Henry Clark said, "Andrew Reed Mentor, yesterday you said that as long as I completed learning the horse stance, I could come to you."

Andrew Reed replied, "So, have you completed it?"

"I've already completed it," Henry Clark said.

"You think I'm a fool?" Andrew Reed said coldly. "Yesterday, in less than a fifth of a quarter hour, you collapsed straight to the ground. And now, in just one day, you've completed it? You can maintain the correct horse stance for a full quarter hour? Are you talking in your sleep, or do you take me for an idiot?"

The eunuch faction boys around them all burst out laughing.

In Andrew Reed's view, the horse stance wasn't exactly difficult, but it still required at least half a month of practice to pass the assessment—there were absolutely no shortcuts. This wasn't like theoretical knowledge that could be memorized in advance. For Henry Clark to claim he finished in a day was a complete insult to everyone's intelligence.

Andrew Reed looked at Henry Clark with an icy gaze and said, "It seems I've been too lenient, to the point that you dare to challenge my authority just because you have the support of the headmaster. Since you say you've completed your horse stance training, then let's assess you in public. If you can hold the correct stance for a quarter hour without moving, I'll apologize to you in front of everyone. But if you fail, then don't ever show your face in front of me again. Not only that, but each of the fifty first-year students here will spit in your face. How about that?"

Upon hearing this, Henry Clark was truly surprised. He knew that human rights within the eunuch faction were terrible—he'd suffered long-term bullying from Yan Shi, for example. But he'd thought that Andrew Reed, as a mentor, would be better. This behavior was a complete trampling of dignity—how could such a person be a teacher? Now, Henry Clark truly began to doubt Andrew Reed's intentions.

"It's too late to regret now," Andrew Reed sneered. "Children, get your spit ready."

Then, all fifty eunuch faction boys began preparing, just waiting for Henry Clark to fail so they could spit on his face in unison.

Henry Clark looked at Andrew Reed, then slowly turned his head and said, "Fine."

Andrew Reed said, "Correct horse stance, hold for a quarter hour—begin!"

In front of everyone, Henry Clark assumed a perfectly executed horse stance. His arms were straight, forming a right angle with his upper body; his lower body was half-squatting, with his calves and thighs at ninety degrees. This horse stance was much more difficult than the ones on Earth.

Andrew Reed took out an hourglass and placed it on the table. The sand began to flow, and the quarter-hour countdown started.

He looked at Henry Clark with disdain, and all the eunuch faction boys pointed and whispered, betting on whether Henry Clark could last five minutes or if he'd fall flat on his butt right away.

"I bet, after a third of a quarter hour, he'll be on the ground, limbs in the air."

"A third of a quarter hour? You're overestimating this loser. At most, a fifth of a quarter hour. Want to bet half a tael of silver?"

Andrew Reed also looked at Henry Clark with disdain, squinting as he waited for him to start trembling and then completely collapse.

However, one minute passed, two minutes passed, three minutes passed...

Yesterday at this time, Henry Clark had already been unable to hold on, his whole body shaking like a leaf, and soon after, he collapsed to the ground. But now, he didn't move a muscle, like a cast statue.

Five minutes passed, seven minutes passed... ten minutes, fifteen minutes passed!

The mocking voices of the eunuch faction boys gradually faded, and their gazes toward Henry Clark were now filled with astonishment. Andrew Reed had put away all his disdain, his eyes now full of disbelief.

The horse stance was the most basic skill—nothing special. But at this moment, Henry Clark truly didn't move a muscle, and that was remarkable.

"Teacher, water!" Suddenly, a eunuch faction boy brought over two large bowls, each half-filled with water.

Andrew Reed hesitated slightly, then placed the two bowls on Henry Clark's arms. Yet Henry Clark still didn't move at all, and the water in the bowls gradually stilled, without the slightest ripple.

Now, Andrew Reed was truly shocked.

"Teacher, two more bowls of water." Another eunuch faction student brought over two more large bowls, this time almost completely full. This was a bit shameless—the real assessment only required half-filled bowls.

Andrew Reed should have refused, since this was unfair, but he still placed the two full bowls on Henry Clark's thighs.

But...

Henry Clark still didn't move a muscle. Not only did the two bowls on his arms remain ripple-free, but the two full bowls on his thighs were as still as if frozen solid.

This... how could this be possible? This was incredible!

The eunuch faction boys hadn't yet realized how amazing this was, but Andrew Reed himself knew exactly what it meant.

Purely holding the horse stance wasn't impressive—Andrew Reed could do it for several hours. But the shocking thing was that the water in the bowls was completely still, as if frozen. Even Andrew Reed couldn't do that, and most people couldn't either.

In other words, in terms of pure horse stance mastery, Henry Clark had surpassed Andrew Reed—and he'd been a martial arts teacher for ten years!

The horse stance was the most basic skill, the simplest one. After practice, it was easy to score 80 points. But to score above 95 was very difficult—Andrew Reed was only at that level himself.

But at this moment, Henry Clark, in the horse stance alone, could score a stunning perfect 100!