Shen Yiren is a Khitan leader you face at the end of the Jianghu Legacy quest “Twelve Years of Feuds” in the Kaifeng region. He appears as a mini boss in Sorrowfield Village and acts as the climax of the Granary of Plenty storyline, tying directly into Zheng E’s past.
How to start the Shen Yiren encounter
Step 1: In Kaifeng, go to the Granary of Plenty and talk to the Wayfarer NPC to unlock the Jianghu Legacy quest “Twelve Years of Feuds” (Jianghu Legacy – 06).
Step 2: Open the Exploration menu, switch to the Side Story tab, select “Twelve Years of Feuds,” and inspect it so the quest location appears and tracking activates.
Step 3: Follow the quest marker to Sorrowfield Village. Progress through the quest events there until the confrontation with Shen Yiren begins in the burning granary setting.
Recommended builds for Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren’s fight is straightforward mechanically, but it can feel punishing if your damage output is low relative to your world level. High sustained damage and fast Qi (stagger) pressure help finish the duel before mistakes pile up.
Lean on melee DPS weapons. Aggressive melee builds are particularly effective here:
- Infernal Twinblades + Rope Dart focus on fast combos and Damage-over-Time (DoT) effects, rapidly draining both HP and Qi.
- Strategic Sword offers strong single-target pressure with reliable parry-friendly strings.
Prioritize Bleed and DoT. Inner Ways and gear that inflict Bleed or other DoT effects work well because they whittle down Shen Yiren’s health and Qi bar even while you are repositioning or recovering. Once his Qi bar breaks, you can land Execute attacks to remove large chunks of his remaining HP.
Opening choice: “Kill” to clear his troops
The encounter starts with Shen Yiren backed by a group of troops and a Quick Time Event prompt.
Step 1: When the prompt appears at the start of the fight, choose the Kill option. This immediately wipes out Shen Yiren’s troops, leaving you in a pure one‑on‑one duel.
Step 2: Watch your health bar. Using Kill consumes most of your HP as a tradeoff for clearing the adds.
Step 3: As soon as control returns, use healing potions or healing Martial Arts to bring your HP back to a safe level before engaging aggressively.
Removing the troops is worth the HP cost. With no adds on the field, you can focus entirely on reading Shen Yiren’s patterns without stray hits interrupting parries or Executes.
Shen Yiren’s moveset and what each attack looks like
Shen Yiren alternates between ranged bow skills and close‑range spear combos. Every move he uses can be dodged, and most can be parried for Qi damage.
| Move | Behavior | Best response |
|---|---|---|
| Let It Rain | Fires arrows upward that fall in a bombardment over your area. | Time a parry on the incoming arrows or dash out of the impact zone. |
| Split Shot | Sends a cone of arrows spreading outward in front of him. | Parry a central arrow or sidestep through a gap in the cone. |
| Spinning Sniper | Charges and spins in the air, shooting as he moves. | Parry as he closes in or use a sideways dodge to let the spin pass you. |
| Spear Dance | Performs a multi‑hit spear combo, with the final strike glowing red. | Perfect parry the final glowing strike to trigger a big counter, or dodge back before the finisher. |
On top of these named attacks, he also uses simpler patterns:
- Spear lunge: A fast fly‑in thrust that starts many of his melee strings.
- Kick into slam: A short combo where he kicks, then follows with a spear slam.
- Individual high‑damage arrows: One or several fast shots that hit hard if you mistime movement.
How to parry Shen Yiren’s ranged attacks
Shen Yiren’s bow skills are designed to be answered with parries. Blocking or parrying them deals heavy Qi damage, pushing him quickly toward a stagger.
Step 1: Lock your attention on him, not the projectiles. Watch the moment his bowstring releases; that motion is your parry cue.
Step 2: Time a parry right before an arrow connects. This works on his fast single shots, his multi‑arrow strings, and his named skills when an arrow is about to hit you.
Step 3: After a successful parry, immediately close the gap with a dash or short combo to capitalize on the Qi damage before he resets spacing.
How to handle his melee spear pressure
Up close, Shen Yiren chains spear strikes and kicks into short combos. The encounter becomes much easier once these feel familiar.
Step 1: When he rushes in with a spear lunge, choose to either dodge diagonally past him or parry the thrust. A clean parry here gives a safe window to start your own combo.
Step 2: During Spear Dance, block or parry the early hits while focusing on the final glowing strike. Perfect parrying that last hit delivers a strong counter and large Qi damage.
Step 3: After any spear combo ends, take a brief step forward and apply a short burst combo with your main weapon, then reset your guard. Do not overextend into his next string.
Shen Yiren’s melee pressure is highly punishable because nearly every hit is parryable. Consistently parrying his close‑range attempts lets you control the tempo and keeps your Qi damage output high.
Optimal positioning and spacing
The fight rewards aggressive positioning rather than playing at long range.
Stay close to him. Fighting at mid‑to‑long range encourages him to repeat arrow skills and Spinning Sniper, which are more likely to chip you down. Staying in his face forces more spear combos, which are easier to parry and punish.
Circle, don’t retreat in straight lines. When you need to avoid a move without parrying, step or dash at an angle around him. This keeps you within striking distance and avoids getting cornered or pushed into environmental hazards.
Breaking his Qi bar and using Execute attacks
Every clean parry on his arrows or spear strings chunks his Qi bar. Bleed and other DoT effects also contribute over time.
Step 1: Focus your gameplay around parry → short combo loops rather than long unsafe strings. Parry damage to Qi is more valuable here than raw HP damage alone.
Step 2: When his Qi bar empties, he enters a vulnerable, stunned state. Move in and trigger your Execute prompt to deal a large burst of damage.
Step 3: After Execute, immediately reset your stance and be ready for his next pattern; the fight returns to normal speed once the animation ends.
Repeating this cycle—parry ranged, punish melee, break Qi, Execute—lets even modest DPS builds close out the encounter reliably.
Rewards for defeating Shen Yiren
Clearing Shen Yiren and finishing “Twelve Years of Feuds” grants a mix of combat and progression rewards tied to Kaifeng exploration and character growth.
| Reward | Type | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe Toxic Arrow | Crafting recipe | Lets you create Toxic Arrow ammunition for ranged builds. |
| Medicinal Tales | Item | Supports character development and lore related to medicine. |
| Lv. 3 Ebon Iron ×4 | Upgrade material | Used for higher‑tier weapon or gear upgrades. |
| Echo Jade ×30 | Currency | Contributes to broader progression systems. |
| Kaifeng Exploration ×50 | Exploration points | Increases your Kaifeng region completion and associated rewards. |
| Enlightenment Points ×100 | Progression resource | Used for character advancement within Inner Ways and related systems. |
| Character EXP ×20,000 | Experience | Levels up your character. |
| Coins ×20,000 | Currency | General spending on gear, items, or services. |
These rewards are granted across the quest’s progression and completion, with Shen Yiren’s defeat and the follow‑up conversation with young Zheng E acting as the emotional and mechanical endpoint.
Once Shen Yiren falls, speak to the young Zheng E to close out Twelve Years of Feuds and lock in your rewards. The encounter doubles as a skill check on parry timing and an important story beat, so it is worth approaching with a deliberate, Qi‑focused game plan rather than rushing in.
