Given $k \in \mathbb{N}^+$.  A sequence of subset of the integer set $\mathbb{Z} \supseteq  I_1 \supseteq  I_2 \supseteq \cdots \supseteq I_k$ is called a $k-chain$ if for each $1 \le i \le k$ we have
(i) $168 \in I_i$; 
(ii) $\forall x, y \in I_i$, we have $x-y \in I_i$. 
Determine the number of $k-chain$ in total. 
To determine the number of $k$-chains, we need to analyze the properties of the subsets $I_i$ of $\mathbb{Z}$ that satisfy the given conditions. 

1. **Identify the structure of $I_i$:**
   - Each $I_i$ is an additive subgroup of $\mathbb{Z}$.
   - Since $168 \in I_i$ and $I_i$ is closed under subtraction, $I_i$ must be of the form $d_i \mathbb{Z}$ for some positive divisor $d_i$ of $168$.
   - The divisors of $168$ are determined by its prime factorization: $168 = 2^3 \cdot 3 \cdot 7$.

2. **Determine the divisors of $168$:**
   - The positive divisors of $168$ are: $1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 12, 14, 21, 24, 28, 42, 56, 84, and 168$.
   - There are $16$ positive divisors in total.

3. **Formulate the $k$-chain condition:**
   - We need $d_1 \mid d_2 \mid \cdots \mid d_k$.
   - This means each $d_i$ must be a divisor of $168$ and must divide the next $d_{i+1}$ in the sequence.

4. **Count the number of valid sequences:**
   - We need to count the number of sequences $(d_1, d_2, \ldots, d_k)$ where each $d_i$ is a divisor of $168$ and $d_1 \mid d_2 \mid \cdots \mid d_k$.
   - This can be broken down into counting the sequences of exponents for each prime factor in the prime factorization of $168$.

5. **Count sequences for each prime factor:**
   - For the factor $2^3$, we need to count sequences $(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_k)$ where $0 \le a_1 \le a_2 \le \cdots \le a_k \le 3$. Using the stars and bars method, the number of such sequences is $\binom{k+3}{3}$.
   - For the factor $3^1$, we need to count sequences $(b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_k)$ where $0 \le b_1 \le b_2 \le \cdots \le b_k \le 1$. The number of such sequences is $\binom{k+1}{1} = k+1$.
   - For the factor $7^1$, we need to count sequences $(c_1, c_2, \ldots, c_k)$ where $0 \le c_1 \le c_2 \le \cdots \le c_k \le 1$. The number of such sequences is $\binom{k+1}{1} = k+1$.

6. **Combine the counts:**
   - The total number of $k$-chains is the product of the counts for each prime factor:
     \[
     \text{Total number of } k\text{-chains} = (k+1) \cdot (k+1) \cdot \binom{k+3}{3} = (k+1)^2 \binom{k+3}{3}.
     \]

The final answer is $\boxed{(k+1)^2 \binom{k+3}{3}}$.