Chapter Summaries

Lu Ze revealed that his Illusion Realm would erase participants’ sword knowledge and force them to cultivate from a blank slate. Li Moran entered the realm and watched its first battle unfold.

• Lu Ze explained that he could seal every participant’s memories and insights related to the sword dao, resetting their progress to zero.
• Li Moran realized the Illusion Realm could give her a rare chance to gain a new understanding of combat and eagerly accepted the challenge.
• Lu Ze placed the pale-gold Illusion Crystal Stone in Li Moran’s Illusion Tower and launched the Sekiro-themed realm.
• Li Moran arrived on a ravaged battlefield, where two masked warriors fought with a halberd and a longsword.
• The smaller sword cultivator defeated his opponent, and a voice announced that Enemy general Tamura had been defeated.

Zhou Qiaoling entered Lu Ze’s Sekiro Illusion Realm as punishment for neglecting sword practice, while Zhou Yue used a Talisman to keep her Spiritual Sense inside until she cleared it. The realm’s opening introduced Ashina and the shinobi Wolf, then left Zhong Yi beginning the story as a broken Wolf in a well.

• Zhou Yue explained that Elder Liu had ordered Zhou Qiaoling to play Sekiro to improve her swordsmanship, and Zhou Qiaoling entered the Illusion Realm reluctantly.
• Zhou Yue placed a Barrier around Zhou Qiaoling with a Talisman that would prevent her from leaving until she cleared the realm, then Zhong Yi, Zhou Yue, and Mu Yawen entered too.
• The opening animation showed Isshin Ashina seizing Ashina Country and a white-haired old man finding a boy on a battlefield and naming him Hungry Wolf.
• Zhong Yi analyzed Ashina as a world with almost no Spiritual Energy, where players could hone their combat skills without relying on cultivation.
• The story showed Wolf losing his adoptive father and master, then a woman in the snow dropping a letter into a well and asking him to wake up.
• Zhong Yi’s Spiritual Sense entered the haggard Wolf at the bottom of the well as the Illusion Realm began in earnest.

Mu Yawen, Zhou Qiaoling, Zhong Yi, and Zhou Yue each attempted the opening challenges in their Illusion Realm worlds, but all four died. Zhong Yi eventually reached the Moon-Viewing Tower, where a mysterious voice welcomed Wolf.

• Mu Yawen attacked the guards bare-handed, failed to disarm them, and died.
• Zhou Qiaoling tried to steal a samurai's sword and was killed by the guards.
• Zhong Yi attempted to sneak past the samurai, but a Torch ignited the grass and the guards killed him.
• Zhou Yue crossed the guarded area but fell when the wooden bridge broke beneath him.
• Zhong Yi respawned, passed the stealth section, and climbed to the Moon-Viewing Tower.
• A youthful voice greeted Zhong Yi as Wolf at the tower window.

Zhong Yi explored the Illusion Realm as Sekiro, learned that he had to help Kurō escape Ashina Castle, and confidently set out to fight. After stealthily killing several guards, he underestimated the next group of enemies and was killed while failing to deflect their attacks.

• Zhong Yi received Kusabimaru from Kurō and found pellets and a Healing Gourd in the Moon-Viewing Tower.
• Kurō explained that he was under house arrest and asked Zhong Yi to check for a secret passage beneath a bridge near the moat.
• Zhong Yi left the tower and used Deathblows to assassinate three unsuspecting guards.
• Zhong Yi practiced basic combat and entered the gate tower, where several warriors attacked together.
• Zhong Yi repeatedly mistimed his deflections, took heavy damage from the warriors, and died.

Zhong Yi repeatedly died to Sekiro’s first elite enemy, Yamauchi Shigenori, while learning the combat mechanics. Other players struggled against him too, but Zhou Qiaoling discovered she could run past him and continue toward the destination; meanwhile, the Limitless Sword Domain watched the players’ Illusion Realms, especially Chen Yuan’s.

• Zhong Yi returned to the gate tower more cautiously, defeated several ordinary warriors, and encountered Yamauchi Shigenori.
• Zhong Yi tried to overpower Yamauchi Shigenori with attacks, but the elite enemy countered and killed him.
• Mu Yawen learned to Perfect Deflect Yamauchi Shigenori’s attacks, landed a Deathblow, and discovered he had another life.
• Zhou Qiaoling dodged Yamauchi Shigenori’s attack and ran past him instead of fighting.
• Cultivators in the Limitless Sword Domain watched hundreds of Sekiro Illusion Realms, with Chen Yuan’s drawing the most viewers.

Lu Ze let the cultivators on the Viewing Terrace experience how the Illusion Realm’s Formation disrupted their sword skills, showing them why Yamauchi Shigenori challenged even powerful sword cultivators. Li Moran adapted and defeated the enemy, while Chen Yuan cleared him after eight deaths and celebrated, unaware that Lu Ze was about to puncture his pride.

• Chen Yuan repeatedly died to Yamauchi Shigenori as cultivators watching his Illusion Realm criticized his performance.
• Lu Ze found Li Moran struggling against Yamauchi Shigenori and heard cultivators doubt her talent.
• Lu Ze cast a Formation that let the cultivators temporarily cut themselves off from their understanding of the sword and experience the Illusion Realm’s difficulty.
• Li Moran adapted to Yamauchi Shigenori’s attacks and defeated him with a flowing sequence of Deflects and counterattacks.
• Chen Yuan defeated Yamauchi Shigenori on his eighth attempt, claimed he had been holding back, and received praise through Danmu.
• Lu Ze sent Chen Yuan a Danmu message saying Yamauchi Shigenori was only a slightly tougher enemy in the beginner tutorial.

Chen Yuan boasted about mastering Sekiro’s swordplay as he guided Kurō through the secret passage out of Ashina Castle. They emerged into a moonlit field of reeds, where Genichiro Ashina awaited them.

• Chen Yuan dismissed Yamauchi Shigenori’s swordsmanship and explained Sekiro’s combat mechanics to the watching cultivators while Lu Ze labeled offense and defense.
• Chen Yuan opened the secret passage beneath the moat bridge and blew the Leaf Whistle to summon Kurō.
• Kurō entered the passage, sighing over whether fleeing was the only way to face his bloodline’s fate.
• Chen Yuan bragged that he could now defeat an opponent like Yamauchi Shigenori without drawing blood and claimed he was waiting for a worthy challenge.
• Chen Yuan and Kurō emerged into the reeds, where an armored man greeted Kurō as Genichiro Ashina.

Chen Yuan faced Genichiro Ashina in Sekiro’s Illusion Realm, only to be overwhelmed despite believing the fight was a beginner tutorial. After Sekiro lost an arm and Genichiro captured Kurō, Chen Yuan angrily confronted Lu Ze over the humiliating defeat.

• Sekiro stopped Kurō from confronting Genichiro Ashina and stayed behind to fight him.
• Chen Yuan confidently challenged Genichiro, but his opening strike cost him half his health.
• Chen Yuan tried to block and counter, but Genichiro’s feints and perilous attacks defeated him.
• Genichiro cut off Sekiro’s left arm, took Kurō, and left with his subordinates.
• Chen Yuan quit the Illusion Realm and accused Lu Ze of deliberately making him lose in front of everyone.

Lu Ze rejected Chen Yuan’s claim that Genichiro was unbeatable and wagered that someone would defeat him within three days or he would concede. As cultivators poured into the illusion realms, Genichiro defeated them repeatedly.

• Lu Ze pointed out that Genichiro had also defeated other cultivators, including Li Moran, but Chen Yuan accused him of rigging the realm and invoked their wager.
• Lu Ze argued that Chen Yuan’s swordsmanship was insufficient and offered to demonstrate, but Chen Yuan accused him of having special privileges.
• Lu Ze pointed to Li Moran restarting her challenge and declared that someone would defeat Genichiro within three days, or he would honor the wager and concede; Chen Yuan accepted.
• Cultivators flocked into Sekiro, where Genichiro beat them, including Mu Yawen, Zhou Qiaoling, and Zhou Yue.

Li Moran repeatedly challenged Genichiro Ashina in the Illusion Realm, determined to learn his movements despite repeated deaths. After losing to Genichiro, Zhou Yue awoke with a Shinobi Prosthetic, learned that Kurō was imprisoned in Ashina Castle, and set out to rescue him.

• Li Moran restarted her save after each scripted defeat and continued fighting Genichiro, gradually seeing his attacks more clearly.
• Zhou Yue awoke in a temple after losing his arm and discovered that the Buddha Carver had fitted him with the Shinobi Prosthetic.
• The Buddha Carver told Zhou Yue that Kurō was imprisoned in Ashina Castle and that Genichiro sought the power of Kurō's dragon's heritage.
• Zhou Yue received a quest to go to Ashina Castle and gather clues about Kurō.
• The Buddha Carver offered to fit any prosthetic tools Zhou Yue found, and Zhou Yue left the temple vowing to take revenge on Genichiro.

Chen Yuan entered the outskirts of Ashina Castle, where his contempt for ambushes and guns quickly gave way to cautious tactics after soldiers shot him and a black chicken killed him. With Lu Ze broadcasting his humiliating setbacks to the other cultivators, Chen Yuan fought his way back to the castle and reached a gate guarded by Ashina General Kawarada Naomori.

• Chen Yuan rejected the Shinobi Prosthetic and boasted that an honorable Sword Cultivator had no need for ambushes or tricks.
• A soldier shot Chen Yuan from a tower, and the surrounding soldiers forced him to flee.
• A black chicken killed Chen Yuan while he was drinking from his Healing Gourd, and the newly enabled livestream spread the scene to cultivators across the realms.
• After reviving, Chen Yuan used Deathblows and cautious tactics to defeat the soldiers, while cultivators reposted his earlier boasts as teasing Danmu messages.
• Chen Yuan reached the gate passage below Ashina Castle and saw Ashina General Kawarada Naomori waiting beneath a small tower.

Chen Yuan challenged Kawarada Naomori, an Ashina General in Lu Ze’s Illusion Realm, but struggled against his attacks and lost both lives. Lu Ze watched as the cultivators experienced the same punishing fight that had driven novice players to seek refunds.

• Chen Yuan hesitated at the Ashina General’s two health orbs, then jumped down to challenge him after netizens mocked his caution.
• Kawarada Naomori’s fast, heavy slashes overwhelmed Chen Yuan’s blocks, and a delayed strike knocked him down while the viewers jeered.
• Chen Yuan tried to overpower the general with rapid attacks, but the general leaped over his third swing and killed him.
• After resurrecting, Chen Yuan attempted Perfect Deflections, but a [Peril] attack swept his legs and another attack finished him.
• Lu Ze watched with delight as the cultivators struggled against the Ashina General, a notoriously difficult enemy for beginners.

Lu Ze created Sekiro as a demanding Sword Dao illusion realm, and cultivators across the Cultivation World struggled against its Ashina General. The chapter left Mu Yawen confused, Zhou Qiaoling trying to bypass the boss, and Chen Yuan dying again as viewers mocked him for fighting only one enemy.

• Lu Ze finished designing Sekiro’s moves with help from thirty Sword Cultivator Cybersouls, making the combat challenge especially difficult.
• Mu Yawen struggled to understand Deflection and Perilous attacks while Zhong Yi failed to answer her messages.
• Zhou Qiaoling’s master, Liu, promised a better gift if she cleared the illusion realm, so she lured the Ashina General away and ran past him.
• Chen Yuan mistook the Ashina General’s Perilous grab for a sweep, jumped into the attack, and died again.
• Viewers flooded Chen Yuan’s live stream with questions about whether the illusion realm had only one enemy, and Chen Yuan finally snapped.

Zhou Yue defeated the Ashina General in Sekiro and earned the first-kill announcement, sparking a wave of cultivators rushing to claim more boss kills. His insight into the illusion’s [Perilous] warning impressed Lu Ze, who rejected a system reward before eyeing Zhong Yi’s [Cross True Art].

• Zhou Yue fought the Ashina General, died when wolves interfered, then killed the wolves and defeated the general on his next attempt.
• Zhou Yue received the first-kill announcement for the Ashina General, and cultivators across the sects surged into Sekiro to pursue boss kills.
• While searching for new opponents, Zhou Yue connected Sekiro’s [Perilous] and [Death] warnings to Zhong Yi’s Grand Dao Truth Incantation and praised Lu Ze’s illusion craft.
• Lu Ze rejected the system’s offer of Zhou Yue’s Karma Fire Azure Lotus Art, fearing its effect on his luck.
• Lu Ze wondered whether Zhong Yi’s [Cross True Art] might be acquired next.

Chen Yuan struggled through Sekiro's opening area, eventually defeating the Ashina General before encountering the Red Oni. He was quickly overwhelmed by the newcomer-trap enemy as Lu Ze boosted his live stream for viewers to watch.

• Chen Yuan ignored the jeering danmu, learned to deflect the Ashina General's attacks, and defeated him after many deaths.
• Lu Ze told Chen Yuan that the Ashina General was only an elite enemy, but Chen Yuan continued exploring Sekiro.
• Chen Yuan reached the Tiger's Mouth Stairway, ambushed two guards, and found the Red Oni bound near the top of the stairs.
• Chen Yuan freed the Red Oni with a sword thrust, failed to block its kick, and was slammed into the ground by its perilous attack.
• Viewers flocked back to Chen Yuan's live stream as Lu Ze secretly boosted its popularity and celebrated the Red Oni's fearsome reputation.

Zhou Yue struggled against the Red Oni in the Illusion Realm until Mu Yawen defeated it on her first try and explained how to read its attacks. Zhong Yi finally beat Yamauchi Shigenori after repeated attempts, leaving Zhou Yue unsure whether his friend was a genius or simply terrible.

• Zhou Yue repeatedly failed to defeat the Red Oni, even after learning to dodge its kicks and counterattack.
• Mu Yawen achieved the first kill of the Red Oni and told Zhou Yue that blocking when its foot left the ground might work.
• Mu Yawen credited Zhong Yi with teaching him that Deflection was the Illusion Realm's core technique, surprising Zhou Yue.
• Zhong Yi completed his fight and revealed that he had been battling Yamauchi Shigenori.
• Zhou Yue realized Zhong Yi had figured out Deflection while fighting a beginner tutorial enemy and questioned whether he was a genius or terrible.

Zhong Yi struggled through Sekiro, learned that his deaths caused Dragonrot, and tried to avoid further harm to the Buddha Carver, only to die again. Chen Yuan defeated the Red Oni after fifty-seven deaths, then triggered a gong alarm near Yamauchi Noriyoshi and was overwhelmed by soldiers.

• Zhong Yi repeatedly failed to defeat the Ashina General, and his resurrections caused the Buddha Carver to suffer Dragonrot.
• Zhong Yi decided to bypass the Ashina General, but missed his grappling hook and died, worsening the Buddha Carver's cough.
• Chen Yuan defeated the Red Oni after fifty-seven deaths, while the danmu mocked his performance and Lu Ze clarified that the Red Oni was not a boss.
• Chen Yuan encountered Yamauchi Noriyoshi and claimed he could defeat him quickly, despite soldiers guarding the area.
• Chen Yuan killed a soldier by surprise, but a sentry sounded a gong, drawing in reinforcements; Yamauchi Noriyoshi trapped Chen Yuan, who died in the mob attack.

In the Sekiro Illusion Realm, Zhong Yi repeatedly failed to defeat the Red Oni while teaching his livestream viewers about its attacks. A bald former thief offered to reveal what happened three years ago in exchange for 50 copper coins, but Zhong Yi had no money and set out to earn some by fighting regular soldiers.

• Zhong Yi landed a Deathblow on the Red Oni, then explained his strategy to his livestream viewers.
• Zhong Yi failed to parry the Red Oni's kicks and was caught by its grab-and-throw attack, then resurrected at the Buddha Carver's temple.
• Zhong Yi reasoned that the Red Oni's fear of fire might offer a shortcut, but he could not work out how to light Kusabimaru.
• A bald man recognized Zhong Yi and offered to tell him what happened three years ago if Zhong Yi lent him 50 copper coins.
• Zhong Yi tried to pay but had no money after dying hundreds of times, so he decided to earn copper by fighting regular soldiers and discovered they could deflect him too.

Zhong Yi learned that the answers to his missing memories lay with Young Master Kurō and the ruined Hirata Estate, where he obtained the Young Lord's Bell. After the Buddha Carver rang it, Zhong Yi awakened in a vision marked “Three Years Ago.”

• A bald thief told Zhong Yi that bandits had raided the Hirata Estate three years earlier and recalled seeing him searching there.
• Zhong Yi paid the thief for information about a flame-shooting prosthetic tool hidden near a feast bonfire in the Hirata Estate ruins.
• At the ruins, a blind old woman mistook Zhong Yi for her son Inosuke and gave him the Young Lord's Bell to offer before a Buddha.
• Zhong Yi returned to the Abandoned Temple, where Emma examined the Buddha Carver's Dragonrot blood and Zhong Yi offered to obtain more samples.
• The Buddha Carver rang the Young Lord's Bell as Zhong Yi knelt before a Buddha, and Zhong Yi awoke in a vision labeled “Three Years Ago.”

Three years in the past, Zhong Yi explored the burning Hirata Estate and suspected the bandit attack concealed a larger scheme. He gathered shinobi tools but died repeatedly, then encountered shield soldiers that frustrated him.

• Zhong Yi activated a Ghost Buddha outside the Hirata Estate and found a dying guard who urged him to save the young lord from the bandits.
• Zhong Yi stealthily defeated the bandits on the bridge and reasoned that ordinary bandits could not have breached the estate's defenses without help.
• Zhong Yi entered the estate, found the Flame Arrow near a campfire, and later collected the Shinobi Axe of the Flying Ape from a Buddhist hall.
• Zhong Yi repeatedly died while exploring, met the bald bandit from the Tiger Gate Steps, and chose not to test whether killing him would affect the future.
• Zhong Yi advanced deeper into the estate and angrily discovered that shield soldiers could negate his character growth with a single block.