Yang Guo's ancestor is
Yang Zaixing, a
Song dynasty general known for fighting in the
Jin–Song wars. His father,
Yang Kang, was the antagonist in
The Legend of the Condor Heroes and a treacherous villain. His mother,
Mu Nianci, was Yang Kang's lover and she had left Yang Kang after seeing how unrepentant he was despite already being pregnant with Yang Guo. Yang Guo's birth is briefly mentioned at the end of
The Legend of the Condor Heroes when the protagonists
Guo Jing and
Huang Rong meet Mu Nianci shortly after she gave birth. Guo Jing named the boy "Guo" ("wrong / fault") with the
courtesy name "Gaizhi" ("to correct") in the hope that the boy will redeem his family's honour. Yang Guo becomes an orphan around the age of 11 after his mother dies. While roaming the
wulin, he encounters Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who realise he is Yang Kang and Mu Nianci's son. The Guos then take him under their care, although Huang Rong is suspicious of him as she is worried he will grow up to be like his father. Huang Rong opposes Guo Jing's decision to teach the boy martial arts, so Yang Guo only learns
poetry and the
Confucian classics from them. Guo Jing later takes Yang Guo to the
Quanzhen Sect, where Yang Kang had initially been trained, hoping that they would be better able to train and guide Yang Guo in moral values and "orthodox" martial arts. Due to an earlier misunderstanding between Guo Jing and the Quanzhen Sect, some Quanzhen members pick on Yang Guo after Guo Jing leaves. Zhao Zhijing, Yang Guo's assigned master in Quanzhen, dislikes him and teaches him only the philosophical verses of Quanzhen martial arts. Unable to stand the bullying, Yang Guo flees Quanzhen and wanders into a nearby tomb, where he is taken in by the
Ancient Tomb Sect and eventually becomes
Xiaolongnü's apprentice. During their time together, they develop a romantic relationship. When Yang Guo meets the Guos again later, they oppose his decision to marry Xiaolongnü since a romance between master and apprentice is considered taboo in the
wulin. Yang Guo's impulsiveness and lack of reverence for other senior
wulin members, compounded by a rebellious streak in him, leads to a heated quarrel between him and the
wulin, after which he leaves with Xiaolongnü. Although Yang Guo becomes an outcast of the
wulin, he still respects the Guos and saves the Guo family from danger on various occasions. Throughout the story, he is separated from Xiaolongnü numerous times due to misunderstandings but they are always reunited later. During his adventures, Yang Guo also encounters some of the "Five Greats" – the five most powerful martial artists in the
wulin – and learns martial arts from them before ultimately creating his own fighting style. Yang Guo initially suspects that the Guos are responsible for his father's death and seeks revenge, but refrains from doing so as he is impressed with Guo Jing's heroism and wonders if he is mistaken about the Guos. At one point, the Guos' elder daughter Guo Fu cuts off Yang Guo's right arm with a sword during a heated quarrel. Yang Guo flees and gets rescued by a giant eagle-like creature called the Condor. With the Condor's aid, he recovers, relearns martial arts to adapt to his disability, and uses his skills to fight injustice and help the poor, earning himself the nickname "Condor Hero". After learning the truth about his father, Yang Guo realises the futility of seeking vengeance against the Guos since his father deserved his retribution. He eventually joins the Guos in defending the city of
Xiangyang from Mongol invaders. At the end of the novel, he is reunited with Xiaolongnü, temporarily halts the Mongol invasion by killing
Möngke Khan in battle, and becomes known as the "Western Eccentric" – one of the new "Five Greats" in the
wulin. == Martial arts and skills ==