The Undying Heroic Spirit Walkthrough: Hero's Courage

Quick Answer

The Undying Heroic Spirit is a late-game Pangzhen Tale (listed among the Tales on the All Tales index) about giving broken Mandate masters an honorable end. Finish The Seven-stars Formation, speak with the Wolf Leader in the Order’s Tavern training hall, then execute four kneeling masters and collect their Memory Flowers. The reward is Hero’s Courage, the Soul Tempering material for the Swordsman’s Summon.

How to Start: The Wolf Leader in the Tavern Basement

The quest giver is the Purple-Robed “Wolf” Leader, head of the Mandate’s Wolf Division. He stands — seated, actually, on a bench flanked by two spear guards — in the training hall of the Order’s Tavern in Pangzhen, about 35 metres from the Myst’s Tavern bell. He only appears after that bell has been rung for the first time.

One prerequisite catches players: talking to him before finishing The Seven-stars Formation only triggers his lecture on Mandate ranks — disciples in white, captains in blue, purple for division leaders. Complete that Tale first; then, when Soul tells him “I gave those seven an honorable end,” he blames Perfect Transcension and hands over the Shattered “Hero’s Courage”, a clouded jade fragment that lights up quest markers across the map. Stand directly in front of him and face him to get the talk prompt — it does not trigger from his sides.

Prep Before You Start

Two habits make this Tale trivial and one makes it dangerous. First, top off your medicine pouch at the Myst’s Tavern bell — six duels with adds is a long afternoon. Second, unequip anything that kills for you: damage-over-time ticks and lingering Phantom Edge summons can push a kneeling master into his transformed state before you land the killing blow, and transformation is exactly what you are trying to avoid. Finally, manual-save at a bell before each master. The ten-second kneel window is generous when you expect it and brutal when you do not, and a bell reload costs less than a failed Tale.

Where the Six Masters Are

Perfect Transcension has hollowed out six masters. They appear as purple-robed twin-blade swordsmen, purple-robed spear guards, and Baishan guards, with titles like Agonized Twinblade Swordsman and Unyielding Baishan Guard marking their state. Four hold the Mandate Encampment, two hide in the Pangzhen backstreet:

Mandate Encampment (four masters):

1. Twin-blade swordsman, roughly 30 m from the Mass Grave bell.
2. Spear guard, roughly 30 m from the Main Encampment Gate bell.
3. Spear guard, about 170 m from the Three Towers bell — the most remote target.
4. Baishan guard, about 60 m from the Path of the Baishan’s Fall bell.

Pangzhen backstreet (two masters):

5. Twin-blade swordsman far below the Pangzhen Slums bell, about 40 m down.
6. Baishan guard between Narrow Alley Residence 2nd Floor and Pond of Fading Song, roughly 170–200 m from each.

Each Encampment master carries his own map marker; both backstreet targets are easy to wander past, so ping the markers before setting out. If you already killed some of these masters before taking the quest, their Memory Flowers remain where they fell — but interacting without the shattered jade only gives a short glimpse, so return once the Tale is active.

The Execution Mechanic (and How the Quest Fails)

Every master starts hostile alongside Mandate troops. Clear the adds first — they barely scratch him, and he will not kneel while they live. Partway through the duel he drops to his knees and asks Soul to end it. Kill him while he kneels. The window is about ten seconds, after which he transforms into a far stronger version of himself.

A transformed kill is a failed release: no Memory Flower, no credit. Three failed releases fail the entire quest, and with six masters on the board you can absorb at most two mistakes. The kneel cue is confirmed for the twin-blade swordsmen and behaves identically across all six, so treat every kneel as your signal to commit to the execution. This fail state puts the Tale on the shortlist in the missable side quests guide — worth reading before you start, since a failed run costs you the temper material.

Reward: Hero’s Courage for Swordsman’s Summon

Collect your fourth Memory Flower and the Tale completes: the shattered jade is replaced by Hero’s Courage, a jade pendant “filled with the memories of heroes who remained true to their hearts.” The remaining two masters are optional cleanup for completionists.

Hero’s Courage is a Soul Tempering material with exactly one use: tempering the Swordsman’s Summon. If you run the summon blades in your build, this Tale is mandatory — the material has no other source. The process itself is covered in the Soul Tempering guide, and the material slots into the collection tracked on the Soul Temper materials page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many masters do I need for Hero’s Courage in Phantom Blade Zero? Four. The Tale completes on your fourth Memory Flower; masters five and six in the Pangzhen backstreet are optional and can be finished at leisure.

The Wolf Leader won’t talk to me — why? Two usual causes: the Myst’s Tavern bell has not been rung yet (he only spawns afterward), or The Seven-stars Formation is unfinished. Stand squarely in front of him as well — the talk prompt does not appear from beside his guards.

What happens if a master transforms during The Undying Heroic Spirit? The kill still works, but it counts as a failed release and drops no Memory Flower. Three failed releases fail the whole quest, so reload your last bell save if the kneel window slips.

Is Hero’s Courage used for anything besides Swordsman’s Summon? No — it is a single-weapon Soul Temper material. If you do not use the summon, the Tale’s real value is completion percentage and the Memory Flower lore.

Sources

• KeenGamer — All 33 Tales and Side Quests Walkthrough
• AllThingsHow — The Undying Heroic Spirit Quest Guide
• Game8 — The Undying Heroic Spirit Walkthrough and Rewards
• AllThingsHow — How to Get Hero’s Courage