Tian E

Biodata

Power Progression

Early milestones are recounted retrospectively; chapter references identify where they are documented.

Background / History

Tian E came from a commoner background but inherited the top-tier Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul. His family preserved an incomplete genealogy containing information about its ancestry and bloodline awakening 79 100.

During his youth, he traveled extensively across the continent and frequently visited Heaven Dou City. He became a renowned talent of his generation, though the three great Limit Douluos continued to overshadow him 84 175.

Tian E helped Xia Hong hunt for his ninth Soul Ring seven or eight years after his own advancement to Titled Douluo. Their party targeted a Man Faced Demon Spider approaching a hundred thousand years of cultivation. The spider escaped by exploiting the Star Dou Great Forest’s terrain and sacrificing her origin, but Tian E’s injuries to her left a lasting hatred 175.

Seeking the origin of his lineage, Tian E sailed west from Vast Sea City and visited Sea God Island. After ruling it out as his ancestral home, he continued west for roughly three months. A powerful Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast nearly killed him, but during his escape he glimpsed a vast, distant coastline. He subsequently suspected that his family came from another continent, although its identity remained unconfirmed 185.

Appearance

Tian E initially appears as a refined elderly man in golden robes, with carefully groomed white hair and a silvery-white beard. His normally sharp eyes soften around Tian Chen. After reaching Level 99, he looks closer to a middle-aged man in his prime, although his eyes retain their weathered quality 13 52 83 120.

• Martial Soul Possession: Fine golden scales cover his body, his white hair becomes thick keratin, his hands turn into claws, and a large tail covered in scales and spikes extends behind him 3 36.
• Martial Soul Avatar: Becomes a golden crocodile over thirty meters long at Level 98; a later transformation exceeds fifty meters 36 285.
• Ninth Soul Skill: Blood-red armor encases his transformed body 37.

Personality

Tian E maintains a stern, unsmiling public identity as Spirit Hall’s Second Worship, but is affectionate, teasing, and indulgent with his grandson. He enjoys their ordinary time together more than wealth or status, and frequently responds to Tian Chen’s requests with a laughing complaint before helping him 37 84 173.

His protectiveness is tempered by practical caution. He restrains powerful attacks when Tian Chen is nearby, warns against dangerous Soul Ring absorptions, and becomes visibly distressed when his grandson risks losing control. Nevertheless, he gradually accepts Tian Chen’s judgment and ultimately tells him to choose his own future 37 89 209 287.

Preserving the family line is a persistent concern. Tian E reviews prospective partners, arranges opportunities for Tian Chen and Dugu Yan, and welcomes his grandson’s girlfriends warmly. Despite this interference, he eventually acknowledges Tian Chen’s ambitions and agrees not to dictate his generation’s affairs 64 99 100 206 279.

His gentleness does not extend to opponents. He admits to having had a fiery temper in his youth and responds harshly to threats or perceived disrespect. His loyalty to Spirit Hall also shapes his political judgment: he permits Tian Chen considerable freedom provided it does not harm the organization, and regards reconciliation with the Upper Three Sects as impossible 52 85 86 113.

Abilities & Skills

Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul

An inherited Beast Martial Soul possessing metal, water, and earth attributes. Tian E’s highly complete possession demonstrates profound control over it 36 185.

• Provides formidable strength, claws, scales, and a heavy crocodile tail for close combat 36 37 208.
• At Level 98, allows him to overpower ordinary Titled Douluos and contend with Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts 37.
• At Level 99, he suppresses the Sky Azure Bull Python with Soul Power alone before activating his True Body 285.
• His eighth and ninth Soul Skills are sufficiently destructive that he initially avoids using them near Tian Chen 37.

Soul Rings and Documented Soul Skills

Soul Ring configuration: Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red 52.

Spatial-Attribute Second Soul Core

Forming his second Soul Core during the Level 99 breakthrough grants direct spatial control, rather than a spatial Soul Skill. His hereditary Martial Soul itself has no spatial attribute 173.

• Spatial travel: Tears open space and transports himself and companions across dozens of kilometers almost instantly 173.
• Presence concealment: Blends into the surrounding space without leaking his presence 120 173.
• Spatial restraint: Seals an opponent’s surroundings. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger escapes his first restraint by tearing space, but cannot escape the later seal after exhausting itself 208.
• Interruption: Freezes the space around the Sky Azure Bull Python before it can detonate its Soul Core 285.

Demon-Breaking Domain

A domain gained during his breakthrough to Level 99 207.

• Dissipates the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger’s Evil Qi and renders its domain ineffective, helping reduce its available fighting strength below seventy percent 208.
• Frees Gu Jin and Gu Long from the Titan Giant Ape’s Gravity Control Domain 285.

Spiritual Perception and Soul Power Control

• Detection: Searches for Soul Beasts with spiritual power, detects Dugu Bo’s concealed poison formation, and senses Dugu Yan inside the distant valley 36 85 87.
• Resistance to concealment: Tian Chen’s Wisdom Skull Simulation skill cannot hide his presence from the Level 98 Tian E 81.
• Flight and transport: Carries companions through the air within his golden Soul Power 5 99.
• Protective barriers: Soundproofs Tian Chen’s awakening chamber, shields him from poison, and isolates him from disturbances during absorption 3 37 87.
• Fine control: Nourishes Tian Chen’s meridians and melts whale rubber without possessing a fire attribute 80 89.
• Suppression: Severs a newly advanced Level 80 Soul Douluo’s connection to her Martial Soul without releasing his own 183.

Cultivation Knowledge

• Guides Soul Ring selection, Soul Bone absorption, and the transition from liquid to solid Soul Power required for advancement to Titled Douluo 14 63 118.
• Understands that dying in extreme hatred increases a Soul Beast’s chance of producing a Soul Bone 37.
• Recognizes the mental danger associated with absorbing ten-thousand-year Soul Rings, even without naming it “Soul Shock” 184.
• Possesses knowledge of rare creatures and ancient records, including the Qian Jun Ant Queen and Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon 126 279.
• Cannot directly assist with Soul Ring absorption itself; even his cultivation cannot remove the need for the absorber to endure it personally 286.

Divine Power

• Possesses Divine Power from an unnamed Second-Level God’s inheritance before completing its final step 430.
• Initially limits his attacks against Tang Hao because excessive Soul Power use would stir that Divine Power and expose his secret 430.
• Briefly releases enough power while rebuking Bibi Dong to make her blood surge and reveal his progress to her 430.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wrist-mounted Storage Soul Tool — Stores money, documents, and other possessions 100 185.
• Complete set of equipped Soul Bones — Had already filled every Soul Bone slot before giving Tian Chen the hundred-thousand-year bone he had retained 4.
• Right Arm Soul Bone — Its unnamed skill amplifies his Third Soul Skill 86.
• Soul Bone collection — Supplies valuable gifts and cultivation resources; he gives Dugu Yan a Soul Bone but lacks suitable mental-attribute and plant-type bones for Hu Liena and Ye Lingling 99 120 206.
• Awakening implements — Six black formation stones and a blue crystal sphere used for Tian Chen’s Martial Soul Awakening 3.
• Nautical chart and ring drawing — Gives Tian Chen records of his overseas route and a drawing of a ruby ring matching the Starlight Sapphire ring 185.

Relationships

• Tian Chen — Grandson and sole heir to their line. Tian E oversees his awakening, cultivation resources, hunts, and safety before granting him greater independence 3 83 287.
• Qian Daoliu — Spirit Hall’s Great Enshrined and a respected associate. They coordinate Tian Chen’s assignment and seek solutions to his unstable power; Qian Daoliu respects Tian E as his senior in generation 74 240 280.
• Xia Hong — Close friend of over a century and Spirit Hall’s Third Offering. Tian E helped hunt for his ninth Soul Ring; Xia Hong addresses him as “Second Brother” 175 209 210.
• Gu Jin and Gu Long — The Sixth and Seventh Offerings, blood brothers counted among those closest to Tian E. They later join his hunt for the forest’s Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts 182 285.
• Huyan Zhen — Subordinate ally whose Elephant Armor Sect joins Tian E’s faction. Tian E guides his breakthrough and secures an over-ninety-thousand-year ninth Soul Ring 113 118 125.
• Dugu Bo — Initially an opponent whom Tian E decisively defeats and spares. Tian E subsequently offers help with the poison afflicting him and Dugu Yan 86 87.
• Dugu Yan — Treated warmly as a granddaughter and encouraged as Tian Chen’s partner. Tian E gives her a Soul Bone and engineers opportunities for the pair to spend time together 95 99 100.
• Hu Liena — Approves of her relationship with Tian Chen and regrets lacking a suitable Soul Bone to give her 120.
• Ye Lingling — Accepts her as Tian Chen’s girlfriend and invites her to call him Grandpa Tian 206.
• Bibi Dong — Spirit Hall’s Pope. Tian E openly challenges her when she pressures Tian Chen 430.
• Man Faced Spider Emperor — Former hunting target who remembers him with hatred for the injuries he inflicted decades earlier 175.
• Demon Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo — Recipients of his past kindness who increasingly align with him and Tian Chen after his Level 99 breakthrough 143.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Tian Chen’s Early Cultivation

• Conducts Tian Chen’s Martial Soul Awakening in a specially prepared chamber and accompanies him into the Star Dou Great Forest 3 5.
• Identifies lingering consciousness in the Back-Spiked Crocodile King Soul Bone as the cause of Tian Chen’s loss of control, then obtains the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull to strengthen his spiritual power 14 63.
• Defeats three Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears for Tian Chen. When his grandson secretly begins absorbing a thousand-year ring, Tian E guards him rather than risk interrupting the fusion 37.
• Intimidates Huyan Zhen at Tian Chen’s request and later severely wounds Chrysanthemum Douluo with a single claw strike before accepting his apology 52 61.

Heaven Dou Assignment and Sunset Forest

• Works with Qian Daoliu to send Tian Chen to Heaven Dou Royal Academy in support of Qian Renxue’s plan. Provides compound poison and instructs him to master his Wisdom Skull’s Simulation skill 74 75.
• Defeats Dugu Bo and enters the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Helps Tian Chen harvest the two herbs needed for Ice and Fire Body Tempering and secures a fifteen-thousand-year Thorn Dragon 86 87 89.
• Recognizes the possible significance of Tian Chen’s Martial Soul mutation through the family genealogy 95 96.
• Coerces Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo into surrendering auctioned Soul Bones, explaining afterward that Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects will never share the same path 113.

Consolidating Allies and Investigating the Lineage

• Helps Huyan Zhen advance to Titled Douluo and cripples a Qian Jun Ant Emperor for his ninth Soul Ring 118 125.
• Reencounters the transformed Man Faced Spider Emperor and questions her unexpectedly rapid recovery, leading to the discovery of the gold of life 175.
• Reveals the family’s likely overseas origins, encourages Tian Chen to seek an opportunity on Sea God Island, and entrusts him with the nautical chart and matching-ring investigation 185.

Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and Its Aftermath

• Captures the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger alive, using Tian Chen’s warning to destroy its black-hole skill before it fully forms 208.
• Watches anxiously as Tian Chen fuses with the tiger’s black pearl, refraining from intervention because disturbing the competing bloodline powers could worsen the situation 209.
• Consults Qian Daoliu about Tian Chen’s altered Martial Soul and promises to prevent further soul-devouring 231 240.
• Agrees to face his unresolved past involving the Star Crown Sect when Tian Chen proposes seeking its help against the evil intent within him 241.

Death Canyon and Greater Independence

• Informs Tian Chen of the four-year contest against Hu Liena for Spirit Hall’s next papal succession 259.
• Removes Tian Chen from an Evil Soul Master’s self-detonation, then explores the resulting fissures and identifies the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon’s remains 277 278.
• Arranges for Qian Daoliu to purify the Dragon Core before Tian Chen absorbs it and later checks whether the resulting power has resolved his instability 280 282.
• Cripples the Sky Azure Bull Python for Tian Chen’s sixth Soul Ring and repels the Titan Giant Ape during absorption. Afterward, tells his grandson that he must walk his own path 285 286 287.

Battle Above Spirit City

• Exposes five hidden Clear Sky Sect elders and fights Tang Hao, whose repeated Soul Ring detonations initially break through his Sixth Soul Skill 426.
• Overwhelms Tang Hao, severs his limbs, and extracts his four Soul Bones. Intervenes against Bibi Dong’s pressure on Tian Chen, exposing his nearly completed divine inheritance 430.
• Delivers the dying Tang Hao to Tian Chen, who kills him within the Evil God Domain 430.
• Later shares ancient records suggesting that the Clear Sky Sect once produced a god who left no inheritance behind 438.

Notable Quotes

“Ah, forget it. Grandpa won't ask any more. As long as you don't do anything to harm Spirit Hall, you can do whatever you like.” 52

“From now on, your grandfather won't restrain you anymore. In the end, you'll have to walk your future path yourself. Whatever you want to do, go ahead and do it.” 287

“Since when was it your place to discipline my grandson?” 430