Tang Xiao

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

Tang Xiao first appears as a tall, sturdy, middle-aged man traveling in worn clothing 17.

• Full beard and shaggy hair roughly a finger’s length long.
• Cloth strip casually tied around his forehead.
• Worn grayish-black robes.
• Carries his Clear Sky Hammer over his shoulder 17.

Personality

Tang Xiao is fiercely protective of Tang Hao. He repeatedly rescues his injured brother, stops his bleeding while fleeing, and refuses to accept Tang Hao’s suggestion that he escape alone with the family’s Soul Bones. His declaration that they should live and die together ultimately becomes a sacrifice to save his brother 22 23 26 37.

He combines emotional support with practical judgment. After Tang Hao’s first defeat, Tang Xiao explains why Ye Yang’s apparent cultivation understates his strength and proposes acquiring stronger Soul Rings before seeking revenge. He also acknowledges that his own talent and physical limits fall short of Tang Hao’s 23.

His loyalty has a ruthless side. He plans to kill Ah Yin for her Soul Ring and Soul Bone, attacks the Blue Silver King partly out of hatred for Blue Silver Grass, and threatens the wounded king’s life to force Ye Yang to release Tang Hao 23 24.

Abilities & Skills

Clear Sky Hammer

Tang Xiao wields the Clear Sky Sect’s inherited Martial Soul, identified as the continent’s foremost Tool Martial Soul 17.

• Kills a 70,000-year Silverback Black Ape after a half-day battle, overcoming its exceptional physical strength 26.
• Despite sharing Tang Hao’s level 80 Soul Power during their first encounter with Ye Yang, has inferior combat strength 19.
• After acquiring his Eighth Soul Ring, can reportedly defeat a level 85 Soul Douluo easily and contend with a level 88 opponent at full strength 26.

Martial Soul Avatar

Tang Xiao uses his Martial Soul Avatar during the attack on the Blue Silver King 24.

• Repeatedly smashes apart the king’s roots.
• Shatters a nearby small mountain and destroys the roots beneath it 24.

Essence-Blood Burning

Tang Xiao burns his essence blood to increase his combat strength during the second confrontation with Ye Yang and Ah Yin 24.

• Forces Ah Yin back repeatedly while trying to reach the wounded Blue Silver King.
• Uses the threat of killing the king to pressure Ye Yang into releasing Tang Hao 24.

Knowledge and Limitations

• Sect knowledge: Recognizes Ah Yin as a transformed Soul Beast through a secret account preserved by his family’s sect 17.
• Spiritual vulnerability: His Spiritual Power is weaker than Tang Hao’s. Ye Yang’s Spiritual Shock briefly leaves him disoriented and unable to protect his brother 24.

Equipment / Items

• Inherited Soul Bone — Possesses a Clear Sky Sect heirloom. Its location is inconsistent: it is identified as a left-arm bone when he cannot absorb the Silverback Black Ape’s bone, but his corpse is subsequently described as containing a right-arm bone 26.
• Silverback Black Ape Left Arm Soul Bone — Obtains this 70,000-year bone from his kill and gives it to Tang Hao to strengthen him and aid his recovery 26.

Background / History

Training Beyond the Sect

Tang Xiao and Tang Hao leave the Clear Sky Sect under their father’s instructions to gain ten years of outside experience. Five years into that journey, they enter the Star Dou Great Forest seeking suitable Soul Rings after both reach level 80 17.

Conflict with Ye Yang and Ah Yin

Drawn by the disturbance surrounding Ye Yang’s breakthrough and Ah Yin’s domain, the brothers encounter the pair near a stream. Both are captivated by Ah Yin, but Tang Xiao recognizes her transformed Soul Beast identity. Tang Hao’s resulting distraction gives Ye Yang an opening to attack 17.

Tang Xiao repeatedly tries to assist his brother, only to be intercepted by Ah Yin. When Ye Yang shatters Tang Hao’s Martial Soul Avatar, Tang Xiao catches the severely wounded Tang Hao and carries him into the forest 18 19 21 22.

Hunt for the Blue Silver King

After restoring Tang Hao’s resolve, Tang Xiao proposes hunting the Blue Silver King, whose location he remembers from their father’s account. He intends to use its eighty-thousand-year-plus Soul Ring himself, then help Tang Hao obtain Ah Yin’s Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring 23.

The brothers gravely injure the king before Ye Yang and Ah Yin arrive. Recognizing that Ye Yang has recovered and grown stronger, Tang Xiao attempts to retreat. After Ye Yang incapacitates him with Spiritual Shock and attacks Tang Hao, Tang Xiao threatens the king’s life. He eventually retrieves his brother and flees again, vowing revenge 24.

Final Hunt and Death

In the forest’s Core Circle, Tang Xiao guards Tang Hao during his recovery. He kills a Silverback Black Ape, absorbs its Soul Ring, and gives its Soul Bone to his brother 26.

Their subsequent search for Tang Hao’s Eighth Soul Ring brings them into conflict with the 60,000-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Tang Xiao strikes Tang Hao out of danger but is caught by the tiger’s Life and Death Arena. Regressed to a six- or seven-year-old child with no Soul Ring, he is killed when the similarly regressed tiger bites his neck. The tiger then devours his Soul Power and soul 26 37.

His death leaves Tang Hao fleeing toward the Clear Sky Sect in terror. A later account states that devouring Tang Xiao raises the tiger’s cultivation by nearly ten thousand years, bringing it to the seventy-thousand-year level 26 29.

Relationships

• Tang Hao — Younger brother and fellow Clear Sky Twin Star. Tang Xiao protects him, encourages him after defeat, shares hunting gains with him, and ultimately sacrifices himself to save him 17 23 26 37.
• Father / Clear Sky Sect Master — Sends the brothers out to gain experience. His earlier discovery of the Blue Silver King provides Tang Xiao with their next hunting target 17 23.
• Tang Chen — Grandfather, whose former standing as a level 99 Peak Douluo inspires the brothers’ ambition to restore the sect’s glory 23.
• Ah Yin — Initially an object of fascination, then an opponent and intended Soul Ring target for Tang Hao 17 19 23.
• Ye Yang — Enemy whose victories over Tang Hao prompt Tang Xiao’s repeated rescue attempts and plans for revenge 22 23 24.

Notable Quotes

“So you failed once. What’s the big deal?” 23

“There’s a third choice. We brothers live and die together.” 26