Douluo Continent: Starting with controlling Ning Rongrong and establishing the Holy Cult

"Maybe we can communicate later?"

Poseidon, still staring intently at the center of the black flames, pondered this.

-

Log out?

【yes?】

Are you sure?

【…】

After using the Holy Spirit Scroll on Ning Rongrong, while she was being besieged by two Title Douluos.

Lu Ma ultimately did not choose to launch a counterattack using Qian Renxue's level 98 soul power, but instead chose to log out.

He should have been in a deep sleep, or at least he imagined it should have been.

However, things didn't turn out quite as he had imagined.

It was pitch black all around.

Good news, I have left the game world created by my dream.

The bad news is that I didn't enter a deep sleep where I didn't think about anything.

Headache.

My head hurts a lot.

Is the headache from a cold already interfering with my sleep?

Fine, then I won't sleep.

Let's get up and go to the hospital.

Lu Ma didn't think his sleep was normal. Thinking this, he tried his best to regain control of his body and then pinched himself hard.

The intense pain forced him to open his eyes.

Then--

He found himself in the stronghold of the Holy Spirit Cult, unable to move, with only the Holy Spirit Cult leader standing in front of him in sight.

Poseidon.

Just as I remembered.

but.

Lu Ma felt that something was wrong.

His vision was somewhat blurry; although his "eyes" told him that Poseidon was in front of him, his brain was denying it.

It was as if the person in front of him was not Poseidon, but someone else he knew.

A name, a name that should never have appeared at this moment, in this place, rolled uncontrollably from his throat:

"Sima...hope?"

The sound was faint, yet clearly audible in the silent stronghold.

Poseidon's body stiffened abruptly.

She even leaned forward slightly, the shadow of her hood swaying as it revealed more of her face, which was filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Her red lips parted slightly:

Who is that?

Her face was instantly filled with immense frustration and confusion.

This was definitely not the kind of communication she had hoped for!

She had been searching for Black Flame day and night, exhausting all her energy to find it. Now, she was guiding Black Flame to merge, yearning for the Holy God's response or return. But the first words she received were from a completely unfamiliar name! The name of someone she didn't know!

There were other people too?

In the year that the Holy Spirit left, he did not die. What did he experience?

Who is this person?

Sima Xi.

The name echoed wildly in her mind, yet it failed to stir the slightest ripple.

She desperately searched for all her memories related to Lu Ma, trying to grasp even the slightest sense of familiarity, but to no avail.

Only a vague, indescribable sense of unease lingered.

However, amidst this extreme confusion and disappointment, a cold, chilling thought suddenly arose within her—

Those sounds!

In the six months since she transferred the Sea God's legacy from Sea God Island, she has often been able to catch fragments of Lu Ma's voice through the black flames—those disjointed words, those whispers that were not directed at her…

Recently, I even heard the news that "Ning Rongrong" was selected.

She always believed that it was a sign of the Holy One's power reviving and consciousness awakening, a response to her devout prayers.

She waited expectantly, hoping for an opportunity to communicate.

But at this moment, the appearance of this unfamiliar name was like a cold key, instantly opening another door—

What she heard was not a response at all!

That's Lu Ma... talking to someone!

And she was just an eavesdropper who inadvertently overheard something through the medium of black flames.

This realization sent chills down her spine.

but……

Why? Why can she hear it?

Poseidon vaguely sensed that this might be related to the day she suddenly fainted six months ago.

She fainted for an entire day during that year, without any warning.

That was six months ago, the day before the transfer of the Sea God's legacy.

It was after fainting that day that Poseidon hardened her heart and committed such a ruthless act.

"Did something happen that day?"

Poseidon tried to ask.

However, Lu Ma was no longer able to respond.

That cry seemed to have exhausted his last strength to fight the excruciating pain. His vision was suddenly swallowed by boundless darkness.

His last thought was:

This time, shouldn't I finally wake up? This damn dream...

pity.

The darkness did not bring a liberating awakening; instead, it felt like falling into a deeper, stickier swamp.

Time lost its meaning, and perception was completely severed.

I don't know how much time passed; it might have been a moment, or it might have been eternity.

A faint, warm, damp touch gently patted his cheek.

"Crack...crack..."

The force was very light, carrying a cautious probing and an uncontrollable tremor.

Immediately afterwards, a voice, thick with nasal tone, rang in his ear, over and over again, filled with anxiety and fear:

"Wake up... wake up! Please... wake up..."

Whose voice is that?

Lu Ma heard a somewhat familiar voice and his consciousness gradually returned.

Finally, a resounding slap landed squarely on his face!

"Snapped!"

-

reality.

The sobbing stopped abruptly.

However, it wasn't because Sima Xi had a good time.

To be honest, that incredibly powerful blow didn't even hit Lu Ma's face.

A cold yet powerful hand precisely grasped Sima Xi's slender wrist just before the final, whistling slap was about to land on Lu Ma's cheek.

The movements were lightning fast, entirely driven by the body's instinctive warning.

The fact that Lu Ma's eyes were not open further confirmed this.

Lu Ma felt the texture in his hand.

Her wrists were slender, her skin delicate and soft, and her pulse was rapid.

She was a woman, and a somewhat nervous one at that.

Lu Ma's drowsy mind was brought back to a sliver of clarity by this sudden contact and sense of danger.

This feel...

Combined with the previous sounds...

He struggled to open his eyelids, little by little.

Blurred vision, swaying, refocusing.

The first thing that caught my eye was a face so close, streaked with tears. The eyes were red, and tears were still streaming down.

Sima Xi.