Chapter Summaries

Alvin and Old Hu were caught between awakened undead and Qin Terracotta Warriors after Fatty Wang stumbled upon the terracotta army. Old Hu identified a Book of Life and Death and Fountain of Youth Water among the items that had awakened the buried undead, and Alvin tried to get him to safety as the two forces clashed.

• Fatty Wang discovered terracotta warriors and chariots coming to life, warned the others, and fled as they charged after him.
• Alvin and Old Hu were attacked by corpses, and the Man-Bear struck Old Hu, leaving black marks on his hand.
• Alvin used Venom and his flying swords to fight the undead, while Qin Terracotta Warriors formed ranks against the corpses.
• Alvin took the bamboo slips and a vial of clear water from a woman's corpse, and Old Hu identified them as the Book of Life and Death and Fountain of Youth Water.
• Old Hu explained that the woman had awakened the undead buried beneath the city walls, and Alvin carried him away as the undead and terracotta warriors began battling.

Alvin and his companions escaped the Terracotta Warriors, and he saved Old Hu from aggressive death energy with a few drops of a powerful life-giving liquid. Old Hu explained that Zi Yuan may have awakened the dead using the Book of Life and Death, and Alvin prepared to sneak into the underground palace to investigate.

• Alvin led Shang-Chi, Lu Tong, Fatty Wang, and the injured Old Hu through a storm of arrows and into a nearby building.
• Alvin treated Old Hu with potions and a few drops from a mysterious bottle, driving the death energy from his body as the seven Northern Dipper Flying Swords dispersed it.
• After Old Hu recovered and washed away the black residue, he explained that the Book of Life and Death described Zi Yuan's possible attempt to resurrect her lover and awaken the dead beneath the city wall.
• Alvin gave Old Hu permission to keep the Book of Life and Death and urged him to find a way into the underground palace while the Terracotta Warriors were distracted.

Alvin and his allies uncovered the truth behind the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons: Zi Yuan’s formation was nurturing Undead beneath Mount Li, while Qin soldiers fought to keep them from disturbing the Emperor. Alvin sent Old Hu to deal with the ghosts outside and prepared to face the Qin army as it confronted the group.

• Zhang Qiang reported that the Night Parade had begun early, and Old Hu identified it as the result of Zi Yuan’s Soul-Gathering and Fiend-Refining Formation.
• Old Hu suspected that Shang-Chi’s father and other Northern Lands experts had been lured into the underground city as part of a scheme involving Zi Yuan or the Book of Life and Death.
• Zhang Qiang promised to question Huang Bingyi about Shang-Chi’s father, while Alvin urged Shang-Chi to stay calm.
• Old Hu offered to use the Book of Life and Death to deal with the ghosts outside Mount Li, and Alvin opened a Space Gate to send him and Fatty Wang there.
• A formation of Qin chariots appeared overhead, so Alvin armed himself and prepared to fight as the general accused Shang-Chi of entering the Underground Palace and threatened the group.

Alvin tried to persuade General Meng Tian that he and his companions were not enemies, but their dispute turned into a brief fight in which Siyla's swordsmanship overwhelmed Meng Tian. Meng Tian then ordered his soldiers to help defeat the spirits outside and sent them through Alvin's Space Gate.

• Alvin explained to Meng Tian that Shang-Chi was Fu Manchu's son and that they wanted to learn how Fu Manchu had died, but Meng Tian rejected his assurances.
• Alvin destroyed Meng Tian's chariot and used Siyla to deflect Meng Tian's attacks, break his protective energy, and disarm him.
• Meng Tian stopped his soldiers from attacking and agreed to address the spirits outside before discussing what happened to Fu Manchu.
• Meng Tian ordered his deputy general and more than a thousand Qin soldiers to pass through Alvin's Space Gate and help Old Hu and Fatty Wang fight the spirits.

Alvin fought Meng Tian to earn the general’s respect, then learned how Fu Manchu became involved with Zi Yuan and the Death Energy. Meng Tian revealed that the Qin Emperor had spent years fighting threats in another realm, leaving Alvin stunned and wondering why the general had shared the information.

• Meng Tian challenged Alvin with Mountain Shaker, and Alvin used runes, brute force, and an improvised brawl to defeat him.
• Meng Tian recovered and explained that he had taught Mountain Shaker to Fu Manchu, who had tried to stop Xiao Lin after she corrupted his followers with the Book of Life and Death’s Death Energy.
• Shang-Chi asked what had happened to Zi Yuan and Xiao Lin, and Alvin concluded they were dead; Shang-Chi charged away in grief and anger.
• Meng Tian explained that Zi Yuan had returned to avenge her lover, that the wall could not be destroyed without endangering the Underground Palace, and that he had been sent to eliminate the Undead.
• Meng Tian traced the Death Energy to a divine artifact presented by Xu Fu and said the Qin Emperor had spent years campaigning in foreign realms to stop the dead from invading the mortal world.
• Alvin suspected Meng Tian meant the Underworld of Heim and asked why he was willing to reveal this history.

After learning why Qin Emperor’s army needed the Fountain of Youth, Alvin promised to help Meng Tian obtain it and support the soldiers fighting in the Underworld. He called on the Gun Club to find the water and offered to provide Qin Emperor’s army with whatever supplies it needed.

• Alvin pieced together how Death Energy had led to the Underworld’s invasion and the tragedies involving Qin Emperor, Zi Yuan, and Shang-Chi’s father.
• Meng Tian asked Alvin to find a large quantity of Fountain of Youth water to preserve the bodies of Qin Emperor’s soldiers.
• Meng Tian explained that years of fighting in the Underworld had damaged the soldiers’ bodies, leaving some vulnerable to becoming mindless Undead.
• Alvin gave Meng Tian his bottle of Fountain of Youth water and learned that Qin Emperor’s Source Pearls had kept the soldiers alive, though the army was nearing its limit.
• Alvin contacted Zhang Qiang and pledged the Gun Club’s help, including finding the Fountain of Youth and supplying better armor for Qin Emperor’s army.
• Zhang Qiang told Meng Tian that Xiao Lin had appeared near the Kunlun Mountains and promised the Gun Club would search there for the Fountain of Youth.

Alvin restored Meng Tian's vitality with the Corpse-Eater Vine and equipped him with Venom-made armor, bringing his power back. Impressed by Alvin's help, Meng Tian agreed to introduce him to Qin Emperor and the Alchemists, while Alvin asked him to teach Shang-Chi and Lu Tong.

• Meng Tian warned Alvin that Qin Emperor was in a bad mood and advised him to wait before asking for an audience.
• Alvin realized the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons had served as Meng Tian and the generals' appeal for help and recognition, then used the Corpse-Eater Vine to restore Meng Tian's vitality.
• Alvin had Venom form armor around Meng Tian's damaged body and inscribed it with a Tal rune for poison resistance.
• Meng Tian tested his restored body and unleashed a powerful silver aura that sent Shang-Chi and Lu Tong flying into a wall.
• Meng Tian explained that the Alchemists' magic formation protected the underground city and channeled energy to the Underground Palace, then offered to introduce Alvin to Alchemists and Qin Emperor.
• Alvin asked Meng Tian to teach Shang-Chi and Lu Tong and take them to meet Qin Emperor.

Alvin learned that Bai Qi’s failing body and spirit left him in danger of turning against the Qin army, and Meng Tian explained why ordinary prosthetics could not restore his fighting ability. Alvin arranged to test Zhou Hailun’s Cradle of Life on the damaged warriors and gave Meng Tian a phone, leaving the group waiting for the treatment to arrive outside Mount Li.

• Alvin healed Meng Tian’s mute, legless Charioteer and offered to fit him with prosthetic legs.
• Meng Tian explained that Bai Qi’s crippled body and deteriorating spirit could eventually make him attack his comrades, while a metal prosthetic would not support his Deer-Cutting technique.
• Alvin challenged Shang-Chi’s account of Bai Qi’s reputation, and Meng Tian described Bai Qi’s ruthless victories and his role in the Battle of Changping.
• Alvin suggested using modern nanotechnology to restore Bai Qi’s body, and Meng Tian said it might work because the warriors’ energy cores had moved into their spirits.
• Alvin called Dr. Yinsen and arranged with Zhou Hailun to buy her Cradle of Life, then asked Zhang Qiang to collect it from her Snow Region laboratory.
• Alvin gave Meng Tian a Battle Axe Phone and told him the Cradle of Life would soon arrive outside Mount Li.

Alvin discovered that the Qin Einherjar in the Underground Palace were suffering from the Underworld's corruption and rebuilding their bodies from bones. He tried to save them with Soul Energy, but learned that it could animate a Terracotta Warrior without restoring the soldiers' lost strength.

• Alvin followed Meng Tian into the Underground Palace and saw Einherjar scavenging bones to patch their damaged bodies.
• Meng Tian explained that the Emperor's Treasure Sword had separated the soldiers' souls from their bodies, and that only their own bodies could shelter them from the Underworld's corruption.
• Alvin scanned several Einherjar and sent their skeleton designs to Stark Tower's Laboratory so he could make them replacement bodies.
• Alvin watched a dying Einherjar enter a Terracotta Warrior and head through the black Space Gate, while Meng Tian explained that the soldier had no chance of surviving the corruption.
• As the Einherjar sang, Alvin poured Soul Energy into another fading soldier and placed his spirit in a Terracotta Warrior, but the soldier's strength did not return.
• The newly formed Terracotta Warrior knelt before Meng Tian and introduced himself as Meng Yi.

Alvin used Stark Industries technology to restore Evil Man and began preparing new bodies for the Einherjar warriors, while arranging equipment and supplies for the Underground Palace. He left the Qin Emperor’s army better equipped to survive and fight, hoping his help would earn the emperor’s respect.

• Meng Tian handed Meng Yi his sword and entrusted him with protecting the Underground Palace before entering the Underworld.
• Alvin brought Evil Man’s skull to Stark Tower, where JARVIS used a Machining Center and Bio-Gel to build him a new body.
• Evil Man tested his new body, celebrated that it worked, and praised its armor as better than a general’s.
• Alvin ordered JARVIS to transport Machining Centers and power systems, procure Cradle of Life technology, and begin planning for one hundred units.
• Alvin and JARVIS tested different materials as eighteen Einherjar warriors received new bodies, while robots assembled equipment in the Underground Palace.
• Alvin concluded that the renewed soldiers and his support for Meng Tian gave him leverage, and hoped the Qin Emperor would now regard him differently.

Alvin and Meng Tian arrived in the Underworld and learned that the Qin Emperor was fighting four Undead Lords on the Bone Plains. After Alvin impressed the gathered swordsmen, Meng Tian took him toward the battle and identified the giant swordsman as Gai Nie, the greatest swordsman in the world.

• Meng Tian confronted Teng for allowing the Qin Emperor to leave his body, then gave the Fountain of Youth to the general beside the Emperor’s empty shell.
• Nameless told Meng Tian and Alvin that the Qin Emperor was fighting four Undead Lords five hundred miles northeast, and Alvin explained that the damaged soldiers would soon receive the Cradle of Life.
• Alvin challenged the swordsmen’s scrutiny with a swift strike, and Gai Nie’s blade shattered when he tried to cut through Alvin’s sword mark.
• Meng Tian took Alvin toward the Bone Plains in his chariot, leaving Shang-Chi and Lu Tong behind with the swordsmen.
• Meng Tian told Alvin that the giant was Gai Nie, the greatest swordsman in the world, as the chariot sped toward the Qin Emperor’s battle.

The Qin Army fought its way through the undead with disciplined formations while its general and the Three-Headed Black Dragon sought the enemy commander. The undead commander signaled a surprise assault on the Qin Army’s city, as Alvin and Meng Tian arrived with a huge chariot force.

• The Qin Army used coordinated crossbow volleys and spear formations to slaughter the charging undead and drive deep into their ranks.
• The leading general recognized that the undead army might be a trap, then sent the Three-Headed Black Dragon toward the enemy’s center to find its commander.
• The Three-Headed Black Dragon attacked through the undead but was engaged by dozens of Bone Dragons, while a Skeleton commander fired a green signal flare.
• Bone Warriors and Giant Beasts rose around the Qin Army’s city and advanced toward its walls, prompting the guards to sound the alarm.
• Alvin rode with Meng Tian and a force of more than ten thousand chariots toward the city, then complained that Meng Tian would not explain why meeting the emperor was so difficult.

Alvin fought alongside Meng Tian’s Qin Army against the Undead, learning that the Qin Emperor had used himself as bait while the army tested the enemy. As enormous monsters and airborne attackers emerged, Meng Tian led the chariots toward the enemy’s spellcasters, while a gigantic iron statue appeared beside the city wall.

• Alvin realized Meng Tian had led the Qin Army into a trap while the Qin Emperor remained inside the city, and he equipped his Northern Dipper Flying Swords with Phoenix.
• Alvin used flaming swords and his Battle Axe to clear the Undead, while the city’s crossbowmen and archers attacked Crow riders from the wall.
• Meng Tian linked the Bronze Chariots into formations as shattered skeletons reassembled into towering monsters and Dragon Riders attacked from the mist.
• Meng Tian revealed that the Undead were cannon fodder and led the chariots toward a formation guarding the spellcasting Undead, despite Alvin’s concern for Shang-Chi and Lu Tong.
• A hundred-meter-tall mottled iron statue stepped out of the void beside the city wall as Alvin prepared to return to his friends.

Alvin and Meng Tian devastated the Undead army, while Alvin left to rescue the Qin Emperor. At the city, Shang-Chi and Lu Tong fought alongside Qin’s guards and received weapon lessons from Chang Kong and Nameless.

• Alvin unleashed Thunderstorms across the Undead formation, and Meng Tian led his Chariots forward to drive the surviving enemies into the lightning.
• Wang Ben joined Meng Tian and reported that Wang Jian was pinned down by the Flying Dragon King while the Rotting Corpse King and Lich King remained unseen.
• Alvin told Meng Tian by phone that he was heading to rescue the Qin Emperor, then sprinted toward the city after destroying the Undead Mages.
• Shang-Chi and Lu Tong joined the defense of the Qin Emperor’s platform as Crows, Flying Dragons, and Skeleton Assassins attacked.
• Chang Kong rescued Lu Tong, taught him spear techniques, and advanced with him against the Assassins.
• Nameless saved the surrounded Shang-Chi and offered to teach him swordsmanship if he lent him his Fire Sword.

Gai Nie and Nameless fought to defend the platform as the Skeleton King and Rotting Corpse King led a massive assault. Shang-Chi’s boss Alvin arrived in a Red Mecha, killed the Rotting Corpse King, and charged toward the platform.

• Gai Nie used the Fire Sword to destroy the Skeleton King’s shield and send it flying, while a Bone Dragon carrying the Rotting Corpse King was knocked from the sky by the Giant Ballista.
• The Rotting Corpse King spread toxic gas and charged the platform as the Skeleton King raised thousands of Skeleton Warriors and the remaining flying creatures to attack.
• Nameless hurled a chained iron spear into the Rotting Corpse King, then used the chain to topple it down the stairs.
• Alvin burst through the city gate in a Red Mecha and tore through the Rotting Corpse King with a Siege Drill and axe.
• Alvin finished the Rotting Corpse King with the Flying Sword East Wind, and Chang Kong followed him toward the platform after Lu Tong identified Alvin as his boss.

Alvin and the Qin Emperor’s forces defeated the Lich King after the Qin Emperor revealed he had been fighting undercover as Nameless and Bai Qi struck the killing blow. Alvin then used soul energy to keep Bai Qi from disappearing, leaving the Qin Emperor and his general reunited.

• Alvin helped defeat the Skeleton King and clear the remaining crows and wyverns from the platform.
• The Qin Emperor exposed and restrained the Lich King, then called on Bai Qi to kill it.
• Bai Qi slew the Lich King, and Nameless and the Qin Emperor switched back into their own bodies.
• Bai Qi began to fade after the battle, but Alvin restored his form with soul energy.
• The Qin Emperor laughed and ordered a seat for Alvin.

Alvin met the Qin Emperor and Bai Qi, offered to restore the general’s body, and explained how the mortal realm had changed. After Wang Jian defeated the Flying Dragon King, the Qin Emperor burned the four undead rulers’ souls in a Bronze Cauldron, where Alvin discovered Hades powering the Burn Rune.

• Bai Qi thanked Alvin for saving him, and the Qin Emperor promised to fight alongside him in the Underworld.
• Alvin told the Qin Emperor that the Fountain of Youth was meant for him and offered to restore Bai Qi with the Cradle of Life.
• The Qin Emperor accepted that the mortal realm belonged to its people and declared that his army would conquer the Underworld instead.
• Alvin described the current wars to the Qin Emperor, who chose to wait for Wang Jian and use the undead rulers’ souls to honor his fallen soldiers.
• Wang Jian returned with the Flying Dragon King’s soul orb, and the Qin Emperor placed it and the other three rulers’ orbs into a Bronze Cauldron.
• Alvin saw the Burn Rune appear on the cauldron and learned from the Qin Emperor that Hades was powering it.

Alvin destroyed the death energies and the Thumb-Sized Lady in the Bronze Cauldron, then empowered the Qin Emperor and his soldiers while treating the wounded as the Great Qin Imperial Preceptor. Meanwhile, Steve’s forces fought a massive bug swarm on Nidavellir, and Star-Lord’s reinforcements arrived before Hydralisks devastated the Ravager fleet; Steve urged Star-Lord to help protect the Human Camp.

• Alvin destroyed the four traces of death energy and used a lightning bolt to trigger the Bronze Cauldron’s flames, which burned the Thumb-Sized Lady away.
• Alvin absorbed a flood of experience, strengthened the Qin Emperor’s heroic spirit, and empowered the generals and guards while Lu Tong and Shang-Chi discussed Alvin’s new title.
• Steve and Lennox defended the Steel Fortress on Nidavellir against a huge bug swarm, while Steve insisted they needed to find and destroy its Command Center.
• Star-Lord arrived with Ravager fighters and bombed the swarm, then brought Ivan and the Suicide Squad to the fortress with supplies as Hydralisks shot down more than half the Ravager aircraft.
• Steve told Star-Lord to collect supplies, help Hawkeye’s group, and persuade his Blue Daddy to assist, warning that the Human Camp must not fall.

Alvin finished treating the Qin soldiers and helped restore Bai Qi with the Cradle of Life. The Qin Emperor asked Alvin to make him a foot taller, while offering to lead his army to aid Alvin’s forces on an alien world.

• Alvin finished healing the wounded Qin soldiers and found Bai Qi’s replacement limbs being made from Uru Alloy.
• Alvin befriended the Qin Emperor, took a selfie with him, and praised him as the greatest swordsman under heaven.
• The Qin Emperor asked Alvin to make him a foot taller so he could match Bai Qi’s physique, and Alvin selected a makeover plan using Vibranium.
• The Qin Emperor offered to take his army to help Alvin’s forces on an alien world before returning to the Underworld.
• Dr. Zhou Hailun said Bai Qi would be fully restored in about twenty minutes, and Alvin quietly told her about the Qin Emperor’s makeover request.

Shang-Chi brought the disguised Qin Emperor to confront the gangs seeking Fu Manchu’s fortune, while Cai Wang prepared a police raid and the Gun Club took charge of signaling its start. After the Qin Emperor began cutting down gang bosses, Alvin left for Nidavellir to join the fight against the aliens.

• Cai Wang ordered the stadium surrounded, but Huang Bingyi arrived with Gun Club authorization and told him to wait for a signal.
• Shang-Chi entered the stadium with the Qin Emperor in disguise, who mocked the gangsters and criticized Shang-Chi for being cautious.
• When a gangster charged Shang-Chi with a knife, the Qin Emperor killed him with a single sword strike.
• The Qin Emperor demonstrated sword techniques by killing more than twenty gang bosses, while Bai Qi watched from the stadium roof.
• Alvin opened a Space Gate to Nidavellir and told Zhang Qiang to contact the Qin Emperor for help later.
• Zhang Qiang reminded Alvin that the military air force was waiting in the Indian plains with AC-130Us equipped with electromagnetic weapons, and Alvin said he was the ground forces.