The instant his words fell, it happened.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in Ning Rongrong's hand instantly answered Wang Xiaoming's summons, flying swiftly into his hand and resting there quietly.
Ning Rongrong's face turned deathly pale.
She could no longer sense the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. She couldn't communicate with it at all, and the ease with which she had always summoned and dismissed it was completely gone.
The emptiness she felt in that instant nearly brought her to tears.
She was truly frightened.
But the next moment, that connection returned, along with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda itself.
Wang Xiaoming had only used Kamen Ride for a second before ending it.
He only needed to confirm that the ability worked. There was no need to keep it under his control for the full ten seconds.
Otherwise, he was afraid the Little Demoness would break down.
On the Douluo Continent, nothing was more painful than losing one's Martial Soul.
Ning Rongrong stared at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda back in her hand and blinked without a word.
Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi, watching from the shadows, were both utterly bewildered.
That was the kid's Martial Soul ability?
He summoned someone else's Martial Soul over to himself, went through the motions, and that was it?
They weren't the ones it had happened to, so naturally they couldn't feel the shock and fear in Ning Rongrong's heart.
Ning Rongrong looked up at Wang Xiaoming, who was raising an eyebrow at her, her mind full of questions.
Wasn't that... over a little too quickly?
"What's wrong with you?"
Looking at the bewildered Ning Rongrong, Wang Xiaoming couldn't help reflecting.
When the Little Demoness wasn't playing pranks, she was simply a little cake.
Unable to resist, he reached out and gently pinched her collagen-filled cheek.
Soft, squishy, and bouncy.
"Silly, I was only testing my Martial Soul ability. I was really afraid that if I scared you too badly, the two elders in your family would come and spank me."
But he had no idea that an old man in the shadows wanted to do something far worse than spank him.
"Fengzhi, don't stop me. I'm going to chop that kid's hand off!"
"Uncle Bone, surely you aren't jealous of a child..."
Ning Fengzhi shook his head, but didn't dare relax his grip on Gu Rong's wrist in the slightest.
He really couldn't do anything with this uncle of his. The moment he saw their little cabbage being rooted up by a pig, he got more worked up than anyone.
Ning Fengzhi himself hadn't even said anything.
As the head of a sect, he constantly reminded himself to be tolerant of others.
Ning Rongrong chuckled and said smugly, "At least you know what's good for you... But what exactly is going on with your Martial Soul? Why couldn't I sense mine just now?"
Hearing that, the two men in the shadows quieted down as well.
That kid could actually steal someone's Martial Soul!?
Wang Xiaoming said casually, "I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious yet. That's just one of my Martial Soul's abilities. It lets me take an opponent's Martial Soul for my own use."
He silently added that this ability would probably be most useful against enemies at the Soul Saint level or above.
If his opponent were the Clear Sky Douluo... he could clap his little hands and take the hammer with all nine of its rings exploded for himself.
"One of its abilities!?"
Ning Rongrong's little mouth fell open in surprise.
Before absorbing a Soul Ring, her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was nothing but a pretty little tower. She couldn't even bear to use it to hit people.
But Wang Xiaoming's Martial Soul had been born with so many abilities. Wasn't that a bit too much?
"What other abilities do you have? Hurry and show me!"
Ning Rongrong hurried over to Wang Xiaoming and looked at him expectantly.
The more abilities Wang Xiaoming showed, and the stronger they were, the more convinced she became that she had been right to become his friend despite everyone else's objections!
Wang Xiaoming cleared his throat twice and said slowly, "There's no rush for that... Rongrong, actually, there's a secret I've kept buried in my heart all this time, one I haven't told you. I know that if I tell you, it might affect your reputation, or even your family's, so I've never dared speak of it..."
Why did this guy look like he was about to confess his feelings?
Hearing Wang Xiaoming say that, Ning Rongrong felt nervous for no apparent reason, and her big eyes hurriedly swept around.
Had the people the hidden guards called for arrived yet...? If they heard this, they'd go tattling.
But then Wang Xiaoming continued.
"So... would you be willing to pay me a hundred Gold Soul Coins to hear this secret?"
Ning Rongrong: "???"
"Goodbye. No, I hope I never see you again."
Realizing that Wang Xiaoming was messing with her, Ning Rongrong turned and left without the slightest reluctance.
Sure enough, everything the sect master's preparatory study manual said was true.
She couldn't be too good to the people around her, or sooner or later someone would grow arrogant from being spoiled.
Of course, she was only doing this on purpose, certain that Wang Xiaoming would come and stop her.
Sure enough, she had only taken two steps when Wang Xiaoming's voice came from behind her.
"Hey, don't go! If you won't give me Gold Soul Coins, you could at least get me an order of pastries from the Gold and Jade Pavilion, right?"
Ning Rongrong stopped in her tracks and sneered inwardly.
Did those pastries cost any less than a hundred Gold Soul Coins?
But since Wang Xiaoming had said that...
Ning Rongrong turned and walked back, expressionlessly tossing an exquisite little money pouch onto the table in front of her. She folded her arms and looked at Wang Xiaoming.
"Go on, what's the secret? If I find out you're messing with me... tomorrow, the pastry chefs at the Gold and Jade Pavilion will never appear in Heaven Dou City again."
She would poach every last one of them for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, so this bastard before her, whose head was full of nothing but food, would never get to eat their pastries again in his life!
Wang Xiaoming looked startled.
Still, this was standard behavior for the Little Demoness.
He counted the Gold Soul Coins in the little pouch, then tucked it into his Storage Soul Tool under Ning Rongrong's look, which suggested she wanted to hit him.
"Rongrong, how ruthless you are... But don't worry, this secret is definitely worth more than the price."
As he spoke, he drew a card from his card box.
On its face was Ning Rongrong holding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
"The secret is..."
Wang Xiaoming deliberately drew out the last word, whetting Ning Rongrong's appetite.
"...Actually, you should call me big brother."
Ning Rongrong: "Huh???"
Before Ning Rongrong could speak, he pulled the driver open again, slipped the Ning Rongrong card inside, and pushed it shut with both hands.
The stirring mechanical voice rang out once more.
[Kamen Ride-] [Seven, seven, seven, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!!]
The next moment, the little glazed pagoda that had appeared in the courtyard earlier materialized once again in Wang Xiaoming's hand.
Only this time, Wang Xiaoming had summoned it entirely by himself.
The official, genuine article!
Ning Rongrong's eyes went wide as she stared at the little seven-colored pagoda in Wang Xiaoming's hand.