How to Beat Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic in Phantom Blade Zero

In the Crimson Forest, Hua Qianxiao wears a mask and long blue robes, with a wine jug at his side and a broken blade in hand. He sweeps that weapon to send pale blade-wind arcs over the ruined bridge. His boss bar is labeled “Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic”. The display shows a single life gauge above a yellow Sha-Chi meter, which is the main focus of the fight.

Quick answer: Stay close and parry his ordinary sword swings, evade the red-flash leap, and keep your footing so he can’t pin you to drink. Break his yellow Sha-Chi bar, then hit hardest with Phantom Edge attacks.

Where Hua Qianxiao fights in the Crimson Forest

The arena is a broad wooden bridge platform littered with broken railings, a wrecked carriage, and crate stacks. The Pangzhen Bridge Overlook bell is about 35 m away.

At the Crimson Forest’s Pangzhen Bridge Overlook, use the bell beside the spiked barricades at the head of the plank bridge. This is the edge of his territory; ring the bell to call him onto the bridge.

Pangzhen Bridge Overlook bell cross at the head of a plank bridge among red leaves, Crimson Forest, Phantom Blade Zero

Leave the bell and follow the bridge to its damaged deck. He is waiting there, and approaching him brings up his boss bar.

Hua Qianxiao waiting on the broken bridge deck by the Pangzhen Bridge Overlook bell with his boss bar showing, Phantom Blade Zero

Watch the opening scene on your first visit. He leaps down onto the deck with his jug and laughs, “Delicious… delicious wine! Ahahaha! Kill all those righteous fools!” and then “But you lost that battle! Hahaha! You lost! Ahahaha!” The fight begins the moment the scene ends.

Hua Qianxiao leaping down onto the bridge deck with his wine jug in the opening scene, Phantom Blade Zero

If you die, you return to the Pangzhen Bridge Overlook bell, and his health bar is full again on the next attempt.

Hua Qianxiao’s attacks

Almost everything he does throws blade wind, so distance doesn’t protect you. Most of his moves fall into three groups.

Close-range sword attacks

At close quarters, he strings together fast sword cuts, the blade tracing a curling pale streak. His spinning attacks deliver successive slashes marked by broad, pale trails. You can parry these standard swings.

Hua Qianxiao's close sword combo with a curling pale blade trail, Phantom Blade Zero

Blade wind from range

His long sweep sends a wide pale arc across the whole deck, and it throws sparks where it meets your weapon. The thrown crescent runs low along the boards toward you. The rising crescent is a tall sweep of blade wind that comes up right beside you.

Hua Qianxiao's long sweep sending a wide pale arc of blade wind across the deck, Phantom Blade Zero

At a distance, his sword wind produces looping blades that curl toward you. A leap into a spin sends a circular wave of blade wind around him. When the pale bubble appears, it forms a dome around his body, expands, and then bursts outward.

Pale bubble swelling around Hua Qianxiao on the bridge deck, Phantom Blade Zero

Red-flash leap and grab and drink

Before the red-flash leap, he shouts “Swallow… the seas… cleave… the heavens!” A red flash crosses him, and he jumps overhead and comes down on you.

Red flash across Hua Qianxiao as he leaps overhead, the attack to dodge, Phantom Blade Zero

The grab and drink only happens after he knocks you down. He pins you to the boards and drinks from his jug while calling “Only… the wine in my cup… truly understands…” and “Drink… come! Drink with… me!” That drink refills his yellow Sha-Chi bar.

Hua Qianxiao pinning Soul to the boards and drinking from his jug, Phantom Blade Zero

How to beat Hua Qianxiao

On Pathbreaker, a successful fight takes a little over five minutes. It can use every gourd charge, with the last one going close to the end.

Before each attempt, rest at the Pangzhen Bridge Overlook bell. Your gourd charges will then all be full as you enter the deck.

Stay close to him. At range, he fills the deck with sweeps, crescents, and sword wind. Up close, his plain sword swings are parryable, and a clean parry throws an orange burst of sparks.

Orange burst of sparks from a clean parry of Hua Qianxiao's sword swing, Phantom Blade Zero

Be ready to act when he calls, “Swallow… the seas… cleave… the heavens!” He follows with a long sweep and then a red-flash leap. Evade that leap instead of attempting a parry.

Hua Qianxiao glowing red mid-leap after shouting his battle cry, Phantom Blade Zero

Keep your footing whenever you are close to him. Only a knockdown leads to the grab and drink, which restores the Sha-Chi you’ve drained.

Hua Qianxiao drinking over a pinned Soul by the broken railing, which refills his Sha-Chi bar, Phantom Blade Zero

As soon as the pale bubble begins expanding around him, retreat before it bursts outward.

Reduce the yellow Sha-Chi bar using attacks and parries. Once it breaks and turns red, he is vulnerable; use that opening for your hardest strikes. Phantom Edge attacks remove the largest portions of his health bar.

Pace your gourd through the whole fight. If you burn through your charges early, you can end up out of heals with him still at about a quarter health.

The Fanatic’s Broken Blade and A Thousand Cups Drained

The fight is complete when The Fanatic’s Broken Blade card appears and the game displays “Equip the new weapon now?” Defeating him also unlocks the A Thousand Cups Drained achievement.

Final blow on Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic, on the bridge deck, Phantom Blade Zero

The blade is a One-Handed main weapon with Damage 228 and Guard Break 96. Its description reads “A broken sword. Drinking awakens its power, allowing it to fly through the air and strike distant enemies. Damage falls off over distance.”

The Fanatic's Broken Blade weapon card with Damage 228, Guard Break 96 and its ranged Tipsy and Drunk combos, Phantom Blade Zero

The Advanced page lists its arts. The first is The Fanatic’s Drunken Sword, which reads “Hua Qianxiao’s broken blade has been fully reforged. Its damage no longer falls off over distance.”

Advanced arts of The Fanatic's Broken Blade, from The Fanatic's Drunken Sword to Drunken Counter, Phantom Blade Zero