Quick answer: Find the Chief Disciple in the yard by the Tower Rear Exit, inside the Mandate Encampment. White-robed swordsmen fight beside him as he sends out blue crescent waves, spins, and leaps; he later returns as Chief Disciple, Sword of Despair, wielding red threads.
Chief Disciple at a glance
His initial health meter carries the title “Chief Disciple of the Seven-Stars Formation”. He wields a sword and wears a blue-and-pink robe, a tall white hat, and a mask with one blue-glowing eye.
White-robed swordsmen in tall white hats accompany him throughout the fight, circling the yard and attacking at his side.
A second health bar appears for the next stage, labeled “Chief Disciple, Sword of Despair”. The yard turns red, and red threads become part of his attacks.
Burning wooden watchtowers encircle the dirt yard where the fight takes place, beside the Tower Rear Exit in the Mandate Encampment.
Where to find the Chief Disciple
The yard is at the Tower Rear Exit in the Mandate Encampment, about 66 m from the Road to the Training Grounds bell (Phantom Blade Zero bells).
Before the fight, the yard is quiet. A tower burns and bodies lie on the ground.
Enter the yard’s center to trigger a brief scene. Once the troop has formed a circle around Soul, combat starts.
In our run, no bell stood in the yard before the fight.
In our run, a death returned Soul to the Road to the Training Grounds bell.
In our run, after a death the Chief Disciple and his troop stayed in the yard, and the fight started again as soon as Soul came near.
Chief Disciple’s attacks
Blue crescent wave
A sweeping sword strike launches a large blue crescent over the yard, allowing him to hit Soul from far away.
Overhead blue arc
At close range, he lifts his sword and brings it down in a blue arc as his troop advances.
Blue whirl
His blade whirls around him as he spins on the spot.
Leap over the troop
He vaults high above his swordsmen to reach Soul.
Downward stab
At close quarters, he drives his sword down toward Soul.
Troop rush
His white-robed swordsmen converge on Soul, attacking from multiple directions, sometimes as he attacks as well.
Sword of Despair: the second stage
In a brief scene, red threads suspend him in the air. The arena then turns red as the second health bar, “Chief Disciple, Sword of Despair”, comes up.
Red thread burst
Red lines of thread fan out by the dozen across the arena, spreading around Soul.
Thread swing
Using a red thread, he sweeps across the arena and brings his blade down at Soul.
Thread dive
He dives at Soul from above along a red thread.
How the fight went in our run
In our run on Pathbreaker, the attempt ended a few seconds after his bar appeared, with the troop all around Soul.
In our run on Wayfarer, the longest attempt lasted about two and a half minutes and took only a small part of his first bar.
In our run, the blue crescent waves and the troop’s strikes from several sides did most of the damage to Soul.
Tips for the Chief Disciple fight
Circle along the troop’s outer edge to keep the swordsmen from closing in around Soul.
A wide sword swing is your cue to evade the blue crescent that comes after it. For the timing fundamentals, see the parry and dodge guide.
Keep an eye out for his leap; it lets him close the distance to Soul from beyond his troop.
If the fight is too hard, you can change the difficulty from the System menu. The change takes effect when you accept the “Apply changes to settings?” Confirm prompt. Each option is covered in difficulty modes.
Rewards and what comes after
After the fight, the Swordsman’s Summon Phantom Edge card appears with the prompt “Equip the new Phantom Edge now?”
The Training Grounds Key story item card follows the Swordsman’s Summon card and reads “A key hanging from a yellow jade ring. Opens the main gate to the Training Grounds.”
In our run, the trophy “Sword Against the Seven-Stars” appeared after the fight.
In our run, the blue memory flower beside the Chief Disciple was petal II, “Own Decision”, of The Twin Heroes’ Memory Flower, and in it the Seven-Star Chief Disciple spoke of Red and called the Perfect Transcension Master Bai’s scheme to control the Mandate.
After the fight with the Chief Disciple, the Tower Rear Exit bell appears in the yard. Its first ring adds the “Tower Rear Exit” marker to the Mandate Encampment map. See Phantom Blade Zero bells for the other bells.
This battle belongs to the Seven-Stars Formation tale, alongside its disciple memory flowers; track them in the Seven-Stars Formation quest.
The Dovecote roof, in the same section of the Mandate Encampment, is where Red, the Mysterious Swordswoman, fights. See her moveset in the Red boss fight.
Every other fight and its rewards sits in the list of all Phantom Blade Zero bosses.
