Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Lou Gao was deeply emotional. After waking up, he learned from others that due to his soul-hunting, the Star Dou Forest's powerful being, surpassing the existence of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, was provoked. This led to a bloody battle between Chen Ming, Elder Golden Crocodile, and the Soul Beast, ultimately causing a major clash between the Spirit Hall and the Star Dou Forest. Honestly, Lou Gao genuinely didn't feel qualified to create such a huge mess. However, after confirming that this was indeed reality, he felt deeply shaken. When he asked to see Chen Ming, he was told that Chen Ming was in seclusion for recovery, which made Lou Gao tremble even more internally.

The Hall Master's kindness is immeasurable!

 The Hall Master helped him break through in forging, restored his vitality, solved the problems of the Strength Clan, dealt with the Clear Sky Sect's prying eyes, granted him a full set of soul bones, and even attached soul rings to him.

One thing after another, these were favors he couldn't repay even with his life!

Lou Gao, like spilling beans, poured out a long string of words. Among them, many sentences sounded incoherent to Chen Ming, but Chen Ming patiently listened to everything before comforting Lou Gao.

After a long while, Chen Ming finally asked the question that, logically speaking, should have been a priority:

"Elder Lou, what is your current soul power level?" Chen Ming asked gently, looking at Lou Gao, who now appeared to be in his forties.

"Thanks to the Hall Master's assistance, I am now at level 85. Initially, the first four soul bones raised my soul power by about five levels, but it didn't manifest because they lacked soul rings. The later two soul bones each raised my spirit power by about one level."

"The soul power contained in the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's soul ring is vastly different from the ones I absorbed before. My seventh ring was from a high-quality strength-type soul beast that lived for 25,000 years, but the power inside the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's soul ring was four or five times greater than my seventh ring. It raised my soul power by two levels in one go and even caused my martial soul to evolve."

"My Sacred Molding Pen was originally just a high-level martial soul. After absorbing the full set of soul bones, it showed signs of evolution. With this soul ring, it finally evolved and became a top-tier martial soul. Honestly, I even thought about renaming it, but after careful thought, it didn't seem necessary."

"The only problem is that my martial soul can't contribute much in forging. Honestly, I'd rather it turn into a hammer. If it were a hammer, my forging skills would probably advance to another level."

As Lou Gao spoke, he summoned his martial soul. Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—eight soul rings appeared around him, and the Sacred Molding Pen materialized in his hand.

At this moment, the Sacred Molding Pen radiated a powerful and pure metallic energy. Its quality and strength had improved significantly compared to before, enough to be considered outstanding even among top-tier martial souls. If used for attacks, its unique characteristics would make it particularly effective in armor penetration.

Although Lou Gao wasn't skilled in combat, with the basic attribute enhancements brought by his full set of soul bones and the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's eighth soul ring, Lou Gao's combat power was among the best of the Soul Douluo, enough to rival a Titled Douluo.

Based on Lou Gao's current attributes, if he were proficient in combat, he could easily overpower Titled Douluo around level 93.

After all, many Titled Douluo of this era couldn't even gather a full set of thousand-year soul bones, and their eighth soul ring might only be around 50,000 years old. Yet Lou Gao not only possessed a full set of high-quality ten-thousand-year soul bones, but his eighth ring came from the super soul beast, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.

Even before absorbing the eighth ring, his physical attributes were already comparable to a Titled Douluo. After absorbing the eighth soul ring, his strength surpassed that of ordinary beast martial soul users at levels 91 or 92.

Although much of this was due to external aid, Lou Gao's paper stats were indeed impressive. At over seventy years old, with level 85 soul power, a top-tier tool martial soul, a full set of ten-thousand-year soul bones, and comprehension of intent, it wouldn't be surprising for him to become a Super Douluo in the future.

Whether or not he was skilled in combat or could fully utilize his fighting power didn't matter. The stats alone were intimidating in the world of Douluo Continent. If Lou Gao weren't under Chen Ming's wing and Elder Golden Crocodile couldn't poach him, Elder Golden Crocodile wouldn't have let such a talent slip by.

Even though he looked down on forging, he valued the potential of a future Super Douluo.

Chen Ming and Lou Gao chatted for a while. Of course, Chen Ming only told Lou Gao what he needed to know. Anything Lou Gao didn't need to know, Chen Ming didn't mention. He simply warned Lou Gao about potential dangers. Having fully transformed into a fanatical admirer of Chen Ming, Lou Gao naturally accepted this and couldn't help but praise Chen Ming as an excellent leader.

Chen Ming also told Lou Gao that, through certain means (which he didn't elaborate on), he had managed to contact the legendary God Realm. By chance, he learned that the God of Forging was searching for a successor, so he recommended Lou Gao.

Chen Ming made it clear that this was only a possibility. Moreover, the time difference between the God Realm and the Douluo World was vast. Even if the God of Forging wanted to pass down their godhood, it might take several years or even decades.

Therefore, Chen Ming encouraged Lou Gao to improve his forging techniques while continuing to raise his spirit power, ensuring he could complete the Divine Trials when the time came.

Hearing this, Lou Gao patted his chest, tears streaming down his face, and expressed his determination to continue researching forging techniques while also improving his soul power. He vowed not to let down the Hall Master's expectations or efforts.

He estimated that, given his current state, it would take at most five years to reach the realm of Titled Douluo and absorb his ninth soul ring. After becoming a Titled Douluo, he believed he could become a true Divine Craftsman within ten years, achieving Heavenly Forging capable of summoning tribulation lightning.

Chen Ming, of course, expressed his encouragement.

After chatting briefly with Lou Gao and ensuring everything was fine, Chen Ming left the secret chamber to handle his affairs—such as visiting Qian Renxue and probing Ning Fengzhi's stance.

However, he hadn't gone far when he saw Elder Golden Crocodile leaning against a wall, fiddling with the piece of metal he had just obtained from Lou Gao. His right arm emitted a faint golden light, and his soul power resonated faintly with the metal.

The spirit-forged metal seemed eager to merge with Elder Golden Crocodile's right arm, though the conditions weren't sufficient for it to succeed.