Chapter Summaries

Krishna gave Bai Mo the sixth gemstone and confirmed that the Pandavas and the Hundred Sons of Dhritarashtra were studying under Drona. Bai Mo went with Kama to the Vindhya Mountains to meet Rama with the Axe, where a confrontation ended with Bai Mo pursuing the old warrior and Kama disappearing.

• Krishna handed Bai Mo an azure gemstone and said he would take care of Arjuna and the Pandavas when he was free.
• Bai Mo decided to visit Rama with the Axe in the Vindhya Mountains rather than become the Pandavas' teacher.
• Rama with the Axe mistook Kama for a threat to Bai Mo's asceticism and attacked them, but Bai Mo blocked his axe with Beginning and End.
• Rama with the Axe demanded that Bai Mo prove he had not been bewitched, and Kama angrily raised her bow.
• Bai Mo sent Rama with the Axe flying with Limitless Tremor Zen, told Kama to wait, and vanished after him; Kama also disappeared when she sensed someone approaching.

Bai Mo defeated Rama with the Axe in their contest and asked whether Drona had been his last disciple. Karna emerged from hiding, and Bai Mo recognized him as the abandoned eldest brother of the Pandavas and resolved to keep him from becoming their enemy.

• Bai Mo and Rama with the Axe fought with bows, arrows, axes, and Bai Mo's Hell War Armor until Rama with the Axe conceded defeat.
• Bai Mo asked Rama with the Axe who his last disciple had been, and Rama with the Axe named Drona.
• Bai Mo called the young man hiding in the bushes out and recognized him as Karna.
• The chapter explained how Kunti had abandoned Karna and how Drona had rejected him because of his charioteer upbringing.
• Karna hoped to learn from Rama with the Axe and coveted Bai Mo's offensive armor technique, while Bai Mo stepped aside and considered preventing Karna from becoming an enemy of the Pandavas.

Karna sought instruction from Rama with the Axe, but Bai Mo revealed that Karna was a charioteer's son before he could lie about being a Brahmin. Bai Mo offered to teach Karna in exchange for future help, and Rama with the Axe urged Karna to accept him as his master.

• Karna greeted Rama with the Axe and claimed he opposed the Kshatriyas, hoping to become his disciple.
• Rama with the Axe offered to teach Karna all his supreme arts, but said he could accept only Brahmins.
• Bai Mo recognized Karna from Hastinapura, prompting Karna to confess that he was a charioteer's son who had lied to seek instruction.
• Bai Mo warned Karna that skills gained through lies would fail him and offered to teach him in return for help with future tasks.
• Rama with the Axe insisted that Bai Mo should be respected as Karna's master and encouraged Karna to accept the offer.
• Karna prostrated himself before Bai Mo, and Rama with the Axe predicted that he would become a valuable ally.

Bai Mo began training Karna with punishing exercises and the Bodhidharma Sutra while Rama with the Axe imposed his own restrictions. At Drona’s teaching grounds, Arjuna hunted a boar for Bhima, then resisted a dark figure urging him to kill the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra.

• Kama urged Bai Mo to accept Karna despite the dangers, and Bai Mo gave Karna the Bodhidharma Sutra as his first lesson.
• Bai Mo put Karna through exhausting water and saber training, healing his injuries so he could continue.
• Rama with the Axe stopped Karna from eating Bai Mo’s lavish dinner and took him to search for wild fruit instead.
• Karna struggled through meditation that night as Bai Mo prepared the next day’s training.
• At Drona’s grounds, Arjuna shot a boar for Bhima, who went into the forest to retrieve it.
• A dark figure urged Arjuna to kill the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, but Arjuna rejected the idea.

Karna endured Bai Mo’s punishing sea-based training and completed its second stage, then continued despite being thrown into the water. Bai Mo told Rama with the Axe that Karna was legally a Kshatriya, and Rama offered to teach him archery; he ended by questioning whether his vision could be achieved through weapons.

• Karna completed the second stage of Bai Mo’s training by enduring attacks formed from seawater, then began facing a rhinoceros made with six hundred thousand horsepower.
• After Bai Mo brought Karna back to shore, Karna refused to rest and returned to the sea to continue training.
• Bai Mo told Rama with the Axe that Karna was legally a Kshatriya, and explained that Kunti had abandoned him.
• Rama with the Axe criticized Kunti’s abandonment and offered to teach Karna archery without breaking his oath.
• Rama with the Axe reflected that despite killing countless Kshatriyas, he had not changed who ruled the world, and wondered whether his vision could be achieved with weapons.

Bai Mo traded skills with Rama with the Axe and warned Karna that pretending to be a Brahmin disciple could have made Rama break a sacred vow and suffer grave consequences. Karna went to apologize, while Bai Mo prepared for his departure and planned a graduation exam for Karna.

• Bai Mo and Rama with the Axe exchanged teachings, and Bai Mo quickly mastered Rama’s archery before demonstrating it with arrows that became suns.
• Bai Mo gave Karna a rune-engraved bow, then explained that Karna’s attempt to deceive Rama with the Axe could have violated Rama’s vow and brought curses and lost blessings.
• Bai Mo told Karna that Rama with the Axe had vowed to kill every Kshatriya after a Kshatriya king, who was his student, killed his father.
• Bai Mo urged Karna to remember the danger of acting without understanding the consequences and to apologize to Rama with the Axe.
• Kama appeared in a childlike form and relaxed beside Bai Mo, who said the Pandavas and the Hundred Sons of Dhritarashtra were nearly finished with their studies and that he would prepare Karna’s graduation exam.

Bai Mo decided Karna needed to face a life-threatening opponent to overcome his fear and grow stronger, so Rama with the Axe confronted him in the mountains. The chapter ended with Karna learning that his mentor believed him to be a Kshatriya and preparing to face Rama with the Axe’s deadly assault.

• Karna completed his training in the Hell War Armor and archery while Bai Mo and Rama with the Axe watched.
• Krishna told Bai Mo that the Pandavas and the Hundred Sons of Dhritarashtra would return to Hastinapura the next day, then suggested Rama with the Axe as a suitable opponent for Karna.
• Bai Mo asked Karna why he wanted power, and Karna said he wanted to keep improving himself.
• Bai Mo sent Karna into the mountains for a final examination against Rama with the Axe, who instead accused him of being a Kshatriya and attacked.
• Rama with the Axe struck Karna through a mountain with his axe, then returned his bow and ordered him to fight.

Karna endured Rama with the Axe’s deadly trial and gradually drew on Bai Mo’s training to fight back, eventually earning Rama with the Axe’s approval. Surya appeared and revealed that Karna was his son, leaving Karna stunned by the proof in their matching golden armor.

• Rama with the Axe attacked Karna, believing him to be a Kshatriya, and Karna struggled to defend himself.
• When Rama with the Axe began summoning Brahma’s Noble Phantasm, Karna fought back with greater focus and used Bai Mo’s techniques in close combat.
• Karna fought until he collapsed, but he kept resisting, and Rama with the Axe declared that he had passed the trial.
• Bai Mo arrived with Krishna and Kama, and Kama revealed that Surya had come to see Karna.
• Surya appeared, called Karna his son, and showed golden patterns matching Karna’s armor.

Karna learned that Surya was his father and Kunti was his mother, and Bai Mo helped him face the revelation without rushing to decide what it meant. As Bai Mo and Karna set out for Hastinapura, Karna received gifts from Surya, Rama with the Axe, and Bai Mo, while Krishna reported on the trouble he had handled.

• Karna questioned his origins after Surya confirmed he was his father, and learned that Kunti was his mother.
• Bai Mo urged Karna to stay calm and said they would travel somewhere to help clear his confusion.
• Surya comforted Karna, and Rama with the Axe gave him the spells for summoning and recalling Brahma's Noble Phantasm.
• Bai Mo gave Karna the Kuaiji Type Zero computing core to improve the Hell War Armor and continued his training with him.
• Surya celebrated Karna's training in Heaven while Indra held a feast for Arjuna's completion of his training.
• Krishna told Bai Mo he had dealt with Shamona, repelled Asura assassins, and clashed with Indra before joining Bai Mo and Karna on their journey to Hastinapura.

Karna returned to Hastinapura with Bai Mo, Krishna, and Kama, then reunited with his mother while Bai Mo and Kama explored the city. In a marketplace, Bai Mo stopped a powerful bully from assaulting a shopkeeper and learned that the returning princes had made the townspeople dread their old troubles.

• Karna arrived in Hastinapura and embraced his mother, Radha, who welcomed him home.
• Karna introduced Bai Mo and Krishna to Radha, while Kama reminded him that they had met before.
• Bai Mo took Kama to explore the marketplace, where he overheard townspeople worrying about Duryodhana and the other princes returning.
• A burly man threatened a shopkeeper over gold silk, and Bai Mo restrained him and made him leave.
• Kama revealed that she had burned the departing man's shoulder, and Bai Mo reflected that power could encourage ambitious men to abuse others.

The Pandavas returned to their mother, while Karna reunited with Radha and Adhiratha and discussed the coming princes’ skills exhibition with Bai Mo and Krishna. Karna decided to attend to display his abilities, and Bai Mo began arranging a challenge that would not involve the princes.

• The Pandavas returned to the palace and reunited with their mother, while Karna came home to Radha and Adhiratha.
• Krishna argued to Adhiratha that ability carried a responsibility to serve dharma, despite Adhiratha’s concerns about Karna entering elite martial affairs.
• Bai Mo warned Krishna that the skills exhibition could expose the gathered royals and nobles to a powerful attack, but Krishna said Duryodhana and his uncle would ensure it went ahead.
• After King Dhritarashtra ordered the exhibition, Karna asked Bai Mo to let him attend so he could demonstrate his skills, especially before Drona.
• Bai Mo told Karna not to challenge the princes, then began preparing another plan that left Karna uneasy.

Karna prepared to challenge Bhishma at Bai Mo’s urging while Bhima defeated Duryodhana in the princes’ exhibition. Bhima taunted Hastinapura over who could face Arjuna next, and the chapter left the princes without an apparent opponent for him.

• Vidura told Dhritarashtra that Nakula was fighting Duryodhana, while Bhishma received a message from someone challenging him to a martial exchange.
• A guard reported that the challenger wanted to prove that valor was not exclusive to Kshatriyas, prompting concern that ignoring the challenge would spread rumors of cowardice.
• Duryodhana defeated Nakula and humiliated him until Bhima entered the arena to fight.
• Bai Mo told Karna that he would spar with Bhishma instead of Arjuna, and Karna declared that he wanted to challenge caste-based society by displaying his strength.
• Bhima struck Duryodhana’s knee with his mace and began to embrace him, but Dhritarashtra stopped him before he could humiliate Duryodhana further.
• Bhima taunted the assembly that no one remained to face Arjuna, leaving Dhritarashtra wondering who could challenge the Pandavas’ strongest prince.

Arjuna challenged Karna when he arrived to face Bhishma or Drona, but Bhishma stepped in to prevent the brothers from fighting. As Karna prepared to face Bhishma, Bai Mo noticed a burly man watching Krishna with hostility.

• Dhritarashtra summoned Karna to challenge Bhishma or Drona, and Arjuna blocked Karna's path.
• Karna failed to recognize Arjuna and told him not to make trouble, angering Arjuna.
• Bhishma stopped Arjuna and declared that Karna would face him instead.
• Adhiratha, Radha, and Krishna cheered for Karna as he prepared to fight Bhishma.
• Bai Mo noticed a burly man glaring at Krishna, who said he did not know the man.

During Bhishma and Karna’s duel, Bai Mo uncovered Yao Lian’s plan to poison Hastinapura and kill its rulers, then created an antidote. Krishna consumed it and cured everyone in the city.

• Bhishma and Karna fought fiercely as Duryodhana admired Karna, while Arjuna rejected a servant’s suggestion to exploit Karna’s exhaustion and kill him.
• Bai Mo found Yao Lian after he fell from a roof and recognized the poison he had released.
• Yao Lian admitted he had poisoned Hastinapura to weaken its people and planned to kill Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, forcing Bhishma into a fight without his blessing.
• Bai Mo extracted poison from Yao Lian, restrained him, and discovered that the poison was also affecting Gandhari, Kunti, and the citizens.
• Bai Mo analyzed the poison and made an antidote, which Krishna swallowed, curing everyone in Hastinapura.

After Krishna took the antidote, Yao Lian escaped Bai Mo’s restraint and attacked Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti to force Bhishma to break his vow. Bai Mo protected the women and killed Yao Lian, while Karna called him master before Bhishma.

• Krishna took the antidote, and the assembled people recovered as Yao Lian escaped Bai Mo’s Magnetic Field Heavenly Lock.
• Yao Lian shot arrows at Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti, but Bhishma, Arjuna, and Karna tried to intercept them.
• Bai Mo caught the arrows aimed at Kunti and Gandhari, snapped them, and struck Yao Lian into the air.
• Yao Lian waited for Bai Mo in a cloud of black mist, but Bai Mo appeared behind him and killed him with a powerful punch.
• Karna called Bai Mo his master, and Bhishma regarded Bai Mo with new interest.

After Yao Lian’s death, Karna refused Dhritarashtra’s wealth and rejected Duryodhana’s offer of status, instead declaring that he wanted to build a nation where ability mattered more than birth. Dhritarashtra angrily condemned him, leaving Karna’s future alliance uncertain.

• Shakuni identified Karna to Duryodhana and urged him to befriend the powerful warrior.
• Bai Mo suspected Yao Lian had deliberately guided the attack into his own heart, then left Karna to make his own choices; Krishna warned Karna that true friends had to share a goal.
• Dhritarashtra offered Karna and Bai Mo ten chests of gold, but Karna refused the reward and Duryodhana proposed granting him a fitting status.
• Karna declared that he was proud to be a charioteer’s son and would accept Duryodhana’s support only if they shared his wish to build a nation where people were judged by their abilities rather than their birth.
• Dhritarashtra roared that Karna was absurd and foolish, while Karna’s parents looked on with pride.

Bai Mo traced Yao Lian’s fading fragment to a living man and decided to travel to the Kingdom of Magadha to deal with him. After Krishna departed to guide the Pandavas, Dhritarashtra grew furious over Karna’s remarks at the martial exhibition.

• Bai Mo used Kama as a medium to sense a muscular man who appeared to be another Yao Lian, confirming that Yao Lian was likely still alive.
• Bai Mo told Kama he would go to the Kingdom of Magadha, eliminate Yao Lian, and help Karna establish himself in Rajagriha.
• Krishna visited Bai Mo and Kama, then left to attend to the Pandavas’ affairs.
• Dhritarashtra complained to Bhishma that Karna had insulted his dignity by implying that a blind man was unfit to be king.

After Karna left Dhritarashtra’s court, Bai Mo and Kama set out for the Kingdom of Magadha, where a weeping woman trapped them on a forest road. Bai Mo recognized her as a Rakshasa and confronted her.

• Vidura called Dhritarashtra an unqualified acting king, and Bhishma mediated until Dhritarashtra agreed to let Karna leave Hastinapura with financial support.
• Bai Mo told Karna to stay behind while he and Kama traveled to the Kingdom of Magadha.
• Bhishma met Bai Mo and Kama at Hastinapura’s gates, gave Kama a conch, and asked Bai Mo to look after Karna.
• Bai Mo and Kama entered the Kingdom of Magadha, but a woman’s sobbing kept them trapped on a forest road.
• Bai Mo approached the crying woman and asked what she was trying to do, calling her a Rakshasa.

Karna agreed to leave Hastinapura and establish a kingdom of his own after Bhishma promised to protect his parents. In the Rakshasa Forest, Bai Mo confronted a band of Rakshasas and demanded to know what had happened in the Kingdom of Magadha.

• Bhishma told Karna to join the campaign against King Drupada and carve out a territory in Panchala.
• Bhishma promised to protect Karna’s parents, and Karna vowed never to return to Hastinapura once he established his own kingdom.
• Bai Mo took Vikatali toward the Kingdom of Magadha, and she led him to a clearing surrounded by Rakshasas.
• A Rakshasa attacked Bai Mo, who dodged and struck him down before asking about Yao Lian and the Kingdom of Magadha.
• When the Rakshasa lunged again, Bai Mo crushed his skull and used the Heart-Breaking Way to bring him to his knees.

Bai Mo and Kama captured a Rakshasa who revealed that King Yao Lian had allied with the Rakshasas to guard the woods around Magadha. After killing the captive, Bai Mo chose Vikatali to guide them toward the kingdom.

• Shiki teased Bai Mo for worrying about Arcueid, while Bai Mo held a Rakshasa at bladepoint and demanded answers.
• Kama burned the surrounding Rakshasas to ash and frightened Vikatali into silence.
• The captive Rakshasa revealed that King Yao Lian had ordered the ambush and that only Rakshasas could leave the woods protecting Magadha.
• Kama explained that Yao Lian used his Magnetic Field Power and the Rakshasas to defend his kingdom and exploit its people.
• Bai Mo killed the captive, discovered Vikatali could guide them out, and questioned her about the people she had lured into the forest.