Lu Ma controlled Ning Rongrong as she returned to the bed and sat down. Based on the manual he had looked through while the game was downloading, he knew that doing this would restore her health.
The manual's contents were all quite simple, and they more or less matched the game's controls one by one.
The basic controls were WASD to move, double-tap to run, spacebar to jump, left mouse button to attack, right mouse button to dodge, and number keys 1–9 to use Soul Skills.
There were also advanced features: the status bar, settings, and quick saves.
He had tried all of those. He still couldn't use the normal save and load functions, though. Maybe his level was too low, or he hadn't progressed far enough in the main story.
He also hadn't found where to use the character's intelligent AI dialogue feature.
Sitting in front of the computer, Lu Ma scratched his head and silently noted down a few things that made for a poor experience, including taking damage when he ran into walls.
No main quest? That wouldn't stump him.
He believed that when something happened, you couldn't just sit around waiting. He decided to explore and find out when this was set. So he controlled Ning Rongrong as she strode out of the room, turning the camera toward the grandest building in sight. He held W and tapped space, sending her running toward it.
He had a feeling that it was the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Rongrong felt both confused and excited.
She knew that the sect should be in a meeting at this hour. Her father and both Grandpas should be there.
She was confused about why the person controlling her was walking straight into a trap.
She was excited because she would soon be free.
That's right, go on in. Just wait until I get out, and I'll torture you to death.
About a minute later, Lu Ma reached the hall's entrance and heard people talking inside.
He leaned against the wall, pressing his ear to the closed door. Their conversation came through his headphones.
"Word came from Spirit Hall that Evil Martial Souls have been appearing recently—very dark Martial Souls... Bone Senior, don't look at me like that. I'm not talking about your Bone Dragon."
"And the owners of these Martial Souls are all vicious Soul Masters who were never registered with Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall is now calling them Evil Soul Masters."
"Take one of the small villages near the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, for example. They slaughtered everyone there without making a sound. The distress call never even reached the sect."
"Such a thing happened? What did Spirit Hall say?"
"They want us to help clear out the remaining Evil Soul Masters near the sect. Spirit Hall even carefully marked five of their hideouts."
Ning Rongrong was astonished. Something like that had happened?
Lu Ma finally understood where the "Black" in the game's title came from.
Evil Soul Masters.
Just like Black Myth, the AAA game from his own world, Black Douluo was probably a dark take on the Douluo storyline. To be more specific, it seemed to have directly stitched in the setting from Douluo II.
After hearing all that, he also understood what his first objective was.
Obviously, it was to clear out the remaining Evil Soul Masters. The game couldn't have let him hear all that information for no reason...
Just then, he heard the door open. Ning Rongrong's character shifted from a sneaking pose to standing upright. Before her stood a refined, dignified man. White text floated above his head—
Ning Fengzhi (Level 79, Soul Saint)
"Rongrong?"
When the man saw her, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
He had noticed someone outside the door a while ago and had quietly approached, ready to teach the intruder a lesson.
But he had never expected it to be his precious daughter.
"What are you doing here?"
A transparent text-entry box appeared on the game screen at just the right moment.
[Please enter what you want to say:]
A mischievous idea came to Lu Ma. He really wanted to see how smart the game's character AI was, so he typed out a line:
I want to be sect master. Old man, it's time for you to step down.
Ning Rongrong was shocked to hear her own voice.
The words she would never have imagined saying came out of her mouth, loud and forceful:
"I want to be sect master. Old man, it's time for you to step down."
No, no, no! I didn't want to say that at all! The person controlling me can make me talk, too?
Unlike Ning Rongrong, Ning Fengzhi's look of surprise turned serious, then his face broke into a delighted smile.
"Rongrong's joking again. Once I retire, won't the sect master's position be yours? Tell Dad, Rongrong—are you feeling unhappy? Is there something you want to do?"
Well, well.
That was a pretty good reaction.
Admiring it, Lu Ma typed a more serious line.
"I heard everything from outside the door. Can I go clear out the remaining Evil Soul Masters?"
This was awful! Ning Rongrong cried out inwardly. She didn't want to go at all. She'd much rather stay in the sect and happily blow up little fish.
Ning Fengzhi smiled and said, "If Rongrong wants to go, of course she can. Uncle Jian, how about you go with Rongrong? Bone Uncle and I will lead the sect disciples to handle the other places. You two can take care of the Evil Soul Master hideout closest to the sect."
The white-haired man with "Chen Xin (Level 96, Sword Douluo)" above his head stepped forward. He looked at Ning Rongrong gently, but his voice came out cold. "Fine." Then he grabbed Ning Rongrong and flew off on his sword toward a small village not far from the sect.
A cave two kilometers from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Vegetation covered the cave entrance. From a distance, it was almost impossible to tell it was a cave, if not for the distinctive Spirit Hall insignia on the roof.
Several people sat inside the cave, circulating their cultivation techniques as black energy swirled around them. Ning Rongrong didn't recognize the technique. None of her teachers had ever told her about it.
How sinister! she thought.
From the time they'd been in the main hall until now, she had tried more than once to tell the outside world she was being controlled, but none of it had worked.
Her attitude had gradually shifted from scornful curses to resigned acceptance.
The other person simply ignored her. All she could do was hope that after they left, she could contact her father and both Grandpas and get them to solve the problem.
At least Sword Grandpa had come with her. She had nothing to worry about. Thinking this, Ning Rongrong glanced to the side—and froze.
The spot where Chen Xin had been was now empty.
Only white mist remained. She had no idea when she had entered the cave!
"Oh? Did I enter a dungeon area?"
Lu Ma wore an expression of complete understanding.
He had been wondering how to make the game more interesting. Sword Douluo was just too powerful. With him around, clearing the quest would be a matter of instantly mowing everything down—a formulaic loop of accepting quests, sweeping through enemies, and turning them in. It would be incredibly boring.
Now, this white mist had separated him from Sword Douluo Chen Xin, giving him the perfect chance to experience the game's combat.
So he pulled out the handy iron club he'd picked up along the way and took up a fighting stance. Just then, Lu Ma realized that a cutscene was starting. He hurriedly ducked behind a crate by the cave entrance and climbed inside another crate, watching the action through a hole.
Ning Rongrong couldn't help feeling exasperated. She was sick of these little tricks. How many times had she only gotten away with them because her elders had gone easy on her? This was never going to work!
But when she saw a beautiful woman patrol past her and then turn to leave, her confidence faded a little more.
Meanwhile, Chen Xin noticed almost instantly that Ning Rongrong had disappeared. His Level 96 Soul Power burst forth, and he activated his Martial Soul Avatar, unleashing a full set of Soul Skills against the black-clothed man who had suddenly appeared behind him.
The black-clothed man braced himself and took the attacks head-on. He staggered back several steps, spitting up blood.
Chen Xin had no time to deal with this fellow Titled Douluo. He focused entirely on destroying the cave's barrier, desperate to see Ning Rongrong as soon as possible.
"Don't waste your effort. The Sect Master specially designed this barrier as a shield capable of withstanding Titled Douluo attacks. It's meant to keep you away from the Saintess!"
Even though the black-clothed man was lying on the ground, he still managed to sneer.
"Silence."
Chen Xin willed his sword into motion. It flew forward and pierced the man's body. The man fell completely silent.
But the barrier before him still left him helpless.
His attacks, the very thing he prided himself on, had no effect at all!
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