Out with the Old, In with the New

Ning Rongrong, who was squatting across from Ye Zhiqiu, shuddered when he suddenly raised his head and revealed that look in his eyes.

"Are... are you okay?" Ning Rongrong stared into Ye Zhiqiu's eyes and asked softly, concern in her voice.

"Phew..."

Ye Zhiqiu let out a long breath. Before he knew it, his clothes had been soaked through with sweat. He had not expected awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan to be so painful.

"I'm fine. How much time has passed?" Ye Zhiqiu rose without changing expression. With a thought, he deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Ning Rongrong tilted her head as if thinking. "It took me over an hour to absorb the Soul Ring, and then I came to see you. But you kept clutching your head in pain. I called to you, but you didn't respond. I was so worried that... once I got worried, I stopped knowing how much time had passed..." Her voice grew quieter and quieter as she lowered her little head in low spirits, seemingly lost in thought.

At least an hour had passed? Yet the bloody scent from the dead Great Earth Exploding Bear had not drawn any Soul Beasts here? Sword Douluo had probably intervened.

Ye Zhiqiu frowned and thought to himself. He wondered whether Sword Douluo had seen his Mangekyō Sharingan. There were still some trump cards he wanted to keep hidden.

The atmosphere grew quiet amid their shared silence.

Ning Rongrong, normally such a chatterbox, had suddenly fallen silent. Ye Zhiqiu found himself a little unaccustomed to it.

Looking at Ning Rongrong with her head lowered and her spirits down, Ye Zhiqiu felt puzzled. What was wrong with this girl? Wasn't she usually full of that arrogant, I'm the best in the world attitude?

"What's wrong with you? Your head's hanging like a little chick's." Ye Zhiqiu deliberately teased her.

If she had been in her usual state from earlier that day, Ning Rongrong would definitely have bared her teeth and claws as she argued back. This time, though, she unusually did not retort loudly.

Ning Rongrong pressed her pink lips together and said softly, "Ye Zhiqiu, do you think I'm useless?"

Ye Zhiqiu froze. You actually had thoughts like that? Wasn't this realization a bit late? Still, if he said that now, it would probably cause a huge problem.

Ye Zhiqiu decided to console this girl with her strange train of thought first.

"Why would you think that?" Ye Zhiqiu asked tentatively.

"Probably... probably after meeting you. We're clearly about the same age, so why does it seem like you know everything and are so capable? I'm no good at traveling, and it takes me so much effort just to kill a Soul Beast that can't fight back. When I saw you in pain, I wanted to help but didn't know what to do. I couldn't even answer when you asked me how much time had passed." The more Ning Rongrong spoke, the more depressed she became. She squatted down, buried her head between her legs, and began to sob softly.

At that moment, the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect matured just a little ahead of time.

So much had happened along the way, and she had thought about many things. Through Ye Zhiqiu, she had completely seen the gap between them and realized what kind of cradle she had been living in before.

Ye Zhiqiu sighed softly. So it was because he was too outstanding that this girl had been discouraged by him.

Sigh, life really is lonely at the top. Who could you compare yourself to but me? Aren't you just making yourself miserable? Even the Children of Destiny in this world can only eat my dust from behind. And you, a supporting character, want to compare yourself to me? You're still twenty thousand years too early.

Ye Zhiqiu helplessly rubbed Ning Rongrong's little head and said, "Everyone is born with a purpose. Think about other things. For example, I'm not as rich as you, I don't dress as well as you, my family circumstances aren't as good as yours, and I don't have elders protecting me when I go out. I even had to hunt my first Soul Ring by myself. Most importantly, I don't even have a Storage Soul Tool." The more Ye Zhiqiu spoke, the more worked up he became. The more he spoke, the more he thought, Damn, why am I so miserable? He gradually got into character.

At some point, Ning Rongrong had raised her head. Ye Zhiqiu's words left her stunned, and she even forgot to cry.

Just as Ye Zhiqiu was starting to get frustrated, she suddenly burst out laughing.

"Do you really want a Storage Soul Tool that badly?" Ning Rongrong blinked her beautiful large eyes and asked curiously, somewhat puzzled. My family has so many of those! The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is one of the Upper Three Sects of Douluo Continent. Of course our foundation is deep.

"I want one so badly, okay? I dream about having one." Ye Zhiqiu stared at Rongrong with sparkling eyes, just short of writing on his face: Hurry! Give me one!

"Then how about..." Ning Rongrong looked awkwardly at the black jade-colored bracelet on her wrist. With a face full of reluctance, she took it off. This was Father's gift for my fifth birthday. Ye Zhiqiu's eyes lit up as he snatched it away. "It's just a piece of jewelry. As the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new. I'll reluctantly keep this old one for you."

Ning Rongrong's little face darkened. You clearly had your eye on my Black Jade Bracelet, yet you're talking about out with the old, in with the new. How shameless. Do you really think I'm some little girl who doesn't understand anything? In the distance, Sword Douluo also ground his teeth in heartache. That was a Storage Soul Tool. Even in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, only people of some status were qualified to receive one.

What was more, how could something Ning Fengzhi had given his precious daughter as a birthday gift possibly be ordinary?

This Black Jade Bracelet contained a full ten cubic meters of storage space. Even within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, its storage capacity ranked among the top three.

Ye Zhiqiu looked at the Black Jade Bracelet in his hand and fondled it lovingly. The bracelet's appearance was rather neutral. It looked like jade, but it was not made of jade. It was not hard at all; on the contrary, it was highly elastic. Having just been removed from Ning Rongrong's wrist, it still carried a trace of warmth.

"Give me back the things inside," Ning Rongrong said in a small voice, her little face flushed red with embarrassment.

"Hm?" Ye Zhiqiu sent his consciousness into the Black Jade Bracelet to inspect it. When he saw what was inside its storage space, even his old face could not help turning red.

The bracelet contained some of Ning Rongrong's clothes. In one corner, Ye Zhiqiu even saw a pair of pure white little underwear.

"Here, take them, take them."

With his face red, Ye Zhiqiu took out the items and handed them over. Ning Rongrong lowered her head and accepted them. Both their faces were bright red, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

"Um, you've already obtained your Soul Ring. Are you going back with Grandpa Sword?" To avoid the awkward atmosphere, Ye Zhiqiu could only resort to changing the subject. Otherwise, they might both remain frozen where they stood.

Ning Rongrong had her hands behind her back, tracing circles as she kept her head lowered and kicked little stones on the ground. Upon hearing Ye Zhiqiu's question, she forgot her embarrassment and hurriedly raised her head. "No way, I haven't had enough fun yet. Besides, you helped me hunt my Soul Ring, so I have to help you hunt yours too. That's only fair."