cosmic Biotechnology Co., Ltd., whose employees worshipped and obeyed him because Hera had guided their thoughts.
• Ba Di chose enhancements for Tuo Bai E Si that would let him grow to at least five meters, and an iron-based transformation for Bruno.
• Ba Di planned for Bruno and Tuo Bai E Si to establish forces in Star City and Coast City, then waited for Mike.
• Ba Di felt weakness rising from his fingertips as sunlight fell on him, and the narration revealed that Mike had returned with Kryptonite.

Ba Di began rapidly weakening near Kryptonite, losing the powers sunlight had given him while fighting its maddening influence. Mike brought him a photograph of the Kent Couple with an abandoned baby and a dog, and Ba Di focused on the dog as Mike reported the strange arrival.

• Ba Di’s body and senses deteriorated in the sunlight, and he vowed to crush the sun despite his growing weakness.
• Mike approached Ba Di, felt his presence stir fervent loyalty, and handed him a photograph.
• Ba Di saw the Kent Couple holding a baby beside a white wolf-like dog in the photograph.
• Mike reported that the Kent Couple had taken in an abandoned baby and dog a week earlier, after something resembling a meteor fell without leaving an impact site.

Ba Di suspected Jor-El had set a trap involving Kryptonite and the powerful dog guarding Kal-El, so he decided to seek magic as a weapon against him. As Ba Di’s body continued to deteriorate, the dog in Smallville searched for him.

• Ba Di questioned Mike about the white dog and learned it had guarded Kal-El and might be able to fly.
• Ba Di considered that Jor-El had anticipated his plans and that the Kryptonite might be bait, then concluded he needed to find magic to defeat Jor-El.
• Ba Di ordered Mike to gather Leon and the others and draw a tube of his blood, while green matter spread across Ba Di’s hand.
• The white dog in Smallville looked toward the sun and searched for Ba Miu Luo Di.

Ba Di tested the effects of Green Kryptonite and discovered that its radiation rapidly weakened and threatened to kill him, though his body recovered after it was removed. He ordered Hera to finish his clone and asked whether she had found Jor-El’s reconnaissance ship.

• Ba Di underwent a test in which Green Kryptonite spread harmful matter through his body and brought him close to death.
• Mechanical arms removed the Kryptonite, and Ba Di rapidly recovered as his cells resumed producing solar energy.
• Hera explained that Kryptonite radiation disrupted Ba Di’s cells and triggered a mutation rooted in Kryptonian genes.
• Ba Di recognized that he could not yet eliminate his Kryptonite weakness and considered using protective devices against its radiation.
• Ba Di told Hera to complete the clone so he could test whether the dog was Jor-El, then asked about Jor-El’s reconnaissance ship.

Ba Di assigned his followers plans to expand his influence across the United States and other countries while investigating Jor-El’s spacecraft and potential magical allies. The chapter ended with Mike locating Constantine and the great magician Giovanni John Zatara, though he found no Cold Flame Church.

• Hera reported that Jor-El’s spacecraft was likely near 62°14′ north latitude in Greenland, and Ba Di decided to investigate.
• Ba Di used his growing clone as a potential tool for testing Jor-El’s plans and distributed assignments to followers who would establish businesses and influence in nearly thirty cities and several war-torn countries.
• Ba Di sent Andy to build a nation and train soldiers in Africa to oppose Death Knell, and sent Leon to investigate Central City and locate a child named Ba Sai Luo Mu without harming him.
• Ba Di ordered Mike to investigate magic in Switzerland and seek Constantine and Giovanni John Zatara if he found no magical organization there.
• Ba Di instructed Little Luther to organize a North Pole expedition, and Mike later reported that he had found Constantine and Giovanni John Zatara but no Cold Flame Church.

Jonathan and Martha Kent brought the alien baby Clark home, delighted in caring for him, and began preparing their farm for life with a child. The chapter ended with Jonathan unloading baby supplies and putting Krypto to work carrying Clark’s diapers.

• Jonathan remembered finding Clark in an alien spacecraft and deciding to adopt him as his son.
• Jonathan and Martha complained about the rough farm road, and Jonathan vowed to fill its potholes.
• Martha soothed the awake and cheerful Clark with a kiss and a rendition of Home on the Range as they rode home.
• Jonathan insisted that Martha take Clark inside while he unloaded the supplies.
• Jonathan loaded diaper bags onto Krypto and sent him into the house to carry them to the living room.

Jor-El watched over his son in Smallville and feared Ba Di, whose rise from a genetically defective soldier had once nearly brought Krypton under his control. He recalled Ba Di’s escape from Krypton and the preparations he had made against him, while the Kryptonite he had hidden was gone with Mike.

• Jor-El saw that Mike had taken the Kryptonite he had hidden outside town and left Kansas, but stayed near his son rather than follow him.
• Jor-El searched the surrounding area with his enhanced vision and found no sign of Ba Di, though his absence did not ease Jor-El’s fear.
• Jor-El recalled how Ba Di had defied his defective genes, risen through the military ranks, and become a symbol for Krypton’s lower classes.
• Jor-El remembered Ba Di’s revolutionary war, his own alliance with General Zod, and the ambush that had forced Ba Di to escape Krypton.
• Jor-El recalled that Ba Di survived the escape ship’s delayed explosion and concluded that he and Ba Di remained irreconcilable enemies.

Jor-El explained his three-part plan to stop Ba Di: one portion of his consciousness was in Krypto, another in Clark, and the last in the Key of Hope. He waited for Ba Di to take the bait and decided it was time to get the Key of Hope into Ba Di’s hands.

• Jor-El used Krypto’s enhanced body and a Golden Kryptonite dog tag as preparations for a direct confrontation with Ba Di.
• Jor-El suspected Ba Di had recognized the Green Kryptonite as bait and was waiting until he had a guaranteed way to kill Krypto.
• Jor-El kept Nano-Space Technology inside Clark as a dangerous escape option if Ba Di captured him.
• Jor-El uploaded the final portion of his consciousness into the Key of Hope so he could infiltrate Ba Di’s computer if Ba Di used it.
• Jor-El decided to deliver the Key of Hope to Ba Di and watched the moon while pondering how to do it discreetly.

Ba Di attended Great Magician Giovanni John Zatara’s performance at Madison Square Garden to learn whether magic could harm Kryptonians and help him defeat Jor-El. Zatara appeared onstage, and Ba Di discovered that his Penetrating Sight could not see through him.

• Ba Di went to Madison Square Garden with Mike to watch Zatara and investigate magic’s effects on Kryptonians.
• While waiting for the performance, Ba Di considered Zatara’s personality and how he might persuade him to help against Jor-El.
• A faint spiritual sensation swept through the venue, making Ba Di uncomfortable before the lights went out.
• Zatara appeared amid fireworks at the center of the stage.
• Ba Di activated Penetrating Sight, but could not see through Zatara, who met his gaze with amusement.

Ba Di watched Great Magician Zatara perform seemingly impossible magic and sensed that Zatara’s power could suppress his cells and influence the audience’s minds. He left the show wary of Zatara’s magic, while Mike remained convinced he had seen an amazing performance.

• Ba Di sensed that Zatara had intensified the audience’s excitement through some kind of mental influence.
• Zatara teleported from the stage to Ba Di, invited him to high-five, and suppressed Ba Di’s cells when their hands met.
• Zatara performed more acts, including Cosmic Star Sea, Enter the Videotape, and Body Separation, while Ba Di watched with his enhanced senses.
• As the audience left, Ba Di detected a powerful mental fluctuation that guided them to believe they had seen a magic show.
• Mike praised the performance, and Ba Di realized that the influence had affected Mike despite his earlier warning.

Zatara learned that his father had sacrificed twenty years of his lifespan to discover that Zatara faced a life-or-death crisis, but Zatara refused to return home and chose to face the danger himself. The chapter ended when an assistant rushed in and reported that he could not find someone.

• After Zatara's magic show, Butler Bradbury told him that the elders and the British Magic Association Alliance condemned his public use of magic.
• Zatara dismissed their objections and challenged the British Magic Association, then brushed off warnings that its younger members planned to confront him.
• Bradbury revealed that Zatara's father had used Bloodline Guidance, sacrificing twenty years of his lifespan to sense Zatara's impending danger.
• Zatara worried about his father but refused to return home, saying that involving the Family would only put them at risk.
• Bradbury said Zatara's father was seeking Madame Xanadu to learn more about the future, but Zatara remained determined to face the crisis.
• A young man burst into the room and shouted that he could not find him.

After abandoning his plan to meet Zatara, Ba Di waited for Mike in a Manhattan alley and sensed a far greater magical threat than Zatara nearby. The chapter ended with Ba Di staring into the alley at a presence powerful enough to kill him.

• Zatara gave up on finding Ba Di and considered what kind of superhuman he was, while rejecting the cruel magical methods he imagined using on him.
• Ba Di overheard Zatara and his companions, fled the arena, and decided to investigate Zatara before choosing how to approach him.
• Ba Di waited for Mike in a quiet Manhattan street and ignored two drunken men entering an alley where they had spotted a young woman.
• The men screamed that the woman had four eyes and fled, as a tremendous surge of magic awakened inside the alley.
• Ba Di felt the magical presence threaten his life and fixed his gaze on the alley.

Ba Di found Raven in a dark alley after her immense magical reaction abruptly vanished. He carried her out when she asked for help, leaving her fate in his hands.

• A powerful magical reaction surged through the alley, then contracted and disappeared, plunging the surrounding street into darkness.
• Ba Di entered the alley and found Raven slumped against a wall with a red glow beneath her hood.
• Ba Di lifted Raven’s face and saw her four crimson eyes before their glow faded and she regained focus.
• Raven told Ba Di that his soul and will were different from other people.
• Ba Di carried Raven out of the alley, and she asked him to help her.