Hua Qianxiao.

Hua Qianxiao, known as the Sword Fanatic, is a blue-robed swordsman who loiters inebriated on the crossing over the Pangzhen road, tipping wine across his mask.

The first named opponent in Crimson Forest, he is found on the wide crossing next to Pangzhen Bridge Overlook. Because the region begins with this compulsory duel, anyone advancing the story will meet him.

His drinking is the distinguishing trait. Midway through combat he swigs, and his Sha-Chi hardens into a barrier. Winning hands you The Fanatic's Broken Blade, a main weapon that comes alive once you drink.

In a single line, the game supplies both his pride as a swordsman and his resentment: the man who broke his blade is the one he is expecting at this spot.

An Abandoned Master of the Blade

Hua Qianxiao devoted his life to pursuing flawless swordsmanship and long sat atop the Wulin. Later, opponents he had narrowly defeated began dropping easily before Maskwalkers, and common combatants brought down Wulin masters in a single night. He grew convinced that, lacking Transcension, the era would pass him by.

Wine Rules on the Matter

Unable to settle it alone, he left the verdict to wine: one cup meant yes, another meant no, and he kept drinking until he lost track of which answer came last. According to his own words, he mused that he too had led a sect under the Mandate, and asks how many years have gone by since he quit the Mandate.

Afterward, more powerful allies gathered near him, while the self-righteous who denounced him were cut down by his sword, bringing no gratification. Only when the Pillars of Kunlun turned to the enigmatic Order for aid did he find a fresh thing to anticipate.

The Fracture

That his prized five-foot sword might snap was beyond his imagining. Since the day it did, glancing at the crack sets him cackling harder and slashing more wildly, though the laughter never soothes his fixation.

Awaiting at the Crossing

Early along the Crimson Forest path, Soul runs into him. Beyond the bell at the bridgehead on the Abandoned Main Road lies the wide crossing, Pangzhen faint in the distance, where Hua Qianxiao waits and tips wine across his mask; the game says a rumour told him the man who snapped his sword would travel this road.

Nobody can skip this duel. The initial path leads straight past him toward the caves surrounding the outlaw settlement.

Two habits define his scene: he drinks and he laughs. Swigging happens in the middle of combat, and per the game, his cackling swells and his swordwork grows wilder each time the crack in his blade draws notice. The things he shouts follow the same mould: toasts to the wine, urges to slay righteous fools, and boasts that his foe previously lost to him.

Letting wine rule on whether to change is the most obvious driver shown for him; all he pursued in life was swordsmanship, and he dreaded the era leaving him behind.

The Cycle of Drinking

At mid distance he strikes using a sword he steers remotely. His Sha-Chi hardens into a barrier whenever he swigs, and as the animation finishes he blasts away anybody beside him while the barrier reverts to Sha-Chi.

Afterwards that returned Sha-Chi drains away. As he starts swigging, sprint toward the opposite end of the crossing, let the gauge decline, then rush in and shatter his guard. Since the crossing is lengthy, you can loop this until the duel is done. Alternatively, use the Shieldbreaker Talisman and Dread Axe against the barrier while he charges.

You claim The Fanatic's Broken Blade, a main weapon, from him. This fractured sword awakens when you drink, flying across the air to hit faraway foes, though its damage declines with distance. Reaching the Drunk state while holding it earns the achievement A Drunken Dream.

Mid-battle

“Delicious... delicious wine!”

Uttered by Hua Qianxiao as he swigs.

“Kill all those righteous fools!”

Uttered by Hua Qianxiao.

“But you lost that battle!”

Uttered by Hua Qianxiao.