A quarter of an hour later, Andrew Reed put away his whip and said, “Now everyone line up and start doing horse stances. Keep your arms straight, your thighs and calves at a right angle. If there’s even a slight mistake, don’t blame me for being merciless with the whip.”

At his command, all fifty boys in the class lined up in five rows and began the horse stance. Henry Clark was still ostracized, standing alone on the side.

“Your task today is to hold the horse stance for one third of a quarter hour,” said Andrew Reed.

One third of a quarter hour is five minutes.

“Wrong, wrong, wrong…”

Andrew Reed shouted harshly, then lashed out with his whip. Anyone whose posture was even slightly off got whipped.

Henry Clark’s movements and posture were undoubtedly correct, but his physical condition was just too poor. After only half a minute, his whole body was trembling; after one minute, he was so sore it felt like he was falling apart; after two minutes, he was holding on purely by willpower.

After three minutes…

Henry Clark’s body reached its limit, his posture collapsed, and he slumped to the ground.

“Crack! Crack! Crack!” Andrew Reed’s whip lashed fiercely across Henry Clark’s body, sending waves of burning pain.

“Get up and continue, or I’ll beat you to death,” Andrew Reed roared.

Henry Clark gritted his teeth and got up to continue. But sometimes willpower alone isn’t enough—his physical strength was just too lacking. Each time he lasted less and less, and in the end, he couldn’t even hold on for a minute before collapsing again.

At this point, all fifty boys could hold the stance for five minutes. Though they were shaking and their postures were far from standard, at least none of them had collapsed.

In other words, in this horse stance lesson, even among these first-year students, Henry Clark was still dead last.

A glaring last place!

Andrew Reed pointed at Henry Clark and sneered, “Take a good look—this is your senior brother about to graduate, and he can’t even do the most basic horse stance. This is the shame of the eunuch faction. Let this be a warning to you all.”

“Yes!” all the first-year students shouted in unison, then pointed at Henry Clark and burst into mocking laughter.

After that, Henry Clark was expelled from the class. The reason was that he was just too useless—he absolutely could not be allowed to contaminate the first-year eunuch students, and one bad apple must not spoil the whole barrel.

After class, Andrew Reed found Henry Clark and said coldly, “You don’t need to come tomorrow either. Don’t waste my time or yours. You can go complain to the headmaster if you want, but I advise you to give up and just do your chores.”

With that, Andrew Reed turned and left.

Henry Clark asked, “Then when can I come back to see you?”

Andrew Reed replied, “When you can hold the correct horse stance for half a quarter hour without moving, then you can come see me.”

“Alright,” said Henry Clark.

Then, dragging his whip-bruised and battered body, he returned to his dormitory.

“Bringing disgrace upon yourself,” Andrew Reed said coldly.

Two hours later, Andrew Reed went to see the deputy head of the eunuch academy, Charles Baker, who was also his backer.

Charles Baker asked, “You expelled Henry Clark from class and whipped him as well?”

Andrew Reed said, “Yes.”

Charles Baker asked, “Any reaction from the headmaster?”

Andrew Reed replied, “So far, there’s been no reaction at all, so the headmaster probably doesn’t care about Henry Clark.”

Charles Baker said, “I see. Go on, just do as you see fit in the future.”

“Yes,” said Andrew Reed, then withdrew.

Henry Clark did not go to complain to James Thompson. He wasn’t that childish. In the eunuch academy, strength speaks louder than anything. As long as he showed his astonishing talent, Andrew Reed would never dare to suppress him.

However, that evening when Samuel Wright returned to the dormitory, his attitude had clearly changed.

“Henry Clark, I heard you went to the first-year class to learn the horse stance, and you came in dead last?” Samuel Wright sneered. “Should I call you brave, or just shameless?”

Henry Clark ignored him.

Samuel Wright continued, “I’ve seen a lot of losers in my life, but I’ve never seen anyone as useless as you.”

In just half a day, Henry Clark’s performance in the first-year class had spread throughout the eunuch academy, and he had once again become a laughingstock. He was expelled from class and whipped by Andrew Reed, and James Thompson showed no reaction. In everyone’s eyes, Henry Clark meant nothing to the headmaster.

So, Samuel Wright’s attitude changed directly. Of course, he didn’t dare go too far—he only dared to attack Henry Clark verbally, not physically.

…

Inside the headmaster James Thompson’s pavilion.

“Master, it seems Henry Clark has suffered some unfair treatment,” said David Thompson.

James Thompson replied, “If he can’t even endure this little bit of hardship, he won’t amount to much. I believe in this child.”

David Thompson said, “But Andrew Reed’s intentions seem questionable.”

James Thompson said, “He’s basically Charles Baker’s student. Someone wants to test how much I value Henry Clark, so Andrew Reed’s actions are understandable.”

David Thompson said, “Are we just going to let him keep pushing and bullying Henry Clark?”