Chapter Summaries

Lu Qi fed captured troops to the newly converted Shadow Devourer Soldier, which grew to twenty meters tall before he brought it to Kamar-Taj. There, he learned that Asgard had formed a Mage Corps and that Kaecilius had betrayed Kamar-Taj, prompting Lu Qi to consider helping the Ancient One deal with the traitor.

• Lu Qi released the converted Shadow Devourer Soldier and discovered that Galacta enjoyed kneading the tiny creature.
• Lu Qi sent the Shadow Ninjas Legion into Lesser Dimensions, captured thousands of abandoned troops, and took them to Kamar-Taj so the Shadow Devourer Soldier could devour their shadows.
• The Shadow Devourer Soldier grew to around twenty meters tall, and the Ancient One told Lu Qi that Sylvie and Megatron were at the library with Asgard’s Mage Corps.
• Lu Qi discussed enchanted weapons for his Ninja Soldiers with Wong, who said Mordo could organize mages to produce them.
• Wong explained that Kaecilius had tried to rob the library and destroyed an original spellbook before escaping, and Lu Qi considered helping the Ancient One deal with him.

Lu Qi watched The Ancient One’s Time Stone projection of Stephen defeating Dormammu, then asked to help ambush Dormammu if he returned. Meanwhile, Dormammu restored Kaecilius’s arm and empowered him to seek out Lu Qi’s dimension and help attack Earth.

• Kaecilius summoned Dormammu, who began moving toward the Material World, while Lu Qi and Mordo arranged to start a factory at Kamar-Taj.
• The Ancient One showed Lu Qi a future in which Kaecilius destroyed a Sanctum, but Stephen used the Time Stone to trap Dormammu in a time loop and drive him away.
• Lu Qi asked The Ancient One to help him ambush Dormammu and locate the Power Stone, but she could not use the Time Stone to find another Infinity Stone.
• Lu Qi returned home and showed Galacta the Shadow Devourer Soldier, whose enormous form disrupted the living room.
• The Ancient One glimpsed a future figure handling Earth Security Council work and suspected it was Lu Qi, then returned to Kamar-Taj’s affairs.
• Dormammu gave Kaecilius magical knowledge and a powerful new arm, then ordered him to search for Lu Qi’s dimension and help bring Earth within reach.

Lu Qi and Galacta traveled by spaceship to an Asteroid Belt so Lu Qi could harvest energy from meteors. After testing how Dark Energy protected him in space, Lu Qi began sending asteroids into the Shadow World and found that each one greatly increased his limit.

• Lu Qi learned Galacta’s spaceship had eaten its energy reserves, then gave her Energy Crystals to fuel a trip to the Asteroid Belt.
• Galacta took Lu Qi into space, while Tony learned that Lu Qi had left Earth and decided to visit Kamar-Taj.
• Lu Qi used Galacta’s device to deploy a spacesuit and tested exposing his hand to vacuum, then used Dark Energy to protect his body.
• Lu Qi flew through the Asteroid Belt, opened a gateway to the Shadow World, and sent a meteor through it, raising his limit by more than ten thousand.
• Lu Qi spotted the seemingly endless belt and prepared to keep harvesting meteors.

Tony visited Lu Qi’s address and entered Kamar-Taj with Mordo to begin learning magic, while Pepper rejected Killian’s investment pitch and Happy and Thursday began following him. Lu Qi returned from harvesting asteroids and accepted Tony’s invitation to dinner, planning to bring Galacta along to test how far Tony’s offer to pay would go.

• Tony told Pepper he was going somewhere mysterious on Earth, then entered the Sanctum with Saturday and Sunday and met Mordo, who led them through a portal to Kamar-Taj.
• Pepper met Killian and declined to invest in A.I.M.; Happy and Thursday grew suspicious of Killian’s hot-bodied subordinate and secretly followed them.
• Lu Qi destroyed an asteroid and sent its fragments into the Shadow World before returning to Earth with Galacta.
• Lu Qi called Tony, who explained he was enjoying Kamar-Taj’s food and invited Lu Qi to dinner.
• Lu Qi agreed to come and said he would bring a friend, intending to bring Galacta to eat at Tony’s expense.

Lu Qi and Tony discussed Lu Qi’s feelings for Galacta while enjoying a meal at Kamar-Taj, where Tony also examined the sorcerers’ enchanted weapons. Meanwhile, the Ancient One used Pangborn’s medical records and an old photo to prompt a doctor to investigate his case, then left through a portal.

• Lu Qi brought Galacta to Kamar-Taj, where she eagerly sampled food while Tony questioned Lu Qi about his relationship with her.
• Tony pointed out that Lu Qi cared about Galacta more than other women, and Lu Qi admitted he cared about her but needed time to understand his feelings.
• Galacta joined Lu Qi and Tony, explained that she considered herself an adult, and thanked Tony for the meal.
• Mordo showed Lu Qi enchanted weapon samples, and Tony learned how the weapons stored energy and channeled magic.
• Lu Qi asked Tony about Stephen Strange, who described Strange’s medical career and the accident that damaged his hands.
• The Ancient One retrieved Pangborn’s medical file, left a photo for a doctor to discover, and watched him hurry off after noticing the dates.

Lu Qi and Tony tested Kamar-Taj’s enchanted weapons, finding that they greatly increased the Ninja Soldiers’ offensive power but could unleash their full strength only twice before running out of energy. Lu Qi planned ways to make their Energy Crystals rechargeable, while The Ancient One agreed to expand the armory and sent Mordo to seek new recruits.

• Lu Qi and Tony tested enchanted weapons against sturdy targets, and the Ninja Soldiers’ rune-enhanced swords cut them apart with ease.
• Lu Qi explained that the weapons’ strongest attacks drained their energy reserves, then considered adapting Energy Crystals into rechargeable power sources.
• The Ninja Soldiers tested enchanted staffs, whose Fireball spells let them knock targets back and gave them a way to attack airborne enemies.
• Tony took his recordings to the library to study the weapon inscriptions, while Lu Qi went to experiment with Energy Crystals in the world of the Shadow Ninjas.
• The Ancient One asked Mordo about recent events, then approved expanding the armory and tasked him with finding talented prospects to recruit.

Lu Qi finished making Self-Charging Energy Crystals and found Tony bringing Kamar-Taj's rival mage groups together while learning magic. Stephen arrived at Kamar-Taj, where The Ancient One and Lu Qi began forcing him to confront the existence of magic.

• Lu Qi left his Shadow World with more than ten thousand Self-Charging Energy Crystals ready for the Ninja Soldier Corps.
• Lu Qi found Tony moderating a cooperative discussion between Megatron's group and the Asgardian Mage Corps, with Wong translating spellbooks for him.
• Lu Qi learned from Galacta that a dimensional demon's avatar had visited Earth and that her Cosmic Tapeworm was recovering.
• Lu Qi met Stephen arguing with The Ancient One and learned that Mordo had recruited him for his strong spiritual power.
• The Ancient One knocked Stephen's soul out of his body, and Lu Qi pulled it back in after Stephen watched his body fall.
• The Ancient One sent Stephen's spirit on a journey through the Spirit Dimension while Lu Qi watched over his unconscious body.

The Ancient One sent Stephen on increasingly intense spirit journeys to strengthen him, including a frightening trip through Lu Qi’s Dark Dimension, but judged him unready to bear Kamar-Taj’s burden. Lu Qi prepared an Earth-based trade station for the Nine Realms, extracted Devouring Source from Galacta again, and left Galactus worrying about his child.

• The Ancient One sent Stephen’s spirit beyond the Material World and into Lu Qi’s Dark Dimension, where terrifying figures and red eyes surrounded him before he returned to his body.
• Stephen asked The Ancient One to teach him, but she refused and said his stubborn, arrogant nature made him unready for Kamar-Taj’s burden.
• Lu Qi inspected the renovated Security Council headquarters and planned to unite Earth’s security forces while turning the site into a trade station for the Nine Realms.
• Lu Qi and Loki selected spatial rifts for the trade station, and Lu Qi established a fixed portal that connected one rift to the headquarters.
• Galacta visited Lu Qi, who extracted Devouring Source from the Cosmic Tapeworm again, while Galactus watched from across the universe and worried about her growth.

Lu Qi opened the Trade Station on Earth, explained its role and rules to leaders and envoys from across the Nine Realms, and checked the first day's transactions. After praising China's trade efforts and confronting a United States representative, he left with pastries from the God of Cookery.

• Lu Qi met Megatron at the Security Council headquarters and promised him a future mechanical army to lead in maintaining order on Earth.
• Lu Qi opened the Trade Station, explained why Earth was its hub, and laid out rules for cooperative trade and resolving disputes.
• Loki revealed that Asgard had destroyed Muspelheim, and Lu Qi removed it from his model of the Nine Realms.
• Lu Qi reviewed more than three hundred deals and found that China had completed the most, trading goods such as Du Kang's liquor and the God of Cookery's food.
• Lu Qi recognized China's representative as the God of Wealth, awarded China twenty impression points, and warned a United States representative to complete ten deals that day.
• The God of Wealth gave Lu Qi pastries from the God of Cookery, and Lu Qi left with them after confirming the Trade Station was running smoothly.

Lu Qi explained Kamar-Taj’s energy contracts to Stephen and helped him sign one, then tested whether he could cast spells without conventional gestures. Stephen successfully formed a magic circle, but Lu Qi and The Ancient One left him trapped in the Mirror Dimension with a Sling Ring and a challenge to find his way out before dinner.

• Lu Qi explained that Kamar-Taj mages drew energy from Dimension Lords, and The Ancient One described how Lu Qi supplied Dark Energy to some of them.
• Lu Qi guided Stephen into signing a contract, which briefly became a Master-Servant Contract and forced Stephen to dance before it changed into an Equal Contract after three days.
• Lu Qi and The Ancient One brought Stephen into the Mirror Dimension and watched as he learned to sense and control Dark Energy through intent.
• Stephen successfully condensed a magic circle, though it collapsed when he celebrated.
• Lu Qi gave Stephen a Sling Ring and left him in the Mirror Dimension with The Ancient One, hoping he would escape in time for dinner.

Stephen struggled to study magic because Kamar-Taj’s spellbooks were in Chinese, then was publicly humiliated after Tony and Lu Qi mistook his examination of Tony’s healed chest for groping. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Stephen learned that Lu Qi had arranged the Chinese editions, received access to Tony’s English translations, and discussed portal magic and technology with Tony.

• Stephen discovered that Kamar-Taj’s spellbooks were written in Chinese and asked Wong to find the books on his English reading list.
• Tony arrived at the library, and Stephen checked his chest to confirm that his shrapnel injury had healed; Tony panicked and accused him of groping.
• Lu Qi ordered Stephen through their Master-Servant Contract to run laps while shouting that he was a pervert, and Tony and Lu Qi later realized they had misunderstood him.
• Tony and Lu Qi apologized, Tony arranged for online videos of Stephen’s run to be deleted, and Lu Qi changed their contract into an Equal Contract.
• Tony explained that Lu Qi had translated the spellbooks from Sanskrit into Chinese and offered Stephen his English translations; Stephen then described how quickly he had learned to open a portal.
• Tony told Stephen that The Ancient One had not given him a Sling Ring, and he and Stephen began discussing how technology could be used to cast magic.

Kaecilius prepared to attack Kamar-Taj’s Sanctums for Dormammu while Lu Qi continued his routine of bringing pastries to Kamar-Taj and devouring meteors. Stephen Strange agreed to support Kamar-Taj as a doctor, but an alarm at the London Sanctum sent him and Mordo rushing into their first battle together.

• Dormammu ordered Kaecilius to lead his followers in destroying Kamar-Taj’s three Sanctums while he fought the Dimension Lord.
• Kaecilius gathered more than a hundred people he had corrupted with Dark Energy and rallied them to attack Kamar-Taj.
• Lu Qi returned to Kamar-Taj with pastries, where Tony and Stephen discussed their magical effects before Lu Qi headed into the Asteroid Belt.
• Stephen used black light to steady his hands, then met Mordo in the teleportation hall and learned that Kamar-Taj’s formation protected Earth from Dimensional Demon Gods.
• Mordo urged Stephen to join Kamar-Taj’s fight, and Stephen agreed to treat sorcerers and help in a critical emergency.
• An alarm warned that the London Sanctum was under attack, so Stephen and Mordo requested aid and headed there.

Stephen and Mordo confronted Kaecilius at the London Sanctum, where he used Dormammu’s Dark Energy and corrupted followers to attack them. Wong and the Kamar-Taj mages arrived, but Kaecilius unleashed an energy sphere that engulfed the hall and scattered the defenders.

• Stephen and Mordo found a dead mage in the London Sanctum and advanced toward its hidden core.
• Kaecilius revealed that he had found the core and prepared to destroy it with Dormammu’s Dark Energy.
• Mordo attacked Kaecilius but was overwhelmed by Dark Followers, while Stephen fled through the corridors.
• Stephen fought off the pursuing Dark Followers until Wong arrived with reinforcements and took him to the teleportation hall.
• Wong confronted Kaecilius, who refused to surrender and dropped a sphere of Dark Energy into the hall.
• The blast swept through the hall, knocked Stephen back through the portal, and caused Wong’s portal to disappear.

After Kaecilius’s attack left Kamar-Taj’s mages badly injured, Stephen Strange brought them to his former hospital and led a team of doctors through emergency surgeries. He and Tony went to check on the survivors, while Stephen mourned Mordo and accepted Tony’s offer to help him find a girlfriend.

• Stephen returned to Kamar-Taj after the explosion and organized a rescue effort, discovering Wong and other mages gravely wounded.
• Stephen opened a portal to his former hospital and called Tony when the staff initially refused to follow his orders.
• Tony intervened, and the hospital staff prepared emergency rooms as Renn brought the wounded mages through the portal.
• Galacta killed a soul-devouring old man in London and decided to bring the remaining soul energy to Lu Qi.
• Stephen and Christine operated for six hours, saving the injured mages, while Mordo had died from his severe injuries.
• Tony arrived, comforted Stephen about Mordo, offered to help him find a girlfriend, and learned Wong was in private room 3101.

After learning that Kaecilius had killed Mordo and gravely injured Wong, Lu Qi discovered that Dormammu’s Dark Energy was corrupting Wong’s soul. He brought Chinese spiritual healers to repair it, and Wong woke up, leaving Lu Qi ready to ask him what had happened.

• Lu Qi returned to Kamar-Taj and learned that Kaecilius had attacked, Mordo had died, and Wong had been severely injured.
• Lu Qi questioned The Ancient One, who admitted she had never foreseen Mordo’s death, then went to the hospital to see Wong.
• Lu Qi found Dormammu’s Dark Energy corroding Wong’s soul and stabilized it, but realized removing the corruption could cause Wong’s soul to collapse.
• Lu Qi called Captain Zhao, and Captain Yang brought Chinese spiritual healers who prepared a treatment for Wong.
• Lu Qi and the healers cleared the corruption and repaired Wong’s soul, and Wong woke up.
• Lu Qi thanked the healers and returned to Wong’s ward to ask him what had happened.

Lu Qi received the Time Stone from The Ancient One after she rejected the timelines she had relied on, while Kamar-Taj prepared to defend its remaining Sanctums. Dormammu sent more Dark Energy to Kaecilius and moved toward Lu Qi’s dimension, leaving the conflict poised to escalate.

• Wong told Lu Qi that Kaecilius had killed Mordo, used half-dark followers to hold off the mages, and trapped them in an explosion before Wong delayed him until reinforcements arrived.
• The Ancient One gave Lu Qi the Time Stone, saying she no longer trusted the future it showed her; Lu Qi overpowered the Stone’s resistance and took it.
• The Ancient One explained that the remaining Sanctums could still bar Dimensional Demon Gods, while Galacta’s actions helped contain their infiltrating avatars.
• Kamar-Taj deployed its mages between the two remaining Sanctums, and Lu Qi guarded Kamar-Taj with Night Bats while The Ancient One watched the teleportation hall.
• Kaecilius told Dormammu that destroying the London Sanctum had not plunged Earth into chaos, so Dormammu sent more Dark Energy to create additional Dark Followers.
• Dormammu advanced toward Lu Qi’s dimension to draw out Lu Qi and The Ancient One, while Lu Qi praised Galacta and The Ancient One prepared to face events without relying on a timeline guide.

Lu Qi defended his Shadow Ninjas World against Dormammu’s invading army while turning the battle into a source of energy and growth. As the Ancient One grew anxious about Kaecilius and Earth’s defenses, Lu Qi’s exuberant message made her consider going to see the fight for herself.

• Lu Qi told Tony and Stephen to stay out of the war, but they chose to help guard the Sanctums while he rushed into his Shadow Ninjas World.
• Lu Qi found Dormammu’s army pouring through a vast dimensional rift and moved his portal before deploying his Shadow Ninjas Legion to fight.
• Lu Qi blasted the invading creatures with magic, absorbed their remains to increase his energy cap, and then pretended to run out of energy when the enemy stopped advancing.
• Dormammu ordered his army forward again, and Lu Qi secretly replenished his power with an Energy Crystal while continuing to attack and profit from the battle.
• The Ancient One messaged Lu Qi for an update, received his excited claim that fighting Dormammu felt great, and walked toward the portal to investigate.

Lu Qi and The Ancient One confronted Dormammu in the Shadow World, where Lu Qi stripped him of his ability to command Dark Energy. Dormammu began enlarging himself to escape Lu Qi’s attacks as The Ancient One’s spells weakened him, and Lu Qi brought his scythes down toward Dormammu’s neck.

• Dormammu revealed himself and attacked The Ancient One, but Lu Qi blocked the strike and Dormammu crossed through the dimensional rift into Lu Qi’s dimension.
• Lu Qi disrupted Dormammu’s control over Dark Energy, and The Ancient One explained that Dormammu’s body was his powerful origin; Lu Qi transformed into his Dimensional Demon God Form.
• Dormammu overwhelmed Lu Qi in their first exchanges, but Lu Qi changed tactics, restrained him with his snake tail, and attacked his eyes while The Ancient One supported him with spells.
• Lu Qi and The Ancient One repeatedly blinded and injured Dormammu, forcing him to spend energy healing himself.
• Dormammu stopped resisting and began growing larger, but Lu Qi slammed him into the ground and brought his scythes down toward his neck.

Lu Qi and The Ancient One struggled against Dormammu after he began spending Source Energy to regenerate and fight back, while Lu Qi proposed luring him into the Material World to use the Infinity Stones. In the Material World, Kaecilius overwhelmed the New York Sanctum’s defenders, forcing Stephen to evacuate its mages and abandon the Sanctum.

• Lu Qi and The Ancient One wounded Dormammu, but he blasted Lu Qi away and began regenerating with Source Energy.
• Lu Qi suggested drawing Dormammu into the Material World and using the Infinity Stones, but The Ancient One warned she could not withstand their power.
• Dormammu questioned Kaecilius about the stalled assault, and Kaecilius attacked and killed the mages defending the New York Sanctum.
• Stephen gathered the surviving defenders, secured the Sanctum’s artifacts, and ordered the mages to retreat through portals to Kamar-Taj.
• Kaecilius appeared in the Sanctum’s inner hall, killed a captive mage, and let Stephen escape before planning to destroy the Sanctum.

Stephen, Tony, and Megatron defended the Hong Kong Sanctum as S.P.E.A.R. forces annihilated Kaecilius’s Dark Followers and captured him. Captain Yang proposed closer cooperation with Kamar-Taj, while Kaecilius secretly sent Dormammu a distress signal.

• Stephen learned that the New York Sanctum had been destroyed, then headed to the Hong Kong Sanctum to reinforce its remaining defenses.
• Tony teased Stephen into trying stinky tofu before Kaecilius arrived with hundreds of Dark Followers.
• S.P.E.A.R. warriors used Asgardian-inspired energy weapons to destroy the Dark Followers, and Megatron captured Kaecilius.
• Captain Yang proposed closer ties between S.P.E.A.R. and Kamar-Taj, and Tony directed him to speak with Stephen.
• Stephen slapped Kaecilius, who later sent Dormammu a distress signal while held by Blackout.
• Dormammu received Kaecilius’s signal in the Shadow World and felt relieved that he had prepared contingencies through Kaecilius.