The martial arts candidates and examiners seemed to unconsciously follow William Harris through a fierce life-and-death battle, each of them drenched in sweat, as if they had just been pulled out of water.

All the various martial arts techniques that the thousands of candidates had previously displayed in the examination hall instantly paled in comparison and seemed clumsy when set against William Harris's demonstration.

Those who had previously boasted, sneered, or mocked now all blushed, feeling deeply ashamed.

Compared to William Harris's almost miraculous mastery of basic martial arts, their own techniques could only be described as crude and tainted, the difference as vast as between clouds and mud.

This was the most stunning martial arts demonstration they had ever witnessed in their lives—and it was only an entry-level demonstration of the "Basic Three Skills."

Their eyes were filled with worship and a dazed intoxication, like people addicted to alcohol who had become thoroughly drunk in a vat of the finest wine.

After a long while, someone in the crowd finally snapped out of it.

Very soon, an uproar broke out.

"Oh my god! Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Such a low-level martial art as the 'Basic Three Skills' was actually cultivated by him to the realm of 'turning decay into magic'!"

"This is the tenth realm, the divine level! For any martial art, the highest realm one can reach is the tenth, the divine level! This is a realm where the ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary!"

"Our Canglan Kingdom hasn't seen anyone cultivate basic martial arts to the divine level in hundreds of years. The last one was a Martial King!"

"I've always looked down on the 'Basic Three Skills,' thinking it was something only martial apprentices would learn. Only today do I realize—even entry-level martial arts, once they reach the tenth, divine realm, possess unimaginable power with every move."

"Who is he? Which martial academy's genius is he?"

"He's William Harris! A candidate from the Nancheng Martial Academy!"

"After the assessment, I must ask him for guidance! I want him to teach me how to cultivate my martial arts!"

The eyes of the thousands of martial arts candidates around them shone with admiration and longing.

They were all students from the top ten martial academies, and the vast majority pursued higher realms of martial arts. Encountering a peerless martial arts genius, how could they not be moved?

"You guys don't know, do you? He's from Nancheng Martial Academy, and he's my classmate! His name is William Harris, and he's always been very..."

A candidate boasted proudly to those around him.

However, he quickly became embarrassed. Other than knowing William Harris's name, he realized that in his memory, William Harris had always been extremely weak, and he couldn't recall any outstanding deeds of William Harris.

In class, William Harris had always been an unknown, mediocre figure, completely unremarkable.

Except for yesterday, in the last class, when William Harris exposed the weaknesses of Eric Johnson, Wayne Miller, and others.

"Examiner Johnson, how should we score this?!"

An assistant examiner, shocked, asked the chief examiner Ethan Johnson.

Chief examiner Ethan Johnson suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed dramatically, turning gloomy.

This year, in the joint examination of the ten academies' martial arts department, a direct descendant of the Zhao family, Ryan Johnson, would also participate.

Ryan Johnson was very likely to win first place in the martial arts department of the joint examination, but now this William Harris, a peerless genius, had appeared out of nowhere—this could spell big trouble.

"According to the scoring rules, martial arts techniques can be graded across ten proficiency realms. Reaching the tenth realm means a perfect score of 100! The Basic Three Skills comprise three basic martial arts, so that's three perfect scores!"

Even if they scrutinized with the most critical eyes, they couldn't find a single flaw. Martial arts at this level were beautiful to the extreme, far beyond their ability to judge.

"But in the hundreds of years of the Luyang Prefecture's ten-academy joint exam, no one has ever received a perfect score! If we give a perfect score, won't other candidates object?"

One assistant examiner voiced concern.

Another assistant examiner said excitedly, "That's because in the history of the Luyang Prefecture's ten-academy joint exam, no candidate has ever cultivated a martial art to the tenth realm! Admitting this candidate and reporting it to Dean Dean Morgan would be a great achievement!"

The other examiners were all startled and suddenly realized.

That's right!

The academy had recruited a youth with such outstanding martial arts talent—Dean Frank Morgan would surely be delighted and reward them. Why worry about a few complaints?

Chief examiner Ethan Johnson's expression shifted several times, as if he wanted to say something but ultimately did not object.

Although he was a chief examiner, he was only one of five chief examiners in this martial arts department's examination hall.

Just now, almost all the candidates and examiners had witnessed William Harris's miraculous martial arts demonstration with their own eyes. Even if he wanted to object in haste, it would be useless.

"It's just that his cultivation is too low—only at the first level of martial artist! Is he really suitable for admission to Luyang Prefecture Academy?"

"So what? As long as his total score reaches the admission threshold for the martial arts department of Luyang Prefecture Academy, that's enough!"

The examiners all nodded and quickly reached a unanimous score.

"Nancheng Martial Academy's William Harris: in the 'Basic Three Skills'—fist, leg, and footwork—all have reached the tenth realm. Three martial arts, three hundred points! Cultivation, one hundred points. Total score: four hundred points!"

Before the assistant examiner had even finished announcing the score.