Of course, in their eyes, Edward Grant had always held the upper hand, while William Carter could only dodge without the ability to counterattack. It was only a matter of time before he would lose if he made even a single mistake.

However, even so, the fact that William Carter could hold out for so long had already shocked everyone.

Only Samuel Foster grew more and more amazed as he watched.

He was a martial artist at the Jinli (Force) stage, so how could he not see that William Carter had been evading without losing composure from start to finish, while Edward Grant's breathing had already started to grow heavy, and his coordination was beginning to show signs of disorder.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, Samuel Foster's eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with a sharp gleam, and he shouted out.

Almost at the same time, William Carter finally made his move. His knife-hand strike shot up like a viper's head, darting up from beneath Edward Grant's overused arm, aiming straight for his throat.

The speed was as fast as lightning, the angle cunning.

The throat is a vulnerable spot; if this knife-hand strike landed, the match would be over.

Seeing Samuel Foster call for a stop, William Carter's knife-hand, which had darted out, was immediately withdrawn, and he quickly retreated a few steps.

However, Edward Grant did not stop. Instead, he seized the opportunity to lunge forward, both palms striking fiercely toward William Carter's chest.

Just as Edward Grant's palms were about to touch William Carter's chest, Samuel Foster—no one knew when—had already leapt up, landing behind William Carter. He reached out and grabbed his arm, lifted him lightly, and with a flick, William Carter felt a force flow from his arm into his body, and then, following that force, his whole body was lifted off the ground and landed behind Samuel Foster.

"Pa!" Edward Grant, unable to pull back in time, ended up clashing palms with Samuel Foster. He staggered back seven or eight steps, both palms instantly turning red and swollen.

"What speed, what power! Is this the strength of the Jinli (Force) stage? If it had been the master just now, even with my almost preternatural sensitivity, with my current martial arts foundation, I wouldn't have had time to react at all." William Carter recalled that just a moment ago, Samuel Foster had been drinking tea in the shade, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind him, tossing him aside, and with a gentle palm strike, forced Edward Grant to retreat repeatedly, his palms red and swollen. He couldn't help but feel secretly shocked, and his desire to pursue martial arts grew even stronger.

In these troubled times, only one's own strength is truly reliable; everything else is illusory.

"Master Zuo, what are you doing?" Edward Grant saw that he was about to hit William Carter, but Samuel Foster suddenly intervened, striking him and leaving his hands red and swollen, his bones feeling as if they were about to break. His face flushed with anger as he spoke.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me call for a stop?" Samuel Foster saw that he had kindly called for a stop to save Edward Grant's face, but the latter didn't appreciate it. His expression darkened, and he reprimanded him sternly.

"Disciple knows his mistake. I got carried away in the heat of the fight and lost control for a moment." Edward Grant, seeing Samuel Foster angry, was startled. Only then did he realize his words and actions had crossed the line, and he quickly bowed his head to admit his fault.

Seeing this, Samuel Foster's expression softened slightly. He snorted coldly, then turned to William Carter and said gently, "Come with me."

Just now, William Carter could have defeated his opponent in one move, but because of Samuel Foster's call to stop, he resolutely gave up his advantage and withdrew. This made Samuel Foster quite pleased.

Of course, William Carter's exceptional fighting skills today had also exceeded Samuel Foster's expectations, making him look at William Carter in a new light.

"Yes, Master." William Carter replied humbly, then followed Samuel Foster step by step back to the big tree in the corner.

Seeing Samuel Foster's completely different attitude toward himself and William Carter, Edward Grant's face turned extremely ugly, and a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes.

As for the spectators, they all looked surprised, and after a while, they each went back to their own martial arts practice.

"Charlotte Harris, I didn't expect William Carter's fighting skills to have improved so much!" In a corner, a round-faced young woman said to Charlotte Harris in a low voice, a hint of ambiguity in her tone.

"Strength trumps skill. No matter how good your fighting technique is, in the face of absolute power, you can only be crushed! Edward Grant's skin membrane is still at the ox-hide level, so William Carter can still contend with him using technique. But once his skin membrane reaches the iron-hide level, he'll be even faster and stronger, and William Carter won't stand a chance." Upon hearing this, Charlotte Harris's eyes flashed with a complex look, then she replied calmly.

The skin membrane stage is divided into two levels: the ox-hide level and the iron-hide level.

Ox-hide, no matter how thick and tough, is still biologically a skin membrane, while iron-hide is already a different substance altogether.

So, of the two levels, the former is relatively easy. Generally, with enough meat and medicinal supplements, decent talent, and diligent practice, one can reach it. But the latter, the iron-hide level, is much harder. Many well-off young men with enough resources and decent talent get stuck at this stage.

Currently, among the seven disciples at the skin membrane stage who are still training and helping out at the martial arts school with Samuel Foster, only the senior disciple Matthew Cooper has reached the iron-hide level, which shows how difficult it is.

As for the Jinli (Force) stage after the iron-hide level, it's even harder. Generally, if you haven't reached it by thirty, there's little hope.