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

"As guided by the Holy Spirit, today we will welcome the first Holy Maiden of the Holy Spirit Cult! The Holy Spirit will guide us, and the gates of the divine realm will open to us!"

Donald, the ninth elder of the Holy Spirit Church, stood before the scales, with a comatose girl on his left.

The girl was about sixteen years old, dressed in rags, her skin beneath the ragged clothes so delicate it seemed like it could be broken with a touch.

Black energy was emanating from her right hand, and upon closer inspection, there was also a small black plant.

"However, before welcoming the Holy Maiden, there is one more thing we need to take care of."

Donald's voice was deep as he turned around and used his martial spirit, a jet-black longsword, to press against the neck of one of his subordinates.

"Ma De, why did you leak our intelligence to the Spirit Hall!"

The man named Mad was subjected to a mental skill called Silence, rendering him unable to utter a sound. He could only look at Donald pitifully with an innocent expression.

"But it doesn't matter. Your self-righteous wisdom was already anticipated by the Holy Spirit. From the very beginning—I never gave you the right information."

Donald gently brushed the blade against Mad's neck, then revealed his other hand, in which there was also a small black plant. His next words enraged Mad:

"First of all, the Holy Maiden was actually chosen by the Holy God long ago. Those 'large strongholds' you gave to the Spirit Hall were just a disguise. The real Holy Maiden is right here right now!"

Ma De stopped pretending, and his scissor-wielding spirit instantly cut the ropes on his hands, while simultaneously deflecting the black sword and rolling to the side.

Suddenly, he felt a chill behind him.

A hand rested on his head.

Turning around, I saw a glamorous woman with eyes full of excitement.

Ma De didn't recognize her, but he recognized the spirit rings on her feet.

Yellow, purple, purple, black!

A four-ring Soul Master, a four-ring Soul Master who looks no more than twenty years old but possesses a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring!

This "observer" of the Spirit Hall, planted in every corner of the world, had never heard of such a person, let alone understood why Donald, or the so-called Holy God, had used some kind of bewitching potion to make such a person willingly work for the other. Upon closer reflection, it must have been this person who had cast the silencing spell on him.

Donald walked slowly to Mad, the sound of his sneakers hitting the ground was exceptionally clear.

Tread-

"You all thought the Holy Maiden was this one, right? Dark Blue Silver Grass, what an elegant martial soul."

Donald pointed to the woman in the corner, and Mad's eyes widened.

Isn't that right?

The next sentence completely extinguished the light in Ma De's eyes:

"That's my second point. Actually—I am the saint..."

"Enough, Donald."

A cold female voice sounded from behind Ma De, and Ma De's body fell to the ground with a thud, never to be heard again.

Having been subjected to multiple cursed soul skills, he was unable to resist or transmit the information in his hands.

"The Holy Spirit's script doesn't include something as perverse as you becoming a saint. I've already done what I promised to do: find the traitor. You'd better watch yourself and not disappoint the Holy Spirit."

The woman tossed Mad aside and said this, then walked past Donald and headed behind the statue.

The footsteps gradually faded away, and Donald, who had been stunned, finally came to his senses, breaking out in a cold sweat.

The longsword and black grass in his hand gradually dissipated, revealing the original form of Donald's martial spirit—powder.

However, he quickly regained his composure and lifted the girl onto the cross in the center.

"Believers, cease your practice and let us welcome the arrival of the Holy Maiden!"

"This is a gift from the Holy Spirit to us."

"Welcome, Holy Maiden!"

Donald stood behind the woman, raising his hands, while those who were sitting in meditation formed a circle to celebrate this great moment!

Flames rose around the woman; they were purple flames.

The flames rose higher and higher, reaching straight to the top!

"Welcome, Holy Maiden!"

"Welcome, Holy Maiden!"

The believers chanted, their emotions running high. Meanwhile, the girl in the center of the flames gradually lost control of her martial spirit, and black grass covered her entire body.

"Uh~ Ah~"

The girl sobbed, and her expression began to struggle, as if she would soon wake up.

No one noticed that the cargo container was quietly approaching.

"I want to go back! Grandpa Sword, please come and save me!"

Ning Rongrong stared at the ceremony before her, her pupils contracting. Her worldview was being shattered. Having grown up in a sheltered environment, she had never heard of such a thing. This existence even shattered her pride, which had previously held the belief that "I'm a young lady, and what I say goes."

Ning Rongrong's desire to escape reached its peak.

"Hiss. Is this the background story of this dungeon?"

Lu Ma controlled the camera to scan over the group of people.

12 Soul Masters, 1 Soul Venerable.

Background story? What is that...? Ning Rongrong looked at her "sister" whose expression was gradually becoming more intense and became frightened.

Her intuition told her that if she were discovered, she was doomed.

Although she was also a Great Soul Master, as a support-type Soul Master, she knew clearly that her combat level might not be as good as that of a Soul Warrior.

boom!

The cargo box was opened, and this obvious unusual activity attracted everyone's attention.

Upon seeing that the newcomer was a "noble princess," the group's faces radiated contempt and greed.

Ning Rongrong could only pray that someone would rescue her quickly.

"You are... a brat from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School!" Donald's expression was the most interesting. He clearly remembered that last time someone offered the Heavenly Dou Empire's royal family to the Holy God, their rank was directly promoted three levels. How the other party found him was no longer important under the lure of the position.

"Go! Capture her alive and offer her to the Holy Spirit!" The powder transformed back into a sword, and Donald pointed at Ning Rongrong, addressing the believers.

Ning Rongrong had only one thought in her mind: she was finished.

Chapter 4 Ning Rongrong: Why is this going to be so complicated?

Ning Rongrong was stunned for a long time until the man with a gloomy face and a sickle in his hand rushed in front of her, wielding a sickle taller than her. The sickle was raised above her head, and the blade reflected the purple light of flames. He paused, then swung it down heavily, the sound of it cutting through the air was crystal clear.

Many images flashed through Ning Rongrong's mind, from the day she awakened her martial soul with innate level nine soul power, to her cultivation speed being faster than ordinary people, to her father's recent consideration of sending her to the Royal Academy, and then to her discovery that her body was out of control, and that she was separated from Grandpa Sword and trapped in a cave.

It felt like she had accomplished nothing in her life. She closed her eyes, intending to quietly accept her death…

One second, two seconds...

Am I still alive? Ning Rongrong opened one eye a crack and peeked outside.

Everything around him froze. The blade not far from him, the struggling girl in the distance, the burning flames—all of them were still!

"No rush, let's save this first."

The moment Lu Ma saw the other person raise the scythe, he immediately pressed ESC, found the save function, and saved a game.

Then I quickly reviewed the battle buttons, afraid that I would fail in the tutorial and have to start all over again.

In a game called NieR, he actually died in the tutorial level.

"Okay, that's it. Watch me make a perfect dodge."

What are they saying now? Ning Rongrong was puzzled, but she vaguely guessed that the time freeze was also the work of the big boss who controlled her.

The opponent's strength... is probably on par with Grandpa Sword.

Before she could think any further, her body began to move, and the world resumed its flow.

She squatted down, tilting her head back, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda in her hand radiating light, and a few familiar words faintly uttered from her lips:

"The seven treasures are transformed into crystal. The seven treasures have names: first, power; second, speed."

The sickle grazed the tip of her nose and slammed heavily into the cargo container next to her.

The man in front of him froze. Because his martial soul had a characteristic of "not killing people," he had just used his full strength and now needed to use his full strength to draw the scythe. But in that moment, Ning Rongrong had already moved, striking his hand with the iron rod. The man couldn't dodge in time and released his grip after three heavy blows.

Taking advantage of the man losing his balance, the iron rod slammed down on his head, knocking him unconscious.

The man fell heavily to the ground, while Ning Rongrong stood on top of him and looked at the remaining 11 Soul Masters in front of her.

The Soul Master was still presiding over the ceremony and couldn't leave for the time being.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense; the other party clearly hadn't expected a noble princess to go to such lengths.

Ning Rongrong hadn't expected that the support martial soul would allow her to turn the tables and achieve a counterattack.

"Go, for the Holy Spirit!"

Someone shouted this, and the 11 Soul Masters continued to charge towards Ning Rongrong.

Pebbles shot from the slingshot, which she easily dodged with a slight tilt of her head. A venomous snake flew towards her, but she flung it away with an iron rod. She could also block an axe attack with her other hand. Then, she leaped up and stepped on the back of the attacker, taking down another person.

This same scenario played out repeatedly with the others. Every attack grazed their bodies, yet they managed to dodge it perfectly each time.

As the opposing team gradually lost members, the pressure on her lessened, and she took down people faster and faster. Finally, she took down all 12 of them.

Although the twelve Soul Masters all exuded black energy to varying degrees, this did not mean that their Martial Souls were all evil Martial Souls.

In fact, their martial souls were mostly common items like sickles and axes. Only a very few were obviously strange, and Ning Rongrong didn't give those a chance to use their soul skills.

"There's one left."

After finishing the attack, Ning Rongrong looked up at Donald in front of her.

Although Donald was looking in this direction with a surprised expression, he kept uttering prayers that she couldn't quite understand.

They say things like "the Holy One is not confused," "the Holy One is great," and "the way the Holy One walks is the Great Way."

Donald was not flustered for two reasons.

First, he felt that even if the person in front of him was not as strong as he had imagined, his mental strength was definitely not enough to interrupt the Saintess Ceremony. In other words, if the other party wanted to stop the Saintess Ceremony, he would have to defeat him.