Where you fight: Right by the Tower Rear Exit Bell (Mandate Encampment)
Nearest Bell: Tower Rear ExitApproximate: distances are estimated from the game data, and the map painting is not to scale.Open this spot on the map →
In the frame above Close-up, three seconds before the plate “Chief Disciple’s Fallen Hope” appears: a figure in pale robes and a tall square hat hangs upside down, a round red glow where its face should be.
How to beat this fight
- One chief and six weaker fighters. Kill the six first, and parry through the first phase.
- In the second phase he is tied above the stage. After a dash, a blue attack. In a three-swing string, the third swing is blue.
- When he is in the air and sheds many small red pieces, dodge each one as it arrives. Standing in them kills you in seconds.
- He drops the Swordsman’s Summon and the Training Grounds Key.
Attacks & how to counter
Attacks seen 9
These labels are our plain descriptions; the game has published no move names.
- Formation assaults Seven swordsmen alternate coordinated group assaults and single strikes.
- Surround thrust Whole group converges in a coordinated thrust from all directions.
- Screen of disciples He dodges and calls ordinary disciples in front of him to attack.
- Form-up group attack With many of them alive they form up and attack together often.
- Encircling strike The white-robed disciples close in around the player and strike at once; blue arcs flash where the blades meet. Seen in the Year of the Snake trailer at 0:50.
- Red line across the arena A thin red line stretches horizontally between the figures by the burning tower. Seen in the Year of the Snake trailer at 1:00.
- Group rush The whole group rushes the player at once while the player meets them with a red-edged blade. Seen in the 2025 demo walkthrough at 17:23.
- Thin red thread A fine red thread runs across the yard from a disciple as the player strikes. Seen in the 2025 demo walkthrough at 18:19.
- Flank from behind White-robed disciples circle behind the player to ambush. A Bilibili creator’s claim (BV1Qmf8YbE6x, 01:49).
How to counter 8
- Thin the disciples quickly so they cannot heal him.
- Kill enough followers, or he heals himself.
- Look for gaps between their attacks and hit the core, the Chief Disciple, directly.
- A perfectly timed dodge leaps the group thrust.
- When swarmed, a leaping Bashpole smash sends everyone flying.
- When he spends his health keeping three followers alive, punish him (the writer used a thrown Seamless Death barrage)
- White Serpent & Crimson Viper: the long blade's wide spins suit being surrounded, and the short blade triggers executions from range to clear the field fast.
- After the Chief Disciple drains a junior disciple, that disciple can be executed. A Bilibili creator’s claim (BV1TufUYME4N, 02:45).
Location, drops & connected quests
- The final boss of the 2025 demo.
- On-screen objective just before the fight: "Justice Camp — Reach the deeper part of Justice Camp.". On screen in the 2025 demo walkthrough, 16:37.
- Drops The Swordsman's Summon and the Training Grounds Key.
Where, in detail
- Both videos show an open, muddy yard ringed by wooden watchtowers, one of them burning, under a smoky sky.
Phases and mechanics
Chief Disciple’s Fallen HopeThe second phase of the Chief Disciple fight, a marionette. 
Red Wraith, if left unfinished, returns to join this last phase.
- Two phases: the seven-swordsman formation, then a marionette phase under a new name (Chief Disciple's Fallen Hope)
- Mechanic: as followers fall, he spends his health to keep at least three alive.
- Mechanic: each warrior has its own health bar.
- Phase change: three disciples leap onto the towers and puppet the others with threads.
- Raised arms in unison. Several disciples raise their arms together in front of the burning tower. Seen in the Year of the Snake trailer at 2:10.
- Blue flash. A bright blue star-shaped flash appears at a disciple as the group closes in. Seen in the 2025 demo walkthrough at 17:44.
- Dodge executions. Disciples lean back to stay out of execution range. A Bilibili creator’s claim (BV1Qmf8YbE6x, 01:35).
- Rope heal. A disciple at the back heals the Chief Disciple with a rope. A Bilibili creator’s claim (BV1Qmf8YbE6x, 02:01).
- Revives disciples. The Chief Disciple raises fallen disciples again with blood. A Bilibili creator’s claim (BV1Qmf8YbE6x, 02:15).
Watch the full fight
The player below starts the official Year of the Snake gameplay trailer (January 2025) at 0:39, which may be an edited cut of the first phase; the button under it opens the 2025 demo walkthrough at 16:55, which plays the fight through into its second phase. YouTube loads only when you press play.
Third-party demo recording by IGN China, Bilibili BV1BJ8xz8EN1 · 16:57
Frame by frame
Frames from both official videos, in the order of the fight: the Year of the Snake trailer first, then the 2025 demo walkthrough. No official names for his moves have been published.
1:23Year of the Snake trailer · Phantom Blade Zero
- Seen Every swordsman in the formation carries its own health bar, as IGN describes.
- Counter gcores’s second writer: cut the number of enemies down fast, so the Chief Disciple gets no chance to heal.
Official frame at 1:23.23, YouTube Ogm8X8SSyxs · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
2:36Year of the Snake trailer · Phantom Blade Zero
- Seen A button prompt appears over the swordsman the red threads trail to.
- Counter A Bilibili creator says a junior disciple the Chief Disciple has drained of health can then be executed; no press or official source says so.
Official frame at 2:36.60, YouTube Ogm8X8SSyxs · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
17:422025 demo walkthrough · Phantom Blade Zero
- Seen One swordsman is down; the rest of the formation is still coming.
- Counter When swarmed, IGN’s writer used a leaping smash from Bashpole to send everyone flying.
Official frame at 17:42.35, YouTube kwVgxmwgkfI · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
18:192025 demo walkthrough · Phantom Blade Zero
- Seen Red lines reach across the yard from the formation as the player swings through it.
- Counter Look for gaps between their attacks and strike the core of the formation, the Chief Disciple, directly.
Official frame at 18:19.18, YouTube kwVgxmwgkfI · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
18:372025 demo walkthrough · Phantom Blade Zero
- Seen The first phase ends in a cutscene at the burning tower; by 18:47 the yard is red and the plate reads “Chief Disciple’s Fallen Hope”.
Official frame at 18:37.77, YouTube kwVgxmwgkfI · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
Launch-build boss dossier (29 October 2026)
“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.”
Chief Disciple of the Seven-Stars Formation — Phantom Blade Zero in-game boss dossier
“On the high platform, three disciples catch a red thread on their sword tips and draw the Chief Disciple up with it, leaving him hanging upside down in midair. Pulled by the strings, he swings the blade in his hands, like a puppet trying to break free of its strings; like a wraith, he sprays countless razor-sharp red threads from the black hollows of his face, winding and slicing through the air like tears of blood. He once loved a woman from an evil sect. The Mandate’s upper ranks would not tolerate their love, and with a single order, they tore the lovers apart. The Chief Disciple had known little beyond the sword formation. What did he know of schemes and intrigue? For the first time in his life, he clumsily defied his sect. In return, he could only watch helplessly as the woman he loved was tortured and left covered in wounds. Even his peerless sword formation could not protect the one he wanted to protect. Once his heart was broken, there was little left he feared losing. He entrusted everything he had left to the strings. And what if he looked like a puppet hanging upside down? At least the strings of that puppet would be held in their own hands.”
Chief Disciple, Sword of Despair — Phantom Blade Zero in-game boss dossier
Connected weapon: Swordsman’s Summon.
Key facts
Boss · Bounty
Chief Disciple of the Seven Stars
The formation. He leads six other warriors. His followers heal him at the cost of their own health.
First shown: The Year of the Snake trailer of January 2025 (its own name plate at 0:42 reads “Chief Disciple of the Seven Stars”) and the 2025 demo, where he is the final boss. A Chinese report describes what appears to be the same fight in that trailer, so it is the same boss.
Chief Disciple