"Grace Bennett, she’s not looking for me, is she?" William Carter watched as the girl walked straight toward him, so he had no choice but to put away his phone first. He didn’t want anyone to see what was on his phone; otherwise, it could bring big trouble.

Grace Bennett was tall, about 1.75 meters, which wasn’t short even among boys of this age, and among girls, she stood out from the crowd.

Although she was tall, her proportions were excellent, and with her slender build and long-term training, she didn’t give off an overwhelming sense of size. Her long legs and dramatic waist-to-hip curve instead created a strong visual impact, exuding a kind of wild, primal allure.

Contrary to the gentle impression her name Grace Bennett gave, she was actually a rather proud girl. Before that transfer student named Jane Anderson arrived, Grace Bennett and William Carter were the two most famous geniuses at Guide High School.

However, the two were not in the same class, and neither was good at making friends. Plus, William Carter devoted himself entirely to cultivating "Bitter Zen" and had little time for anything else. So, apart from polite greetings, they had almost no interaction.

Now, Grace Bennett was clearly coming straight for William Carter, which made William Carter a bit puzzled—he didn’t know what Grace Bennett wanted with him.

"William Carter, for the final practical test of the graduation exam, I’d like to invite you to join my team." Grace Bennett came up to William Carter and said something that surprised him.

Chapter 4: Grace Bennett's Invitation

The cultivation of the Vital Energy Technique had already become extremely important in the Earth Federation’s education system. In addition to the regular college entrance exam subjects, there was also a special practical test.

Because the practical test involved a certain degree of danger, not all candidates were required to participate, and the results didn’t count toward the total college entrance exam score. Participation was entirely voluntary. However, if you wanted to apply to certain special institutions, you needed a practical test score as a requirement.

In the past ten years, more and more prestigious schools had included the practical test results as part of their admissions criteria.

Of course, if you wanted to work in fields related to the dimensional domain, a good practical test score was also a great stepping stone.

Although William Carter could obtain dimensional crystals from mobile games and didn’t need to risk venturing into the dimensional domain himself, he still planned to take the practical test and attend a specialized cultivation academy. In the future, he also intended to work in a field related to the dimensional domain.

If William Carter didn’t work in anything related to the dimensional domain and had no source or channel for dimensional crystals, it would be hard to explain how he was able to grow and evolve so quickly, or how he might obtain things like companion pets in the future.

To hide in plain sight—a diamond only avoids attention when mixed among a pile of crystal ore.

William Carter didn’t want to go on adventures in the dimensional domain, but he had to work in a related field. At the very least, he needed a channel to acquire dimensional items, so that when he used a large number of dimensional crystals in the future, it wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

The practical test wasn’t a solo battle, but was conducted in small teams of four. Besides individual combat ability, teamwork, leadership, and other skills also affected the final score.

If, during the practical test, he was the only one left at the end while the other three teammates quit early or had accidents, then no matter how well he performed, his score would be greatly affected.

William Carter used to have a good reputation at Guide High School and was considered an ideal teammate. But in the past month or so, his image and reputation had plummeted, and his abilities were seriously questioned.

If an ordinary student wanted to team up with him, that would be understandable. But for someone like Grace Bennett, who had a shot at being number one in the Guide Prefecture practical test, there seemed to be no reason to invite him.

William Carter had only become famous for cultivating Bitter Zen. In terms of raw strength, there were still some students at Guide High who had developed vital energy before the age of sixteen. However, unlike William Carter, they hadn’t relied solely on honing themselves—they had all used vital energy crystals as cultivation aids to some extent.

"Why do you want to team up with me?" William Carter asked with interest, looking at Grace Bennett.

Grace Bennett met William Carter's gaze, her eyes clear and cold, like a mountain spring untouched by dust.

"I want to get the highest score possible in the practical test, so I need strong teammates. And you have that kind of strength," Grace Bennett said calmly.

"You’re talking about the me from over a month ago, right?" William Carter said.

Grace Bennett stared intently at William Carter, her tone still as firm as ever: "In my eyes, William Carter is William Carter. That’s never changed. You’re still the only one at Guide High School I consider a true rival."

William Carter was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected Grace Bennett to see him this way, and he felt a strange, hard-to-describe emotion.

"If you say that, what about Jane Anderson?" William Carter said self-deprecatingly. Although he didn’t mind that Jane Anderson had defeated him, he had to admit that Jane Anderson was indeed much stronger than he was.