The quick answer
Gongsun Deng is an optional challenge opponent at General’s Shrine in northwest Verdant Wilds, Qinghe. Speak to the reading boy to challenge him. Stay near the arena centre, parry his reappearance attack and retreat from the gold wind attack before its blast throws you out.
On this page
Where to start the Gongsun Deng challenge
Go to General’s Shrine in the northwest of Qinghe’s Verdant Wilds. Talk to Gongsun Deng while he is reading and select the challenge dialogue about fighting and teaching him to write. This is one of the optional Old, Weak, Women and Scholars duels.
Before accepting, look at the space you will be fighting in. The boundary is part of the challenge: preserving health alone does not protect you from being pushed out.
Counter his disappearance and reappearance
When Deng disappears, resist the urge to sprint around looking for him. Keep a useful view of the arena and watch for his return from an awkward angle. His quick reappearance strike is a parry opportunity that damages Qi.
After a successful deflection, take a brief opening and reset your position. Avoid treating the stagger as permission to empty every skill: getting too close for too long exposes you to his wind response.
- Hold a central position when he vanishes.
- Turn the camera to watch his approach rather than blindly chasing.
- Time the deflection to the arriving strike.
- Use a short counter, then recover enough space to evade.
Escape the wind before the ring-out
The gold close-range attack leads into a pulling whirlwind and a powerful outward blast. Evade the gold strike and get outside the wind’s area. If you wait beside the boundary, even a surviving hit can end the attempt by throwing you out.
Think about the direction of your escape as well as its timing. Repeatedly moving backward while already near the edge leaves little room for the blast. Return toward a central fighting position after the hazard finishes.
| What happened | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Hit immediately after he reappeared | Watch the arriving strike; avoid repeated early parry inputs. |
| Pulled into the whirlwind | End your attack sooner and react to the gold wind cue. |
| Lost with health remaining | Track the arena boundary and leave more room behind you. |
A focused practice attempt
For one attempt, make successful teleport deflections your only offensive goal. Count clean responses rather than damage dealt. On the next attempt, add a short punish after each one. This proposed exercise isolates the timing mistake from the positioning mistake; it is not a claim about a fixed number of parries required to win.
If you use Assist Deflection, check its Insight restrictions before relying on it through repeated attempts. The setting does not remove the need to evade gold attacks or respect the ring-out.
What to read next
Common questions
Why did I lose to Gongsun Deng with health left?
His wind blast can push you outside the duel area. Stay nearer the centre and leave the whirlwind before the outward burst.
Is Gongsun Deng required for the story?
No. He is an optional challenge opponent at General’s Shrine in Qinghe.