Chapter Summaries

Lu Qi discovered he could command Dark Energy directly and declared himself the Shadow Lord, disrupting Andrews's control over it. After Andrews sealed Lu Qi's connection to the Shadow Dimension, Lu Qi realized his own body supplied its energy and prepared to face him, but Andrews fled toward the rift before a yellow figure appeared beside Lu Qi.

• Lu Qi sent Blade Soldiers into battle, merged Shadow Ninjas to create more of them, and pushed back the enemy forces.
• Lu Qi realized he could control Dark Energy directly, declared himself the Shadow Lord, and made Dark Energy reject Andrews.
• Andrews used a forbidden art to seal Lu Qi's connection to the Dark Dimension, while Lu Qi discovered that his body supplied the dimension with energy.
• Lu Qi used the Dark Energy stored in his body to block Andrews's magic and confronted him as his energy rapidly recovered.
• Andrews fled toward the spatial rift, and a yellow figure appeared beside Lu Qi and demanded all his energy.

The Ancient One rescued Lu Qi from Andrews and helped him recover his connection to the Shadow World, where he spent five days wearing down a seal. Back in the Material World, Lu Qi joined Tony to confront Obadiah, and his Shadow Ninjas and Dark Energy helped bring Iron Monger under control.

• The Ancient One killed Andrews in the Mirror Dimension, then warned Lu Qi to maintain her energy supply and gave him coordinates for several ownerless Dark Dimensions.
• Lu Qi ordered the Shadow Ninjas to clear the enemy world and spent five days wearing down the seal before restoring his connection to the Shadow World.
• Tony called Lu Qi after Obadiah took his Arc Reactor, and a Shadow Ninja retrieved and installed Tony's Heart so Tony could recover.
• Tony, Lu Qi, and Rhodey used a portal to reach Potts and Coulson, where Obadiah appeared in Iron Monger and attacked them.
• Lu Qi's Shadow Ninjas and Blade Soldiers pinned Iron Monger down, but Obadiah flew beyond their range, so Lu Qi hid in Tony's armor and transferred onto Iron Monger.
• Lu Qi cut into Iron Monger's armor and sent a Shadow Ninja inside to hold a blade to Obadiah's throat, forcing him to land as Tony followed.

Lu Qi and Tony handed Obadiah and the damaged Iron Monger armor over to S.H.I.E.L.D., while Tony kept the arc reactor and reaffirmed that Stark Industries would stop selling weapons. At Tony’s press conference, he revealed that he was Iron Man and introduced Lu Qi as the superhero Shadow Lord.

• Obadiah walked out of Iron Monger under a Ninja Soldier’s guard, and Tony agreed to let Coulson’s agents take him and the armor after removing its arc reactor.
• Tony told Rhodey that Stark Industries would no longer sell weapons and planned to focus on clean energy, while Lu Qi joked that Tony could still sell hamburgers.
• Lu Qi arrived at Tony’s press conference and photographed him as he denied involvement in the previous night’s events.
• Tony declared, “I am Iron Man,” and the reporters surged forward to question him.
• Tony introduced Lu Qi to the press as the superhero Shadow Lord before leaving with his bodyguards.

Lu Qi tested Tony Stark’s new jet boots in a race, then suggested a multifunction smartphone to help Tony earn money as Stark Industries struggled. Their conversation was interrupted when Egghead appeared behind them.

• Lu Qi reviewed his Shadow Legion forces and planned to expand and strengthen them after mining the remaining Tiny Dimensions.
• Tony gave Lu Qi wristbands that deployed jet boots, and the two set off to race along a route planned by JARVIS.
• Lu Qi used Dark Energy to overcome Tony’s speed and then slowed down, allowing Tony to win the race.
• At a burger joint, Lu Qi accepted thanks from people he had helped during the Stark Industries attack, and Tony offered the crowd free cheeseburgers.
• Tony told Lu Qi that Stark Industries’ stock remained far below its former value, so Lu Qi suggested developing a full-screen smartphone with many features and a voice assistant.
• Egghead appeared behind Lu Qi and Tony as they talked on a rooftop.

Lu Qi told Fury about a possible Hulk sighting and an energy source in Antarctica, then returned to gathering resources and sought new dimension coordinates from The Ancient One. After arranging for mages to help defend his Shadow World in exchange for Dark Energy, he entered the expanded dimension to prepare for an expedition.

• Fury asked Lu Qi about Bruce Banner, and Lu Qi pointed him toward a beverage factory in Brazil and an energy source in Antarctica while refusing further intelligence work.
• Tony questioned Lu Qi about the alien technology, and Lu Qi admitted he had lied to Fury but avoided discussing Tony’s health.
• Lu Qi exhausted his known excavation coordinates and returned to Kamar-Taj, where Mordo delivered The Ancient One’s booklet and explained that Lu Qi would need to locate the Dark Dimension himself.
• Mordo tested Dark Energy consumption with Lu Qi, who signed contracts with elite mages and established a portal between Kamar-Taj and his Shadow World.
• Lu Qi entered the expanded Shadow World, selected a target dimension from the booklet, and called Mordo and the mages to inspect it.

Lu Qi led Mordo and the Shadow Army through a dimensional rift to battle the forces of another Dimension Lord. After defeating the enemy’s troops and wounding their leader, Lu Qi watched him escape and joined the Shadow Army in clearing the remaining forces.

• Lu Qi opened a rift to the enemy dimension, sent the Shadow Army through, and had Mordo and fifteen mages guard the passage with a defensive array.
• The Shadow Army fought the enemy infantry and mages while Mordo’s group supported them with long-range attacks, but cannon fire broke their defensive array.
• Lu Qi unlocked Troll Soldiers and sent four of them toward the enemy cannons while Shadow Ninjas and Blade Soldiers helped clear a path.
• Lu Qi gathered Dark Energy from the Shadow World, crossed into the enemy dimension, and attacked the enemy Mage Corps and Dimension Lord.
• The Dimension Lord abandoned their duel to attack the Troll Soldiers, but Lu Qi intercepted him and wounded him with a Dark Energy spear.
• The Dimension Lord escaped, and Lu Qi turned back to help the Shadow Army eliminate the enemy troops left behind.

Lu Qi absorbed another dimension, strengthened his forces, and discussed Kamar-Taj, a new phone, and the Hulk with Tony Stark. After learning General Ross was pursuing the Hulk, Lu Qi decided to have ninjas monitor Doctor Samuel to prevent a destructive escalation.

• Lu Qi had the enemy equipment moved to Kamar-Taj for the mages to study, then devoured the opposing dimension and gained over one million excavatable energy.
• The Ancient One told Lu Qi that she still had more than three thousand seven hundred spells to adapt before Stephen arrived.
• Lu Qi leveled up, doubled his constitution and energy rates, and learned he needed five thousand Ninja Soldiers for his next upgrade.
• Lu Qi left ten Shadow Ninjas to guard Pepper and discussed forming a phone company with Tony Stark, who offered him shares.
• Lu Qi showed Tony Stark a Troll Soldier, and Tony said General Ross had ordered ultrasonic weapons to pursue the Hulk.
• Lu Qi decided to have ninjas monitor Doctor Samuel and took the Troll Soldier home.

Lu Qi visited Nick Fury to ask for help with Tony Stark’s worsening palladium poisoning, but S.H.I.E.L.D. could offer only an unfinished temporary treatment. After a suspicious call from a department overseeing S.H.I.E.L.D. funding, Lu Qi accused Fury of embezzlement, unaware that Hydra controlled the department and the missing funds.

• Lu Qi visited S.H.I.E.L.D. and told Fury that Tony’s condition was worsening, then asked for the organization’s help.
• Fury said S.H.I.E.L.D. was developing an injection that could temporarily reduce palladium in Tony’s blood, but it was not ready yet.
• A woman from a World Security Council department called Lu Qi to ask about suspected corruption within S.H.I.E.L.D., and he checked with Coulson that the department existed.
• Lu Qi suspected the department was connected to Hydra and called back to report that Fury was embezzling S.H.I.E.L.D.’s funds.
• The Hydra spy recorded Lu Qi’s complaint and planned to send it to her superior, while considering a token investigation and a possible salary increase for him.

Lu Qi prepared to intervene in Banner’s coming conflict with Abomination, expanded his Shadow Legion, and began raiding another dimension. After encountering sleeping colossal Beasts far stronger than his forces, he marked the dimension as dangerous, conquered a more manageable one, and went out for a stroll.

• Lu Qi decided to monitor Doctor Samuel and planned to rescue civilians and kill Abomination when the conflict began.
• Lu Qi spent most of his energy on Shadow Legion reinforcements, forming thirty squads and ordering Mordo to prepare for another dimensional assault.
• Lu Qi sent squads into a dimension full of sleeping colossal Beasts, found that even Troll Soldiers could not lift one’s wing, and withdrew after marking the coordinates as dangerous.
• Lu Qi sent his Shadow Squads into another dimension, where they exhausted the enemy Dimension Lord’s energy and drove him away.
• Lu Qi returned home after the battle, then went out with his camera to wander the streets and look for agents.

Lu Qi discovered that characters from seemingly fictional works might exist in other worlds and asked the Ancient One how to reach them. He learned to search for world coordinates in advanced objects, but the equipment he had seized contained no useful traces.

• Lu Qi visited a convention and recognized a costumed monster as one of the giant beasts from a dangerous dimension.
• Lu Qi rushed to Kamar-Taj and asked the Ancient One whether he could travel to other worlds through the Dark Dimension.
• The Ancient One explained that Lu Qi needed another world's coordinates and gave him a spell to detect objects carrying that world's aura.
• Lu Qi examined equipment from a previous dimensional war but found only ordinary Dark Energy and no world coordinates.
• Lu Qi regretted failing to take the Dimension Lord's sword and decided to seize a useful object next time.

After running short on dimensions to conquer, Lu Qi traveled to Los Angeles to help S.H.I.E.L.D. investigate Vampires. He accepted a civilian job hunting them despite the danger posed by their supporters and hidden network.

• Lu Qi called Pepper and learned Tony was picking out furniture and fitness equipment for their home.
• Coulson brought Lu Qi to a safe house, where Lu Qi killed a chained Vampire by having a Ninja Soldier cut off its head.
• Coulson explained that Vampires could create infectious Blood Servants and that the authorities had agreed to coexist with the Vampire Twelve Elders.
• Lu Qi accepted a private Vampire-hunting job after Coulson linked the creatures to disappearances and bloodied crime scenes.
• Coulson warned Lu Qi that Vampire supporters and an intelligence network had attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. investigators and killed several agents.

Lu Qi uncovered a hidden Vampire operation in Los Angeles, rescued more than a hundred captives, and slaughtered the Vampires at their underground gathering. With S.H.I.E.L.D. holding back from a direct assault, he headed to the Hailier Hotel to pursue the Vampire higher-ups.

• Lu Qi lured a Vampire into attacking him in an alley, killed him, and told Coulson to handle the body.
• A young Vampire led Christina and her friend Carrie into a hidden lair, where Vampires captured them and prepared to store them with other victims.
• Lu Qi and his Shadow Ninjas rescued the captives, and Coulson arrived with S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to secure them.
• Lu Qi massacred the Vampires in the lair and tortured one into revealing that he met his superior at the Hailier Hotel.
• Coulson told Lu Qi that Director Fury wanted him to hunt Vampire higher-ups independently, with his pay rising for every rank he advanced.
• Lu Qi left for the Hailier Hotel.

Lu Qi ambushed a gathering of Vampires at the Hailier Hotel, captured their leaders, and used the host to locate and purge the Vampire strongholds in Los Angeles. After earning eight million dollars, he left the city to hunt Vampires elsewhere while Coulson handled the cleanup.

• Hall grew increasingly worried when his subordinate failed to report on the banquet, where Vampires gathered to feast on drugged young women.
• Lu Qi appeared at the banquet and surrounded the Vampires with Shadow Ninjas, then used a Troll Soldier and Assassin Ninja Soldiers to defeat them.
• Hall urged the Vampires to attack Lu Qi, but their charge failed; Lu Qi was knocked through the doors, and the remaining Vampires were captured.
• Lu Qi offered the host Hall in exchange for information, and the host revealed the Vampire strongholds; Hall was killed by the host.
• Lu Qi made the host lead him through Los Angeles, purged the city's Vampires, and left after earning eight million dollars, while Coulson handled the cleanup.

Six months after traveling and hunting Vampires across the United States, Lu Qi returned to see Tony after Pepper reported that Tony had changed. Lu Qi cleared the toxins from Tony’s body temporarily, learned that Palladium was still poisoning him, and persuaded him to go out and pursue his wishes before time ran out.

• Pepper called Lu Qi and asked him to return because Tony had stopped handling company affairs and spent all his time in the lab.
• Lu Qi finished fighting Vampires, and Coulson told him to stop hunting while S.H.I.E.L.D. negotiated a ceasefire with the Vampire elders.
• Lu Qi returned to Tony’s garage, where he and Tony joked before Lu Qi asked him about the Palladium poisoning.
• Lu Qi used Dark Energy to clear the toxins from Tony’s body temporarily, but warned that they would return while the Palladium remained.
• Tony admitted that he had found no replacement for Palladium, and Lu Qi persuaded him to go out and fulfill his wishes.

Lu Qi pushed Tony to spend time with Pepper while they oversaw the Stark Expo preparations. Tony invited Pepper on a date, and the chapter ended with Lu Qi ushering him out of her office after she accepted.

• Lu Qi watched Tony tan on the yacht and teased him about neglecting Pepper while the Shadow Legion helped build the Stark Expo.
• Lu Qi brought Tony back to his mansion, then left him to return to Stark Industries the next day.
• Tony awkwardly invited Pepper to see the Expo construction, and Pepper recognized it as a date invitation.
• Pepper suggested a date at Tony's mansion, kissed him, and asked him to thank Lu Qi.
• Lu Qi entered Pepper's office, congratulated Tony, and ushered him out while Pepper returned to work.

Lu Qi confronted the unexpectedly mutated Abomination, whose stolen Gamma Energy made him far stronger than expected, and eventually destroyed him by pouring Dark Energy into his body. The battle ended with Hulk fleeing, reporters photographing Lu Qi, and Fury reviewing an Avengers file.

• Coulson called Lu Qi about a yellow monster attacking Broadway, and Lu Qi arrived with the Shadow Legion to evacuate civilians and fight Abomination.
• Lu Qi learned that Abomination had absorbed the Hulk blood after Samuel was killed, then watched Abomination grow larger and overpower the Shadow Legion.
• Banner leaped from the helicopter, transformed into Hulk, and fought Abomination while Lu Qi charged up Dark Energy and the battle wrecked nearby buildings.
• Lu Qi formed the Dimensional Demon God Form, stabbed Abomination with a Dark Energy spear, and annihilated the Gamma Energy sustaining him.
• Hulk ran away after Lu Qi glared at him, while Lu Qi discovered reporters had photographed him and destroyed their cameras before flying off.
• Fury put away his pager, considered Lu Qi's strength, and opened a file bearing the Avengers emblem.

After Lu Qi’s identity was exposed, he stayed at Tony’s home and retaliated for Tony’s teasing by posting embarrassing photos of him online. As Tony and Pepper handled Stark Industries paperwork, Natasha joined them under the guise of a Legal employee, leaving Tony suspicious of her.

• Lu Qi hid at Tony’s home after reporters and gawkers surrounded his residence, and Tony teased him about exposing his identity.
• Lu Qi watched Tony open the Stark Expo in his Iron Man armor, then posted photos of Tony forging metal during his captivity.
• Tony confronted Lu Qi about the photos, but Pepper arrived to discuss transferring the Stark Industries CEO position to her.
• Pepper told Lu Qi that his mobile phone company stake made him its second-largest shareholder and asked him to approve documents.
• Lu Qi sparred with Tony and Happy while Pepper worked through paperwork, and Natasha arrived to help with the documents.
• Tony grew suspicious of Natasha, searched her online, and looked at her modeling photos until Pepper asked Lu Qi to close the page.

Lu Qi and Tony attended a racing event where Ivan Vanko attacked them as Whiplash. Tony defeated him with Lu Qi's help, but the device on Whiplash's chest revealed that Tony's technology had been copied, leaving Tony worried he was in trouble.

• Lu Qi accompanied Tony to the racing event, where he spoke with Natasha and learned she was monitoring Tony for Fury.
• Hammer approached Lu Qi and Tony, and Tony fled to the restroom to escape him.
• Whiplash attacked Tony in the restroom, so Lu Qi sent Ninja Soldiers to get Tony to safety and contain the attacker.
• Whiplash escaped the restroom and fought Lu Qi and Tony, tearing apart Tony's Mark 5 armor and slamming him to the ground.
• Tony restrained Whiplash while Lu Qi's Ninja Soldiers severed one of the attacker's arms and one of his legs.
• Tony removed and crushed the glowing device on Whiplash's chest, then told Lu Qi that he was in trouble.

Tony faced public and military pressure after Ivan exposed the vulnerability of his armor, while Lu Qi helped Rhodey leave with a War Machine suit. The chapter ended with Rhodey flying toward the military airfield in his newly registered armor.

• Tony visited Ivan in the hospital, where Ivan taunted him about palladium poisoning and the threat his exposed technology posed.
• Lu Qi left Shadow Ninjas near Ivan’s ward, while Tony returned home amid mounting media attacks and military pressure.
• Ivan accepted Hammer’s offer to work together and demanded his bird and the video of Shadow Lord.
• Rhodey told Lu Qi that the military wanted Tony’s armor, and Lu Qi offered him the Mark II suit instead.
• Rhodey tried on the armor, and Tony discovered that Rhodey had become its sole registered wearer and gave it to him.
• Rhodey flew safely out of Tony’s garage and headed for the military airfield in the War Machine armor.

Lu Qi visited Tony after discovering that Hammer Industries planned to unveil weapons at the Stark Expo, and found Tony had already discovered the New Element. After helping remodel Tony’s house, Lu Qi stayed with him as JARVIS began testing whether the element could replace Palladium.

• Lu Qi posted photos of himself fighting Iron Monger and saw a report that Hammer Industries would unveil new weapons at the Stark Expo.
• Lu Qi went to Tony’s house and found him studying the Stark Expo model and the clues that led him to the New Element.
• Tony told Lu Qi that his father had left him the secret of the New Element, and Lu Qi summoned Troll Soldiers and Ninja Soldiers to remodel the house.
• Coulson arrived, recognized Captain America’s shield, and left for a new assignment in Mexico after Tony gave him the shield.
• Tony and Lu Qi focused the energy beam onto a wafer, and JARVIS began testing whether the glowing New Element could replace Palladium.
• Lu Qi reassured Tony and drank with him while they waited for JARVIS’s analysis.