Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The seven Immortal Weapons reopen the gate to the Eighth City. Du Mu creates a golden staircase so they can reach it, then sends them and the rescued captives back to their cities.
• To deal with the thousands of monsters still roaming the Eighth City, Du Mu summons Mordo and a force of armed Kamar-Taj sorcerers. Their Magic Bullets rapidly wipe out the remaining creatures.
• Seeing that modern weapons have made his old hopes of revenge unrealistic, Yaozu Quan agrees to stay in the Eighth City and work for Du Mu. Du Mu jokingly gives him the new title Mighty Diamond Leg, replacing First-Generation Iron Fist.
• At the bottom of a chasm, Du Mu finds the dimensional rift that continually produces monsters. He cannot close it because it has fused with the city’s dimension.
• Killing freshly emerged monsters grants Du Mu experience for his daily quest, unlike the monsters he killed earlier. He realizes the rift can provide a steady supply of experience and plans a controlled monster dungeon, with different areas for different threat levels and quests for Kamar-Taj sorcerers.
• The Seven Capital Cities’ leaders learn how dangerous the Eighth City had been and how powerful Du Mu is. Though uneasy about him controlling a hub connected to all seven cities, they are too afraid to challenge him. They also give him the grand nickname “The Greatly Merciful Namo Gatling Bodhisattva.”
• Lei Kung sees an opportunity: the Eighth City could let the isolated cities travel and trade with one another without waiting for their spaces to converge every eighty-eight years. He shares the idea with Du Mu, who is impressed by Lei Kung’s business sense.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Mu shifts from simply defeating the Eighth City’s threats to managing the city as a secure base, monster-farming ground, and potential training facility. He is practical, opportunistic, and teasing—especially when renaming Yaozu.
• Yaozu Quan confronts the collapse of his revenge-driven purpose as he sees how much the world has changed. He accepts Du Mu’s protection and employment, though their exchange over his new name shows he has little say in the arrangement.
• Mordo and the Kamar-Taj sorcerers act as Du Mu’s force for clearing and securing the city. Their modern firearms astonish Yaozu and underscore the gap between his era and the present.
• Lei Kung trusts Du Mu and responds to his control of the Eighth City with strategic optimism, recognizing its value for travel and commerce. His proposal may turn a dangerous fortress into a link between the seven cities.

Significant themes

• Change and adaptation: Modern weapons and reformed institutions make Yaozu’s old worldview and vendetta increasingly obsolete.
• Power and security: Du Mu’s strength gives him control of a strategically vital place, leaving the Seven Capital Cities cautious and dependent on his goodwill.
• Turning danger into opportunity: The monster-producing rift becomes both a source of experience and a planned training resource.
• Connection and cooperation: The Eighth City’s transport network offers the isolated cities a chance to exchange people, ideas, and goods.

Key plot points and events

• Du Mu turns the Eighth City into a trade hub, charging the Seven Capital Cities customs duties to travel through it. K’un-Lun’s Lei Kung quickly agrees and also pays for Kamar-Taj portals to the real world.
• Du Mu establishes a staffed relay station and launches “Didi Wizard,” a paid portal-transport service, alongside delivery and errand work. Strange takes food-delivery shifts to earn points for Black Jade Ointment.
• The other cities sign similar trade and portal agreements. With travel no longer tied to tournament results, their leaders consider canceling the Heart of Heaven Tournament. Du Mu suggests replacing its old prize with contributions from all cities, and the leaders agree to hold it under the original rules.
• Du Mu insists the Eighth City must also compete. When the leaders point out that it lacks a Guardian Beast, he reveals Hydra, a giant nine-headed serpent transformed by the Power of Nine Dragons and destined to become nine dragons.
• Du Mu names Strange the Eighth City’s Immortal Weapon, claiming he has Hydra’s power. To prepare him, Du Mu forces him to study the Tathagata Palm Manual and leaves him to face the magically empowered Eighteen Copper Men.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Mu expands his commercial influence while using humor and audacity to secure the Eighth City’s place in the tournament. He treats Strange’s training as compulsory.
• Lei Kung readily embraces the new trade and transportation arrangements, recognizing that unrestricted portal access is more valuable than tournament-based travel.
• Strange shifts from aspiring sorcerer to reluctant laborer and prospective Immortal Weapon. Though initially anxious about facing other fighters without Guardian Beast power, he tries to meet the challenge with confidence—only to realize the Copper Men can use magic too.
• The other city leaders, initially focused on preserving their advantage, accept the Eighth City’s inclusion once Du Mu produces both a Guardian Beast and a champion.

Significant themes

• Trade and disruption: Du Mu’s services overturn old systems of travel and commerce, creating new opportunities while forcing the cities to adapt.
• Power and competition: The leaders’ confidence that their own Immortal Weapons will win reveals their self-interest; the tournament becomes a contest for a newly shared prize.
• Humor and subversion: Strange’s food-delivery job, Hydra’s undignified behavior, and the Copper Men’s magic undercut the chapter’s grand displays of power.
• Reluctant growth: Strange is pushed toward greater strength and responsibility, even as he resists Du Mu’s increasingly demanding training.

Key events

• Du Mu watches Stephen Strange endure harsh physical training, believing Strange needs a stronger body and steadier temperament before he can safely become Sorcerer Supreme.
• Wondering whether owning the Eighth City makes him a Dimensional Demon, Du Mu realizes he also has access to the Shadow Kingdom through his King of Shadow Flow skill.
• He enters the Shadow Kingdom, where his existing permissions give him a major home-field power boost. He exploits the dimension’s defenses to expand his access, though the core eventually detects the intrusion and blocks him.
• The increased permissions upgrade his skill to Lord of Shadow Flow. It now boosts his attributes in darkness and lets him turn slain enemies’ shadows into shadow soldiers.
• Du Mu encounters Corvus Glaive, whom he had previously trapped in the Shadow Kingdom by sending his weapon there. Corvus has spent an agonizing stretch repeatedly fighting and reviving, unable to find a way out.
• Corvus attacks Du Mu, hoping to take him hostage, but Du Mu stops his Glaive with two fingers and easily defeats him. Du Mu then destroys the weapon, which contains Corvus’s soul; Corvus disintegrates and dies permanently.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Mu shows himself to be both a calculating mentor and an opportunistic power-seeker. He justifies Strange’s punishing training as preparation for future responsibilities, then cleverly—and somewhat deceptively—expands his control over the Shadow Kingdom.
• Strange appears only in the opening scene, where his physical weakness and need for discipline motivate Du Mu’s training regimen.
• Corvus Glaive shifts from furious defiance to desperate submission when Du Mu proves overwhelmingly stronger and threatens the weapon tied to his resurrection. His pleas fail, and Du Mu kills him permanently.
• Du Mu and Corvus’s encounter highlights Du Mu’s absolute advantage in the Shadow Kingdom: Corvus’s weapon and resurrection, once sources of strength, become vulnerabilities Du Mu can exploit.

Significant themes

• Power and preparation: Du Mu sees physical resilience as essential to sorcery and leadership.
• Control and home-field advantage: Access to a dimension dramatically amplifies Du Mu’s abilities, while leaving outsiders trapped and vulnerable.
• Cunning versus force: Du Mu gains authority through patient deception, then relies on overwhelming strength to defeat Corvus.
• Immortality’s limits: Corvus’s repeated resurrection becomes torment rather than an advantage; destroying the source of it ends his life for good.

Key plot points and events

• After Corvus Glaive’s death, Du Mu’s Shadow Kingdom absorbs his shadow and turns it into a powerful, obedient shadow soldier. Though weaker than the original and unable to copy his special powers, it retains his combat skills and can repeatedly regenerate with enough energy.
• Du Mu reflects uneasily that his powers make him look like a villain, then reassures himself that he remains a hero.
• The Eighth City’s construction advances quickly, while preparations begin for the Heart of Heaven’s Way tournament. Du Mu’s Life Potions and enchanted gear prompt the Seven Capital Cities to offer increasingly extravagant prizes, including products from their Guardian Beasts.
• In Sokovia, Du Mu checks on his rebuilt hall and Wanda’s reports. He wrongly suspects Wanda knows who ordered the enormous bed in his room; she remembers that Du Mu ordered it himself.
• Du Mu observes that Steve has settled into Hydra while secretly plotting to find Bucky and rally allies against it. Du Mu knows Steve’s options are limited, though he is amused by the idea of Steve recruiting Tony and young Du Mu.
• At Marvel Company, Psylocke reports that the X-Men have become major celebrities and that the company is planning an X-Men film based on real events. Hank has also developed an early, unstable version of Compound V, which could awaken mutant powers in ordinary people. Du Mu orders more funding and proposes testing it on prisoners.
• The chapter ends with Erik reporting that Charles has been abducted. During an emergency response to a dangerous mutant, a mysterious blue-skinned man appeared and vanished with Charles. Du Mu suspects the kidnapper is Apocalypse, the ancient mutant, and immediately tries to contact Charles—but gets no reply. An ancient voice then speaks into everyone’s minds.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Mu gains Corvus Glaive as a loyal, effectively immortal soldier and continues expanding his influence across several organizations and locations. His self-image as a hero clashes comically with his intimidating powers and growing political control.
• Wanda handles Sokovia’s affairs competently and silently knows Du Mu is responsible for the oversized bed.
• Steve appears to fit into Hydra but remains committed to opposing it in secret. Du Mu sees through his act and treats his plans with amused confidence.
• Erik and Charles are shown as quarrelsome but close friends; Erik is deeply alarmed when Charles disappears.
• Hank earns Du Mu’s respect for his breakthrough, though the compound remains dangerous and experimental.
• Du Mu and his staff continue a pattern of delegation: Psylocke reports on the company, while Du Mu directs funding and strategy.

Significant themes

• Power and identity: Du Mu’s abilities and growing empire make him resemble the villains he claims to fight.
• Control and loyalty: Corvus’s conversion highlights Du Mu’s ability to turn enemies into obedient assets.
• Public image and media: The X-Men’s fame is carefully shaped through films, publicity, crisis response, and legal pressure.
• Ambition and ethical compromise: The proposed use of prisoners in Compound V research reflects Du Mu’s willingness to pursue progress through morally questionable means.
• A looming new threat: Charles’s abduction introduces Apocalypse and shifts the chapter toward an impending crisis.

Key plot points

• Apocalypse broadcasts a psychic declaration announcing his return and demanding mutant supremacy. Du Mu cannot hear it because his Dullard Ring blocks telepathy, but learns what was said through Psylocke.
• Rather than rallying mutants, Apocalypse’s threat provokes widespread online condemnation. Mutants are now accepted and prosperous, and they don’t want the peaceful lives they have built disrupted.
• Du Mu returns to the X-Mansion and explains that Apocalypse is a five-thousand-year-old mutant with immortality and many powers. He takes other mutants’ bodies and abilities through a special ritual, and he likely wants Charles’s telepathy.
• Erik vows to rescue Charles, but the X-Men don’t know where Apocalypse is. Apocalypse then hijacks global broadcasts, revealing himself in Cairo with Charles as his captive.
• Governments try to strike back, but Apocalypse uses Charles’s power to launch the world’s nuclear missiles into space, effectively ending humanity’s nuclear deterrence. He then dismantles Cairo’s buildings and reassembles them into a giant pyramid.
• Apocalypse challenges the X-Men to find him and face him. The Marvel Company frames Charles’s capture as a deliberate sacrifice to protect civilians, announces that the X-Men will accept the challenge, and promises a globally livestreamed battle. Public support and commercial interest surge.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Mu remains wry and practical: he recognizes Apocalypse’s theatrical villainy, explains the danger he poses, and observes that internet mockery seems to have enraged him.
• Erik shifts from shock to fierce determination, renewing his resolve to bring Charles back. Apocalypse’s use of Charles’s power also mirrors something Erik once wished to do but Charles had refused.
• Charles is shown as self-sacrificing: according to Marvel’s account, he allowed himself to be captured to save civilians.
• Apocalypse is revealed as powerful, domineering, and easily provoked by public mockery. He uses spectacle and intimidation to demonstrate his control over technology, weapons, and matter.
• The X-Men, governments, and public respond in different ways: the X-Men prepare to confront Apocalypse, governments identify him as an extreme threat, and the public rallies behind the heroes.

Significant themes

• Power versus restraint: Charles’s telepathy is dangerous in Apocalypse’s hands, while Charles’s own ethics have kept it from becoming a weapon.
• Changing mutant identity: Mutants reject Apocalypse’s supremacist appeal because their circumstances have improved; they no longer see conflict as a path to liberation.
• Public opinion and media: Online mockery shapes events, Marvel manages the story to build support, and the looming crisis becomes a global spectacle and business opportunity.
• The fragility of human power: Apocalypse’s effortless neutralization of nuclear weapons and transformation of Cairo expose how vulnerable human institutions and technology are.

Du Mu and the Brotherhood flew to Cairo to rescue Charles, but Apocalypse attacked Jean Grey through her psychic link and tried to take over her body. Du Mu used a Charles Xavier skin card to enter Jean’s mental world and challenge Apocalypse, where the two transformed into hundred-meter giants.

• Du Mu assembled a combat team from the Brotherhood, accepted Raven’s quest to retrieve Charles, and flew to Cairo with a professional camera crew.
• Jean Grey shielded the Blackbird from Charles’s psychic storm, but Apocalypse used her psychic link to invade her mind.
• Du Mu activated the Charles Xavier skin card, gained immense Cerebro-enhanced telepathy, and entered Jean Grey’s mental world.
• Apocalypse tried to seize Jean Grey’s body, but Du Mu interrupted him with a Leo Kick and countered his psychic attack by turning it into butterflies.
• Apocalypse and Du Mu each grew to a hundred-meter giant in Jean Grey’s mental space, while Jean hid and feared for her surroundings.

Du Mu defeated Apocalypse in Jean Grey’s mental world and forced him to retreat, but Apocalypse soon confronted the group with his Four Horsemen. As Ororo attacked and Erik rejected Apocalypse’s offer, the battle began again.

• Du Mu overwhelmed Apocalypse by flooding his mind with thoughts from across the planet, and Apocalypse severed their connection and fled Jean Grey’s consciousness.
• The jet was caught in a storm and nearly crashed, but Erik used his powers to land it safely; Apocalypse then arrived through a portal with Ororo, Warren, Fred Dukes, and Shiro Yoshida.
• Du Mu mocked Apocalypse’s Horsemen, and Apocalypse explained that mutants in this era preferred becoming celebrities to joining his cause.
• Ororo attacked the Brotherhood with lightning, but Du Mu absorbed the bolts and attempted to control her mind before Apocalypse blocked him.
• Erik attacked Apocalypse to recover Charles, and Apocalypse blocked the strike and offered Erik a place among his Horsemen, which Erik refused.

Erik tried to sway Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen with a speech about peaceful coexistence, while Du Mu challenged Apocalypse and fought him as the X-Men battled the Horsemen. Du Mu’s powers and strength impressed Apocalypse, who declared him the strongest fighter of the modern era, and their fight remained unresolved.

• Erik defended the X-Men’s peaceful ideals during the livestream, and his speech began to move Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen.
• Du Mu mocked Apocalypse, who ordered the Horsemen to attack the X-Men; Quicksilver intercepted Warren’s feather blades while the X-Men overwhelmed the Horsemen.
• Du Mu used hellfire to give the X-Men striking new appearances that also increased their strength.
• Apocalypse attacked Du Mu with earth, energy barriers, telekinesis, and spears, but Du Mu countered with immense strength, golden lightning, and control of the sand.
• Du Mu burst through Apocalypse’s barrier and punched him in the face, after which Apocalypse healed and praised him as the strongest fighter of the modern era.

Du Mu battled Apocalypse before a worldwide audience, trading blows until Apocalypse deduced that Du Mu’s strength depended on sunlight and arranged for Ororo to cover the sky. Du Mu revealed that his apparent weakness was a ruse and struck Apocalypse with black energy, slicing him in half.

• Apocalypse praised Du Mu as the strongest of the modern age, while Du Mu dismissed Apocalypse and attacked him with sand.
• Apocalypse buried Du Mu beneath an enormous sand pyramid, but Du Mu shattered it, pierced Apocalypse’s head with the Spear of Longinus, and battered him with a Blade Storm.
• Apocalypse endured the Blade Storm while healing, then broke the golden blades with telekinesis and charged Du Mu with an Ancient Egyptian Sickle Sword.
• As the two fought at close range, Apocalypse noticed Du Mu’s strength weakening and concluded it depended on sunlight.
• Apocalypse sent Ororo an encrypted order, and she covered the sky with dark clouds, blocking the sunlight and seemingly weakening Du Mu.
• Apocalypse attacked what he believed was a weakened Du Mu, but Du Mu unleashed black energy and sliced Apocalypse in half.

Du Mu used his abilities and a Carbonadium Steel Knife to overcome Apocalypse, whose healing factor the weapon suppressed. After Apocalypse tried to flee as hundreds of pieces of flesh, Du Mu hunted down and destroyed every fragment, leaving Apocalypse dead.

• Du Mu revealed that darkness empowered him and used the Carbonadium Steel Knife to suppress Apocalypse's healing factor.
• Apocalypse attacked Du Mu with energy from his severed lower half, while Du Mu entered Charles's mindscape and found Charles trapped there.
• Apocalypse invaded the mindscape, but Du Mu blinded him with a flash and overwhelmed his consciousness with grotesque memories.
• Du Mu shattered Apocalypse's energy defenses and cut his body into pieces, preventing the fragments from healing.
• Apocalypse's flesh fragments fled in every direction, but Du Mu captured or burned them all and destroyed the final piece.

Du Mu defeated Apocalypse, captured the Four Horsemen, and rescued Charles, using his remaining time in Charles's body to implant secret commands across the world. He left Charles bald as a prank, while the battle made Du Mu a global sensation and turned Cairo's ruins into a tourist attraction.

• Du Mu defeated Apocalypse, stopped the Four Horsemen from fleeing, and used Telepathy to recruit them into the Hellfire Club.
• Before the Charles Skin Card expired, Du Mu implanted hidden commands in selected groups around the world, then used Quicksilver's tunnel to rescue Charles and completed his mission.
• Du Mu gave Charles the Hair Growth Potion, then convinced him that Apocalypse had destroyed his hair follicles before dying.
• The X-Men saw Charles's bald head after Du Mu brought him back, and Erik laughed at his new appearance.
• Tourists and businesses flocked to Cairo, and the Marvel Company profited from the battle's livestream as Du Mu rose to the top of superhero rankings.