Recaps

After collecting the rats, Zhou Yue received Ashina Style Swordsmanship and learned from the danmu that Isshin Ashina could be challenged and had defeated Li Moran. Realizing that even characters without red names might be opponents, he hurried to challenge the Buddha Carver.

• Zhou Yue turned in the rat-hunting quest to the Tengu-masked old man and received Ashina Style Swordsmanship.
• Zhou Yue saw danmu comments revealing that the old man was Isshin Ashina and that Isshin had beaten Li Moran.
• Zhou Yue realized that anyone in the world might be challenged, even characters he had assumed were allies.
• Zhou Yue teleported to the Abandoned Temple and called on the Buddha Carver to spar.

Zhou Yue challenged the Buddha Carver and discovered the old man’s hidden karmic fire, but lost before the Carver regained control and resumed carving. After learning that players could challenge other hidden allies, Zhong Yi decided to test himself against Miss Emma.

• Zhou Yue attacked the Buddha Carver, who blocked him and unleashed the karmic fire sealed within him.
• Zhou Yue’s Karma Fire Azure Lotus Art only strengthened his attributes, and the Buddha Carver defeated him before suppressing his fire and returning to his carving.
• Zhou Yue returned to the Ghost Buddha to recover, while Lu Ze judged that Li Moran would remain stuck against Isshin Ashina for days.
• Zhong Yi learned from the danmu that Zhou Yue and Li Moran were challenging hidden NPCs, then chose Miss Emma as his own opponent.
• Zhong Yi drew Kusabimaru and approached Miss Emma, confident that a ninja could defeat a physician.

Zhong Yi repeatedly challenged Emma, whose Soft Style swordsmanship defeated him with ease, then returned to Ashina Castle to grind experience and practice against soldiers. After boasting that he could handle any human enemy, he encountered a flaming Fire Bull and was left questioning his confidence.

• Zhong Yi challenged Emma repeatedly, but she defeated him within a few exchanges each time.
• Zhong Yi recognized that Emma was too strong for him and stopped challenging her and the Buddha Carver.
• Zhong Yi returned to Ashina Castle to earn experience and money while practicing against its soldiers.
• Zhong Yi boasted that ordinary human enemies could no longer threaten him and that he could trade blows with Genichiro Ashina.
• A flaming Fire Bull burst through a wall and charged at Zhong Yi.

Zhou Yue defeated the Buddha Carver in his Illusion Realm after Emma stopped the old man’s Karmic Fire from consuming him. After leaving the realm, Zhou Yue discovered black-and-red flames flowing through his meridians and wondered if he had achieved a breakthrough.

• Zhou Yue fought the Buddha Carver through repeated deaths until he learned to counter the old man’s attacks and nearly filled his posture gauge.
• The Buddha Carver’s Karmic Fire erupted when Zhou Yue moved in to finish the fight, but Emma commanded him to calm down.
• The Buddha Carver regained his composure, praised Zhou Yue’s growing skill, and asked him to bring something to drink.
• Zhou Yue received notice that he had scored the first kill against the Buddha Carver in the Illusion Realm.
• Zhou Yue left the Illusion Realm and found black-and-red flames flowing through his meridians, prompting him to suspect he was breaking through.

Zhou Yue gained insight from fighting the Buddha Carver in Lu Ze’s Illusion Realm and came close to breaking through to the Refining Void Realm. After Chao Wendao asked whether the Illusion Realm held an opponent suited to his own path, Lu Ze promised him a battle with Genichiro Ashina and offered other Elders opponents as well.

• Zhou Yue refined the Karmic Fire he had gained in the Illusion Realm, reached the perfected late stage of the Transformation God Realm, and told Lin Qingxuan and Chao Wendao that the experience had advanced his cultivation.
• Chao Wendao connected Zhou Yue’s progress with Li Moran’s sword insight in the Illusion Realm and wondered whether Lu Ze had designed opportunities for them.
• Chao Wendao contacted Lu Ze and asked whether the Illusion Realm contained an expert who followed his path.
• Lu Ze assured Chao Wendao that Genichiro Ashina’s Thunder Arts would suit him, suggested Emma to Lin Qingxuan, and joked that he might create a blacksmith for his master to fight the Sculptor.

After making no progress with the Buddha Carver, Zhou Yue challenged the Fire Bull, certain his sword skills would make it easy. The Fire Bull repeatedly rammed him, and Zhou Yue paused to watch Zhong Yi's stream and recover his confidence.

• Zhou Yue returned to the Sekiro Illusion Realm and found that further sparring with the Buddha Carver brought no progress.
• Zhou Yue considered Emma's skill as a swordswoman but chose not to challenge her.
• After seeing danmu report that Zhong Yi had struggled against the Fire Bull for six hours, Zhou Yue boasted that he could defeat it with one strike.
• The Fire Bull battered Zhou Yue for an hour, leaving him cursing his rotten luck.
• Zhou Yue sat down to readjust his mindset by opening Zhong Yi's live stream and watching him die.