Where Winds Meet: How to Unlock the Skyspeak Inner Way

Skyspeak is one of the few Inner Ways in Where Winds Meet that costs you nothing but a short walk and a conversation. There is no boss, no puzzle chamber, and no material grind attached to it. One wandering NPC in Qinghe hands over both the Inner Way and a matching weapon set the moment you pick the right dialogue line.

Quick answer: Finish the “Echoes of the Old Battle” quest in Verdant Wilds, Qinghe, then speak to Li Yangui a few steps north of the Northern Vow Ruins Boundary Stone and choose Revisit. The conversation ends with Skyspeak unlocked at 100% Comprehension and the Riven Twinblades added to your martial arts.

Prerequisite: Complete Echoes of the Old Battle first

Li Yangui will talk to you before the quest is done, but the reward line is gated. “Echoes of the Old Battle” takes place in the same stretch of Verdant Wilds and sets up the story of the Northern Vow ruins that Li Yangui is searching for. Until that quest is cleared, the dialogue tree stays short and no Inner Way is granted.

If you have already run through that part of Qinghe, you can go straight to him. If not, clear the quest in the area first, then walk back.

Li Yangui location in Verdant Wilds, Qinghe

He stands in the eastern part of Qinghe, inside the Verdant Wilds region. On the map, the spot sits north of Battlecrest Slope and west of Bamboo Abode. The tightest reference point is the Northern Vow Ruins Boundary Stone — fast travel there and he is only a few steps north of it, standing out in the open near the ruins.

Detail	Value
Region	Verdant Wilds, eastern Qinghe
Nearest fast travel	Northern Vow Ruins Boundary Stone
Landmarks	North of Battlecrest Slope, west of Bamboo Abode
NPC	Li Yangui
Required dialogue	Revisit

How to unlock Skyspeak from Li Yangui

Fast travel to the Northern Vow Ruins Boundary Stone and head north on foot. Li Yangui is the lone figure near the ruins, and he opens with a question about whether you are also hunting for the Northern Vow ruins.

Start the conversation and pick Revisit rather than Farewell. Revisit is the branch that pulls up the story of General Lie Yan of the Northern Vow, and it is the only path that leads to the reward.

Dialogue screen during the conversation with Li Yangui near the Northern Vow ruins — The Revisit branch opens a conversation about the Northern Vow ruins and General Lie Yan.

Let the dialogue run to the end without skipping out of it. Around three quarters of a minute in, the reward pop-up fires and you are granted the Riven Twinblades martial arts together with Skyspeak comprehension.

Equip the Riven Twinblades from the reward screen. The weapon card offers an immediate equip prompt, and Skyspeak’s whole effect is built around this weapon, so pairing them right away saves a trip back to the menus.

Riven Twinblades reward card with the Equip Now prompt highlighted — The Riven Twinblades screen offers an Equip Now prompt for the new melee weapon.

Use the Practice prompt at a training spot to run the Riven Twinblades combo strings once. This is optional for the unlock, but it is the fastest way to see how the moveset feeds into Skyspeak’s drunken state before you take it into a fight.

Practice prompt shown on screen as the character trains with the new martial arts — The Practice prompt lets you rehearse the newly unlocked Riven Twinblades moveset.

How to confirm Skyspeak unlocked

Two entries appear at the end of the conversation. Riven Twinblades shows up as a new martial arts weapon, and Skyspeak appears as an Inner Way listed at Comprehension – 100%. Open the details screen for Skyspeak and you should see its description referencing the Martial Arts Attack DMG Boost tags.

Skill details panel showing the Skyspeak card and its damage boost description — The details panel confirms Skyspeak with its martial arts attack damage boost description.

If the Revisit option is missing or the conversation ends without a reward, the cause is almost always the same one. “Echoes of the Old Battle” has not been completed in that part of Verdant Wilds yet. Clear it and return to the same spot.

Skyspeak effects and Bamboocut – Draught synergy

Skyspeak is an Epic Internal Art tied to the Bamboocut – Draught path, and its tags are Martial Arts, Attack Damage, and Damage Boost. While you are in the Inebriate–Deepdaze state, the Riven Twinblades can trigger Hero’s Blood–Inebriate, and the Inebriate–Deepdaze state itself lasts longer. That means it only pays off if you are running the drunken Bamboocut playstyle with the twinblades equipped.

Property	Detail
Rarity	Epic
Path	Bamboocut – Draught
Tags	Martial Arts, Attack Damage, Damage Boost
Core effect	Riven Twinblades can trigger Hero’s Blood–Inebriate during Inebriate–Deepdaze; that state lasts longer

Skyspeak breakthrough tier bonuses

Raising Skyspeak’s tier adds stacked bonuses on top of the base effect. Before you can upgrade at all, you need to reach Solo Mode Level 4, also shown as Level 4 Roaming. After that, upgrades consume Skyspeak: Notes, most reliably picked up through the Tips Exchange.

Tier	Bonus
1	Recover 60 Binge Points instantly when Inebriate–Deepdaze ends.
2	Critical Rate increases based on Solo Mode Level.
3	Inebriate–Deepdaze duration extends to 10 seconds.
4	Boundvessel’s slashing-speed bonus cap rises to 100%. With Skystrike Gauntlets equipped, finishing the held slash can trigger Whaledraft.
5	Critical DMG Bonus increases by 4.0%.
6	Hero’s Blood inflicts Drunkslay on the first enemy hit for 20s. While active, 20% of damage from Inebriate-enhanced skills is repeated instantly; hitting the same target again triggers it early and refreshes Drunkslay.

Note: tier 4 and tier 6 assume a specific loadout. If you are not using the Skystrike Gauntlets or leaning on Inebriate-enhanced skills, those two tiers give you far less than the earlier ones.

Because the whole package arrives from a single conversation, Skyspeak is worth grabbing even if you are not currently building around the drunken twinblade style. The Inner Way sits in your collection at full comprehension, the Riven Twinblades are added permanently, and both are waiting the moment you decide to respec into Bamboocut – Draught.