The First Mission

Lu Ma controlled Ning Rongrong to sit back down on the bed; according to the manual he reviewed while the game was downloading, he knew this would restore her health.

The contents of the manual were quite simple, and they basically corresponded one-to-one with the game.

Basic WASD for movement, double-tap to run, spacebar to jump, left mouse button to attack, right mouse button to dodge, and number keys 1-9 to unleash soul skills.

There were also advanced features: status columns, settings, and quick-save.

He had already tested all of the above, but he couldn't use the regular save and load functions yet, likely because his level was too low or the main storyline hadn't progressed far enough.

Furthermore, there was an AI dialogue feature for the character that he hadn't found a place to use yet.

Scratching his head in front of the computer, Lu Ma silently noted down a few points regarding the poor user experience, including the fact that bumping into walls caused health loss.

No main storyline? That wouldn't stump him.

Since one shouldn't just sit and wait for death when faced with a problem, he decided to explore and find out what time period this was. He controlled Ning Rongrong to walk out of the room with a swagger, shifted the camera to the most magnificent building in sight, and pressed WW+Space to sprint toward it.

He had a hunch that it was the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Rongrong felt a mix of confusion and excitement.

She knew that the sect should be holding a meeting at this hour, and her father and the two grandfathers should all be there.

What confused her was why the person controlling her would walk right into a trap.

What excited her was that she would soon be liberated.

Yes, just go like that. Once this young lady gets out, I will torture you to death.

About a minute later, Lu Ma successfully arrived at the entrance of the main hall and heard voices from within.

Leaning against the side of the door with his ear pressed against the closed gate, the content of the conversation flowed into Lu Ma's ears through his headphones.

"The Martial Soul Hall has sent word that Evil Soul Masters have appeared recently—those with very dark martial souls... Elder Bone, please don't look at me like that; I am not referring to your Bone Dragon."

"Moreover, the owners of these martial souls are all vicious soul masters who have never been registered with the Martial Soul Hall. The Martial Soul Hall now refers to them as Evil Soul Masters."

"Take a small village near the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as an example. That village was slaughtered by them without a sound; the call for help didn't even reach the sect."

"Such a thing has happened? What did the Martial Soul Hall say afterward?"

"They asked us to help clear out the remnants of the Evil Soul Masters near the sect. The Martial Soul Hall even carefully marked five Evil Soul Master strongholds."

Ning Rongrong was shocked; she couldn't believe such a thing had occurred.

As for Lu Ma, he finally understood where the "Black" in the game's title came from.

Evil Soul Masters.

Just like the AAA masterpiece Black Myth from his own world, this Black Douluo was likely incorporating a dark style into the Douluo plot; to be more specific, one could say it had directly stitched in the settings from Douluo II.

Having heard all this, he also understood what his first objective was.

Naturally, it was to clear out the remnants of the Evil Soul Masters. After all, it was impossible for the game to let him hear that information for no reason...

Just then, he heard the sound of the door being pulled open. The character Ning Rongrong had shifted from her eavesdropping posture to a standing one, and before her stood a refined and dignified man. White text floated above his head—

Ning Fengzhi (Level 79, Soul Saint)

"Rongrong?"

The man's face showed a trace of astonishment when he saw her.

Ever since he noticed someone at the door a moment ago, he had approached silently, prepared to teach the intruder a lesson.

He never expected it to be his precious daughter.

"Why are you here?"

[Please enter what you would like to say:]

A transparent text input box appeared in the game at the perfect moment.

A mischievous idea popped into Lu Ma's mind. He really wanted to see how the game's AI performed, so he typed a sentence:

I want to be the Sect Master. Old man, it's time for you to step down.

Ning Rongrong was surprised to hear her own voice ring out.

Words she could never have imagined saying were spoken with great force:

"I want to be the Sect Master. Old man, it's time for you to step down."

No, no, I never wanted to say that! Can the person controlling me also control what I say?

Unlike Ning Rongrong's shock, the astonishment on Ning Fengzhi's face turned into seriousness, followed by a beaming smile.

"Rongrong is joking again. The position of Sect Master will be yours once I retire, won't it? Tell Daddy, are you feeling unhappy? Is there something you want to do?"

Oh, ho.

That's a pretty good reaction.

Lu Ma praised the game and typed a more serious sentence.

"I heard everything outside the door. Can I go and clear out the remnants of the Evil Soul Masters?"

What a disaster! Ning Rongrong kept screaming internally. She didn't want to go at all; she would much rather be happily frying small fish back at the sect.

Ning Fengzhi smiled and said, "If Rongrong wants to go, then of course that is fine. Uncle Sword, how about you accompany Rongrong? Uncle Bone and I will lead the sect disciples to handle the other locations, while you two deal with this Evil Soul Master stronghold closest to the sect."

The white-haired man labeled with Chen Xin (Level 96, Sword Douluo) stepped forward. He looked at Ning Rongrong gently, yet his voice was icy when he spoke: "Fine." He then grabbed Ning Rongrong, stepped onto his flying sword, and soared toward a small village not far from the sect.

Two kilometers outside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, a cave.

The entrance to the cave was obscured by vegetation. Looking from afar, if not for the exclusive Martial Soul Hall mark on the top, one wouldn't even be able to tell it was a cave.

Several people were inside the cave, circulating their cultivation techniques, with black aura drifting around them. Ning Rongrong did not recognize this technique; no teacher had ever introduced it to her.

So wicked! she thought.

From the moment they were in the great hall until now, she had tried more than once to signal to the outside world that she was being controlled, but it had ultimately been to no avail.

Her attitude had gradually shifted from initial disdain and cursing to mere habit.

Because the other party simply ignored her. She could only hope that after they left, she could contact her father and her two grandfathers to resolve this problem.

At least Grandpa Sword is with me, so I don't have to worry about getting hurt at all. Thinking this, Ning Rongrong glanced toward her side, then froze.

The spot that had belonged to Chen Xin was now empty.

Only white mist remained, and she didn't know when she had walked into the cave!

"Oh? Have I entered the dungeon area?"

Lu Ma wore an expression of taking it for granted.

He had been wondering how to make the game more interesting. After all, Sword Douluo was too strong; with him around, clearing levels was just a matter of seconds—a formulaic routine of accepting quests, sweeping, and turning them in, which was very boring.

The white mist before him had perfectly separated him from Sword Douluo Chen Xin, giving him the perfect chance to experience the combat of this game.

He drew a handy iron rod he had picked up along the way and assumed a combat stance. Just then, Lu Ma realized a cutscene was starting, so he quickly hid behind a crate at the cave entrance, covered himself with another crate, and observed the movement inside through a hole.

Ning Rongrong couldn't help but feel speechless. She had grown tired of such petty tricks; when had she ever succeeded without her elders going easy on her? This was completely useless!

But when she saw a seductive woman patrolling nearby turn and leave, her confidence waned even further.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Chen Xin noticed Ning Rongrong had vanished in an instant. His Level 96 soul power surged forth, his Martial Soul Avatar was activated, and a barrage of soul skills was unleashed directly at the man in black who had suddenly appeared behind him.

The man in black braced himself to take the hit; he retreated several steps, already coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Chen Xin had no time to spare for this fellow Titled Douluo; he focused solely on destroying the cave's barrier, desperate to reach Ning Rongrong as quickly as possible.

"Don't waste your energy. This barrier was specially designed by the Cult Master to withstand attacks from Titled Douluos, specifically to keep you and the Saintess separated!"

Even as he lay on the ground, the man in black maintained his mocking tone.

"Noisy."

With a single thought from Chen Xin, a sword flew out and pierced through the man's body. The man fell completely silent.

However, the barrier before him truly left him at a loss.

His attacks, which he took such pride in, were actually ineffective!