11 - Mangekyou Sharingan

"Who will step on you..." Ning Rongrong's cheeks were slightly red. After finishing her sentence, she touched the ring that resembled a blue crystal on her hand, and a beautiful dagger suddenly appeared in her hand. Ning Rongrong held the dagger and walked towards the Earth Explosion Bear. Ye Zhen looked at the dagger that had suddenly appeared in Ning Rongrong's hand, and his eyes lit up. He wasn't looking at the dagger but at the blue crystal-like storage ring. On the Douluo Continent, this thing should be called a Soul Storage Device.

Ye Zhen often looked at Tang San's Twenty-Four Moonlight Bridges with envy, always wondering if he could find one for himself. However, Tang San was always cautious about this, protecting the Twenty-Four Bridges like the sun and the moon held in his arms, so Ye Zhen never found an opportunity to make a move. The Soul Storage Guide, Ye Zhen had long wanted one.

Ning Rongrong walked up to the Earth Explosion Bear, which was almost dead, crouched down, holding a small dagger against the Earth Explosion Bear's head, and seemed a bit reluctant to start. The Earth Explosion Bear struggled to roar, but when the sound reached its mouth, it turned into a low whimper, its legs trembling twice before it finally lost the strength to move again.

"Hmmm..." Ning Rongrong looked at the struggling Earth Explosion Bear, which seemed to want to stand up, and was startled; the dagger in her hand plunged towards its head. "Ding..." The crisp and shocking sound spread out, and the dagger pierced the skin of the Earth Explosion Bear's head but failed to penetrate its skull. Earth Explosion Bear: ???

Ye Zhen also twitched the corners of his mouth and couldn't bear to watch this scene out of embarrassment. Ning Rongrong looked at the Earth Explosion Bear with pleading eyes, thinking that it didn't want to die. After a few seconds, with trembling arms, she extended her small hand, touched its head, and comforted it: "Little Xiong Xiong (bear), I really don't want to kill you, but you're already dying. I don't want your death to be in vain. My father taught me since I was a child that waste is shameful, so you might as well let me kill you so that the spirit ring won't go to waste..."

Ning Rongrong comforted herself with a few words, took a deep breath, and seemed to encourage herself again. "Ah..." Ning Rongrong struck with the dagger. "Ding~" Earth Explosion Bear: ??? Are you doing this on purpose?

Ning Rongrong blushed and looked secretly at Ye Zhen in embarrassment. After realizing that he was covering his face as if he hadn't noticed her awkwardness, she patted her flat chest and mischievously stuck out her tongue. Adjusting her state of mind, Ning Rongrong's eyes sharpened a bit. "Hey..." Another stab with the dagger. "Ding~" The familiar sound echoed. Ye Zhen looked at the sky, speechless.

"Ding..." "Ding..." "Ding...ding... Ding... Ding..."

Ning Rongrong's strikes became much smoother, but aside from slightly cracking the Earth Explosion Bear's head, she didn't cause any other serious injuries. Just when Ning Rongrong wanted to land a few more blows on the desperate Earth Explosion Bear, Ye Zhen grabbed her arm. "Are you hitting iron? Stab its eyes..." Ye Zhen reminded her helplessly.

"Oh..." Ning Rongrong blushed and lowered her head. The Earth Explosion Bear now looked at Ye Zhen with eyes as if looking at a living Buddha. Ah~ You finally woke this stupid woman up; please, send me to death quickly. I don't want to live anymore; the world isn't worth it.

Under Ye Zhen's guidance, Ning Rongrong finally plunged the dagger into the Earth Explosion Bear's eye, and the Earth Explosion Bear finally died. A few yellow light points slowly rose from its body, about a meter above the ground, and transformed into a bright yellow ring. This is the spirit ring of this Earth Explosion Bear.

Hidden in a large tree in the distance, watching the whole process, Sword Douluo wiped cold sweat from his forehead and said emotionally: "Fengzhi, you really have given birth to a good daughter..."

Ye Zhen carefully observed this yellow spirit ring and noticed that it seemed a bit special, somewhat different from the spirit rings he had seen before. In the spirit ring of this Earth Explosion Bear, there seemed to be no resentment, only tranquility and harmony, forming pure energy. Ye Zhen smiled bitterly, "Is Ning Rongrong just foolishly blessed? This type of spirit ring will undoubtedly be much easier to absorb."

"You can absorb the spirit ring at will; I'll protect you," Ye Zhen said.

"Yes." Ning Rongrong responded softly, sitting cross-legged, and began to guide the Earth Explosion Bear's ring into her body.

Ye Zhen carefully patrolled the surroundings. It was dark now. But with the Sharingan, Ye Zhen wasn't affected by anything; even in the darkest hunting forest, where moonlight couldn't shine, he could see clearly.

It was boring to wait for Ning Rongrong to absorb the spirit ring, so Ye Zhen began checking his points and some items in the store. Points: 21,950 points. Originally, it was only 15,000, but now it has reached more than 20,000. These points were gained by killing some soul beasts during the day, and Sword Douluo also helped. Now, the value is completely sufficient, and Ye Zhen is no longer stuck on the issue of which upgrade to buy first.

Soon, he bought a Mangekyou Sharingan, deducting 10,000 points, and bought the two-tailed Matatabi, deducting 6,000 points. The value of 21,950 instantly reduced to 5,950. Ye Zhen planned to keep these points. His spirit ring abilities still need to be purchased. The items in the system's storage are used by default after being bought.

Ye Zhen felt only warmth in his lower abdomen. Next to the one-tailed beast's light cluster, another light cluster in the shape of a small cat suddenly appeared. At the same time, the three tomoe in his eyes began spinning frantically, following a certain special force. The tips of the three tomoe seemed to be connected in a round line. Spinning faster and faster, Ye Zhen only felt pain in his eyes, and the surrounding scene seemed distorted, making him feel like vomiting.

Ye Zhen held his head with his hands uncomfortably, closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and held on without letting himself complain.

It is not known how much time passed. At a certain moment, Ye Zhen suddenly lifted his head. In his scarlet pupils, the tomoe disappeared. Instead, a strange hexagonal pattern was slowly spinning. (Sasuke Mangekyou)

Ye Zhen's Mangekyou Sharingan was fully activated tonight. Ning Rongrong, who was crouching in front of Ye Zhen, trembled with frightened eyes as Ye Zhen suddenly lifted his head. "Are you... are you okay?" Ning Rongrong looked into Ye Zhen's eyes and asked in a soft voice, tinged with concern.

"Huh..." Ye Zhen let out a long sigh, not realizing that his clothes were already soaked with sweat. He hadn't expected that awakening the Mangekyou would be so painful. "It's fine, how much time has passed?" Ye Zhen stood up, his expression unchanged, and with a slight thought, the Mangekyou was deactivated.

Ning Rongrong tilted her head as if thinking, "It took me over an hour to absorb the spirit ring, and then I came to check on you, but you were holding your head in pain and didn't respond when I asked if you were okay. I might have gotten a bit anxious, so I'm not sure how much time has passed..." Ning Rongrong's voice trailed off as she spoke.

Has it been over an hour already? During this time, hasn't the bear's scent attracted any spirit beasts? It seemed that Sword Douluo had been doing his duty. Ye Zhen frowned, secretly thinking, "I shouldn't have activated the Mangekyou here, that was a bit reckless. Jian Douluo probably saw it. I still wanted to keep some of my cards hidden."

The atmosphere became silent as the two of them fell into a quiet stillness. Looking at Ning Rongrong, whose head was lowered in a dejected manner, Ye Zhen felt a bit strange. What was wrong with this girl? "What's wrong with you? It looks like you're imitating an ostrich, hiding with that sulky face of yours." Ye Zhen deliberately teased her.

Normally, Ning Rongrong would have retorted with her usual fiery temper, but this time, she didn't respond loudly. Instead, she pursed her lips and softly whispered, "Ye Zhen, do you think I'm useless..."

Ye Zhen decided to first clarify what was going on with this strange girl. "Why do you think that?" Ye Zhen cautiously asked.

"Probably... after I met you, even though we're about the same age, you seem to know everything and you're so powerful. I can't even go kill a defenseless spirit beast. I couldn't even tell you the time when you asked..." Ning Rongrong's voice faltered as she spoke, crouching down and burying her head in her legs, sobbing softly.

At this moment, the eldest daughter of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School had matured quite early. Many things had happened along the way, and she had thought a lot. Compared to Ye Zhen, she saw the difference between them and realized the kind of sheltered life she had been living.

Ye Zhen sighed lightly, acknowledging that he was indeed too talented, and that this girl had been affected by it. Ye Zhen gently rubbed Ning Rongrong's little head and said, "We're all born differently. I was born this way, stronger and more resilient than usual. You might think that's my fortune in this life, but compared to you, it's still almost nothing. I don't have the protection of sect elders, I don't have much money, let alone a storage soul guide. I have to hunt my own rings and can't even protect my family if something happens. My strength is at this level because I've trained hard to protect my family and the important people around me. If you feel useless, train and use that feeling to improve yourself every day..."

As Ye Zhen spoke, his voice gradually slowed. Ning Rongrong didn't know when she had raised her head, and she was stunned by what Ye Zhen had said, even forgetting to cry.

"Do you want a storage soul guide?" Ning Rongrong blinked her large, beautiful eyes curiously and asked. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is one of the three sects of the Douluo Continent, and its background is naturally profound.

"I do, but I'll probably only be able to buy one in the future, maybe in 10 or 15 years..." Ye Zhen replied, but in his heart, he thought, "Come on! Give me one, and I won't ask for anything else."

"Then... Hmm..." Ning Rongrong looked at the black jade bracelet on her wrist and removed it with a look of reluctance... This was her fifth birthday gift from her father. Ye Zhen's eyes lit up as he grabbed it. "It's not just a piece of jewelry, as they say, 'out with the old, in with the new.' I'll try to take care of this old one for you." Ye Zhen didn't even realize that his greed for the bracelet had made him break character from his usual determined demeanor.

Ning Rongrong's face darkened. It was obvious that you wanted my black jade bracelet, and you didn't even have the shame to take it. Do you really think I'm just a little girl who doesn't understand anything?

Sword Douluo in the distance also gritted his teeth in pain. That was a storage soul guide. Even in the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, only a few high-ranking individuals could possess one. Moreover, how could something given by Ning Fengzhi as a birthday present for his baby daughter be something ordinary? This black jade bracelet had a full 10 cubic meters of storage space inside. Even within the sect, its storage capacity could rank among the top three.

Ye Zhen looked at the black jade bracelet in his hand and couldn't put it down. This bracelet seemed more neutral. It looked like jade, but it wasn't made of jade. It wasn't hard at all; on the contrary, it was very flexible. Ning Rongrong extended her hand.

"Give me back the contents..." Ning Rongrong blushed and said in a low, embarrassed voice.

"Huh?" Ye Zhen sank his thoughts into the Mo Jade Bracelet and checked it. When he saw the contents inside, he understood why she was blushing. There were some of Ning Rongrong's clothes inside.

Ye Zhen removed the contents and handed them over. Ning Rongrong lowered her head, and after reaching out to take them, both their faces were a bit strange, and the atmosphere at the scene was a little awkward.

"Well, you've already hunted your spirit ring. Do you want to go back with Grandpa Jian?" To avoid this awkward atmosphere, Ye Zhen could only resort to changing the subject; otherwise, the two of them would have been stuck in place.

After hearing Ye Zhen's question, she couldn't afford to be shy. She quickly raised her head and said, "No, I haven't had enough fun yet. Also, if you hunted the spirit ring for me, then I have to hunt the spirit ring for you. It's only fair."

"No, you don't need to help me. You'd better follow Grandpa Jian back." Ye Zhen seemed disgusted. Ning Rongrong was shocked. How could anyone be so shameless?

[Ning Rongrong's negative sentiment value +166...]

"Ye~Zhen," Ning Rongrong exclaimed, "You dare to dismiss me after taking my soul guide?" Sword Douluo, who was observing from a distance, also frowned and muttered, "You brat."

Ye Zhen touched his nose, feeling a bit guilty, realizing that his actions might have been a bit out of line. "Rongrong, how could I dismiss you? That really hurts me. I'm just worried about your safety. After all, what I want to hunt is a thousand-year-old soul beast, which is much more dangerous than a hundred-year-old one. If you got hurt, I'd feel terrible about it," Ye Zhen said with a sincere and pained expression.

Ning Rongrong looked at him suspiciously, "Really?"

"It's true~. Look, you're so cute, how could I not care about you, right?" Ye Zhen said softly, gently patting Ning Rongrong's little head with a sleepy expression.

Ning Rongrong's face turned red, but the nature of a tsundere girl never changes: "Hmph, at least you have some sense," Ning Rongrong said, feeling pleased with herself.

Meanwhile, Sword Douluo, secretly watching from afar, frowned even more deeply.

...

...

...

Ye Zhen led Ning Rongrong to a dense forest surrounded by tall trees, where the wind would be relatively weaker. After quickly clearing away some fallen yellow leaves, he started a fire.

The soul-hunting forest is more dangerous at night. Soul masters who come here usually don't do things like make campfires—it's a rookie mistake. The light is too visible in the dark soul-hunting forest, which will attract the curious eyes of soul beasts. Moreover, the soul beasts that roam at night are mostly carnivorous, more brutal, and very aggressive, making it very dangerous for ordinary spirit masters.

But Ye Zhen wasn't ordinary. He actually hoped that some brainless soul beasts would show up, preferably the ones that were long and delicious.

The soul-hunting forest was a bit quiet at night, with only occasional sporadic roars of beasts in the distance. Ning Rongrong seemed a bit afraid of the dark. Whenever there was a beast's roar, her body would tremble. Even though she was very close to Ye Zhen, she still seemed unsure.

With her large, bright eyes, she kept glancing at the dark places far from the fire, as if expecting a big monster to appear at any moment.

Ye Zhen shook his head, finding it a bit amusing, and said, "How can you help me hunt a spirit ring if you're already trembling like this?" Ning Rongrong sniffled sadly, "It's so dark... Grandpa Jian might be lost. So if a powerful soul beast shows up, you have to protect me."

"Heh..." Ye Zhen chuckled and said, "Don't worry. These little things can't hurt you..." After saying that, Ye Zhen looked at a large tree somewhere in the dark.

Sword Douluo, who was hiding, was startled. Could it be that this boy could sense his presence? A coincidence? Even though he hadn't deliberately hidden his whereabouts, it shouldn't be something that a soul fighter could perceive, even if that fighter was a bit unusual.

Sword Douluo hadn't expected that after Ye Zhen activated his Mangekyou, his mental power would increase so much. This kind of mental power was mysterious and could be experienced in many ways. For example, some people have a particularly strong sixth sense, which usually correlates with strong mental power. Ye Zhen had sensed Jian Douluo's presence just by touch.

Not believing it, Sword Douluo silently shifted a large tree branch and crouched down, wanting to see if the boy could still find him. But this time, Ye Zhen didn't look in his direction. Instead, he felt that something was coming.

At the same time, Jian Douluo also narrowed his eyes and looked into the dark forest. Everything was quiet there, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Ye Zhen could only vaguely sense a feeling of being watched from that direction. He hadn't yet figured out what it was. It seemed that this soul beast had a set of hiding techniques. Ye Zhen smiled indifferently and moved closer to Ning Rongrong, the two of them nearly touching.

Ning Rongrong blushed, not sure if it was from embarrassment or the campfire. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Ye Zhen smiled, patted Ning Rongrong's little head, and said, "It's nothing, just a visitor."

"Visitor?" Ning Rongrong was stunned for a moment before she realized what he meant. There was a visitor in the soul-hunting forest, which could only mean a soul beast.

Ning Rongrong was shocked and instinctively wanted to turn her head to see where the soul beast was. This was human nature.

Ye Zhen quickly reached out and held her cheeks, gently comforting her, "Don't be afraid, don't look around. I'll protect you. Besides, if you look around and scare the soul beast away, what then?"

"Oh..." Ning Rongrong lowered her head slightly, her heart pounding like a little deer, beating much faster. Perhaps she had fallen in love, just maybe.

She was too embarrassed to look Ye Zhen directly in the eyes, and her two small hands unconsciously gripped the corners of her clothes.

"Uh..." Ye Zhen finally realized how ambiguous his actions were at the moment. No wonder Ning Rongrong was reacting this way.

"Ahem..." Ye Zhen coughed lightly to disguise his embarrassment and casually withdrew his hand.

He could feel that the sensation of being watched was getting closer... the soul beast was approaching...

Sword Douluo watched as a giant, four-legged creature stealthily passed under the large tree where he was hidden, showing a hint of interest.

It had a half-dragon head, ghostly armor, scarlet claws, and moved silently. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the Hidden Chameleon Dragon, known for its concealment ability among soul beasts. Judging by its length of over six meters, it was over 3,000 years old. This was a 3,000-year-old chameleon.

This type of soul beast is very rare and possesses terrifying concealment abilities. The scales covering its body can mimic the surrounding environment, and when it's not moving, it can blend in perfectly. This color-changing Hidden Dragon was slowly approaching Ye Zhen and Ning Rongrong.

Sword Douluo also crept closer to Ye Zhen to prevent any accidents. If a crisis arose, he could intervene and rescue them.

"Always talking about hunting thousand-year-old spirit beasts, this time it actually happened. Let's see if you can surprise me..." Jian Douluo murmured to himself, with a rare smile in his eyes. This time, would they be able to force out all of that boy's strength?

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