Where Winds Meet sects: every sect, its rules and how to join

New to the game? Start with the beginner guide, which gets you to Lv10 without wasted time, and the Where Winds Meet hub for everything else. Sect shops are paid in sect currency, not Echo Jade, but free Echo Jade still helps with everything around them: our Where Winds Meet codes page lists 15 working codes.

Where Winds Meet: Sects Trailer, TGS 2025 (official Where Winds Meet channel)

How sects work

Sects open at character Lv10. The flow is the same for almost all of them: open the menu, go to Sects, press Join Sect in the bottom right, pick a sect and press Enter Clue. The clue points you to a place or a person in the world, and finishing that sect's initiation quest makes you a disciple. You can belong to one sect at a time.

Once inside, you live by the sect's rules. They run on point systems such as Precept Value or sect specific points: breaking a rule costs points, meeting the weekly quota raises your rank. Weekly sect tasks pay Martial Arts, outfits and Sect Reputation, and higher ranks open more of the sect shop. Version 2.0 (July 2026) reworked the sect interface so every sect activity is visible on one screen, which makes the weekly checklist much easier to track.

Staying Sectless is a valid choice. It is the default, it has no rules, and you can still earn reputation through Sects, Jianghu Errand, Sect Commands and buy the Sectless outfit. The trade off, per Mein-MMO, is higher costs for learning martial arts and no sect exclusive items. Since January 2026, Sectless characters can also visit the Mysterious Daoist Yuanzhen in Harvestfall Village, Qinghe, for a Divination test.

Every sect at a glance

Two more names, Lone Cloud and Hollow Vale, appear in the sect list. Some guides describe how they might open, but we found no official confirmation that either can be joined on global servers as of November 11, 2026. Ignore claims that they are live until NetEase announces them. Sect weapons are not locked to members, and the weapons and martial arts guide explains how to get each one.

The four launch sects

Well of Heaven is the righteous sect. To join, talk to San Qian'er, the waiter in Harvestfall Village, finish the quest "Easy Street" and hand the Ill-gotten Gains to Zhang Yihao. The weekly quota is Chivalrous Deeds, earned through co-op Adventure Slips. Its rules, as guides list them: "Unrestrained Spirit" lets the sect deduct up to 1,000 Precept Value, "Generous and Righteous" costs 100 if your weekly earnings run too high, and "Brotherhood" forbids disciples from harming each other. Game8 also mentions a weekly communal fee. The sect has its own Red Packets, which got a purchase confirmation in an official patch.

Silver Needle is the healer sect, built around the Panacea Fan and the Inkwell Fan, and its disciples can treat other players' ailments. Talk to Dr. Yuan at the sage's retreat on Moonveil Mountain in Qinghe and pass the admission test. The rules: "One Life, One Price" means you charge for healing, "Shared Healing" gives +10 Precept for multiplayer healing, and "Healing Bodies and Minds" asks for at least 15 likes a week or costs 10 points.

Midnight Blades is the PvP assassin sect with the Infernal Twinblades. Go to Sundara Land north of Heaven's Pier, near Buddha's Light Summit, and speak to the troubled novice monk. You earn Karma by defeating other wanderers ("Kill to Seize Karma") and lose it when you are defeated; the Perception Forest pays large Karma; "Midnight Judgment" lets you defeat Sufferers to take their identity. Official January 2026 fixes added a cooldown on repeat challenges between disciples, Online mode area limits, a teleport lock for both sides once a judgment starts, and a 10 point loss for failing a Sufferer challenge.

Nine Mortal Ways is the prank sect, with the Mortal Rope Dart. Guides disagree on the starting point (KeenGamer sends you to San Qian'er, Mein-MMO to wanderers in straw sandals), so follow the in-game clue. You collect weekly Fun Points from pranks under "Jianghu Fun", disguise yourself under "A Thousand Faces", and lose 10 when a trick fails or you end up in jail ("Deceiving Heaven"). Since January 2026 the sect has its own base, the underground Ghostlight Market, which needs Lv5 and the Qinghe chapter "Another New Wing".

Both are official art from the homepage gallery and the Steam store video, not sect screenshots. They show the kind of night duels that PvP sects like the Midnight Blades are built around.

Social sects: Velvet Shade and The Masked Troupe

Velvet Shade is the romance sect, live since at least January 2026, when official notes changed its Flower Points so a negotiated Sever Partnership no longer costs points. Game8's route: follow the clue in Kaifeng, form a partnership with a teammate at Companions intimacy (partnership NPC Shi Yimo at Crimson Cliff, Qinghe), then sever it; there is a 24 hour cooldown. Game8 also reports that changing cosmetics can trigger an invitation. Other guides describe the route differently, so trust the clue. You need 100 Charm Points a week, and the rewards are rank titles, the sect shop, weekly elections and exclusive cosmetics at the Twin Lotuses rank.

The Masked Troupe opened on February 13, 2026, at Lv10 with a personal invitation, per the official 1.3 overview. In Online mode, find Han Yanluo on a small boat west of the central temple in the Fairgrounds of Kaifeng City, perform music or a dance from the emote Talents tab in a busy spot such as Petalfall Crossing until players Like it, and return to her. The weekly quota is 1,000 Performer Popularity from Spotlight Mode recordings you publish. AllThings lists the conduct rules: no begging in public, no partnership emotes, no marrying while a member and a full outfit at all times.

1. Junior Musician, your rank on joining.
2. Standing Musician, which unlocks the Masked Grace hairstyle and outfit.
3. Seated Musician.
4. Music Officer, the only rank that can run for Music Director, for a 10,000 coin fee.
5. Music Director, elected weekly; Officers and the Director cast 40 votes, everyone else 20.

Every member picks a Stage Name. Official May 2026 notes confirm that a betrayed or changed Stage Name returns to the pool and that the chief's title, "Virtuoso", shows on the interface. The Waist Drum weapon that guides linked to the troupe arrived in Version 2.3.

Expansion sects: Raging Tides and Mohist Hill

Raging Tides was locked at launch and arrived with the Liangzhou update on April 2, 2026; NetEase's press release calls it a sect founded on military service. Its members fight with spears and draw strength from drinking, and the best known rule, "Spears Still Sharp?", asks you to hone your spear in battle every day. The only detailed join walkthrough we found comes from a single commercial site, so we do not repeat it: open Join Sect, check the listed requirement and follow the clue.

Mohist Hill came with Version 2.0 "Unseen Approach" on July 23, 2026. The official developer letter describes it as the surviving branch of the Mohist school, with the philosophy "Utility, Universal Love, and Non-Aggression". It is the first sect built around construction: disciples get buffs to architectural and mechanical crafting, start as apprentices and rise through research, mentorship and submitted creations to master artisan. Its rivals are the Qiongqi Artificers.

1. Reach Lv10 and finish the Hidden Mountain main chapter "Haven Astray".
2. Follow the clue to the Incomparable Tavern.
3. Complete the Jianghu Legacy "Mountains Unveiled", which has you build a bridge to reach Heron.
4. Get Heron's recommendation and take it to Elder Stork at Equilibrium Hall for the sect token.

Left: the official 2.0 art for the Jianghu Legacy around Gasping Cliff, which the overview calls the only route to Mohist Hill. Right: the Changeless Heart campaign, built around the Mohist waterworks. Steps 2 to 4 above follow Nerdschalk's walkthrough. Rewards per guides include the Universal Love Shop, Mohist Hill Reputation (with gauntlets at 100 reputation) and research bonuses; officially there is also the title "Pride of Mohist Hill" from the encounter "Tale Within a Tale". Version 2.4's Jianghu Legacy "Kindle the Void" centres on Elder Crane of Mohist Hill.

Inkbound Order: the 2.3 scholar sect

The newest sect opened with Version 2.3 "Friends From Afar" on October 15, 2026, and it plays differently from the rest. First unlock Qingzhou through the Lost Chapter "Away to Qingzhou" (Lv32 and the Qinghe chapter "Heaven Has No Pier"). Then:

1. Get an admission pass from Master Goose, near the Wayfarer.
2. Pass the Primary Exam, which includes a policy essay evaluation.
3. Choose your status. Game8 reports you can join as an official disciple or as a Visiting Disciple who keeps their current sect, the only way to be tied to two sects at once.
4. Retake the exam at the Sage Statue in the Archives after the Farm Recess if you scored badly; top scorers can skip ahead to Mentor.

Both are official 2.3 images: the Inkbound outfits for the ranks Novice, Initiate and Mentor, and the "Inkbound Order Updates" art from the October 29 half of the patch, when the sect's next stage opened.

The rules are about decorum. "Righteous Intent" asks you to announce your intent before a fight or a Touch of Death and to respect defeated foes. "Strict Decorum" means checking the Low Honor Board, accepting Enforce Justice quests and using the Court Tablet on people hit by Beast Venom or acupoint strikes. You also salute other disciples in Qingzhou. Rewards per Game8: a reputation shop with the Ink and Blade outfit, avatar, namecard and decorations, The Analects plus four more tomes, the Feline Frolic pose and Study Notes; lectures, a dormitory and a cafeteria open after the Farm Recess.

Cast in CurrentsThe dreamscape of Inkbound scholar Zheng Sheng, from the official 2.3 dev letter.

Spirit of the GroveLight horror exploration in an abandoned Inkbound study hall.

Mount PenglaiOpened October 29, 2026, home of the Pavilion of Tomes.

Leaving a sect: Betray Master and the Severance Trial

Leaving is deliberate, not a menu click. Open the Sect menu, press Betray Master in the bottom right and confirm. That starts the Severance Trial: one match in the Perception Forest, followed by a final task from your master per KeenGamer. Joining another sect before the match ends the severance period early.

Which sect should you join?

• Solo story players: stay Sectless for a while, or pick Well of Heaven or the Inkbound Order, whose rules mostly ask for good conduct and co-op deeds.
• Healers: Silver Needle, especially if you took the Panacea Fan.
• PvP players: Midnight Blades. Expect to lose Karma as often as you win it.
• Social and roleplay players: The Masked Troupe or Velvet Shade, both built on likes, votes and charm.
• Builders: Mohist Hill, with its crafting buffs, once you reach Hidden Mountain.
• Jokers: Nine Mortal Ways, but remember the 50,000 coin exit fee.

Most sect quotas are easier with friends, so read the multiplayer and co-op guide if you plan to farm Chivalrous Deeds or Performer Popularity. Sects also teach Martial Arts and Inner Ways; see the Mystic Arts and Inner Ways guide for which ones are worth the effort.

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