Wanyan Kang

Wanyan Kang's History

Yang Kang was born in the year 1203 to Yang Tiexin, a descendant of the illustrious Yang clan, and Bao Xiruo. He was raised by his step-father Wanyan Honglie, who had orchestrated the attempted murder and subsequent disappearance of Yang Tiexin. Unaware of his heritage, he truly believed that he was of Jin descent and assumed the surname of Wanyan. At age 6, he begins instruction under Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Martial Arts, but Yang Kang was uninterested, instead secretly learning dark martial arts from the notorious Mei Chaofeng. Around his 18th birthday, he is confronted with the reality that he is not a prince of the Jin empire, but a Song Chinese.

Tragically lured by promises of wealth and luxury, Yang Kang refused to let go of his status as a Prince of Jin, which led to the suicide of both his biological parents. Yang Kang then went on to commit many villainous acts against the Song people, especially Guo Jing, the son of his father's sworn brother. He also murdered Ouyang Ke, the nephew of one of the Five Greats, Western Venom, in an attempt to learn martial arts from him after he learned that there could only be one successor for each master of that sect.

There are various adaptations regarding his death due to the different portrays of his side of the story. But the most common explanation of his death was the one of him attempting a critical strike on Huang Rong, Guo Jing's girlfriend, on her back in rage to prevent her from revealing his villainous deeds. In a twist of events he was instead poisoned by the spiked armor Huang Rong often donned under her clothes, which led to a torturous death.

Before his death, Yang Kang had courted Mu Nianci, which led to the birth of Yang Guo, the main protagonist of the second book in the trilogy.