Tie Mu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Tie Mu (铁木)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Nibelungen; Black Dragon Academy
Occupation/Role	First-generation student of Black Dragon Academy; defensive-type soul master
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 14
Martial Soul	Iron-Armored Black Water Turtle
Soul Power	Rank 41 Battle Soul Ancestor

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Rank 41 Battle Soul Ancestor	14	Introduced as a defensive-type Soul Ancestor with four soul rings: two yellow and two purple.
Concentration Art received	18	Receives a cultivation method that accelerates soul-power cultivation and improves mental resistance through long-term practice.
Soul Emperor training target	22	Ordered to reach Soul Emperor within one year; must gain 19 levels from rank 41.

Appearance

Tie Mu is a tower-like, burly man, more than half a head taller than A Liang. He is described as being in his early thirties. 14

• Thick, powerful build; described as resembling a moving wall of flesh. 14
• Broad face with flesh that quivers when he laughs. 14
• His martial soul manifests as a massive dark-green turtle with black-patterned shell, pillar-like limbs, and a heavy aura. 14
• After receiving Black Dragon Academy's uniform, he is notably enthusiastic about its black-and-dark-gold dragon-patterned design. 22

Personality

Tie Mu initially carries himself with swaggering confidence and openly mocks A Liang's low rank, ten-year soul ring, and bamboo-like martial soul. His arrogance leads him to wager that the loser of their duel must kneel and call the winner “father.” 14

After A Liang overwhelms him, Tie Mu drops his contempt, acknowledges his opponent's strength, and fights seriously rather than making excuses. When he loses, he honors the wager despite the humiliation. 15 16 He later rejects Spirit Hall's recruitment because he has already promised to serve Li Yuan, describing himself as a rough man whose word cannot be taken back. 16

He is easily awed by Nibelungen's power and resources, but this becomes gratitude and firm loyalty after Li Yuan gifts him a ten-thousand-year soul bone. 17 18

Abilities & Skills

Iron-Armored Black Water Turtle

Tie Mu possesses an upper-middle-tier defensive beast martial soul. Upon activating it, his skin gains an iron-gray sheen akin to invisible armor, while a giant turtle phantom manifests behind him. 14 15

• Provides exceptional durability and a weighty defensive presence. 14
• Allows him to wield a heavy shield in combat. 15
• His straightforward attacks become considerably stronger after martial-soul activation, though he struggles against highly mobile opponents. 15

Triple Gravity

Tie Mu's second soul skill generates a pale-yellow gravity field over a thirty-meter area. 15

• Increases gravity on targets within its range. 15
• Successfully slows A Liang enough to set up a shield throw. 15
• Does not prevent A Liang from using his first soul skill. 15

Black Turtle Protection

Tie Mu's fourth soul skill creates a huge layered black-turtle shell around him. 15

• Functions as his strongest documented defensive technique. 15
• The shell withstands A Liang's green sword light briefly before cracking and shattering. 15
• Tie Mu is saved from the continuing strike by Emperor's Ruins of Time: Annihilation. 15

Equipment / Items

• Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone — Given by Li Yuan as a welcome gift upon Tie Mu's initiation into Nibelungen; its exact body part and skill are not stated. 17
• Concentration Art — Cultivation method that improves soul-power cultivation speed and long-term mental resistance. 18
• Black Dragon Academy uniform — Black uniform with dark-gold trim and dragon patterns; provides basic defense enhancement and optimized soul-power circulation. 22
• Black Dragon Badge — Embedded spatial soul tool with approximately one cubic foot of storage space. 22

Relationships

• Li Yuan — Lord and benefactor. Tie Mu joins his command, proves loyalty by killing Zhou Hu, and swears to serve him to the death after receiving a ten-thousand-year soul bone. 16 17
• A Liang — Sparring opponent and nominal “father” after Tie Mu loses their wager. Though initially mocked by Tie Mu, A Liang earns his respect through overwhelming combat skill. 14 15 16
• Long Yuan — Senior member of Nibelungen who approves of Tie Mu's potential and later welcomes him into the organization. 14 17
• Emperor — Nibelungen powerhouse who saves Tie Mu from A Liang's lethal sword light using Ruins of Time: Annihilation. 15
• Shui Bing'er — Fellow first-generation Black Dragon Academy student. Tie Mu competes with her in Li Yuan's cultivation challenges. 18 22
• Dugu Yan — Fellow first-generation Black Dragon Academy student and rival in the academy's advancement challenges. 21 22

Story Role / Major Arcs

Recruitment Duel

Tie Mu arrives at Li Yuan's manor as a rank 41 defensive-type Soul Ancestor and seeks recognition for his qualifications. He ridicules A Liang's rank 29 cultivation, Green Bamboo Sword, and inferior soul rings, then challenges him to a duel with a wager requiring the loser to call the winner “father.” 14

A Liang effortlessly evades and strikes him repeatedly even before Tie Mu activates his martial soul. Tie Mu admits he underestimated his opponent, activates the Iron-Armored Black Water Turtle, and uses Triple Gravity and Black Turtle Protection. A Liang's first soul skill destroys Tie Mu's defense; Emperor intervenes before the attack can kill him. 15

Joining Nibelungen

Tie Mu fulfills his wager and kneels to call A Liang “father,” though A Liang refuses to treat him as a son. Li Yuan then offers both men a place under his command. 16

When Spirit Hall deacon Zhou Hu attempts to recruit him, Tie Mu refuses, declaring that he will not abandon his promise to Li Yuan. He subsequently kills the incapacitated Zhou Hu as an initiation test, formally entering Nibelungen. 16 17

Li Yuan rewards Tie Mu with a ten-thousand-year soul bone and promises that loyal members of Nibelungen will be treated well. 17

Black Dragon Academy

Tie Mu receives the Concentration Art and is introduced to Shui Bing'er as one of Li Yuan's developing subordinates. 18 He becomes one of Black Dragon Academy's four first-generation students alongside Shui Bing'er, Dugu Yan, and A Liang. Although reluctant because of his age, he accepts enrollment after Li Yuan and Long Yuan persuade him. 21

Li Yuan sets a one-year target for Tie Mu to reach Soul Emperor and a six-month requirement to earn a Purple-Gold Spirit Fighting Badge. Motivated by the Soul Power Pill reward, Tie Mu declares that he will take first place in the competition. 22

Trivia

• Tie Mu spent two years in the outer court of Heaven Dou Royal Academy before joining Black Dragon Academy. 21
• He regards losing to A Liang, receiving the soul bone, and even calling A Liang “father” as the most worthwhile deal of his life. 18
• His initial rank-41 confidence sharply contrasts with his later realization that Nibelungen includes multiple Titled Douluo-level powerhouses. 14 18