In the "Jun Shi" (君奭) chapter of the Classic of History, the Duke of Zhou names him as one of the five key advisers of King Wen,[1] together with Guo Shu, Hong Yao, Tai Dian, and San Yisheng.
In this novel, Nangong Kuo is a renowned general that had loyally served under Ji Chang (King Wen of Zhou) of Mount Singing Phoenix.
Following the death of Ji Chang's first son, Bo Yikao, Nangong would swear eternal revenge against King Zhou.
Due to Nangong's continuous lust to attack Zhaoge at any possible moment, San Yisheng develops a negative liking towards him.
Later on following General Zhang Guifang's attack upon Phoenix City during the Huang Feihu retrieval arc, Nangong duels it out against Vanguard Feng Lin.