Li Tieniu

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Li Tieniu (李铁牛)
Alias(es)	Commander Li; “Old Father” (a teasing nickname used by Chen Yuanshan) 428
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Wei State Duke Mansion; Dagan Dynasty; Pacifying Distant Legion 1 281
Occupation/Role	Mo Yunxuan’s personal guard; commander of the Imperial City Imperial Guard; commander of the Pacifying Distant Legion 1 251 281
Cultivation Method	Blood Battle Scripture 1
Loyalty	100 when first assessed by Mo Yunxuan 1
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Early Golden Core	1	First recorded cultivation; served as Mo Yunxuan’s personal guard.
Mid Golden Core	12	Advanced after fusing Level Three Blood Essence; described the breakthrough as comfortable despite visible bodily changes.
Late Golden Core	13	Reached through further Level Three Blood Essence enhancement.
Peak Golden Core	13	Reached after three additional portions of Level Three Blood Essence.
Early Nascent Soul	13	Broke through from Peak Golden Core after ten portions of Level Three Blood Essence; 16 portions were calculated as the total needed from Early Golden Core.
Early Body Integration	30	Directly promoted alongside Chen Yuanshan.
Mahayana Realm	206	His realm was exposed to Ji Lingyun and Ji Ruxue, deterring the imperial family from moving against the Wei State Duke Mansion.
Mid Mahayana Realm	279	Confirmed as a mid-stage Mahayana cultivator during the campaign against Southern Song.

Background / History

Li Tieniu first appears as one of Mo Yunxuan’s identity-rationalized personal guards, with absolute recorded loyalty and Early Golden Core cultivation. His original Dou Qi system had been converted into the world’s cultivation system; he explained that the converted fighters could no longer advance through ordinary cultivation, but could strengthen themselves by fusing Magic Beast Essence. 1 2

Mo Yunxuan used Li Tieniu as the first major test subject for Blood Essence reinforcement. The experiment raised him through several Golden Core stages and eventually to Early Nascent Soul, establishing Blood Essence as the Wei State Duke Mansion’s principal means of rapidly strengthening its system soldiers. 12 13

His growth continued into the Body Integration and Mahayana realms. By the time his cultivation became known to the imperial court, Ji Lingyun regarded the gap between them as “heaven and earth,” while Ji Ruxue refused to risk provoking the Wei State Duke Mansion because of Li Tieniu’s presence. 201 206

Li Tieniu later commanded the Imperial City Imperial Guard, then became commander of the Pacifying Distant Legion. His campaigns included the destruction of the Tang and Zhang families, the annihilation of the Southern Expedition Army, operations against Southern Song, suppression of Western Territory rebels, and the assault on the Midgard Allied Army. 242 252 257 281 483 512

Appearance

Li Tieniu is described as a tall, hulking, imposing man. He was initially observed in armor during his Blood Essence enhancement, and his physical presence is repeatedly enough to intimidate stronger-looking opponents before he acts. 12 368 458

• Tall and heavily built. 368 458
• Commonly appears in military armor or at the head of Warship forces. 12 245
• His Mahayana aura can immobilize or terrify nearby cultivators. 459 494

Personality

Li Tieniu’s defining trait is absolute loyalty to Mo Yunxuan. He obeys orders even when he considers the assigned approach unnecessarily slow, and he treats insults or threats against Mo Yunxuan and the Wei State Duke Mansion as intolerable. 500 483

He is straightforward, combat-hungry, and often impatient with prolonged inactivity. He actively seeks opportunities to fight, becomes excited by difficult targets, and initially favors immediate military action over Chen Yuanshan’s more patient strategies. 270 276 279

Despite his aggression, he does not deliberately handicap himself for excitement. He favors overwhelming force, quick execution, and minimizing danger to allied troops. His protectiveness toward soldiers is especially evident when he answered Liu Hao’s distress signal and later pursued vengeance against the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion for slain Imperial City Imperial Guard officers. 245 423 486

Li Tieniu can be bluntly ruthless toward suspected enemies and unreliable allies. He considers loyalty that is not absolute to be disloyalty, making him deeply distrustful of opportunistic noble families and Imperial Enshrinement Pavilion experts. 508 526

Abilities & Skills

Blood Battle Scripture and Body Cultivation

Li Tieniu cultivates the Blood Battle Scripture, a foundational method without a stated upper limit that emphasizes combat and produces spiritual energy with strong destructive power. 1

• His converted cultivation system advances through the fusion of Magic Beast Essence and Blood Essence rather than ordinary cultivation. 2 13
• Blood Essence enhances both his physique and cultivation realm. 12 13
• His body cultivation grants exceptional physical combat power even after his cultivation is sealed. 111

Mahayana Realm Combat Power

Li Tieniu possesses crushing superiority over Body Integration and lower-realm opponents.

• Sealed Su Shan’s dantian and meridians with a palm strike, stripping a Body Integration cultivator of usable cultivation. 111
• Killed the Heavenly Secrets Master through repeated bare-handed blows after arriving to rescue Imperial City Imperial Guard soldiers. 245
• Instantly killed the fleeing Zhang Xiaotian and Zhang Changfeng by enveloping them in spiritual energy. 252
• Immobilized Southern Expedition Army Warships by turning the surrounding spiritual energy into a cage. 257
• Destroyed city-scale defensive formations with his palm and shattered a formation without apparent exhaustion. 428 458
• Released a spiritual-energy storm inside the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion in retaliation for his officers’ deaths. 494

Divine Sense

Li Tieniu’s divine sense is one of his most useful strategic assets.

• Scanned Sea Sky City and identified more than ten thousand people infected with or affected by evil aura. 311 312
• Detected concealed and indistinct auras even when they could not be clearly identified. 312
• Heard conversations inside Xiao Yunhai’s sealed secret chamber through focused divine sense. 320
• Discovered Liu Jingyuan’s rebellion preparations before the conspirators acted. 483
• Located Richard, a suspected Child of Fortune whose presence was difficult even for him to sense clearly. 512

Military Command

As commander of the Pacifying Distant Legion, Li Tieniu personally leads high-risk operations while using his strength to neutralize enemy experts.

• Responded immediately to a highest-alert distress signal and personally moved to rescue Liu Hao’s trapped unit. 245
• Commanded a legion described as having one million soldiers, including 400,000 Nascent Soul cultivators, more than 100 Void Refinement experts, and ten Body Integration great powers. 281
• Ordered the Pacifying Distant Legion to assemble secretly before rebels could begin their uprising. 483
• Mobilized 300,000 troops and Imperial Enshrinement Pavilion enshrinees against the Holy Blazing Sun Kingdom’s coalition. 511

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Armor — Worn during his early Blood Essence reinforcement tests. 12
• Blade — Used for rapid, practical strikes against high-level enemies on the battlefield. 484
• Warships — Commands and deploys Warships in Imperial City Imperial Guard and Pacifying Distant Legion operations. 245 408

Relationships

• Mo Yunxuan — Master and Duke of Wei; Li Tieniu is his absolutely loyal personal guard and later one of his foremost military commanders. 1 247 500
• Chen Yuanshan — Fellow commander, frequent strategist, and close comrade; Chen often restrains Li Tieniu’s impatience, while Li Tieniu trusts his judgment when persuaded. 245 270 538
• Liu Hao — Imperial City Imperial Guard commander whose unit Li Tieniu rushed to save; Liu Hao held the Heavenly Secrets Master in place until Li Tieniu arrived. 245
• Xu Yongjie — Allied commander who investigated the evil-aura crisis and the Yang Ruifeng incident alongside Li Tieniu. 311 369
• Qiu Yue — Imperial Enshrinement Pavilion expert whom Li Tieniu pressured into identifying enshrinees he considered potential threats; she later cooperated to preserve herself. 508 526
• Yu Hongxuan — Heavenly Secrets Pavilion figure and adversary; Li Tieniu held him responsible by association for the Pavilion’s violence against Imperial City Imperial Guard personnel. 407 493
• Liu Jingyuan — Western Territory noble who abandoned a planned rebellion after realizing Li Tieniu had already uncovered it. 483 484

Story Role / Major Arcs

Imperial City Imperial Guard Campaigns

Li Tieniu helped enforce the Wei State Duke Mansion’s authority against hostile noble and imperial forces. After the Imperial City Imperial Guard suffered casualties at the hands of the Heavenly Secrets Master, he killed the attacker and accepted responsibility for any consequences, only to receive Mo Yunxuan’s approval. 201 245 246

He then participated in the destruction of the Tang and Zhang families, personally preventing key Zhang Family members from escaping. 242 252

Southern Song War

Li Tieniu annihilated the retreating Southern Expedition Army, crushed Southern Song Border Army units and Warships, and attacked Harmony Spring City’s barrier to accelerate its fall. 257 276 279

As commander of the Pacifying Distant Legion, he became a principal threat recognized by Southern Song’s Han Lei, whose army withdrew after witnessing Li Tieniu’s strength. 281

Evil-Aura Investigation

Li Tieniu led the investigation into the Eastern Territory’s counterfeit evil aura. His divine sense identified thousands of suspicious people in Sea Sky City, and he continued pursuing the hidden mastermind despite formations designed to conceal them. 311 312 320

Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Revenge

Still determined to avenge the Imperial City Imperial Guard officers killed by the previous Heavenly Secrets Master, Li Tieniu secretly followed Heavenly Secrets Pavilion personnel to their hidden grounds. He revealed himself inside the Pavilion and unleashed a spiritual-energy storm after declaring his purpose. 486 493 494

Western Territory Rebellion

Li Tieniu uncovered Liu Jingyuan’s conspiracy through divine sense and prepared the Pacifying Distant Legion to eliminate the rebels. Liu Jingyuan instead confessed and attempted to ally himself with Li Tieniu after recognizing the legion commander’s overwhelming advantage. 483 484

Midgard Allied Army Assault

Li Tieniu led 300,000 troops and Imperial Enshrinement Pavilion enshrinees against the Holy Blazing Sun Kingdom’s coalition. During the assault, he located and killed Richard, a suspected Child of Fortune, while the Midgard Allied Army collapsed. 511 512

Purge of Eastern Territory Enshrinees

In the Western Territory, Li Tieniu used Qiu Yue to identify Imperial Enshrinement Pavilion experts from the Eastern Territory, intending to remove potential threats from within his own forces. 525 526

Notable Quotes

“This isn't making trouble! This is my revenge! Revenge for my officers!”
— Li Tieniu, before attacking the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion 494

“What we must do is carry out every decision the Duke of Wei makes in the present. Matters such as the future have nothing to do with us!” 525

Trivia

• Chen Yuanshan calls Li Tieniu “Old Father” because he habitually eliminates enemy experts before his own officers can confront them. 428
• Li Tieniu refers to himself as an “old bull” and claims his “hide is thick” when trying to act unafraid of Meng Qianxue’s reprimands. 251
• His initial enhancement from Early Golden Core to Early Nascent Soul required a calculated total of sixteen portions of Level Three Blood Essence. 13