Zhuo Bi

Zhuo Bi, the Gatekeeper, is the first required boss of the Village of Lu in Phantom Blade Zero's Chapter 5, in a fenced yard past Old Man Gen's hideout. Parry his shield hits to break his shield bar, punish him while he kneels, and dodge his red-flash strike. He drops the Bastion Phantom Edge.

Only parries hurt Zhuo Bi's shield: each clean one drains the bar above his 41,800 HP, dodging does nothing to it, and when it empties he kneels and takes real damage. PCGamesN puts the rest plainly: "You absolutely need a shield-breaking weapon." The Gatekeeper is the first boss you meet in the Village of Lu, a required fight in a fenced yard on the main path in Chapter 5, Heartless Remnants, and he drops the Bastion (Damage 226, Guard Break 198), a shield Phantom Edge that also blocks crossbow bolts as you explore, with 15,000 Remnant Dust. Most players get past him: by Nov 9, 2026, 56.0% of Steam players had beaten Mu Xiaokui, the village's last required boss, and 55.3% had left the village for Pangzhen, so at least that share had beaten the Gatekeeper first.

His shield fills the screen at 0:13 of PowerPyx's Oct 29, 2026 recording, a dark slab taller than Soul carved as a snarling beast's face, while his line plays: "This shield shall never break."

From Young Master Lan's Hideout to the yard

Game8 says to keep following the main path from the Crossroads bell past Old Man Gen's hideout; the arena is farther on. AllThings.how gives the route from the Young Master Lan's Hideout bell: take the stone steps at the far corner of the camp, follow the ravine past a fallen log, a ruined house and a long barn, cross the plank walkway, drop into a pit with two Vessels, follow the riverbed past a broken cart, climb the rope ladder and walk through the palisade gate. Entering the yard starts the fight. A Blackstone Shard chest stands by the fence and a Firefly Memory Flower grows slightly above the arena, one of the six that open the way to Dusk the Puppeteer's hidden fight (Collectibles).

AllThings.how labels this fight Chapter 1, on the quest Against the Flow; Game8 and Beebom place it in Heartless Remnants, the chapter Walkthrough numbers 5.

Breaking the shield bar

Parry, do not dodge. Clean parries drain the shield bar and dodging does not; PPE adds that each parry wears his shield down.
When the bar empties he drops to one knee for roughly 10 to 15 seconds. That is your damage window; the bar refills on its own after it. PCGamesN also says to attack when he lies on the ground after an attack.
After a break, PPE says a prompt lets Soul stab through his helmet for about a quarter of his health, and using Soul's special ability as he starts to recover makes the second break much easier.
Bring a shield breaker. Game8 recommends the Dread Axe as Phantom Edge, with the Outlaw Warblade or White Serpent & Crimson Viper, and Shenji's Ring with the Resonance Talisman so you can keep blocking. PPE calls the Outlaw Warblade the best weapon here, with an axe as the secondary; the Dread Axe is the Phantom Edge from Peng Meng, and the two blades are on Weapons.
On Wayfarer most hits cost about 110 HP and the worst about 225 HP, with roughly four gourd drinks planned; Pathbreaker hits harder (Difficulty Modes).

Shield swings, spikes and the red flash

Shield swing: an overhead swing for about 110 HP. Parry it on the way down.
Shield wall advance: he walks in behind the shield, then bashes. Parry the bash.
Shield smash string: he smashes the shield into the ground again and again. Game8 says to block the early hits and parry the last one; AllThings.how's four-hit string is about 110 HP a hit, parried hit by hit with the counter held until it ends.
Polearm sweep: a wide sweep. Parry it or back-step out of range.
Blue-glint attack: he ducks behind the shield with a blue flash. Parry it.
Leap-back slam with rock spikes: he leaps back, slams the shield and sends jagged rocks along the ground. Dodge both hits (move sideways out of the spikes' line), then be ready for a new shield smash. PPE warns that a long shield plant sets the ground on fire in a straight line, so dodge sideways.
Leaping slam: he jumps in from range. Dodge to either side or parry as he lands.
Shield slide: after a stagger he slides at you behind the shield as the screen grays. Dodge it, since a hit drains Sha-Chi, or interrupt it with a weapon skill.
Red flash: it pierces a held guard for about 225 HP. Dodge it; Game8 says his attacks are mostly blockable except these glints.