Chapter 361

Tie Mu and Tie Dao Ku see that Fang Yuan cannot be caught and has reached a formidable stage. Tie Ruo Nan watches from a boulder as Tie Ba Xiu and five others ring Fang Yuan, with a tight net of rattan shell grass soldiers outside them. Some of those soldiers are combining into rank four grass sword elite soldiers. Tie Xian Hua, healed and ready to fight, tells Fang Yuan he is heavily encircled and should let himself be captured. Tie Mu adds that Fang Yuan cannot escape even if he grows wings. ^{ch. 361}

Fang Yuan forces Tie Ba Xiu back and says he will try. A pair of pitch black bone wings spreads from his back, and he rises into the air. Tie Mu is baffled that his words became a prophecy. Tie Xian Hua is bewildered, since Tie clan’s intel never mentioned a flying type Gu and the wings are clearly rank four. Flying type Gu are rare, expensive movement Gu, so few Gu Masters have them. Tie Ruo Nan sees her grass soldiers are useless against air targets, and a huge hole opens in her encirclement. ^{ch. 361}

Tie Ba Xiu shouts at the others to stop panicking. Flying and fighting in flight need long practice, he says, and even Verdant Great Sun, son of Ren Zu, died while flying. The group concludes Fang Yuan definitely obtained the bone wings very recently, and its spirit recovers. Tie Ba Xiu, whose own long distance methods are lacking, orders the others to attack and tells Fang Yuan that flying was an extremely stupid move. Tie Ao Kai finds his golden needle mosquito Gu exhausted, having spent it freely because Fang Yuan never defended against the mosquitoes. One Gu Master reports his star arrow Gu destroyed by Fang Yuan, another has only two flower rain Gu, and the rest are similarly short. Tie Ba Xiu’s heart sinks as he sees Fang Yuan prepared this all along. ^{ch. 361}

Tie Dao Ku sends a ray of blade qi, which Fang Yuan evades with a flap of his wings. Three snowballs from another Gu Master block his retreat, but he whirls through the gaps. With their attacks hitting nothing and one fighter’s primeval essence running dry, the group thins out its attacks. Tie Ruo Nan says they let him retreat easily this time because of his talent, and warns him to beware the next meeting. Fang Yuan laughs at their naivety, for the real battle has only begun. ^{ch. 361}

He activates all-out effort Gu and strength qi Gu together, and five solid phantoms slam the field: green bull, horse, stone turtle, white elephant and black python. Rattan shell grass soldiers are sent flying or destroyed, and the Tie clan group retreats madly. Tie Ba Xiu punches a sonic boom of fist energy from afar, but its reach is short and Fang Yuan rises higher to dodge it. Strength path has always lacked long range attacks, and Fang Yuan is an oddity because his strength qi Gu originates from the ancient qi path. The others ward off the phantoms and aim attacks into the air, yet Fang Yuan dodges most strikes like a butterfly, goshawk, swift or dragonfly. Golden shield Gu light resists the few that land. ^{ch. 361}

The group is stunned, rating his control no lower than that of Lan Mei He, Hong Fei Yu and Fei You Wang, flying experts famed throughout Southern Border. From the air Fang Yuan attacks at will, and Tie Ruo Nan’s grass soldiers can only take hits. Fang Yuan spots an opening and dives at Tie Mu. He grabs Tie Mu’s shoulders and, with beast phantom retract, tears both arms off. He then smacks his hands together and bursts Tie Mu’s head open. Delighted by the smell of blood, he roars an improvised poem, and the Tie clan group looks on in fury at Tie Mu’s death. ^{ch. 361}