As soon as Scarlett left, Matthew Brooks immediately lunged over. “Bro, you’ve made it! Tell me, since when did you get so close to Scarlett? Did you score or not?!”

John Carter hurriedly covered Mark Brooks’s foul mouth. This guy just loved to stir up trouble. If word got out, true or not, he’d be chased by hundreds of people every day.

“You’re overthinking it. She’s just interested in a few of my papers. By the way, what brings you here? You always treat the library like a graveyard,” John Carter said. That was the perfect nickname for Mark Brooks; he never wanted to waste his good times here.

“Did you forget? You have a make-up exam today!” Mark Brooks said.

John Carter was stunned. Crap, he’d actually forgotten. Damn it...

The three of them rushed to the exam hall. John Carter was taking the test as a ranged warrior, and he barely... didn’t pass. He absolutely had to pass the make-up, or his sophomore year would be hell.

Ever since his body awakened, John Carter had been so absorbed in understanding his abilities that he’d forgotten something this important.

When they arrived at the exam hall, thankfully it was still ongoing. Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing—everyone present was a student who’d failed a course last semester.

Mark Brooks patted John Carter on the shoulder. “Bro, believe in yourself! You practiced all break, it’s gotta pay off!”

“John Carter gege, you’re the best, don’t be nervous!” Amelia said.

John Carter smiled. Nervousness was never his thing. He scanned his Skylink and pulled up the make-up exam details.

The system assigned him archery for the ranged test. When he arrived at the testing area, the proctor was already impatiently checking the time. If he didn’t know there was still one student left, he would’ve left already.

“Hurry up, you’re the last one, John Carter. Five sets, ten arrows each. You pass if your total score hits sixty,” the proctor said. “Go over there and pick your weapon.”

The ranged assessment mainly tested accuracy and damage. For a ranged warrior, hitting the target was the first priority; second was soul power damage. Just scratching the enemy was useless—each attack needed to pack a punch, and the degree of soul power concentration was crucial.

John Carter chose a rune bow. These rune weapons were different from the ones crafted by Dean Moore; they were just standard weapons that could channel soul power, with some energy loss—after all, they were mass-produced.

At that moment, on the second floor of the testing building, an old man and a young woman were chatting and laughing. On the left sat a spirited silver-haired old man, none other than the principal of Tianjing Heroic Soul Academy and a senator of the Free Federation, Glenn Stevens. Beside him was a female officer in a Federation military uniform, valiant and sharp, with short hair and eyes full of intelligence. A striking scar ran across her forehead—on most girls, it would ruin their looks, but on Grace, it only added to her heroic aura.

“Grace, your visit this time is a godsend. Give your juniors some encouragement,” Glenn said. Grace was the most outstanding graduate of the younger generation from Tianjing Academy.

“Glenn laoshi, I heard Tianjing Academy’s ranking has dropped quite a bit. That’s not like you,” Grace said with a sly smile.

“You little rascal, you come back just to tease your teacher? Is that really okay?” Glenn said, a bit exasperated. She’d always been a troublemaker, and after all these years, nothing had changed.

“This is my alma mater—I feel it deeply. I came back hoping to discover a few with potential. The standard for this test is pretty high, but I suggest we only select from first and second years. First years are best,” Grace said.

Glenn nodded. “This is a rare opportunity for Tianjing. I’ll leave the selection entirely to you. What’s your plan?”

“I believe in our academy’s foundation—there will definitely be outstanding students. Teacher, how about I hold a campus selection competition in my name?” Grace said. As a Heroic Soul Academy, combat power was ultimately what mattered; rune technology was just the icing on the cake.

“I was waiting for you to say that. You have way more influence among the young people than I do, haha.” Suddenly, both Glenn and Grace paused and looked toward the terrace.

Down in the arena, John Carter had already chosen his bow. As he released his soul power, the proctor grew even more impatient. “Are you ready or not? Hurry up!”

He really had no patience for these second- and third-year students still taking make-up exams.

John Carter ignored the proctor’s nagging, fully immersing himself in the weapon in his hands. The target before him seemed to grow larger and larger. Swish...

Boom...

Bullseye. The proctor nodded slightly, but when he checked the damage, it was only a bit over 40. The distance was a little far, but the damage was way too low—was he just tickling the target?

Generally, the farther a ranged attack, the greater the soul power loss. At 20 meters, you’d lose half your soul power load, but John Carter had only used a little—his peak output was just too low.

“Put some muscle into it! Didn’t you eat? What good is accuracy with this little damage?” The proctor curled his lip. Hitting the target was useless if it didn’t hurt.

Upstairs, Grace smiled slightly. “This student is interesting. His archery technique is very skilled, but the damage is way too low.”