Lou Gao

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Lou Gao (楼高)
Titles	Divine Blacksmith / Divine Craftsman; Sacred-forged Marquis; lifetime honorary elder of Spirit Hall 9 10 22
Species/Race	Human 6
Gender	Male
Age	In his sixties 17
Affiliation	Blacksmith Association; Lou family; Spirit Hall, as an honorary elder 10 22
Occupation/Role	Founder and president of the Blacksmith Association; divine blacksmith; Runic Forging researcher; City Lord of Gengxin City 10 13
Cultivation	Seven-ring Soul Saint, also described as a Soul Sage 8
Martial Soul	Sacred Forging Pen 8
Family	Lou Xu — grandson 1 5
Status	Alive; resumes research after treatment for Tang Hao’s attack 20 22
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Soul Emperor	22	Historical level recalled by Tang Xiao from the period when he and Tang Hao visited Gengxin City; no exact rank is given.
Seven-ring Soul Saint / Soul Sage	8	Demonstrates his seventh soul skill, Tool Martial Soul Avatar, while confronting Star Luo’s rank-87 Third Offering. The intervening breakthrough is not shown.

Background / History

Blacksmith Association founder

Lou Gao founded the Blacksmith Association and spent decades forging weapons for the Star Luo Empire. He is one of the continent’s three divine blacksmiths, alongside Tang Hao and Tai Tan. Despite his standing, contemporary forging offered him no clear path beyond his existing achievements, and he frequently secluded himself to study metals 9 10.

Lou Xu’s abduction and rescue

Lou Gao accompanied Lou Xu into the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his first soul ring. He opposed seeking a thousand-year ring, stressing that the strength to kill a soul beast did not guarantee the ability to absorb its ring. He eventually agreed to continue the search 1.

When Di Tian attacked their camp, Lou Gao pushed Lou Xu aside and took the Dragon God Claw himself. Lou Xu initially believed that he had been killed, but Di Tian later confirmed that the blow had only rendered him unconscious 1 3.

After awakening to find his grandson missing, Lou Gao searched the forest despite his injuries. Lou Xu and Xiong Jun eventually found him bloodied beside the corpse of a forty-thousand-year earth dragon. He checked Lou Xu’s condition before nearly collapsing, and Lou Xu used life energy to aid his recovery 5.

Learning that Xiong Jun was a soul beast frightened Lou Gao less for himself than for Lou Xu: he feared his grandson could be persecuted for associating with humanity’s enemies. Nevertheless, he pledged to stand by him 6.

Gengxin City and the marquisate

On returning to Gengxin City, Lou Gao learned that Dai Weisi’s forces had occupied the Blacksmith Association and injured its members. He confronted the prince, refused to exchange Lou Xu for imperial funding, and activated his Martial Soul Avatar against the Third Offering. Xiong Jun’s intervention ended the confrontation 7 8.

Lou Xu then demanded self-government for Gengxin City and twenty mineral deposits. Emperor Dai Changkong answered with a decree granting Lou Gao a hereditary marquisate, one hundred thousand gold, twenty mineral veins, and Gengxin City and its surrounding lands as the Lou family’s hereditary fief. Its taxes, mineral resources, weapons, and armor were placed under exclusive Lou family administration 9 10.

Lou Gao felt the honors exceeded his merits and considered leaving the city and Association to Si Long. Lou Xu persuaded him to remain involved and introduced Runic Forging as a new direction for his craftsmanship 10.

Runic Forging’s debut

Lou Gao and his four disciples worked with Lou Xu to turn inherited rune knowledge into practical equipment. After almost a month of research, they began producing Jingzhe, the first public runic weapon series. Lou Gao directed three days and nights of work that yielded forty pieces for major auction houses 13.

The weapons were publicly credited to Lou Gao, drawing continent-wide interest. Bibi Dong ordered his recruitment—or death if he refused—while the Clear Sky Sect and Tai Tan sought access to the new technique. Lou Gao later conveyed that mature Runic Forging would be shared throughout the world, rather than reserved for the Star Luo court 14 15 16.

Tang Hao’s raid and recovery

Tang Hao broke into Lou Gao’s office at night, tortured him, gravely injured his four disciples, destroyed newly forged weapons, and seized the research documents. Even with both arms broken, Lou Gao urged Lou Xu to flee, fearing Xiong Jun might not stop a Titled Douluo 17.

Lou Xu’s life energy kept the injured smiths alive but could not fully heal them. While recovering, Lou Gao revealed that the team had overcome the final obstacle to inscribing complete main-system runes, enabling fourth-tier runic weapons 19.

Xu Xingxuan subsequently healed their physical injuries with Wish of the Stars, although mental exhaustion left them unconscious afterward. By Lou Xu’s departure half a month later, Lou Gao had returned to research and supplied his grandson with a storage ring and Spirit Hall Elder Token 20 22.

Appearance

• Grizzled brows, hair, and beard: His age is evident in his facial features; his hair and beard bristle when he confronts the Third Offering 1 8.
• Pipe: Frequently holds or smokes a pipe, including during discussions about Lou Xu’s safety 1 6.
• Forest-search condition: Found with disheveled hair and beard and blood covering his body after searching for Lou Xu 5.

Personality

Lou Gao’s caution is grounded in concern for his grandson rather than a lack of courage. He warns Lou Xu against unsafe soul-ring choices, shields him from Di Tian, searches for him while wounded, and prioritizes his escape even after being tortured 1 5 17.

He is fiercely protective of the Blacksmith Association and refuses to excuse imperial violence against its members. Dai Weisi’s attempt to purchase his cooperation provokes open defiance despite the superior cultivation of the prince’s protector 7 8.

Political authority makes him uncomfortable, but technical problems immediately capture his attention. His first response to Runic Forging is to question whether quenching would damage rune circuits. He longs to explore every possible rune combination, while recognizing that his age and limited prospects for further cultivation constrain the time available 10 13.

Lou Gao increasingly trusts Lou Xu’s judgment. After seeing him handle administrative work successfully, he hands over authority and leaves the academy project to him so that he can concentrate on research 21.

Abilities & Skills

Sacred Forging Pen

Lou Gao’s tool-type Martial Soul takes the form of a Sacred Forging Pen 8.

• His seventh soul skill, Tool Martial Soul Avatar, manifests a gilded pen with a tip emitting golden light.
• Its activation produces a shock wave that destroys furniture; scattered golden light pulverizes falling teacup fragments.
• The Third Offering acknowledges the avatar’s unusual power for a seven-ring Soul Saint.
• Lou Gao nevertheless suffers visibly under the pressure of a rank-87 Soul Douluo 8.

Divine Blacksmithing

Lou Gao is described as the foremost divine blacksmith of his era. Lou Xu praises his complete theoretical foundation and unrivaled craftsmanship when asking him to join the rune project 9 10.

• Has decades of experience producing weapons for the Star Luo Empire 10.
• Trains four disciples and directs their specialized work in forging, refining, engraving, and experimental recordkeeping 13.
• Identifies practical manufacturing problems, including the effects of thermal expansion and contraction on engraved circuits 10.

Runic Forging Research

Lou Gao leads practical experimentation using the rune knowledge supplied by Lou Xu 13.

• Activation: The team solves soul-power activation in fewer than ten days by observing Lou Xu activate runes with Primal Fire.
• Materials: Finds compatible metals for attack, soul power, vitality, speed, defense, recovery, and critical-hit attribute runes; the experience rune remains unresolved.
• Fusion Forging: Confirms that hundred-refined metals can hold tested rune arrangements when compatible metals are incorporated.
• Jingzhe: Jointly selects Electrocute and an attack attribute rune with Lou Xu. The resulting weapons summon lightning after three consecutive strikes against the same target.
• Fourth-tier breakthrough: With his disciples, overcomes the remaining obstacle to complete main-system rune inscription 13 14 19.

The research carries real risks: an overloaded-circuit experiment involving Lou Gao’s group nearly disfigures Si Long. Lou Xu also withholds the dangerous inspiration-system rune patterns from both Lou Gao and his disciples 13 26.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Pipe — Personal smoking accessory 1 6.
• Marquis insignia — Received with his hereditary Sacred-forged Marquis title 10.
• Spirit Hall Elder Token / Six Sovereigns Token — Establishes his lifetime honorary elder status; given to Lou Xu before his departure. Qian Daoliu secured the appointment despite Bibi Dong’s opposition 22 23.
• Storage ring — Valuable storage item entrusted to Lou Xu for his journey 22.

Relationships

• Lou Xu — Grandson and research partner. Their mutual devotion drives Lou Gao’s rescue efforts and Lou Xu’s treatment of his injuries; Lou Gao later entrusts him with administrative authority 1 5 19 21.
• Si Long — Chief disciple. Defends the Association during Lou Gao’s absence and handles forging and engraving in the rune project 7 13.
• Siyu — Second disciple. Records experimental results and contributes calculations during Runic Forging research 13.
• Si Kai — Third disciple and head of the Heaven Dou Branch. Refines failed experimental materials; is a level-71 Soul Saint 13.
• Si Di — Fourth disciple. A dedicated craftsman whose forging skill matches Si Long’s; shares hammering and engraving duties 13.
• Xiong Jun — Lou Xu’s protector and the Association’s defender. Lou Gao provides lavish food in thanks and names the repaired Dark Gold Square after him, incorporating a bear likeness and his claw prints 5 9 22.
• Dai Changkong — Emperor who grants Lou Gao his marquisate and fief. Lou Gao promises eventual worldwide access to mature Runic Forging while reserving judgment on the emperor’s sincerity 10 16.
• Tang Hao — Fellow divine craftsman who becomes a violent assailant, torturing Lou Gao and attempting to steal the rune research 10 17.
• Xu Xingxuan — Heals Lou Gao and his disciples, then asks whether her daughter Xu Youyou can become his apprentice. The request leads instead to discussion of the planned Artisan Soul Academy; no apprenticeship is confirmed 20 21.

Notable Quotes

“Being strong enough to kill a soul beast and being able to absorb its soul ring are two different things!” 1

“Heh. You blockade our doors, injure our people, bully my Blacksmith Association, and now you want to buy my own grandson’s life? You... can dream on!” 8

“Xu, could I explore every possible rune array and combination of arrays within my lifetime?” 13