Chapter Summaries

Lin Hai explained why he did not need a conventional suit and showed how his Ironwall Fruit armor protected him. Pepper Potts visited his clinic on Vanessa’s recommendation, bought two special plants, and gave Lin Hai an unexpected chance to connect with Tony Stark.

• Peter, Harry, and Gwen discussed making Lin Hai a suit, but Lin Hai demonstrated his Ironwall Fruit plant armor and said he preferred his own fighting style.
• Peter began patrolling as Spider-Man, while Harry trained with Lin Hai and struggled through the demanding sessions.
• Lin Hai returned from Vanessa Fisk’s checkup to find Pepper Potts waiting at his clinic with a bodyguard.
• Pepper explained that Vanessa had told her about Lin Hai’s special plants, and Lin Hai showed her plants suited to improving focus and calming an office.
• Pepper bought two plants for herself or Tony Stark, and Lin Hai realized Vanessa’s recommendation could help him build a connection with Tony.

As winter break began, Lin Hai returned to Huaxia to search for Ta Lo, a hidden village associated with ancient qi practices. Guided by his Life Force through the Golden-Thread Bamboo maze, he reached a strange secluded plain and sensed that he was nearing the maze’s core.

• Lin Hai told Gwen, Harry, and Peter that he planned to search for Ta Lo, and he prepared supplies for the journey.
• Chen Bing warned Lin Hai to put his safety first, and Lin Hai promised to follow his master's instructions.
• Lin Hai said goodbye to his friends, flew to Huaxia, and reunited with his parents.
• Lin Hai evaded his parents' questions about Gwen and persuaded them to let him explore the nearby mountains.
• Lin Hai followed the Golden-Thread Bamboo grove's earth vein energy, used his Life Force to open a path through the maze, and reached a secluded plain after nearly three hours.

Lin Hai reached Ta Lo Village, met village chief Old Chen, and learned more about the Azure Dragon guarding the village. After Lin Hai touched the dragon and shared his Life Force, it healed and soared into the sky, leaving the villagers astonished.

• Lin Hai entered Ta Lo Village and explained to the villagers how he had found it.
• Old Chen welcomed Lin Hai, discussed Ta Lo Village’s cooperation with Zheng Xian, and invited him to lunch.
• Old Chen brought Lin Hai to the lakeside altar, where the Azure Dragon emerged from the lake.
• Lin Hai touched the Azure Dragon and transferred Life Force, healing scars left by Dark Energy.
• The Azure Dragon broke away and soared above the lake as Old Chen asked Lin Hai what he had given it.

Old Chen told Lin Hai how Ta Lo Village and Azure Dragon came to be, then showed him the dragon-scale weapons made to guard the sealed Dark Dweller. The next morning, Azure Dragon invited Lin Hai onto its back and flew with him above the clouds.

• Old Chen explained that Qi cultivators founded Ta Lo Village, and Azure Dragon's mother sacrificed herself to seal the Dark Dweller behind the Sealing Gate.
• Old Chen showed Lin Hai the village's dragon-scale weapons and let him use a satellite phone and an old camera under the rule that the photos be inspected.
• Lin Hai asked to spend more time with Azure Dragon, and Old Chen agreed because Lin Hai's Life Force benefited the dragon.
• Before a crowd of villagers, Azure Dragon lowered its head and invited Lin Hai onto its neck.
• Lin Hai rode Azure Dragon into the sky, then laughed as it dove through the clouds.

Lin Hai and the Azure Dragon combined their powers to unleash Dragon Ascent, destroying a barren mountain and learning a potent new attack. The Azure Dragon returned safely to Ta Lo, where the villagers welcomed Lin Hai as one of their own.

• The Azure Dragon shared its memories and Divine Dragon Heart with Lin Hai, deepening their connection and his understanding of dragons.
• Lin Hai proposed trying Dragon Ascent, and he and the Azure Dragon combined their Life Force and dragon power as they flew skyward.
• The pair dove into a barren mountain in a blue-green blaze, obliterating its peak, though the Azure Dragon suffered minor injuries.
• Lin Hai healed the Azure Dragon, which realized it could use Dragon Ascent on its own and believed they could challenge the Dark Dweller together.
• The Azure Dragon carried Lin Hai back to the lakeshore, where it demonstrated the move's power and Old Chen welcomed Lin Hai as a member of Ta Lo Village.

After receiving the Divine Dragon Heart, Lin Hai discovered he could sense Azure Dragon and use Tai Chi to manipulate leaves with Dragon God's Power, but could not project energy directly. With Old Chen’s guidance and a Ta Lo cultivation method, he eventually combined its techniques with Tai Chi and fired an energy wave that left a palm print in a rock.

• Lin Hai tested the Divine Dragon Heart and used Tai Chi to gather and control fallen leaves, even forming a precise ring and yin-yang pattern.
• Lin Hai failed to project energy from his body, so he returned to Old Chen and asked for advice.
• After watching Lin Hai perform Tai Chi, Old Chen explained that the art lacked a method for Energy Projection and lent him a Ta Lo cultivation scroll to study.
• Lin Hai stayed in Ta Lo Village, studied the Ta Lo Method, and worked to combine its energy circulation with Tai Chi.
• Lin Hai released an emerald energy wave that struck a rock and left a palm print, confirming that he had succeeded.

After mastering Energy Projection through sparring with Ta Lo villagers, Lin Hai left the hidden village and returned home, keeping its supernatural secrets from his parents and friends. After spending a few days with his family, he departed for New York as the power of the Divine Dragon Heart continued to flow within him.

• Lin Hai sparred with Ta Lo villagers, healed their injuries with Life Force, and refined his Energy Projection by adapting his techniques to theirs.
• Old Chen and the villagers said farewell to Lin Hai, and a guide led him through the Bamboo Grove Maze back to the mountain market.
• Lin Hai returned home, showed his parents ordinary photos of Ta Lo Village, and told them a simplified story about his trip.
• Lin Hai messaged Gwen, Harry, and Peter, then told them he had found Ta Lo and learned kung fu while withholding Azure Dragon and the Divine Dragon Heart.
• Lin Hai spent several days with his parents before leaving for New York as school approached.

Lin Hai returned to New York from Ta Lo Village and reunited with Chen Bing, Gwen, Harry, and Peter over a feast at the clinic. He showed them his newly learned energy projection technique, then reflected that his journey was only beginning.

• Lin Hai brought Ta Lo Village specialties to Chen Bing at the clinic and invited Gwen, Harry, and Peter to dinner.
• Gwen, Harry, Peter, Lin Hai, and Chen Bing prepared a feast together and shared stories about their recent travels.
• Lin Hai described Ta Lo Village and showed Gwen the photos he had promised her, while keeping the village's mission and dangers private.
• Lin Hai demonstrated an emerald energy projection that struck a wooden post, impressing his friends.
• Gwen, Harry, and Peter left after dinner, and Chen Bing encouraged Lin Hai to absorb what he had learned on his trip.

Lin Hai advised Gwen to reject Osborn Group’s ten-year employment contract, and the friends continued school and combat training together. The Ancient One visited Lin Hai after discovering she could no longer see the future clearly, gave him an invitation to the New York Sanctum, and left him facing a new uncertainty.

• Gwen asked Lin Hai, Peter, and Harry for advice about Osborn Group’s generous contract, and Lin Hai urged her to keep her future options open rather than commit for ten years.
• Gwen declined the contract, and the friends celebrated the prospect of building something together; Gwen later ranked first in the semester exams.
• Lin Hai trained Peter and Harry at the Osborn family’s testing grounds, using energy blasts to challenge their close-combat skills.
• The Ancient One visited Lin Hai at the Chen-Style Chinese Medicine Clinic and told him that his presence had blurred the future she had repeatedly seen.
• The Ancient One left Lin Hai a rune-engraved card and invited him to meet her at the New York Sanctum on Saturday.

After meeting The Ancient One, Lin Hai considered her motives and the danger of becoming involved in Marvel’s coming crises, then kept the encounter to himself. On Saturday, he followed the golden card to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum and knocked on its door.

• Chen Bing asked Lin Hai whether The Ancient One’s visit meant trouble, and Lin Hai reassured him that she had come peacefully.
• At home, Lin Hai recalled The Ancient One’s history and powers, then guessed she had approached him because his presence made the future uncertain.
• Lin Hai decided not to tell Peter, Harry, or Gwen about The Ancient One and the responsibilities that might lie ahead.
• On Saturday, Lin Hai left the clinic after Chen Bing wished him caution and followed the golden card’s address to 177A Bleecker Street.
• Lin Hai reached the hidden New York Sanctum Sanctorum and knocked on its door.

Lin Hai visited Kamar-Taj after Master Hamil escorted him through a portal from the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. The Ancient One spoke with Lin Hai about how his arrival had altered possible futures, then let him keep his golden card so he could return.

• Lin Hai met Hamil at the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, and Hamil opened a portal to Kamar-Taj.
• Lin Hai saw Kamar-Taj's sorcerers training and followed Hamil through its halls to meet The Ancient One.
• The Ancient One explained that she could not see Lin Hai's future and that his arrival had changed some paths of fate.
• Lin Hai and The Ancient One talked for over an hour about his character, beliefs, martial arts, magic, and the universe.
• The Ancient One told Hamil to return Lin Hai to New York and let him keep his golden card for future visits.
• Hamil taught Lin Hai basic energy-sensing techniques on the way back, and Lin Hai headed toward his clinic.

Lin Hai told his friends about the Ancient One, Kamar-Taj, and the basics of magic, including its sources, costs, and connection to Peter’s Spider-Totem. He left them promising to take them to Kamar-Taj someday, while Gwen walked away deep in thought about the magical world.

• Lin Hai reassured Chen Bing that meeting the Ancient One and visiting Kamar-Taj had been a good thing, and Chen Bing promised to support him.
• Lin Hai gathered Peter, Gwen, and Harry at the clinic and explained Kamar-Taj’s mission and the main sources of magical power.
• Gwen worked out that most Kamar-Taj magic involved borrowing power, and Lin Hai warned that magical bargains carried costs.
• Lin Hai explained that Peter’s abilities were connected to the Spider-Totem, while Harry worried that he lacked the qualities needed to become a powerful mage.
• Peter said they could each protect Earth in their own way, and Lin Hai offered to take his friends to Kamar-Taj someday.
• As the friends parted at sunset, Gwen looked back at Lin Hai, intrigued by the magical world.

Lin Hai planned to study practical magic and train at Kamar-Taj, then secured permission for Gwen, Harry, and Peter to visit. He brought them to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, where they entered its hidden magical world for the first time.

• Lin Hai made a study plan focused on learning the Portal Spell and, if possible, the Mirror Dimension.
• Lin Hai trained and studied at Kamar-Taj, learning from its library and sparring with sorcerers skilled in martial arts from around the world.
• Lin Hai asked The Ancient One to let Gwen, Harry, and Peter visit Kamar-Taj, and she agreed on the condition that they keep its location secret.
• Lin Hai told his friends the news and warned Peter that photographs were allowed only if they avoided sorcerers and magic.
• Lin Hai led Gwen, Harry, and Peter to 177 Bleecker Street, where Master Hamil welcomed them into the New York Sanctum Sanctorum.

Lin Hai brought Gwen, Peter, and Harry to Kamar-Taj, where Master Hamil showed them its library, training grounds, and mountain vistas before The Ancient One assessed their aptitude for magic. She told Peter and Harry that magic was not their path, then began to address Gwen.

• Master Hamil led Lin Hai, Gwen, Peter, and Harry through a portal from the Sanctum Sanctorum to Kamar-Taj.
• Master Hamil and Lin Hai showed Gwen, Peter, and Harry the library, training grounds, and viewing platform at Kamar-Taj.
• Lin Hai asked Master Hamil to arrange a meeting with The Ancient One so she could assess his friends' suitability for magic.
• The Ancient One welcomed the group, served them tea, and told Peter that his Spider-Totem abilities were already a form of magic.
• The Ancient One told Harry that technology and business suited him better than magic, then turned to Gwen.

Gwen accepted the Ancient One’s offer to study magic at Kamar-Taj and began planning how to balance training with school and laboratory work. With Lin Hai’s guidance, she studied magical theory and observed sorcerers spar, leaving her eager to continue her new journey.

• The Ancient One told Gwen that she could learn magic but would eventually bear responsibility for protecting Earth, and Gwen agreed to begin training.
• After returning to New York, Gwen, Peter, Harry, and Lin Hai discussed the day’s events, and her friends offered to help her pursue magic.
• Lin Hai advised Gwen to study magical theory first and then observe sorcerers’ battles to learn combat methods before she could practice herself.
• Gwen arranged to stop working in Professor Connors’s lab on weekends, while keeping her magical studies private from her family.
• Gwen impressed the sorcerers with her focused study and independent insights, and Master Hamil praised her talent to Lin Hai.

As the school year drew to a close, Gwen balanced magical study at Kamar-Taj with work at Osborn Tower while Peter protected New York as Spider-Man. After exams, Lin Hai proposed a summer trip, and the four friends eagerly began planning one together.

• Gwen improved her work in Professor Connors's laboratory by applying the focus she had developed through studying magic.
• Peter continued his nightly Spider-Man patrols, stopping crimes and helping people around New York.
• Gwen and Lin Hai studied and trained at Kamar-Taj, where Gwen also began joining him in simple combat drills.
• Gwen, Lin Hai, Harry, and Peter gathered for meals and shared stories from their work, training, and daily lives.
• After exams, Lin Hai suggested that the four friends take a summer trip, and they enthusiastically agreed to plan one.

Lin Hai, Peter, Harry, and Gwen traveled to Los Angeles for a group vacation, but Lin Hai and Peter sensed strange figures and cold energies around the city. Lin Hai identified them as members of the Blood Clan and warned his companions to stay alert, leaving the group concerned about a possible ritual to let vampires walk in sunlight.

• Lin Hai suggested Los Angeles as a destination that suited Peter, Harry, and Gwen, and they agreed to travel there.
• The four arrived in Los Angeles, stayed at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Hard Rock Cafe.
• Lin Hai sensed swift figures in a dark alley, then noticed unusually dressed tourists at Universal Studios the next day.
• Peter told Lin Hai that his Spider-Sense had warned him about certain people, and Lin Hai confirmed sensing strange, chilly energies among them.
• Lin Hai explained the Blood Clan's origins, hierarchy, powers, and weaknesses, and said vampires might be pursuing a ritual or technology to walk in sunlight.
• Lin Hai warned Peter, Harry, and Gwen to avoid going out alone at night and to report anything unusual rather than act on their own.

Lin Hai, Gwen, Harry, and Peter encountered Blade while vampires attacked them at Griffith Observatory, and learned that the Blood Clan was plotting something major. They decided to extend their stay in Los Angeles and prepare to help Blade hunt vampires.

• Lin Hai and his friends toured Los Angeles before vampires surrounded them at Griffith Observatory.
• Blade appeared, killed the vampires, and warned the group that the Blood Clan was planning something major.
• Harry proposed extending their trip, and Gwen and Peter supported staying to help; Lin Hai agreed.
• Peter prepared to use his Spider-Man suit, Harry arranged for his Nova Armor and silver materials, and Gwen planned to study vampire weaknesses.
• Harry arranged secure apartments for the group, and Lin Hai accepted their new role as vampire hunters.

Lin Hai and Peter searched Los Angeles for Blade while Harry and Gwen supported them from a secure apartment. After Lin Hai demonstrated his power, Blade agreed to hear them out at his hidden base.

• Harry brought Lin Hai, Peter, and Gwen to a secure Osborn Group apartment and equipped its workshop with armor, silver, and manufacturing tools.
• Lin Hai proposed finding Blade to test Life Force against vampires, and the group chose five likely locations for his base.
• Lin Hai and Peter searched the locations while Harry and Gwen provided surveillance and route support.
• At the abandoned chemical plant, Blade confronted Lin Hai and Peter after Peter's Spider-Sense detected something unusual.
• Lin Hai demonstrated his power by destroying a wall, impressing Blade, who led him and Peter into his operations room to discuss cooperation.

Lin Hai and Peter met Blade and Whistler, demonstrated their abilities, and exchanged intelligence about Los Angeles’s vampire clans and the Blood God Ritual. Blade took them to a vampire-infested district for their first practical combat, leaving them poised to begin a hunt outside a nightclub.

• Whistler inspected Lin Hai and Peter’s powers after they introduced themselves to Blade as a team.
• Lin Hai and Peter demonstrated their abilities, and the group exchanged information about vampire clans, weapons, and the Blood God Ritual.
• Lin Hai asked to test his abilities in combat, and Blade agreed to take him and Peter to clear out a vampire nest.
• Blade armed Lin Hai and Peter, then drove them toward the South District after Whistler reported unusually high vampire activity.
• Peter’s Spider-Sense detected vampires nearby, and Blade stopped behind a run-down nightclub and prepared to hunt.