Grace Bennett sighed and said, “That’s why I said you’re the only person in Guide High School whom I can see as a rival. Jane Anderson never really belonged here, and she won’t be taking the college entrance exam here either.”

“What do you mean?” William Carter was slightly taken aback.

“You didn’t know? She’s already transferred.” Grace Bennett paused, then continued, “I don’t know exactly where Jane Anderson comes from, but I’m certain she’s surpassed the Mortal stage. For someone her age to reach that level, her background can’t be simple. And with her strength, there was no need for her to challenge you. Plus, her arrival and departure were both so sudden—it felt like she came here just to fight you. I thought you already knew her and had some kind of grudge.”

William Carter hadn’t thought much about it before, but now that he considered it carefully, it did seem that way. However, he was sure he’d never met Jane Anderson before, let alone had any conflict with her.

“That’s impossible. I’ve never seen her before, and there’s no way I have any grudge against her.” William Carter thought hard for a while but still couldn’t figure out any reason he might have become enemies with Jane Anderson.

“So maybe I was overthinking it.” Grace Bennett didn’t pursue the topic further. She looked at William Carter and asked, “So, what’s your answer?”

“If you’re willing to team up with me, of course I don’t mind holding onto a strong teammate.” William Carter shrugged as he spoke.

“It’s settled, then. I’ve already found the other two team members. Starting today, during every afternoon’s cultivation class, the four of us will train together to ensure we have enough coordination and rapport for the actual combat test.” Grace Bennett glanced at her watch, then turned to William Carter and said, “Come on, the afternoon cultivation class is about to start.”

When David Thompson and Robert Harris saw Grace Bennett return with William Carter, they were both a little surprised. They knew Grace Bennett had gone to find the fourth teammate, but they didn’t know who she had chosen.

Now, seeing that Grace Bennett had brought back William Carter, they both felt a bit puzzled. After all, they had witnessed everything William Carter had done over the past month.

Cultivation is like rowing upstream—if you’re not advancing, you’re falling behind. Especially in actual combat, where even with frequent practice it’s hard to seize those fleeting opportunities. If you don’t train for a few days, your reactions slow down a lot. William Carter hadn’t practiced for over a month, spending all his time playing games, looking pale and sickly. His combat skills had surely declined significantly.

It’s just like professional fighters—if they go without training for a while, they need plenty of time to recover before they can compete again. No one gets stronger by lying around; you only get weaker.

There were only a few days left before the college entrance exam. Even if William Carter turned over a new leaf now, it would be hard for him to regain his previous combat level.

“Grace, the fourth teammate you mentioned isn’t William Carter, is it? That’s a bit much for a joke!” Robert Harris touched his nose and said exaggeratedly.

“I’m not joking. William Carter is our fourth teammate.” Grace Bennett said seriously.

Robert Harris looked at Grace Bennett, then at William Carter, and habitually touched his nose again. “Grace, we know William Carter is talented and capable, but he hasn’t trained for over a month. If he starts again now, it’ll be hard for him to get back to his previous level. Our goal is to be number one in the Guide Prefecture’s college entrance exam combat test. I’m afraid William Carter isn’t the best choice. How about this—Brian Clark and I are on good terms. If you don’t want to ask him, I can invite him to join our team. What do you think?”

Chapter 5: Strength Test

Robert Harris’s words were clearly meant for William Carter to hear, but William Carter wasn’t angry.

For most people, the combat test in the college entrance exam is a major event that affects the rest of their lives. Anyone would want to do their best and not have their results affected by others.

Whether you can get into a prestigious university, find a decent job after graduation, or even have a chance to enter high society—all of this is closely related.

What’s more, the strength of your teammates could even affect your personal safety. No one would joke about something like that.

Even William Carter, before he got that mysterious phone, wanted to get into a top university so he’d have more opportunities to become stronger and not fade into obscurity. So he could understand why Robert Harris said what he did.

After Robert Harris finished speaking, he didn’t look at Grace Bennett, but stared straight at William Carter.

Grace Bennett also looked at William Carter and said, “Brian Clark is excellent too, but I still think William Carter is the best choice.”

On the other side, David Thompson thought for a moment and said, “We trust Grace’s judgment, and William Carter is indeed outstanding. But the combat test results are important for all of us, so we have to be careful. How about this—if William Carter doesn’t mind, let’s do a small test. Once we see the results, it’ll be clear whether William Carter is suitable for our team.”

“David Thompson is right. I agree,” Robert Harris said first.

“How will we test?” Grace Bennett asked.