Chapter 26: A test & The Night Hunt 

Chapter 26: A Test & The Night Hunt 

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After that, Nima started telling Kent about her day. "You know, today the old man Xian Yu did this... and that..."

He almost choked on his tea when I told him I wanted to learn high school math. He tried to solve math problems, but he kept veering off into teaching me other subjects.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Knock! Knock!

Kent opened the door to see the old man, Xian Yu, standing with a sad and pissed-off expression on his face.

Kent said, "Mr. Xian Yu, she's just a kid..."

+999 SP from Xian Yu (Frustration)

Kent felt a little tense, realizing the old man was upset. Xian Yu cleared his throat. "I'll solve your math problems, Nima. Hand me the notebook."

Then he changed the subject. "Kent, why are you looking so tense? Don't worry, I don't mind. I know she's just a kid."

He turned to Nima. "Listen, I was solving math problems before you were born."

Nima fired back, "How old are you?"

Xian Yu paused. "I... I'm 71 years old. Why?"

Nima smirked, "I'm only 11 years old. You've been doing math for 60 years, and you still can't solve high school math?"

+999 SP from Xian Yu (Anger)

"You little... Hey, Kent! What have you been teaching her? Why is she like this?" Xian Yu growled.

Kent quickly realized the situation was escalating and that he couldn't afford to let them fight. If they argued more, he'd lose both a free tutor and babysitter. An idea suddenly clicked in Kent's mind.

"Grandpa Xian Yu, calm down," he said, trying to defuse the tension. He quickly thought He wanted me to call him master all the time. Maybe that'll calm him down.

+999 SP from Xian Yu (Shocked)

"You both call my wife 'aunt,' and now you're calling me 'grandpa'?!" Xian Yu stared at Kent.

Kent's soul seemed to leave his body at that moment. He had acted too hastily, not thinking carefully when his mind just blurted out "grandpa" after hearing that Xian Yu was 71.

He stood there, frozen and soulless. "I messed up big time." Xian Yu waved his hand. "Alright, kid. You're right. From now on, you can call me grandpa and from now on, call my wife 'grandma,' too. She looks young, but she's actually older than she looks."

"Although we don't have any children, we'd like to have some grandkids." The old man's serious expression softened. "Alright, enough of that. I'm here for something important."

He handed Kent two vials of mercury. "Take these, test both of your physiques and tell me what the results are."

As he handed over the vials, he leaned in closer to Kent. "Why do you look so tense again? Don't tell me you don't have an F-rank physique?"

"No, no," Kent said quickly. "When I tested for the special class, my results were F-rank. No need to test again."

Xian Yu didn't relent. "Some people's physiques change over time. I want to know if yours has. Nima never tested her physique, right? You know how to do it, don't you?"

The old man left, but not without saying, "Tell me the results in the morning."

As soon as he left, Nima turned to Kent. "What should we do now, Kent? You told me to never tell anyone about our max-level physique. Should we tell him the truth?"

Kent shook his head. "No. We've only known him for a few days. Even though he's teaching us sword techniques, we can't trust anyone. At least, not now."

"Even our parents left us in an orphanage. This old man is just a neighbour. He and Aunt Zhou are kind to us, but we can't reveal our secrets to anyone—! Let's check our physiques first. Then we'll decide what to do."

Kent pricked his finger and dropped a drop of blood onto the mercury. The moment it touched, the mercury vanished with an explosive blast.

Crack!

Boom!

"What does this mean, Kent? What are we going to show the old man?" Nima asked, her eyes wide in confusion.

Kent said gravely, "It means our physiques are too strong to be measured with current technology and methods."

"Now what?" Nima asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "I have an idea, Kent. What if we use someone else's blood to fool the old man?"

Kent raised an eyebrow. "Where are we going to find someone who'll give their blood at this hour?"

"But you gave a good suggestion, Nima." Kent smiled. "I could just go to the metro city forest and get some beast blood. That might work."

Nima shook her head. "You don't need to go. Did you forget I have the ugly Bear? We can use the ugly Bear's blood."

Kent taps on Nima's forehead. Silly, That Bear is a soul. It has no blood. Why are you so dumb sometimes? 

+99 SP copied from Nima.(Angry & frustrated)

Kent, "you called me a dumb. You don't love me anymore? You have a little sister outside. I know it now."

I won't talk to you until you buy me a sugar apple. Huh! 

Stop your acting Nima. Stay at home I will come back soon and don't play with the vial or you will break the vial while I am gone. 

Whoosh!

The forest near Metro City was eerily quiet under the pale moonlight. The faint rustling of leaves in the cool breeze was the only sound, but it carried a sense of unease. Kent trudged forward, his fists clenched, his eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement.

"This better work," Kent muttered to himself. "If I can just get some beast blood, I can fool the old man and avoid any suspicion."

He stepped over a fallen log, his mind racing. "If I told him the truth about our physiques, he'd definitely ask too many questions. But lying to him? It feels wrong…"

A sudden growl snapped Kent out of his thoughts. He froze, his fire aura instinctively flaring around his fists as his eyes darted toward the sound.

From the darkness emerged a Shadow Panther, its sleek, black fur shimmering faintly with spiritual energy. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto Kent, and its tail flicked menacingly.

"Well, aren't you a handsome one," Kent muttered, taking a step back. "Alright, fluffy one, let's see what you've got."

The panther growled, crouching low before leaping at him with terrifying speed. Kent barely had time to dodge as the panther's claws swiped past him, tearing through a nearby tree trunk like paper.

"Okay, not so fluffy after all!" Kent shouted, summoning his fire aura into his palms. He thrust his hands forward, launching a hard punch at the beast.

The panther snarled, twisting mid-air to avoid the attack. It landed gracefully, its eyes narrowing as it sized him up.

"Oh, you're a smart one," Kent said, smirking. "But I've got more tricks up my sleeve."

The panther lunged again, faster this time. Kent rolled to the side, his fire aura igniting around his fists. He countered with a fiery punch, managing to graze the beast's side.

The panther yelped, its fur singed, but it quickly recovered, circling him with predatory intent.

"Alright, time to end this," Kent muttered.

He focused his energy, summoning his Soul slasher dagger. The dagger gave light, illuminating the forest around him.

The panther hesitated, its instincts warning it of the danger. Kent took the opportunity to charge, landing a powerful stab into the panther's belly. 

With a final growl, the panther collapsed, its spiritual energy fading.

+1999 SP copied from Panther. (Death)

Note: The highest SP Kent can get is 2000." It's the limit for one-time earning of extreme emotions 'for now.'

Kent crouched beside the fallen panther, He pulled a small water bottle from his pocket and carefully drew some of the beast's blood.

"This should be enough to convince the old man," he muttered, holding the bottle up to the moonlight. The dark liquid shimmered faintly, a testament to the panther's spiritual energy.

As Kent made his way back through the forest, the vial of blood clinking softly in his pocket, doubt began to gnaw at him. "The old man's not stupid. He'll probably figure out that this isn't our blood. And what if he asks more questions?"

He paused, leaning against a tree as he stared up at the stars. "Why am I even doing this?" he asked himself. "He's been nothing but kind to us, and here I am with doubt and trying to deceive him. But I can't tell him the full truth either. It's too risky."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe I'm overthinking this. I'll just tell him our physiques are better than E-rank and leave it at that. I am telling him the truth."

By the time Kent reached the edge of the forest, he had made up his mind. "I will drop the whole blood idea," he said to himself. "It's too risky, and it feels wrong. I'll just say we tested and found out our physiques are stronger than E-rank. That should be enough to satisfy him without raising too many questions."

He glanced down at the bottle in his hand before tucking it back into his pocket. "Better to keep this just in case. Who knows? It might come in handy later."

Kent slipped back into the small house, Nima was waiting for him. He placed the bottle on the table before sinking into a chair, his body sore from the fight. He stared at the ceiling, his mind racing. "I hope this works. If he asks too many questions, I'll have to come up with something fast."

Nima asked. Kent what happened? Why are you so silent? 

Nima, Listen to me. I have decided we wouldn't use the beast's blood. If the old man asks you anything about our physique test, just say. We have better physiques than E rank. Just avoid all other questions from him. You are an expert in that. 

Nima bites Kent's hand. You are picking on me. Both siblings play a little bit, making jokes. Then they go to bed. 

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