Phantom Blade Zero: All Bosses List (Locations, Weaknesses, Stats)

A witless, frenzied brute who underwent Transcension. He bound his face in scraps of metal scavenged from the wilds to suppress his Sha-Chi, yet his madness only grew more terrifying.

His weapon, Jagged Steel, was seized from a disciple of Huangxing, a Pillar of the Mandate. Though chipped and rusted, its edge still tears wounds that will not stop bleeding.

All who witness his frenzied swings recoil in fear.

A puppet bride has arranged a wedding hall amid the spider lilies beneath the Sha-Chi Tower in Weeping Creek Valley. All who follow the marriage contract or the rumors fall to her Scarlet Wraithblade. Their bodies lie among the flowers born beneath that blade, nourishing the Flesh Lilies.

Hua and Hui grew up together and had long loved one another. Her father, coveting wealth, ignored both her wishes and the Li bridegroom's feeble mind, forcing her to marry into the family. To extinguish her hopes, he even conspired with the Lis to murder Hui.

Hui's empty grave still stands behind the wedding hall. Though Hua has become a puppet and forgotten much of her past, one belief endures: when the Flesh Lily ripens, her beloved will return to life.

Eldest of the Four Axes, Peng Meng underwent Transcension to avenge the other three. His body grew massive, his flesh hardened, and his strength became immense. His great axe could split stone and sunder mountains. Several Mandate elites fell beneath it.

In the valley, a Mandate squad subdued him only at terrible cost. Thick chains were driven through his shoulder blades, binding him behind the Outpost.

Once, the four brothers drank deep and feasted heartily. They performed deeds of chivalry, yet their axes also claimed countless innocent lives amid the Wulin's bloodshed. In those days, every debt was still settled by the Wulin's rules.

Then three brothers were murdered through treachery, and Mandate squads hunted the last. Cornered and desperate, Peng Meng surrendered his final shred of reason and sank utterly into Transcension.

His flesh and armor lie torn open, yet his ruined body does not fall. Through the bloody mist, two steel arms unfold from the Hunt's back and grasp another pair of gleaming chain sickles. His four arms strike in turn or send all four scythes flying at once, extending and recoiling without pattern. Their pull can shake the earth and raise blasts of force. Even in retreat, he can strike back to kill.

Such is the extraordinary result of Transcension applied to the Order's Shadow Wardens: monsters that remain faithful to the new Shadow Sovereign, however grotesque their alterations.

The Hunt does not notice the ceaseless demand for slaughter screaming through his mind. Butchering Maskwalkers and Mandate fighters brings no satisfaction... He blames his quarry. This Master Soul is more troublesome than any before him, and must surely offer greater pleasure in the hunt. Yet is the hunter himself not prey to his own desires?

A swordsman in blue stands drunk on the bridge to Pangzhen, pouring wine over his mask. He waits for the man who once broke his sword.

Hua Qianxiao spent his life pursuing mastery of the sword and long stood at the pinnacle. Then those who had barely lost to him began falling easily to Maskwalkers, while mediocre fighters toppled Wulin masters overnight. The message was clear: without Transcension, the age would leave him behind.

He left the choice to his wine. One cup meant yes, the next no. By the time he could drink no more, he had forgotten which answer came last. Perhaps drink let him forget the cost.

Afterward, Hua Qianxiao found stronger companions. Those of the righteous path who condemned him fell easily to his blade, offering little satisfaction. Only when the Pillars of Kunlun sought help from the mysterious Order did he find something new to anticipate.

He never imagined his prized five-foot blade would break. Nor that every gaze upon the fracture would make him laugh louder and fight fiercer. Yet no amount of laughter could ease a drunken swordsman’s obsession.

A woman who fights with a pair of strange serpent swords. Her strikes are vicious and uncanny; her beauty is enough to make one forget the danger. Those who draw near seldom meet a kind end.

A year ago, when the Order and the Three Pillars of Kunlun joined to fight the four great Maskwalkers, Bai Chilian was one of them. In that battle, the Chord's pipa shattered, and a vast illusion poured out, drowning the woods and trapping Bai Chilian within.

This Mirrorwood, warped by Phantom Art, has neither sun nor moon, neither life nor death, only endless forgetting and void. All Bai Chilian can do is send her snakes to hunt for the pipa. Mend the pipa, and the Lady will save her... save her once more...

Snakes beget snakes; snakes replace snakes. The snakes go out and return. The pipa is never found. She begins to lose hold of herself: in rage, she hacks a few snakes apart, curses them for sloth, for running wild, even for conspiring to deceive her; then she buries those loyal creatures in tears and coos to the newly hatched not to fear her, not to resent her, not to leave her... She is still of use to the Lady. She will mend the pipa.

A leader of the mounted raiders, Jing Ye rides a blood-red warhorse. Both horse and rider are covered in menacing steel spikes, like a wasteland of thorns charging at full speed. Brutal and bloodthirsty, he has spent years pillaging across the eastern Wulin, taking particular pleasure in hunting down those of the righteous path from horseback.

A year ago, Jing Ye was defeated by the Order and the Three Pillars of Kunlun. Rather than flee far, he gathered his men in the mountains and seized the main roads, turning trenches and hidden passages left behind by the righteous forces into ambush traps.

His martial skill has only grown since. His iron-spiked round shield can be hurled at enemies, and its defenses are difficult to break without a broad, powerful blade. Enemy heads hang from his waist, ready to be crushed for blood, which he shapes into spikes with Sha-Chi and launches from afar. With the Outlaw’s Warblade, he can drain blood from enemies to restore himself, or expend his own blood to strengthen his attacks.

Yet this deranged outlaw was once a young man carrying a treasured blade and an earnest desire to join the righteous path. The blade remains the same, but the man has changed. Those righteous warriors who once rode past him without a second glance have all since fallen beneath his blade, yet he still feels his "great vengeance" remains unfulfilled.

A master of fist arts and one of the four great Maskwalkers the Order and the Three Pillars of Kunlun fought a year ago. Hulking and heavily muscled, his fists seem forged from iron. His fighting style is unpredictable, while every blow lands with tremendous force. Trading blows with him head-on is unwise, but agile movement may reveal an opening.

Unlike his senior brother, Iron Fiend, who fought to protect the weak, Iron Fever lives for combat. He seeks only to inherit his master’s legacy and carry on his master’s martial art. To reach the level of fist mastery his master attained before death, he even underwent Sha-Chi Transcension using his master’s relic.

At first, Iron Fever reveled in his newfound power, challenging anyone, whether from the Mandate or the Maskwalkers. In doing so, he even made a number of "Maskwalker friends." Though he sensed the power within him growing harder to control, he believed his mask, steel spikes, and sheer willpower could keep it in check. But after last year’s battle, his bloodlust grew stronger, threatening to eclipse even his desire to perfect his martial art.

Hearing that an old enemy would once again pass through this forest, Iron Fever returned to the site of their former battle. This battle is fought with his fists, but also to bring an end to what remains. For the self he knows will soon be consumed by Sha-Chi, he seeks to see one thing through to the end.

Within the statue grounds stands the body of Master Bi Yuan. His worn Daoist robes cannot hide his unyielding spirit. He wields Tianxuan Bronze Sword, a blunt heavy blade with faintly gleaming diamond patterns. Sword and body move as one, flowing between offense and defense as he scatters countless blades of sword chi, making him difficult to approach.

Bi Yuan cared little for the mysteries of Heaven's Way or martial mastery. He wandered freely, driving ghosts from villages and hunting fiends in the fields. Months ago, while passing Village of Lu, he saw puppets spreading through the area and red flowers covering the faces of gods and Buddhas. Alarmed, he wrote to an old friend, left his sect, and returned to investigate.

He found people and puppets alike lost in confusion, believing the Herald of the Veil's lies. Bi Yuan raised his sword to resist, but the puppets' anguished cries made him hesitate, allowing the Herald's strings to bind him.

Now his body has fallen, and the puppets by the well have released their souls to wander free once more. The Dao is ever nameless, hidden beyond name. Bi Yuan has no regrets. Given another chance, he would make the same journey again.

Gatekeeper under Wu Xuan, stationed at Village of Lu. Clad in heavy armor, he wears a helmet that conceals a single blood red eye and carries a massive shield bearing the face of a fearsome beast. In battle, he swings the shield in crushing blows and wide sweeps, or slams it into the ground to send dust surging upward. He can also crouch behind it and charge forward. Slow and heavy, he makes no attempt to dodge, relying on his armor and formidable physique to withstand every attack.

He grew up in military camps, knowing only horns and orders, with no knowledge of ordinary life beyond them. The general ordered east, he went east. If the general ordered him west, he went west. When the general ordered him to undergo Transcension, he silently obeyed without the slightest hesitation.

He has long since forgotten himself. All that remains is an unshakable fixation on his duty to guard. Immovable as a mountain, he holds his post and refuses to let any enemy advance even a single step. He has not looked behind him in far too long, unaware that red threads now wind through the village and puppets fill the ground.

Yanru is one of the four Acolytes serving under the High Elder. Through a scarecrow, she conceals herself within the Discordance.

Clad in scarlet robes and wielding a fly whisk, Yanru turns fire into a weapon of slaughter. A sweep of the whisk sends fireballs tearing through the air. She can leap into the sky, summon doubles to rain fire from above, and form a ring of flame that scorches everything around her. If enemies draw near, flames erupt from her sleeves. She can also escape through fire, leaving only a burning afterimage behind.

By order of the High Elder, she hunts the defectors Firefly and Dusk. Her mind has long since descended into madness. She delights in planting fear in others and savoring the terror of her prey, believing the suffering of living things to be the finest offering to the Lady.

All living things are as insignificant as weeds. When the Merciful Lady descends, world burning flames will consume the old world, while pain and wailing adorn the new... Yanru longs for that day.

Beyond the Smuggler's Tunnel, Master Bi Hai's body waits in the stream. His monk's robes hang in tatters, and his half open eyes still show compassion. As chants resound, a golden qi bell descends to shield him from blades, fire, and water, while three Bronze Men appear to guard him and attack without rest until destroyed.

Master Bi Hai had long withdrawn from the world and seldom witnessed bloodshed. He wished only for peace across the realm, believing devotion to the Buddha's law could deliver people from calamity. Yet even the ancient temple could not shut out the sound of greed, and he came to realize that false teachings had already taken hold.

Master Bi Yuan's invitation gave him a chance to put that belief to the test. Though already in his seventies, he willingly faced danger, hoping through faith to guide the lost and prove the path of deliverance. Even knowing the Herald had taken villagers hostage and set a trap, he entered it willingly, offering himself in exchange for their freedom.

His body is bound, unable to live or die, yet his steadfast heart keeps Phantom Arts from leading him astray. Now he has burned himself as a lamp, casting a single ray of clarity. He hopes the prayer beads he leaves behind may help those still trapped see the emptiness of the Five Aggregates and find release from suffering.

A puppeteer who defected from the High Elder. He wears yellow ritual robes and an ancient bronze mask set with scarlet eyes, its solemn appearance carrying an eerie menace. Using the Puppeteer's Bell, he commands puppet constructs and massive severed limbs to fight alongside him, and can summon doubles to confuse his enemies.

After hiding for so long in the puppet disposal pit, Dusk has nearly lost his mind. The broken bodies piled around him are discarded subjects from the Herald's puppet experiments, still carrying fragments of the villagers' consciousness. Dusk was ordered to cast them into the pit and leave them there. Their voices never cease: Save us, Master Dusk... Can we still be cured... Take us home... Their pleas cut into his mind again and again.

To stop the Lady's descent, he willingly underwent Transcension and feigned allegiance to the Herald. He promised the villagers he would create a medicine to cure the slumbering sickness. He and his junior sister Firefly had also promised that once it was all over, they would find somewhere warm and tend flowers together... Yet this is what became of them.

Consumed by guilt and Sha-Chi, Dusk begs Soul to end his life. With his last shred of clarity, he burns away what remains of his body and reveals to Soul the horrifying ritual of the High Elders.

Mu Tianmiao’s only daughter and Soul’s childhood friend. Lively, straightforward, and self assured, Xiaokui has loved swordplay since childhood and shows remarkable talent for martial arts. With the slender sword Wild Oriole in hand, she fights with graceful speed, striking ten times in an instant as sword shadows scatter around her. Light as a swallow, she excels at aerial slashes and thrusts, her attacks carrying a sharpness and vitality all her own.

Then everything changed. The father she had always believed unshakable was murdered, and the killer was Soul.

Zuo Shang seemed to accept it almost immediately. He comforted her, promising to avenge their Shifu and give both her and the Order an answer. But Xiaokui wished he would tell her there had been some misunderstanding. Their happy days together still felt so close. Her father was always going on about his ideals, yet he would still indulge her excuses to drag Soul away for sword practice, while Zuo Shang stayed behind to keep him company.

They were all precious family to her. So what happened? Why did the person she had trusted without question, the one she had dreamed of roaming the Wulin with and righting wrongs beside, leave without a single explanation and head alone to Pangzhen with the Order in pursuit?

A "Vessel-class" Musician Puppet guarding the puppet testing grounds, Yuzan looks almost like the Chord’s twin. She plucks her pipa, turning its haunting notes into razor-sharp blades. But techniques learned through imitation are never flawless. Precisely parrying her sound waves and blue sound blades causes them to strike back at her.

Her creator sought to build a puppet that could rival or even surpass "Vessel Zero," and Yuzan was one product of that endeavor. She stood out among countless puppets carrying the consciousness of Village of Lu residents, but still failed to truly satisfy her creator.

Her desire to live and strength of will allowed her to endure the agony of Soul Displacement. But a lack of talent and martial foundation could never be overcome. In the end, imitation was all she excelled at.

As her creator's patience wore thin, the punishments grew harsher. Yuzan could only practice the pipa harder, hoping that one day she might... might what? Become "Vessel Zero"? She can no longer remember what kept her going this long.

And the longer she practiced, the more clearly she understood that she could never become "Vessel Zero."

Through the Lóng Pillar, Soul falls into a place where fire and darkness intertwine. The ruins of pavilions burn endlessly in the darkness, as though a disaster has been frozen at its most brutal moment. Amid the scorched earth, a man in black wearing a golden mask slowly appears, his steps calm and his bearing that of a master. Something about it all feels strangely familiar to Soul.

The man in black wields an ornate, vivid red blade. His strikes are precise and seasoned, his movements graceful as a shadow. Whenever Soul’s blade draws near, he slips aside in an instant, leaving the attack to fall short. If he meant to win, he would be a formidable opponent, yet he holds back with every strike, deliberately using the battle to guide Soul’s martial arts.

Few in the world possess such martial mastery. After the trial, the man in black tells Soul to remember the name “Bastion of Mó.” Clearly, this mysterious master is from the Bastion of Mó... Could he be Mó Yuan, leader of the Bastion of Mó?

Could the other Lóng Pillars lead Soul to him again and reveal more answers?

Captain of the Shadow Wardens, clad in scarlet and wearing a golden mask. He wields a pair of chain hammers filled with phosphor powder. As the chains whirl, the powder scatters, setting enemies alight on contact. Slamming the hammers into the ground can unleash a shower of phosphor fire around him.

As one who wields fire, Blaze knows well how fierce phosphor flame can be. He has always treated it with caution and respect. The Mindseal within him also keeps the Order above all else, leaving little thought for his own well being.

That changed when he happened to save a wandering healer during a mission. The healer offered him a mask in thanks, remarking that someone of Blaze's standing deserved something splendid to reflect his rank. Blaze meant to refuse, but the healer swore on his life that the mask could help him control Sha-Chi and greatly improve his martial techniques.

Day after day, year after year, Blaze had repeated the same techniques simply to keep the phosphor fire under control. The monotony had long worn on him. And after years as a captain, never rising into the ranks of the Order's masters, the frustration had been burning within him as well.

In that moment, he could no longer find a reason to refuse.

An elite Shadow Warden who guards the streets of Pangzhen. Clad in black from head to toe, he is as still and impenetrable as a moonless night, the two edges of Armybreaker in his hands stained with blood. His movements are broad and powerful, each rise and fall betraying years of disciplined training. His saber work flows freely between advance and retreat. He thrusts, cleaves, and sweeps, the blade sending rubble and dust roaring through the air, its force bearing down on the entire street.

He was once an elite of the Mandate, fierce and fearless in battle. That instinct to obey orders, ingrained in him to the very bone, only grew deeper under the "Mindseal." When he faces an enemy, he weighs neither gain nor loss and harbors not a trace of personal thought. He exists only to carry out the Shadow Sovereign’s commands, fearless of death and unstoppable in his advance. Every battle is a feast of combat meant for him alone.

Armybreaker and he have long since become one. His body is the blade. The command is his path.

A gaunt woman in white keeps vigil by a dry well, singing over and over that she has heard her beloved call to her. Anyone who dares disturb her delusion is caught in her flowing sleeves like blades and trapped by Phantom Arts in endless darkness.

Once, she witnessed a disciple of the High Elder conjure countless illusions through the sound of a zither, each one breathtakingly beautiful, and she followed the disciple without hesitation. But what the High Elder taught was merely another form of Sha-Chi Transcension. She never found a way to bring opera and Phantom Arts together, and instead was left with a face that grew increasingly twisted and disfigured. It was a letter from her beloved that gave her the resolve to risk everything to escape that twisted path.

After barely escaping with her life, she fled the sect, hiding her ruined face behind a mask and suppressing her Sha-Chi so she could make her way to the place where she and her beloved had promised to meet. Yet in all of Pangzhen, there was no familiar face to be found. Using her strange arts to search, she found instead a lingering trace of her beloved's memory.

He had loved listening to her sing in life, so the well became her stage, and she became a woman trapped between opera and dream... As long as she keeps singing, her beloved will return. Even if every song is filled with the sound of her weeping.\

A general who once led his troops in bloody battles against the Maskwalkers, later stationed in the backstreets of Pangzhen. His heavy armor shares its origins with that of Zhuo Bi, gatekeeper of the Village of Lu. Looming like an iron tower, he swings his spiked club with crushing force and the bloodlust of a rabid wolf. When cornered, he can turn Sha-Chi into Chaos Fire to sear his enemies.

Countless Transcended have died at his hands, their devices grafted onto his own body. He still lives in the years when Maskwalkers roamed in hordes. Defying every objection, he ordered his entire army to undergo Transcension, only to see his comrades all descend into madness. After putting them down himself, he embedded their devices in his flesh, hoping to bring them home that way.

But his corruption has gone too deep. As device upon device accumulates, his humanity falls away. His consciousness has begun to pass briefly between the Waking Realm and the Discordance, even drawing close to the latter's depths... He understands now that this is their true home. He must devour more devices, draw ever nearer, and deliver the countless souls of the dead to the Blight!

Thunder splits the sky as man and horse descend from above. Chang Hong is a master of the spear, highly accomplished within the Order, calm and steady in manner, and guided by a strong sense of justice. He is also an old friend who once fought side by side with Soul.

As a youth, Chang Hong learned the spear from an elderly escort and mastered his techniques within a month. He continued training tirelessly, practicing his spear against the ripples of water, until his skill advanced to the point where he could gather lightning and call down thunder.

After witnessing brutal conflicts beyond the Wulin, Chang Hong came to value peace and stability within both the Wulin and the Order. He keeps a low profile and rarely uses his true name. Even when he married and had a child, he invited only a handful of close friends to celebrate. In quieter moments, he can often be found sitting in a corner of the Pavilion of Knowledge, drinking alone.

Now that he and Soul meet again, has he come to settle a personal matter, or to carry out the Order's command?

A healer who has made the backstreets of Pangzhen his domain, wearing a mask adorned with copper coins. His skill far surpasses that of his peers, earning him the admiration of the Transcended. But his treatments consume far more Sha-Chi than those of ordinary deranged healers.

His master’s tragic fate taught him that even benevolent healers may meet bitter ends, while his junior Xie Xiaorong’s obscurity showed that years of hard work can still go unnoticed. Together, these became excuses for his own wasted years and failed ambition.

When Perfect Transcension spread through Pangzhen, he saw his chance. Using his practice to lure in Transcended women of the Baishan Sect, he drained them of Sha-Chi, then gave a little of that stolen power to desperate people in need. Those he treated hailed him as the greatest healer of the age, while few noticed the piles of Transcended corpses.

The copper coins on his mask jingle as he greedily drinks in the sweet Sha-Chi. He gave those wretches a few more days to live. In his mind, that makes him the true healer who decides who lives and who dies.

A Maskwalker who hunts the living along Pangzhen's waterways. He wears the Ironclad Loong Helm, is as at home in the water as on land, and with a single fishing spear can churn the waters into towering waves. He uses the water to his advantage, rising and sinking beneath the surface, appearing and vanishing without a trace. Every river, lake, and marsh is his hunting ground.

He was once the leader of the Blackwater Crew. Through sheer valor, he drove off river bandits and guarded the waterways, earning the people's trust and becoming their chosen leader. The crew grew prosperous, with its own docks and waterways that sustained the livelihoods of the surrounding people. Many heroes came to join him, while some elders chose this place as a refuge in their later years.

Later, the Three Pillars of Kunlun came to hunt the Maskwalkers. Eager to aid the Mandate, the Blackwater Crew combined their water arts with Perfect Transcension. Instead, every member of the crew was transformed, lying in wait beneath the water and hunting the living... Yet they were still brothers.

He was no match for Soul, and the Ironclad Loong Helm was badly damaged. The Sha-Chi within him became impossible to suppress, so You Loong fled through the water... He must not die here. Otherwise, the young and old of the village, and his brothers in the crew, would have no one left to depend on...

Beyond the fissure in the Lady's statue lies the courtyard of a long-abandoned manor. Tattered sedan chairs, opera costumes, and performing puppets crowd its corners. Half a puppet hangs above the central doorway.

An Aberrant Three-faced Puppet guards this place. Its masks seem to house three distinct minds. Steel Mask is forceful and decisive. Frost Mask is timid and hesitant, startled by every shadow. Chaos Mask still sleeps.

When Soul intrudes, Steel Mask invokes the Herald's promise and attacks. Her fierce swordplay draws upon the Discordance to vanish and shift in an instant, each strike swift and savage. When pressed, she unleashes a powerful assault and forces Soul out.

The strength of the other two faces remains unknown. Learn this puppet's weaknesses, and a future encounter may end in her complete defeat.

One of the four Acolytes serving under the High Elder. Through a scarecrow, she conceals herself within the Discordance.

Clad in dark green robes and wielding a fly whisk, she turns lightning into a weapon of slaughter. With a flick of the whisk, pillars of lightning strike from above. She can move with the lightning and, with herself at the center, spread a circular lightning array that blasts everything around her.

She was originally ordered by the High Elder to infiltrate Pangzhen and monitor the Herald, but the Thread-Binding sect was too heavily guarded for her to find an opening. Later, at the High Elder's command, she turned her attention to the Human-Faced Banyan, where strange phenomena had repeatedly appeared. The tree is brimming with Sha-Chi. If she can find a way to seize that power, it may help open the Rift and hasten the Lady's descent...

Mortal laws are far too lenient. But when the Merciful Lady descends, divine thunder from the Nine Heavens will pass judgment on all. False principles will crumble, sin will be punished, and absolute justice will reshape the world... Lei Ting believes this without question.

Deep in the Sha-Chi-choked ruins of the lion dance hall, fire lights the night. Grandmaster Flame holds the steel lion head high, with Second-in-Command Senior Mo as the tail behind him. The two step onto the burning Plum Blossom Stakes, leaping and turning in perfect sync, their every movement capturing the majesty of the mighty lion.

Yet both dancers are controlled by masks sewn onto their faces. Every leap and lunge carries murderous intent. Saw blades whirl on either side of the lion head like a beast’s fangs, devouring whatever stands before them. The fire spewing from the lion’s mouth can no longer drive away evil. Instead, it burns everything around it, fueled by Sha-Chi.

The disaster began with the New Year’s Eve bells that stirred the Sha-Chi. The uncontrolled flames unleashed a slaughter, burning the people of the estate and the Lion Dance Disciples alike. Flame himself was gravely wounded and left dying in the inferno, where Leng Tu subjected him to Perfect Transcension and used the mask to control his mind.

A lion dancer whose calling was to subdue evil would not become an evil thing himself. With the last of his will, he sealed his own meridians and suppressed his murderous nature. He waits for a new one to pluck the green to come through the flames, end this calamity, and burn away the evils of the world in his stead.

An elite Shadow Warden who guards the docks of Pangzhen, clad in solemn black robes, his attire and appearance much like Cavalrybane, who fights to defend the streets. Two female disciples of the Baishan Sect often accompany him, acting at his command. He wields a pair of Parting Hooks, which spin like rings as he fights. His techniques are precise and disciplined, equally suited to offense and defense, with a particular skill for turning defense into offense.

Rumor has it that he spent half his life observing the rules and precepts of his sect, firmly believing that justice would prevail. Yet when his loved ones and sworn friends were wrongfully imprisoned and unjustly executed, he saw through the so-called righteousness and order of the Mandate, realizing them to be nothing more than empty words. He cast aside his past and devoted himself to the order of the Shadow Sovereign.

Soulclaimer never acts without careful preparation and will never enter a fight without certainty of victory. He has no interest in the worldly distinction between right and wrong, caring only that rules are followed and order maintained. In his eyes, rules are the very definition of fairness. Yet against Soul, even his careful calculations proved insufficient.

In the barren graveyard, Xue gnaws on rotting corpses. She casts hungry looks at the living and the dead within sight. As she swings her rake wildly, she can summon several shadowy figures in her own image.

While fleeing disaster last year, Xue nearly died of cold and hunger. A band of wandering heroes came to her aid, promising to keep her safe and teach her martial arts. But their promises ended in a clash with Maskwalkers outside the encampment. She can no longer remember which of them told her to hide and promised to return... When she went looking for them, she found only a few mutilated bodies, their faces unrecognizable.

Xue buried the bodies, gathered up what lay scattered around, and waited quietly for the heroes to return... But her pack grew emptier by the day. There had long been nothing left to eat inside.

When hunger struck again, she dug into the soft earth before her. A voice in her head told her that vegetable roots and sweet potatoes could be found beneath the soil...

A mysterious woman in red who once appeared atop the Dovecote tower. Her swordplay is light and graceful, yet Sha-Chi has already burned her face into a twisted hollow. A thread of reason remains. She stays atop the tower as if waiting for someone important. Thus, when she fought Soul, she had no intention of giving it her all. Driven by Sha-Chi, she could barely control herself.

She came from an evil sect, yet fell in love with the Chief Disciple of a Mandate sect. The Mandate's upper ranks could never tolerate the sect she came from, and their love became an excuse to persecute her. They subjected her to humiliation after humiliation, then hypocritically spared her life.

How absurd. Those same leaders had no desire to stand against inhuman creatures, yet were willing to go to great lengths to deal with a small sect living in seclusion. They proclaimed themselves the righteous path, yet possessed not a fraction of the courage and integrity of the disciples beneath them.

To survive, and to seek revenge, she underwent Transcension. But as she stands atop the tower, looking down upon the ruined Mandate Encampment, does she wonder if it was all for nothing? Or perhaps, when it comes to the love and hatred of her life, she has no regrets.

Wan Jun, a massive hammer wielder guarding the Mandate Encampment, bears scars across his body from Perfect Transcension. His Bashpole can shatter stone and shake the ground with every blow.

Feared for his strength and mocked for being slow-witted, Wan Jun found companionship only in the pigeons that perched on his arms. Huangxing scolded him for wasting such strength on birds and taught him Perfect Transcension, promising it would sharpen his mind and make him a warrior admired across the Wulin.

No one had ever expected so much of Wan Jun before. From then on, he followed Huangxing without question. Even as Sha-Chi clouded his mind, he remained at the Encampment gate, carrying out his orders.

The Encampment now lies in ruins, but the pigeons still linger beside him. When Soul finally defeats him, one thought flashes through his fading mind: Huangxing’s promise that Perfect Transcension came without cost was a lie.

Guhe is one of the four Acolytes serving under the High Elder. Through a scarecrow, he conceals himself within the Discordance.

Clad in eerie purple robes, he wields deadly poison as a weapon. With a sweep of his fly whisk, toxic mist spreads in all directions, seeping into bone and corroding martial arts. He can also conjure a poisonous double to use the same techniques. At close range, poison erupts from his sleeves and eats away at his enemies. Those afflicted suffer excruciating pain as the poison gnaws at their organs and steadily drains their vitality, until they finally perish in agony.

By order of the High Elder, he dwells at the heart of the Meigu Lake islands, watching the lake day and night. Anyone who might hinder the Lady of the Veil’s descent is eliminated without exception. Whenever a ritual array shows signs of disturbance, whatever the cause or truth behind it, he personally goes to dismantle it and strip away the facade.

The flesh is but an illusion, and all life eventually decays. Yet when the merciful Lady of the Veil descends, poison will spread across the world and strip away every false appearance... Guhe longs for that day.

A woman who wanders before a ruined songhouse, playing the zither in her arms day and night without rest. The instrument seems almost alive, its ringing notes giving voice to her pent-up resentment and indignation, spilling them over any living thing that strays here.

Yan’er was once a renowned zither player who captivated every audience. She thought she had found true love with a great hero and even bore his child, only to be met with an assassin’s blade... In the debauched life of that Mandate sect leader, there was never any place for the happiness a lowly musician could hope for.

After narrowly surviving the calamity, Yan’er was taken in by the High Elder and given the name Yan Qiansui. But what the High Elder truly wanted was the child in her womb. To him, her unborn child was merely a sacrifice to shorten the passage. When Yan Qiansui learned the truth behind her child’s death, she was alive in body but dead inside. Yet it seemed all she could do was flee from the truth.

Only the zither that had always remained by her side could offer her a little comfort, allowing her to lose herself in a fleeting dream of past splendor and seek a salvation that never existed.

On an island in northern Meigu Lake, Soul encounters You Loong again. Drawn here by instinct, he wields the Blackwater Crew’s treasured Loong Trident, while Sha-Chi rises from his damaged Loong Helm. His once-disciplined techniques are now wild and vicious, driven by bloodlust. Even the surging waves seem bent on slaughter.

He was once a reckless youth, a bold leader who gathered heroes and fought to defend the Mandate against the Maskwalkers. Now Sha-Chi has consumed him. He clings to his last shred of clarity only to return here.

But the Blackwater Crew’s headquarters is no longer what it was. His fellow crew members have become fish-headed monsters, turning on the village they once swore to protect. The villagers who once brought them food and drink have either fled or been devoured.

He still remembers his duty as their leader. But there is no one left to protect.

With the Chief Disciple at their head, the seven wield their swords as one, arrayed in the shape of the Northern Dipper, hence the name Seven-Star Formation. After Perfect Transcension, they became bound by Sha-Chi, their movements in attack and retreat perfectly synchronized.

These seven prided themselves on their integrity, devoted to punishing evil, upholding justice, and honing their swordsmanship, never seeking to contend with others. Yet the Chief Disciple fell in love with a woman from an evil sect, violating the Mandate’s rules. Though his swordsmanship was peerless and his many achievements had long made amends, the alliance still refused to promote him and repeatedly marginalized him. He merely laughed it off and bore every injustice.

He would not betray the woman he loved or his sect. Between the irreconcilable paths of "righteousness" and "evil," he sought a path he could follow with a clear conscience. Yet he often felt he owed too much to the junior disciples who had followed him all these years.

They never blamed their senior brother, instead burning with indignation over the injustices he suffered. Then that incident... shattered their last respect for the alliance’s upper ranks. They realized that meekly yielding only made them pawns to be used and trampled at will.

Consumed by resentment, they underwent Perfect Transcension. The alliance used this to expel them, making them even less known in the Wulin, especially their Chief Disciple, the foremost swordsman who led the formation.

The senior disciple of the Baishan Sect and Bi Taotao’s first disciple. When Soul encountered Wu Lengshuang in the Confinement, her mask was already cracked as she struggled to suppress the Sha-Chi surging within her. Even with a soft sword in hand, supple yet unyielding, she retained her usual grace and poise.

Like Bi Taotao, Wu Lengshuang believed both Perfect Transcension and Transcension to be unorthodox arts. After her master disappeared, she set out to find her and uncover the truth.

She never imagined her fellow disciples had been turned into Maskwalkers and Puppets until she saw it herself. After uncovering the truth, she too was transformed. Even as her Sha-Chi spiraled out of control, she remained concerned for her master, who had been taken to the end of the mountain path.

Born the daughter of a wealthy merchant, she took up martial arts after seeing the chaos of the world. The flexibility she developed through dance became frenzied swordplay under Sha-Chi’s influence. Once the senior disciple of Baishan, she could no longer protect her sect or face her elders. Transformed in body and tormented at heart, only loyalty and sorrow remained.

A "Vessel-class" Swordfighter Puppet with bladed lower legs, built from material harder than refined iron and crafted with exquisite precision. Bi Taotao’s former features still linger in its face, her black hair flowing as before, with a pair of Stormswords in hand, wind and thunder following their strikes.

Taking charge of the Baishan Sect feels like only yesterday. Back then, she cast aside her timidity and vowed to weather every storm for the sect and restore it to its former glory.

When word came that Huangxing was pushing Perfect Transcension, Bi Taotao rushed to the Mandate Encampment overnight to demand an explanation. Instead, she walked into a trap that closed in from both sides.

She believed they still honored the rules of the righteous path. She believed compromise could protect her disciples. In the end, nothing was saved. Her treasured memories were drawn out one by one, leaving her hollow before she was forced into a puppet’s body. The Stormswords remained in her hands, but only emptiness remained within. The wreckage on the training ground fills her with sorrow, only for her to quickly forget why she feels sorrow at all.

In the end, she knows only that she has forgotten something deeply important. Even as she suffers from that loss, that memory too is suddenly taken from her.

An elite swordsman under Huangxing. His broad, low-hanging straw hat conceals the false face beneath it. He wields the Juggernaut, a rough and mottled blade whose every sweeping slash strikes with the force of a falling mountain.

He once carried his blade across the wastelands, fighting Maskwalkers in bloody battles time and again. But while his blade could cut down every Maskwalker, it could not cut away the corruption and decay of the Mandate’s upper ranks.

They withheld supplies, watched their disciples perish, and indulged themselves while corpses piled up on the front lines. The Mandate’s survival, ideals, and glory were nothing more than pawns in their schemes. With each disappointment, his zeal to defend the Mandate slowly faded.

Until Master Huangxing, one of the Three Pillars of Kunlun, used an iron hand and sword to tear open the stench of corruption within the Encampment, leading his followers to cut away its deep-rooted ills.

The fire in his heart, long dormant, burned anew. The Mandate could still be rebuilt, and that hope was not far away. It lay in the hands of the man he had chosen to follow: Master Huangxing.

A frenzied, arrogant brute in a mask cobbled together from scrap metal, wielding a broad-headed axe in one hand. Dried blood cakes the heavy blade. When it comes down, its weight and force are brutal, every blow filled with madness.

He once followed closely behind his reckless elder brother, quietly cleaning up the mess he left behind. He always remembered their mother’s teaching: they were brothers by blood and should help one another. Even after Transcension, he had not forgotten it entirely. So why, when the Mandate captured him, did his own brother not even look back?

Later, he stood guard at a Mandate camp, serving under them. And the Mandate that had once stood above all, hunting the two brothers, had long since fallen into becoming Maskwalkers little different from himself... There is no right or wrong left in this world. Everyone should be loyal only to themselves.

A madwoman who attacks anyone she encounters on the mountain paths of the Mountain of Imprisonment. Her purple clothes are tattered and worn, her bronze mask rough and twisted, her gray hair wild and unkempt. She wields a heavy spiked club, swinging and smashing it in a frenzy with no discernible technique. When the Mandate and Huangxing’s followers were fighting over the passage, Kui Yanyan suddenly burst into the fray.

She still vaguely remembers the tragedy of her beloved son. After he became a Maskwalker, the villagers butchered him before her eyes. In her grief, she removed the Transcension device from his body and implanted it in her own, sacrificing the blood of an entire village to his memory.

Since then, she has wandered in search of medicine, clinging to the delusion that she can bring her son back... Those cries and clashes must mean someone has come to kill her child again...

Whatever they are fighting to the death to seize must be the miraculous medicine that can save her flesh and blood... She raises her spiked club and charges into the clash of blades.

A "Vessel-class" Crescent Blade Puppet guarding the training ground at Mirage Estate. Tall and imposing in ornate armor, with white hair streaming behind her, she wields an extremely heavy, long-handled blade carved with Loong motifs. Her techniques combine cleaving, sweeping, blocking, lifting, twisting, and thrusting. Once she catches an opening, she locks the blade around her opponent’s neck and circles them. Blue light whirls along the blade, gathering into a powerful gust as the shaft swings behind her before crashing down.

Before the Herald turned her into a puppet, she possessed exceptional martial talent and was fascinated by the heroic generals of the stage. Her master placed the blade in her hands: the back of the blade was Heaven, the edge Earth, the tip the sovereign, and the shaft the master. From then on, the weapon became her whole life. Her skill continued to grow until, eventually, no one could give her a worthy fight.

When the Herald turned her into a puppet, she felt little pain, and afterward, little seemed to have changed. It was as though those falling beneath her blade had simply changed from people to puppets. She still cannot understand the anger of those on the righteous path. Why do they condemn her for cruel slaughter, when few condemn the Maskwalkers for doing the same?

Nor does she care to understand their anger. Only those capable of defeating her are worth understanding.

Deep in the Phantom Illusionist Ruins, a white-clad bladesman stands amid wind and snow, a divine weapon in hand. Clad in light northern armor and robes whiter than snow, half his face is already ruined, cast into shadow by the High Elder’s sinister plot.

He cuts, splitting stone and cleaving clouds. Swift as a wraith, his every strike carries formidable force; his long blade tears through the air, leaving frost in its wake. After years in the northern Wulin, he had rarely met an equal. Proud by nature, he lived by his own code of vengeance, wielding Whiteshadow to cut down countless evil and heterodox foes.

In search of his missing son, he traveled south alone. After three years, he reached the Frozen Lands, only to discover that his son had already died there.

Grief and fury consumed him. He swore to destroy every enemy, unaware that his frenzied slaughter had already led him into the High Elder’s trap. Bound by several arts, he was reduced to a puppet guarding Puppet No. 99.

The endless wind and snow wear down what remains of his body, while his son’s death tortures his heart without end. Fortunately, he has found someone he can entrust this to, someone who can slay the monsters in his stead and avenge his son’s death.

At the summit of the Mountain of Imprisonment, in the temple of the Lady of the Veil, Huangxing, once one of the Three Pillars of Kunlun and now the mastermind behind Perfect Transcension, holds court. Wearing a masked helm, his left arm from the elbow down is composed of intricate mechanisms. With it, he can wield the Flying Guillotine at range or draw his sword for close combat, his attacks forceful and relentless.

Countless opponents of Perfect Transcension have died by his hand. He will use their blood to forge a new path.

The Mandate’s upper ranks are corrupt, its disciples weak; those in power lack resolve, while those with resolve lack power. Yuyin clings to the Wulin’s rules, while Moji is painfully naive. These injustices have prolonged the bloodshed and caused countless needless deaths.

He joined forces with Master Bai to conspire against Yuyin and the Chord. He pushed Perfect Transcension through the Encampment, seized the Mountain of Imprisonment with his elite followers, and showed no mercy to those who opposed him, even Moji.

A new Wulin, a new Phantom World, is unfolding before him. There is no need to look down at the bones beneath his feet.

A Maskwalker who repeatedly taunts Soul along the mountain path. He wears a jade mask, its colors gaudy and grotesque. In battle, he can fight alongside two doubles: Jade Mask wields rings with sly, unpredictable movements; Gold Mask wields a sword with cunning strikes; Iron Mask wields a blade with brutal force. Feints and true attacks intertwine, while an eerie grin conceals his deadly intent.

He was sent by Huangxing to monitor Soul’s movements, yet he simply watched with amusement as Soul climbed from the foot of the mountain to its peak. His bizarre and unpredictable nature is unlike the others under Huangxing. Combined with his eclectic martial arts and strange techniques, he may even share the same origins as Thread-Binding... Just what role does this man play under Huangxing?

Yet the battle in the shrine did not seem to defeat him completely. Perhaps this was the contingency he had kept in reserve.

A Thread-Binding killer who guards the mourning hall at the Mirage Estate. He wears a straw rain cape, with several crimson masks stacked atop his head. His powerful frame is corpse-pale, and in his hands is a twin-bladed weapon known as the Crimson Boneblade, a vicious relic he treasures like his own marrow.

Qiu Feng is brutish and bloodthirsty by nature. Believing that performing arts can ward off evil, he crudely imitates them: adopting the footwork of martial opera performers and the fang-baring movements of fang-spitting performances, even adorning his own masks with fangs. He firmly believes these additions make his techniques more powerful.

When he first entered the estate, he slaughtered all the Nuo performers and took their Red Judge masks as treasures. Unable to wear them all on his face, he stacked them atop his head. He also imitated the sword-swallowing and fire-walking tricks, driving a long blade straight into his skull to show off his supposed invulnerability. When the battle turns against him, he pulls the blade from his skull, lets the masks cover it, and swings it with the fury of a sudden storm.

Such a madman follows the Herald not out of loyalty, but because he craves the blood of powerful opponents to stain his masks and straw cape completely red. When he learned that the undefeated “Master Soul” had entered the estate, he eagerly waited in his path.

Alas, this time, it was his own blood that stained the masks and straw cape red.

An archer hidden on the island east of Meigu Lake. Wounded though he is, he remains a master of both bow and sword: his robes billow when he moves, yet his bearing remains steady when he stands still. But his body has been invaded by a strange power, and several scarlet Crimson Eyes have sprouted between him and his bow. He need only will it, and blood-red beams of death pierce the air without a drawn string.

This master of the Featherbow Sect once traveled the land with great ambition, hunting down Maskwalkers. But when he returned to the Encampment, he found his fellow disciples disfigured and changed in nature by Perfect Transcension, and they sought to force him to undergo it as well. He fought his way out and set out to find Huangxing, seeking an explanation and determined to stop him at the cost of his life. A Wulin consumed by such bloodlust was never the future he had promised his daughter.

He escaped Perfect Transcension, but not the strange thing lurking deep within the Discordance. The Crimson Eyes that had long lain hidden on his bow had been watching the power in his blood, and when he was still recovering from his wounds, they burrowed into his flesh and bone.

He clings to his final breath, waiting for someone worthy of his trust, and for someone to put an end to him.

A woman of a cold face. A Fiend Saw long-blade under each foot; she drives the twin blades with supple legs, her movement like lightning, her cuts unmatched. Together with Iron Fiend she trains the Young Mistress Mu Xiaokui and serves as guard; they work as one.

Jade Dancer was an orphan, saved by the Shadow Sovereign in a moment of peril. Later young Mu Xiaokui called her "Sister," saying she would be her family—and something tender took root in this woman who had always kept her heart cold.

The duty of a bodyguard soon became a care and loyalty that came from the bone. On the training ground she is iron with the Young Mistress; off it, she patiently teaches her to press the right points, easing the ache in her ankles. Every gift from the Young Mistress she keeps in silence. The days she has spent at the Young Mistress's side may even outlast those of the Shadow Sovereign himself.

After old Sovereign Mu passed, undercurrents rose in the Order, and the Wulin too was full of sudden turns. No one knows better than Jade Dancer how heavy a load sits on the Young Mistress's shoulders. And more than the Order's fortunes, she fears for the Young Mistress's life.

The phantom realm fades, and Sha-Chi spills forth. The Mirrorwood is sealed in ice and snow, all sound swallowed by the frost, leaving the forest quiet and still. The tree where Bai Chilian once dwelled now stands empty, replaced by the Chaos Puppet that appeared that day in the Rift Estate. This bitterly cold place is the perfect refuge for her, as one of the puppet’s consciousnesses fears heat and craves the cold.

The puppet’s three faces bicker without end, yet the moment they wield that bone-chilling Chaos Blade, they act as one. The three faces take control of the body in turn, the blade at times cloaked in frost, at times wreathed in Chaos Flames, and at times gleaming like steel. For a moment, it is as if they have returned to twenty years ago.

They too once walked the Wulin side by side, swords in hand, full of youthful spirit. Then one became timid, while another fell into a sleep from which she never awoke. In the end, the three fused into one, enduring unbearable agony without a moment’s peace.

They fled here hoping to escape the Herald’s control. Yet now, as they fight, the burning pain within the body becomes unbearable, and the feeling of being bound grows ever stronger, as if the Herald had hidden some mechanism within them, now clamoring to tear the three of them apart...

An Envoy of the Order, Lei Dang is broad shouldered and formidable, with an upright, steady nature and unwavering loyalty. He once lost his right arm on a mission and was saved by Soul.

He later fitted a Tiger Cannon to his severed arm. When charged, it roars like a tiger and unleashes devastating firepower. Now, under orders from the new Shadow Sovereign, Zuo Shang, he has come to Pangzhen to stop the Herald's long brewing scheme, a plot that could shake the entire Phantom World.

When the former Shadow Sovereign, Mu, was suddenly murdered, and the killer turned out to be Soul, an old comrade who had fought beside him through life and death, Lei Dang could hardly believe it. Yet by both duty and reason, he should have taken Soul into custody the moment they met. But with the situation at hand, and their deep bond in mind, he ultimately held back and instead showed Soul a path to Mirage Estate.

Yet for all Lei Dang's steadiness, every move he made had already been accounted for in Zuo Shang's calculations.

He took the name “Leng Tu,” dressed as “Leng Tu,” and in the end became “Leng Tu” in every way, even more cruel and deranged than the original.

At first, he only had to imitate Leng Tu’s words and manner. But every lie demanded another to cover it, and when the disguise could no longer hold, he had no choice but to silence everyone who knew the real Leng Tu. Lies and blood piled up. Cruelty became a habit, and the mask became his true face.

He used that cruelty to please the Lady of the Veil. The Lady he worships is cold-hearted and takes pleasure in watching the suffering of others. She has no use for anything that serves no purpose. If he cannot satisfy her, he has no value and could be cast aside at any moment.

He will never allow himself to become useless. The Viper of Seven Venoms once tasted that suffering all too well. In that lightless prison of illusion, all his talent, kindness, and loyalty were crushed into nothing. He could only cling to life through endless torment, entirely at the mercy of others.

He has become “Leng Tu” through and through. He spreads the Lady of the Veil’s false teachings and conducts Puppet experiments on countless Wulin practitioners and ordinary people. He savors their desperate struggles inside the Puppets, wanting them to suffer as the Viper of Seven Venoms once did. He even switched Still Poison and Silence Poison, using them to poison Lei Dang of the Order and reenact, in the name of “Leng Tu,” the very scheme that once destroyed the Viper of Seven Venoms.

For all his sins, so long as they serve the Lady of the Veil, he gives her everything he has.

Perhaps the Viper of Seven Venoms was destined to suffer that terrible fate. If not, who else could this believer crawling at the Lady of the Veil’s feet have become?

This is in fact the puppet vessel Meng Hua, formerly of the “Eleven,” uses to walk the Waking Realm. To create a vessel capable of fully bearing her consciousness and power, the Herald spent more than three hundred days and slaughtered countless villagers and Wulin masters. Its hair is made of red thread and adorned with ornate gold, every detail crafted to please the Lady of the Veil.

It remains unclear whether “Veiled blossom” is simply another name for Meng Hua, a deliberate attempt to conceal her identity, or a name chosen to keep the Lady’s true identity unspoken. What is known is that worship of the “Merciful Lady of the Blossom Veil, who saves those in suffering” began only two or three years ago.

The Wulin has been in turmoil for years. Maskwalkers run rampant, while the Mandate is corrupt and weak, leaving ordinary people with no one to rely on. Their own struggles seem all the more powerless. And the more desperate the world becomes, the more precious Meng Hua’s charity appears.

The Lady of the Veil who appears in dreams is kind, compassionate, and beautiful. She offers comfort and guidance, and surely possesses boundless power to lead them out of this hopeless age. Those at the end of their road know how to cling to “grace” and “miracles.” For those who have yet to submit, one need only add fuel to the fire of their despair. Suffering itself will teach them to kneel. But faith was never the Lady of the Veil’s goal.

In her battle against Inanis long ago, her consciousness dissipated in the depths of the Discordance, only to be remade through the formless, shapeless Blight, whose sole instinct is to devour all things. She once sought to contend with the Blight. Yet two equally voracious beings cannot devour themselves, so how could either devour the other? Instead, they fused, perfectly compatible and mutually beneficial.

She longs to return to the Waking Realm and manipulate the countless lives within it, while the Blight’s instinct is to devour everything and turn all things into itself.

As for what awaits after her return, whether she slowly consumes the world and toys with its people, or unleashes a grand catastrophe that annihilates all things... she now lives as one with the Blight. What happens next is entirely up to her.

Cold iron chains bind the Crusher’s feet, while a massive hammer is chained to his hand. One arm and leg are thick with muscle, while the other pair are withered and frail. Born with this uneven body and stubborn by nature, he trained only his stronger side, becoming more fearsome with each passing year.

Most who see him are too intimidated to notice the faceless creature perched on his shoulders.

That creature is the Saw. Riding on the Crusher’s neck, he repeatedly cuts into his flesh with a bone saw, using the pain to drive him into a frenzy and send him charging at his enemies without restraint.

All the while, the Saw’s shrill, manic laughter rings out, chilling anyone who hears it before the fight even begins. The Crusher, however, only grows more ferocious with every laugh.

Once Soul's closest friend. Now his sworn enemy.

With Aureate in hand, Zuo Shang gathers Golden Sword Energy along the blade, its radiance flowing like silk. His sword intent stretches endlessly, his strikes flowing one after another. The youth he once was has long since faded away. His movements have grown ever more unfathomable, and his mastery of the sword and Sha-Chi has reached a transcendent realm. With every swing of his blade, he uses Sha-Chi to command countless weapons, unleashing them in relentless assaults or all at once, leaving his enemies no chance to defend.

In their battle at the training grounds, Soul and Zuo Shang gave everything they had, each exchange matching the other blow for blow. In the end, at the very moment their blades crossed, each pierced the other's heart.

What the people of the Order know is this: Soul slew the former Shadow Sovereign, their adoptive father. Following the Shadow Sovereign's final wishes, Zuo Shang inherited the position of leader of the Order, becoming the new Shadow Sovereign. To avenge his adoptive father's death and give both him and the Order the answer they deserved, Zuo Shang had no choice but to cast aside their past friendship. He sent countless masters and Shadow Wardens after Soul, swearing to end his life.

But... is that truly the whole truth?

Five Lóng Pillars, five reunions, yet they could never make up for more than thirty years apart. Across those countless days and nights, he missed too many important moments in Soul’s life.

He never heard Soul’s first words or watched him take his first steps. He was not there to teach him to read, introduce him to martial arts, or personally pass down the Bastion of Mó’s techniques. The Bastion bloodline carries immense Sha-Chi, demanding exceptional strength and control. Without someone from the Bastion to guide him, Soul was bound to endure far more hardship...

Fortunately, Soul has grown up safe. He now stands tall, and his martial skill is already no less than Mó Yuan’s own. In every move, Mó Yuan sees the hardship of those thirty years, as well as Soul’s search and uncertainty today. Soul is walking his own path. Beyond guiding his martial arts and teaching him to master the power in his blood, all Mó Yuan can do is let him know that someone will always be there for him.

But saying everything in his heart might only become a burden. Better to leave all the words he cannot say within each exchange of blades. He can only hope that these trials will help Soul clear the path ahead.

A living puppet imprisoned beneath Crimson Manor. Knotted flesh and protruding blades twist together across its body. A greatsword runs through its spine, while a massive alloy scythe replaces its left arm. Strangely out of place amid the gore is a delicate crystal eye, one of two needed to activate Puppet No. 99.

At the sight of anything living, the Scavenger swings its scythe in savage chops and rolls its massive body forward to crush its prey. Its movements are clumsy and slow, without any real form, yet Sha-Chi pours from it.

An experimental creation of the Herald, it was pieced together from the remains of a burly strongman using Puppetry and Thread-Binding techniques. But the experiment spiraled out of control. Its body swelled and warped, while no number of masks could contain the Sha-Chi surging within. Even a greatsword through its body failed to kill it. The Herald eventually imprisoned it beneath Crimson Manor, using it to dispose of discarded puppets and troublesome members of the righteous path.

Perhaps because Wulin folk still carry the vitality of the living, the Scavenger has developed a particular hunger for them.

The leader of the Maskwalkers lurking before the shallow-water docks. Clad in red and wielding a crimson blade, he moves with eerie unpredictability. His wails summon a blood mist, despair given form. The six beside him go mad at the sound, their Sha-Chi surging as they throw themselves into the fray one after another.

All seven came from Pangzhen and studied under the same master. Jin was the youngest. After learning that his birth mother had died unjustly, he cut off a finger to protect his sister, earning the affection of his elder brothers. Later, they learned that their father and aunt despised their sister Xiu. Fearing Jin, they instead took out their anger on Xiu’s maid, with their cruelty growing worse by the day. Frail Xiu soon fell gravely ill, and the brothers were outraged.

They found Soul Displacement Water to ease Xiu’s suffering and swore that, should they ever rise in the world, they would protect the siblings and seek justice for them. If any brother fell, the others would care for his family. But none possessed exceptional talent, so they trained day and night and eventually underwent Transcension together.

Before they could make their mark, a strange illness swept through the town. They tried to return home, but bodies altered by Transcension could not withstand the Sha-Chi blanketing Meigu Lake. The faces of their loved ones slowly blurred beneath bloodlust and madness... They were only a few li from home, yet they would never return.

An elite Shadow Warden guarding the White Serpent House. Those caught by his whirling axes die in agonizing pain, earning him his name. Clad in green, his robes spread like a moth’s wings as he moves. The Sundering Dual Axes in his hands flash as they spin, his attacks relentless. Yet after countless battles, his robes remain spotless.

He is always composed. Against the strong, he calmly studies and dismantles their techniques; against the weak, his composure is not mercy but indifference. This is his way of surviving. Others’ lives mean nothing to him. He weighs only how the situation affects his own advance or retreat.

Before Zuo Shang became the Shadow Sovereign, Heartpiercer was an unremarkable Shadow Warden. After Zuo Shang took power, he entrusted Heartpiercer with guarding the White Serpent House. Was it his composure that earned Zuo Shang’s trust, or a "special arrangement"? And is Heartpiercer’s fate already part of Zuo Shang’s design?

A master of the flaming blade, clad in robes patterned with fire. The mask that once concealed his burns now covers a hollow face, suppressing the frenzied Sha-Chi brought on by Transcension. His blade needs no outside flame to ignite it: fire springs from the steel itself, each sweeping stroke unleashing a blazing inferno.

Years ago, Zhu Yuan survived a battlefield engulfed in flames. He watched the swiftest blades and the thickest volleys of arrows vanish into the conflagration. Entranced by that all-consuming power, he threw himself into the study of fire, tempering his swordplay in its heat. Even burns across his entire body could not deter his quest to command the flames.

The furnaces of the Sha-Chi Tower burn day and night, their molten metal flowing without rest. A device left here was used to transform Zhu Yuan, enabling his body to withstand extreme heat and taking his blade technique to new heights. He battled the flames until he could finally fuse fire with his blade and command it through Sha-Chi.