Lu Ma

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Lu Ma (陆马)
Alias(es)	Controller of Ning Rongrong; perceived as the “Holy God” by Zhao Xiaoya 45
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Dark Douluo — contracted game tester/player 1
Occupation/Role	Small-time game streamer; tester of Dark Douluo 1 29
Status	Active 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

The progression below tracks Ning Rongrong’s controlled body, which Lu Ma upgrades through gameplay items, spirit-ring acquisition, and soul-skill reversal.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Level 30, Soul Grand Master	5	Uses a defective Holy Spirit Pill/Scroll reward to raise Ning Rongrong from level 26 to level 30.
Level 32, Tool Soul Elder	15	Repeatedly reloads until he suppresses and absorbs a three-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider, gaining a third soul ring and the Eight Spider Lances.
Level 33, Tool Soul Elder	15	Consumes accumulated experience potions after the spirit-ring absorption.
Level 40 (actual soul power exceeding level 42)	49–50	Uses Holy Spirit Scrolls to force successive breakthroughs, then reverses Ning Rongrong’s second soul skill into Mitosis.

Background / History

Lu Ma was a small-time streamer in Jinghua City whose broadcasts drew only a modest audience. After receiving a direct message from an account called “Dark Douluo Official,” he accepted a contract to test a new Douluo IP game, receiving a 30,000-yuan deposit with a promised 270,000-yuan balance upon completion. 1

The game, Dark Douluo, presented Lu Ma with a single playable character: Ning Rongrong. Treating its inhabitants as highly advanced AI, he began experimenting with movement, dialogue, combat, inventory management, and the game’s unusual world interactions. His exploration of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect led him to overhear the Evil Soul Master mission that became his first major objective. 2

Lu Ma’s playstyle is defined by exploiting game mechanics. He uses brightness filters to counter visual-obscuring attacks, repeatedly reloads saves to overcome low-probability outcomes, and prioritizes rare rewards even when the controlled Ning Rongrong suffers severe consequences. His retries eventually secure both a three-thousand-year third spirit ring and the Eight Spider Lances. 5 15

A later patch unlocks conventional saves, the character panel, and improved dialogue functions, while a subsequent update adds simulator gameplay. Using a “near death” simulation save after Ning Rongrong’s simulated death, Lu Ma takes direct control at a critical moment and defeats Zhao Xiaoya. 10 44 45

By the time Ning Rongrong is recognized as the Holy Spirit Sect’s Seventh Elder, Lu Ma has advanced her to level 40 and begun using the sect’s resources to reverse her soul skills and pursue a fourth soul ring. 49 50

Personality

Lu Ma is curious, improvisational, and strongly motivated by discovering hidden mechanics. He approaches dangerous situations as game challenges, often choosing the most rewarding or entertaining option rather than the safest one. He is particularly drawn to bosses, loot drops, rare items, and difficult encounters. 2 5 15

He is also persistent to an extreme degree. When the Man Faced Demon Spider fails to yield an External Soul Bone, he repeatedly reloads and forces Ning Rongrong through suppression and absorption attempts until the desired result appears. 15

As a tester, Lu Ma is outspoken about poor design. He criticizes Dark Douluo’s lack of early quest guidance, awkward combat flow, damage from colliding with walls, and insufficient tutorialization, though he remains impressed by its audiovisual detail and breadth of later content. 2 29 34

Abilities & Skills

Interface-Mediated Control

Lu Ma controls Ning Rongrong through the game interface, directing her movement, attacks, dodges, soul skills, dialogue, and inventory use.

• Uses standard movement and combat inputs, including sprinting, jumping, attacking, dodging, and numbered soul-skill commands. 2
• Can enter dialogue for Ning Rongrong, causing her to speak words she did not intend to say. 2
• Can pause the game and inspect interface elements without time advancing in-game. 6
• Logs out and relinquishes control, allowing Ning Rongrong to regain agency until he returns. 6 26
• Later character optimization allows Ning Rongrong’s gestures to synchronize with Lu Ma’s movements through microphone and camera permissions. 47

Save, Load, and Simulation

Lu Ma uses save manipulation to test outcomes and convert uncertain events into successful runs.

• Conventional save/load functionality becomes available after a patch; loading erases progress made after the selected save point. 10
• Uses repeated reloads to retry the suppression, spirit-ring absorption, and External Soul Bone drop from the Man Faced Demon Spider. 15
• Simulator mode automatically advances events while he is absent and generates simulation saves after rewards are acquired. Choosing one such save changes subsequent events and forfeits later simulated rewards. 44
• Selects a “near death” simulation save to investigate Ning Rongrong’s death and counter Zhao Xiaoya directly. 44

Tactical Gameplay

Lu Ma applies game knowledge and interface tools to compensate for Ning Rongrong’s limitations.

• Adjusts graphics brightness and uses filters to identify enemies through Donald’s smoke-based soul skill. 5
• Recognizes enemy shield mechanics and assesses whether damage output can overcome regeneration. 10 11
• Uses health and soul-power potions aggressively to sustain prolonged fights and repeated suppression attempts. 12 15
• Tests mechanics directly in combat, including using Ning Rongrong to absorb an attack from Zhao Wuji in order to gauge the reversed skill’s damage. 12

Reversed Soul Skills

Through Ning Rongrong’s martial soul interface, Lu Ma can reverse existing support skills into offensive or control-oriented abilities.

• Trapped Beast — Reversal of Strength Amplification; absorbs a target’s strength to empower Ning Rongrong’s attacks. It initially stores two charges, with each strike consuming one. 11
  • Gains direct suppression against soul beasts whose ring age is below twice Ning Rongrong’s own ring age. 11
  • After the third ring is acquired, its effect rises to 60% and its charge capacity rises to three. 15
  • Cannot be used together with the normal Strength Amplification state. 12
• Mitosis — Reversal of Speed Amplification; absorbs 60% of a target’s speed and creates a clone identical to the original body without reducing the original’s attributes. 50

Eight Spider Lances

Lu Ma obtains the Eight Spider Lances by repeatedly reloading until Ning Rongrong successfully acquires the External Soul Bone from the Man Faced Demon Spider. 15

• Can pin targets, slash, poison, and pull opponents into a multi-hit combo. 45
• A successful initial strike inflicts lingering paralysis, making the following combo difficult to escape. 45
• The combo has a thirty-second cooldown. 45
• Deals decisive damage against Zhao Xiaoya but only approximately 3% damage against level 82 Zhao Asi. 45 47

Relationships

• Ning Rongrong — His sole playable character and unwilling controlled vessel. Lu Ma treats her life, choices, and suffering as gameplay variables, while Ning Rongrong gradually learns to imitate his behavior and exploit periods when he is absent. 1 15 26
• Sima Xi — His best friend. She introduced him to his earlier streaming contract, questions the suspicious Dark Douluo testing offer, and suggests that he try joining the Holy Spirit Sect in-game. 29 34
• “Dark Douluo Official” / Dolphin Head — Anonymous client and patch provider. This party offers Lu Ma the testing contract, pays his deposit, and sends updates that unlock or improve major game systems. 1 10 44
• Zhao Xiaoya — Enemy defeated through the Eight Spider Lances after Lu Ma reloads from Ning Rongrong’s simulated death. He considers converting her into an ally rather than executing her for a random item reward. 45 46
• Zhao Asi — Holy Spirit Sect-associated opponent whom Lu Ma attacks with the Eight Spider Lances after exiting the purple-stone space. 47

Story Role / Major Arcs

*Dark Douluo* Recruitment and First Mission

Lu Ma accepts the testing contract, installs Dark Douluo, and discovers that he can only play as Ning Rongrong. His unscripted exploration reveals the Evil Soul Master remnants near the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, leading him into the first dungeon. 1 2

Evil Soul Master Stronghold

He fights Donald, loots a Holy Spirit Pill and Scroll, and uses the Scroll to push Ning Rongrong to level 30. The encounter establishes his preference for reward-driven exploration and his willingness to use unfamiliar items without concern for their effects on Ning Rongrong. 5

Shrek Academy and the Third Soul Ring

After a patch forces progress into the Shrek Academy storyline, Lu Ma reverses Ning Rongrong’s first soul skill into Trapped Beast. He later enters the forest alone, repeatedly reloads the Man Faced Demon Spider encounter, and acquires Ning Rongrong’s third ring, Poison Attribute Amplification, and the Eight Spider Lances. 10 11 15

Great Soul Arena Incident

Lu Ma controls Ning Rongrong through her solo Arena battles, defeats the rampaging monster formed from Liu Jiayi, and obtains another Holy Spirit Pill. He becomes interested in using these pills to reverse additional soul skills. 23

Third Saintess Ritual

After simulator gameplay reveals Ning Rongrong’s death inside the purple-stone space, Lu Ma reloads from a near-death save. He uses the Eight Spider Lances to defeat Zhao Xiaoya, considers recruiting her, and later attacks Zhao Asi alongside Ning Rongrong’s allies. 44 45 47

Holy Spirit Sect Progression

With Ning Rongrong established as the Seventh Elder, Lu Ma acquires Holy Spirit resources, raises her beyond level 40, reverses her second soul skill into Mitosis, and chooses to pursue the Lake of Life quest for a ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring. 49 50

Trivia

• Game time normally passes at a 1:1 ratio with real time, but cutscenes and Lu Ma’s pause function can create extreme time discrepancies. 6
• He initially assumes the game’s characters are AI and tests their dialogue reactions by making Ning Rongrong say deliberately provocative things. 2
• Lu Ma calls Ning Rongrong’s playable role a “profession,” insisting that the available support class is specifically “Ning Rongrong,” not merely the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. 29
• He received the Dark Douluo job without signing a non-disclosure agreement. 29