Recaps

Kaecilius resolved to find new magic after realizing how formidable Zhao Yu was, while Wong and Hamir checked that Zhao Yu would not be led astray. Zhao Yu revealed he had learned Kaecilius’s Spatial Blade in just over an hour, advanced his practice, and was summoned to meet Kaecilius again.

• Kaecilius decided to visit the library and find something new so he could prove he had not been surpassed by Zhao Yu.
• Wong and Hamir waited for Zhao Yu and warned him that they wanted to ensure Kaecilius was giving him the right guidance.
• Zhao Yu reassured them that he would not follow Kaecilius’s path, then demonstrated the Spatial Blade and said he had learned it in one morning.
• Hamir and Wong were stunned when Zhao Yu explained he had mastered the difficult spell in a little over an hour.
• Zhao Yu practiced until his Spatial Blade neared Level Two, then followed Devon to Kaecilius’s room after receiving a summons.

Kaecilius tested Zhao Yu’s Spatial Blade and then taught him Vishanti’s Sacred Sword, while secretly taking satisfaction in Zhao Yu’s apparent difficulty mastering it. Zhao Yu received system notifications indicating that he had comprehended the sword spell, but he kept the news to himself as Kaecilius encouraged him to keep trying.

• Zhao Yu demonstrated a remarkably stable Spatial Blade after only one day of practice, impressing Kaecilius.
• Kaecilius explained that the spell came from the Eye of Agamotto and demonstrated Vishanti’s Sacred Sword before teaching Zhao Yu its structure.
• Zhao Yu received notifications that he had comprehended Vishanti’s Sacred Sword and that Kaecilius’s War Aura increased his offensive magic cultivation speed.
• Kaecilius praised Zhao Yu and cautioned him that Vishanti’s Sacred Sword was difficult to learn, while Zhao Yu concealed his system notifications.
• Later, Zhao Yu struggled to control an orange-red arc of light as Kaecilius watched with amusement and reassured him that he did not need to master the spell immediately.

Zhao Yu revealed that he had mastered Vishanti's Sacred Sword, driving Kaecilius to despair over their disparity and toward forbidden magic. After three days of isolation and training, Zhao Yu was interrupted by Wong, whose grave expression suggested trouble.

• Zhao Yu summoned Vishanti's Sacred Sword and proved to Kaecilius that he had mastered the spell.
• Kaecilius brooded over Zhao Yu's talent and his own grief, then decided the forbidden library held power that could bring his wife and son back.
• Kaecilius killed the librarian, broke into the sealed shelves, read the forbidden books, accused Ancient One of lying, and stole pages.
• Zhao Yu continued training alone for three days, improving his Magic Shield, Mirror Dimension, and Sacred Sword spells.
• Wong arrived at Zhao Yu's door with a grim expression, and Zhao Yu asked what had happened.

Zhao Yu faced Kamar-Taj's inquiry into Kaecilius's betrayal and realized that his own rapid progress may have helped drive his mentor toward darkness. After discovering Kaecilius had trapped his room in a refined Mirror Dimension, Zhao Yu confronted him and recognized Dormammu's power consuming him.

• Wong brought Zhao Yu before Mordo and the other masters, who questioned him about Kaecilius's disappearance and betrayal.
• Zhao Yu told the masters he had seen no unusual behavior from Kaecilius, while Wong and Yacolet argued over Kaecilius's character.
• Zhao Yu privately suspected that his talent had stirred Kaecilius's jealousy and hid in his room while worrying about the Sorcerer Supreme's return.
• Zhao Yu discovered that someone had folded the Mirror Dimension into his room and identified the trap as an exceptionally refined technique.
• Kaecilius emerged from the distortion with blackened eyes, and Zhao Yu recognized that Dormammu's power was consuming him.
• Zhao Yu urged Kaecilius to stop, but Kaecilius praised the power and promised himself life without end.

Zhao Yu confronted Kaecilius, his former teacher, who tried to recruit him into Dormammu’s Dark Dimension. Zhao Yu defeated Kaecilius with powerful magic and left him wounded in a crater.

• Kaecilius urged Zhao Yu to join him and embrace the Dark Dimension, but Zhao Yu refused.
• Zhao Yu and Kaecilius fought with Spatial Blades, destroying the Mirror Dimension around them.
• Zhao Yu used four independently moving Rings of Raggadorr to counter Kaecilius’s attacks and overpower him.
• Kaecilius drew on Dormammu’s power, but Zhao Yu summoned Vishanti’s Sacred Sword and broke through his Shield of the Seraphim.
• Zhao Yu left Kaecilius badly wounded in a crater and told him he hoped he would choose the right path in his next life.

Zhao Yu’s clash with Dormammu’s attempt to retrieve Kaecilius shattered the Mirror Dimension and shook Kamar-Taj, drawing Kamidar’s attention to his power. Zhao Yu asked Kamidar to keep it secret, but Mordo took over his lessons and urged him to develop his ability.

• Dormammu reached through a rift to seize Kaecilius, and Zhao Yu’s Chaos Orb collided with the rift, cracking the Mirror Dimension and shaking real-world Kamar-Taj.
• Kamidar promised Zhao Yu he would keep quiet about the display, while Zhao Yu worried that the gossip-prone mage would reveal his secret.
• An unfamiliar mage summoned Zhao Yu to meet Mordo, who asked whether he was a genius.
• Wong told Zhao Yu that Mordo would take over his lessons, and Zhao Yu accepted the arrangement.
• Before dawn, Mordo told Zhao Yu not to let his ability gather dust and warned him that the path of magic was demanding.

Mordo tested Zhao Yu's magical knowledge and began teaching him Crimson Chains, an advanced spell. Zhao Yu learned it with astonishing speed, leaving Mordo confident that the lesson was under control even as Zhao Yu revealed he had no difficulty.

• Mordo asked Zhao Yu to list the spells he had learned and was stunned when Zhao Yu named Vishanti's Sacred Sword.
• Mordo showed Zhao Yu Crimson Chains and explained that it took 3.7 seconds to form, then demonstrated his practiced 3.6-second casting time.
• Zhao Yu formed Crimson Chains in 2.9 seconds, and Mordo told him to practice keeping the chain active for ten seconds.
• As Mordo explained the spell, Zhao Yu's Enlightener's Aura accelerated his progress until Crimson Chains reached Tier One.
• Mordo reassured Zhao Yu that mastering Crimson Chains would take time, but Zhao Yu told him he had not encountered any difficulties.

Zhao Yu rapidly mastered Crimson Chains, but Cyttorak’s attempt to interfere triggered his system to seize part of the deity’s power and transform the spell into a Crimson Contract Chain. Mordo was left stunned by its unusual, self-evolving magic, while Zhao Yu prepared to demonstrate what it could do.

• Zhao Yu showed Mordo that he had summoned Crimson Chains only minutes after receiving the spell tome, leaving Mordo speechless at his speed.
• Zhao Yu struggled to control the chain as Mordo asked him to maintain it, and Cyttorak attempted to interfere with the magic.
• Zhao Yu’s system activated its protection protocol, stripped away part of Cyttorak’s divine power, and transformed Crimson Chains into a Crimson Contract Chain.
• Mordo examined the transformed chain and sensed several intertwined magical qualities, while Zhao Yu said it had changed on its own.
• Mordo questioned what the chain could do, and Zhao Yu shook it as if preparing to show him.

Mordo was shaken by Zhao Yu’s five-colored chain and questioned the value of his own magical training as the Chitauri invasion devastated New York. The Avengers regrouped, Hulk stopped a giant warship, and the team faced more alien forces as the rift continued to expand.

• Zhao Yu demonstrated the chain’s five abilities, leaving Mordo stunned and despairing over the limits of his own magic.
• The Chitauri poured through the rift above Stark Tower and inflicted massive destruction and casualties across New York.
• Tony Stark fought the invaders and headed toward Parker Street after learning that his teammates were joining the battle.
• Loki’s scepter disabled Hawkeye’s fighter, and Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow landed and helped civilians while Banner arrived.
• Tony led a giant Chitauri warship to the team, where Banner transformed into Hulk and halted it so Tony could cut it in half.
• The Avengers faced Chitauri soldiers surrounding them as more warships emerged from the still-expanding rift.

As the Chitauri invasion overwhelmed New York, Mage Mordo mobilized Kamar-Taj to divert much of the enemy into the Mirror Dimension. The battle continued to grind down both the mages and the Avengers, and Natasha ended the chapter wounded after fighting off a squad.

• The Avengers struggled to stop the Chitauri, but many invaders broke through and spread across New York.
• Mordo summoned Kamar-Taj's mages, declared that the Chitauri had crossed the boundary they guarded, and ordered them to defend Earth.
• Zhao Yu joined Mordo as tens of thousands of mages entered the Mirror Dimension and drew most of the invaders away from the real city.
• The mages used the Mirror Dimension to divide and contain the Chitauri, but their defenses weakened under the enemy's overwhelming numbers, so Wong ordered reserves deployed and Hamir to try the Hundred-Person Resonance Spell.
• In New York, Thor and Hulk fought the invading forces while the Avengers and military struggled to protect civilians; Natasha killed a squad of Chitauri soldiers despite her injuries and discovered she was bleeding.

The Avengers struggled to hold back the Chitauri as their stamina dwindled and the Portal kept pouring out reinforcements. Zhao Yu rescued Kamidar and his apprentices, then led them toward the New York Sanctum, where they spotted a lone fighter surrounded by Chitauri.

• A shield-wielding fighter fought through Chitauri soldiers to reach the red-haired woman while Tony Stark’s dwindling energy and Hawkeye’s fatigue weakened the Avengers’ defenses.
• Kamidar mistakenly brought his apprentice mages out of the Mirror Dimension and led them into a Chitauri attack, ordering the apprentices to run toward the Sanctum.
• Zhao Yu arrived and used Vishanti’s Sacred Sword to cut down the surrounding Chitauri, increasing his spell proficiency.
• Zhao Yu led Kamidar and the apprentices toward the New York Sanctum, clearing Chitauri with magical chains along the way.
• Zhao Yu and the mages saw a lone figure surrounded by dozens of Chitauri soldiers near burning cars.

Zhao Yu used his strange crimson chains to defeat Chitauri attackers and heal the unconscious Captain, leaving Kamidar and the apprentices questioning what they knew about magic. The chapter ended as Hulk saw the chain piercing Captain and charged at Zhao Yu in a rage.

• Zhao Yu opened a gap in the Chitauri encirclement, allowing Captain to fight back.
• Zhao Yu sent crimson chains through more than a hundred Chitauri, killing or immobilizing them and absorbing their life force.
• Kamidar objected that Zhao Yu was using magic on an ordinary person, but Zhao Yu showed him the chains were healing Captain.
• Kamidar and the apprentices struggled to reconcile Zhao Yu's magic with Kamar-Taj's teachings.
• Hulk saw the crimson chain embedded in Captain's chest, lost control, and charged at Zhao Yu.
• Kamidar asked Zhao Yu whether he could handle Hulk and suggested retreating if he could not.

Zhao Yu subdued Hulk, healed Steve Rogers, and returned the green giant while the Avengers continued fighting the Chitauri invasion. As Zhao Yu and the mages faced the warships’ overwhelming firepower, he prepared to stop the bombardment.

• Zhao Yu blocked Hulk’s attack, then trapped him in a golden halo that sent him high into the air.
• Zhao Yu used a blood-red chain to stabilize Steve Rogers’s wounds, and Steve woke and prepared to return to the battle.
• Zhao Yu opened a rift and dropped Hulk back in front of Steve, who froze in surprise.
• Thor fought off Chitauri soldiers while asking where Hulk had gone, and Zhao Yu told Steve that Hulk had spent an hour falling.
• Three whale-like warships approached and fired on Zhao Yu and the mages, but his barrier deflected their beam while Hulk damaged a ship from above.
• Zhao Yu watched the warships charge more weapons and said that dodging would never end.

Zhao Yu protected Kamidar and the apprentice mages from the Chitauri attack, using the Ring of Raggadorr to block a devastating blast and Vishanti Chains to destroy a warship and more than a hundred soldiers. As Kamidar struggled to comprehend Zhao Yu’s power, two more warships arrived, with Hulk trapped aboard one and another overpowering Thor.

• Hulk deflected the warship’s beams until its weapon failed, then leaped toward another approaching warship.
• Zhao Yu led Kamidar and the apprentices through the streets and raised a giant Ring of Raggadorr shield that withstood a blast that collapsed a nearby building.
• Zhao Yu’s system reported that the Ring of Raggadorr had resisted a high-intensity impact and would halve the power of subsequent attacks of the same type.
• Zhao Yu unleashed Vishanti Chains, freezing and tearing apart a Chitauri warship and more than a hundred soldiers, which caused the spell to level up.
• Kamidar watched Zhao Yu’s chains multiply and shred more enemies, while questioning his own ability and considering a return to the snow mountains.
• Two more warships loomed over the city; Hulk pounded the hull of one from its deck, while the other’s blue-white lightning dimmed.

Zhao Yu destroyed two Chitauri warships with a golden energy beam, then declined Tony Stark and Thor’s invitation to join them and warned that the Chitauri had a mothership. He returned to the New York Sanctum and entered the Mirror Dimension battlefield, where he pierced the armor of more than a dozen Chitauri with the Vishanti Chains.

• Thor and Tony Stark struggled against the Chitauri until Zhao Yu appeared and shattered two giant warships with a golden beam.
• Tony questioned Zhao Yu about the beam, while Thor thanked him for his aid; Zhao Yu said he was heading to another battlefield and vanished.
• Captain America invited Zhao Yu to join the defenders, but Zhao Yu refused and warned them that the Chitauri had a mothership.
• Zhao Yu reached the New York Sanctum, reported that he had escorted Master Kamidar to safety, and agreed to assist at the front line.
• Zhao Yu entered the Mirror Dimension battlefield and flew beyond the mages’ barrier despite their warnings.
• Zhao Yu used the Vishanti Chains to pierce the armor of more than a dozen Chitauri.

Zhao Yu wiped out waves of Chitauri with Vishanti Chains, astonishing the Kamar-Taj mages, then explained that Loki’s Mind Scepter could pierce the shield around the Portal. At Stark Tower, Loki outmaneuvered the Avengers with illusions and struck down the warrior in the Star-Spangled Uniform.

• Zhao Yu’s Vishanti Chains surpassed a threshold, grew stronger, and tore through the Chitauri until the battlefield fell silent.
• Hamir and the other mages struggled to understand how Zhao Yu had turned Hamir’s restraint spell into a devastating attack, while Wong ordered them to call it a secret inheritance of the Sorcerer Supreme.
• Zhao Yu warned Wong that the Portal had to be closed and said Loki’s Mind Scepter could pierce its shield, so Wong ordered them to find Loki and take it.
• At Stark Tower, Thor confronted Loki, but the Hulk’s attack struck an illusion and Loki created numerous copies of himself to surround the Avengers.
• Loki taunted the Avengers and struck the warrior in the Star-Spangled Uniform with an invisible blow, claiming the warrior had never truly defeated him.

Zhao Yu and the Kamar-Taj sorcerers secretly disrupted Loki’s magic, letting the Avengers overpower him. With Loki restrained, Captain America led the team outside to address the hole in the sky.

• Zhao Yu and Wong watched from the Mirror Dimension as Hulk’s punch struck Loki after Zhao Yu’s binding spell stopped his escape.
• Loki attacked the Avengers with illusions and magic, but their attacks repeatedly found him because the sorcerers were interfering.
• Thor and the Avengers fought Loki, and Hulk battered him into a crater after Loki’s spells failed.
• Wong praised Zhao Yu for resisting Loki’s mind spell, while Zhao Yu credited Wong and the other sorcerers for their help.
• Captain America ordered Thor to cuff Loki and Natasha to take the scepter, then led the Avengers outside to seal the hole in the sky.

Zhao Yu and the Kamar-Taj mages joined the exhausted Avengers and tore through the Chitauri forces guarding the Portal. After learning the military had launched a nuclear weapon at New York, Zhao Yu went to intercept it, then the story shifted to him hearing distorted rumors about his power and status in Kamar-Taj.

• Captain America rallied the exhausted Avengers to keep fighting, but Zhao Yu arrived through a golden portal with several Kamar-Taj mages and ordered Natasha and Hawkeye to shut down the Portal.
• Zhao Yu and the mages attacked the Chitauri while the Avengers resumed fighting, and Zhao Yu cut down the enemy forces with his golden chains.
• Wong told Tony Stark that Zhao Yu was only an apprentice by Kamar-Taj standards, leaving Stark and Thor stunned by the implication.
• Tony Stark warned the group that the military had launched a nuclear weapon, and Zhao Yu said he would handle it before leaving through a sling ring.
• Zhao Yu heard mages in Kamar-Taj repeating rumors that he had devastated the Chitauri and might succeed the Sorcerer Supreme.

Zhao Yu sought further magical instruction, but Mordo said he had exhausted what he could teach and arranged for the Ancient One to guide him. After returning to Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One heard of Zhao Yu’s unusual talent and met him in the central courtyard.

• Zhao Yu escaped the attention of admirers through a Portal and sensed their gazes invigorate his sword while making the Scarlet Contract chain uncomfortable.
• Zhao Yu asked Mordo to teach him more magic, but Mordo said he had already mastered the formal mage spells and had reached the limit of Mordo’s instruction.
• Mordo told Zhao Yu that the Ancient One would soon return and could guide his cultivation.
• The Ancient One returned to Kamar-Taj, and Mordo described a gifted student named Lin who had learned the Mirror Spell with astonishing speed.
• The Ancient One agreed to meet the student the next afternoon, and Zhao Yu arrived in the central courtyard and greeted her.

Ancient One recognized Zhao Yu’s extraordinary magical talent and began personally teaching him the Shield of the Seraphim. During his first lesson, Zhao Yu’s spell fused with another protective magic and transformed into an unknown rune array, leaving Ancient One on guard.

• Ancient One tested Zhao Yu’s magical knowledge and watched him conjure a precisely controlled platinum-white longsword before agreeing to guide his studies herself.
• Ancient One began teaching Zhao Yu the Shield of the Seraphim, and he rapidly absorbed its structure and energy pathways.
• Zhao Yu formed a stable barrier during the lesson, then continued practicing after Ancient One left.
• Zhao Yu reproduced the complete shield as a cocoon, but two energies collided within him and dark-red patterns spread across it.
• The cocoon transformed into a rotating three-dimensional rune array, and Ancient One calmed the surrounding magic while questioning whether Zhao Yu had fused two protective spells.

Zhao Yu's fused magic mutated into a shield woven from divine laws, astonishing Ancient One, who promoted him to Apprentice Mage and assigned him to help Mordo teach a new arrival. The new apprentice was Stephen Strange.

• Zhao Yu failed to dismiss the mutated rune array, so Ancient One collapsed it with her magic.
• Zhao Yu's Seraphim Deified Shield mutated into Bethpheny's Sigh, displaying divine laws that Ancient One could barely touch.
• Ancient One proposed making Zhao Yu an Apprentice Mage, and Mordo agreed that Zhao Yu was qualified.
• Zhao Yu accepted the title after Ancient One explained that Kamar-Taj judged ability rather than age and reminded him that he had protected mages in battle.
• Ancient One assigned Zhao Yu to assist Mordo in instructing a new apprentice, then revealed that the newcomer was Stephen Strange.

Doctor Strange arrived at Kamar-Taj seeking a cure for his damaged hands, and Ancient One used an astral projection to convince him that magic was real. After several days, Mordo began teaching Strange with Zhao Yu, whose effortless magic left Strange stunned and struggling to understand how to focus his mind.

• Strange questioned Ancient One about how she healed Pangborn, then rejected her explanation that the soul could help heal the body.
• Ancient One separated Strange's spirit from his body, and he agreed to learn magic before she sent him away to reflect.
• Several days later, Strange questioned whether Zhao Yu was qualified to teach him, so Zhao Yu bound him with a golden chain spell.
• Mordo taught Strange to focus his intent and explained that magic could be understood as another kind of energy, but Strange failed to cast a spell.
• Zhao Yu formed a dark red barrier without moving his hands and told Strange to clear his mind and hold on to one thought.

Zhao Yu and Mordo struggled to help Strange overcome his inability to cast magic, so Zhao Yu took him to Mount Everest to force him to focus under mortal danger. Strange returned alive and began mastering spells rapidly, leaving the chapter with Mordo acknowledging his swift progress.

• Zhao Yu demonstrated effortless control over magic, deepening Strange’s doubts about his own inability to cast spells.
• Zhao Yu told Mordo that Strange’s pain and doubts were blocking his concentration, then proposed taking him to Mount Everest to push him toward a breakthrough.
• After Mordo reluctantly agreed, Zhao Yu brought Strange to Mount Everest and left him there with 120 seconds to focus before returning through a portal.
• Strange endured the deadly cold and thin air, discovered how to gather his focus, and opened a portal back to Kamar-Taj.
• Strange’s understanding of magic grew rapidly, and Mordo noted that he had already mastered much of the basic framework.

Strange struggled to control the Ring of Raggadorr while Zhao Yu effortlessly wielded three kinds of divine power, deepening Mordo’s alarm and Strange’s doubts. Later, Zhao Yu studied an ancient journal in the library and transformed a wind spell into a new power called Nebula Storm.

• Mordo urged Strange to master the Ring of Raggadorr, but Strange’s attempts to control its energy repeatedly failed.
• Zhao Yu formed a shield from scarlet, white, and black divine powers, which flowed together without conflict and advanced his training.
• Mordo and Strange watched Zhao Yu’s display in shock, and Mordo encouraged Strange to focus on the energy rather than doubt the spell.
• Strange tried drawing on the power again, but the clashing energies threw him to the ground, and he realized Zhao Yu could not be measured by ordinary standards.
• Zhao Yu went to the library, where Wong managed the books, and studied a passage in an ancient mage’s travel journal.
• Zhao Yu used the passage’s corrupted power of Watoomb to transform a wind spell into a new form called Nebula Storm.

Zhao Yu's modified Winds of Watoomb spell tore through Kamar-Taj's library and courtyard before Ancient One stopped it and warned him not to use modified spells there. Later, Zhao Yu demonstrated the Crimson Chains for Strange, shaping them into a fluid, tentacle-like form.

• Zhao Yu cast a modified Winds of Watoomb spell that erupted into a gigantic vortex, wrecking the library and courtyard and leaving Wong unconscious.
• Ancient One halted the vortex, questioned Zhao Yu, and ordered him not to use modified spells within Kamar-Taj.
• Zhao Yu carried Wong away while Ancient One restored the damaged courtyard and used the pendant to reverse the destruction inside the ruins.
• Zhao Yu and Mordo joined Strange's training, and Mordo taught him the Crimson Chains and warned him against changing their form recklessly.
• Strange failed several attempts to summon the chains, so Mordo asked Zhao Yu to demonstrate.
• Zhao Yu formed a shifting, flexible Crimson Chain that curled through the air like a tentacle.