Entry into the Eight Immortals Stance!

Practicing the Eight Immortals Stance atop the table was far more challenging than on level ground. The slightest misstep could leave one’s foot dangling in midair, leading to an inevitable fall. To avoid such mishaps, Chen Jue had gone out of his way to dismantle all the sofa cushions in the living room. The old house’s sofa was a massive seven-seater upholstered set, with twelve cushions in total. He arranged them in a tight ring around the table, leaving not a single corner exposed.

“Now I don’t have to worry about falling anymore!” Chen Jue thought with satisfaction, feeling rather clever for adapting so well to his circumstances. That intellect stat of 1.22 clearly wasn’t for nothing. With intelligence twenty-two percent higher than the average adult, not only had he made it into university, but his study of boxing forms, standing meditations, and stances had all gone incredibly smoothly, without the slightest hitch.

In a martial arts novel, this would probably be called outstanding comprehension and remarkable talent. But to reach the level of extraordinary perception and peerless aptitude, he’d likely need to raise his intelligence stat even further.

“I’ll wait until my constitution reaches 2 points—double the norm for an adult—and then focus on boosting intelligence,” Chen Jue mused, beginning his practice of the Eight Immortals Stance.

The stance was named after the legendary Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, each displaying their unique powers. To hold one’s ground and unleash fist techniques on the narrow, rocking deck of a fishing boat was, in spirit, akin to the Eight Immortals traversing the waves as if walking on solid earth. Profound in conception, the stance was difficult to master. Practicing atop the solid wood table, Chen Jue felt his mind tense without pause, constantly alert for the risk of a misstep and a fall.

The difference from practicing on flat ground was like night and day!

Yet, this very practice revealed the unique qualities of the Eight Immortals Stance. Like other standing meditations, it built strength and agility, but the constant mental tension also greatly sharpened Chen Jue’s dynamic visual acuity.

At first, when striking on the table, he could barely make out the space beneath his feet; but after two hours of practice, he could clearly see every detail at the table’s edge.

Moreover, the heat rising from his body and the sweat pouring off him far exceeded what he experienced when practicing the Ship Fist. No doubt, this was due to his muscles tensing in response to his heightened mental state, increasing his overall exertion.

“I really did pick the right stance! Strength and agility up by 0.02 each, and constitution by 0.01,” he noted with satisfaction. “And my free attribute points are up to 0.08!”

Drenched in sweat, Chen Jue hopped down from the table, mulling over the maxim: “Practicing forms without stance work is a waste of a lifetime’s effort.”

This so-called “stance work” was not about cultivating internal energy or qi, but about the standing meditations paired with boxing. According to the experts in the online forums, every complete martial art lineage—whether external or internal—came with its own stance practice.

Though the philosophy behind each might differ, most were built around the core principles: strengthening the body, forging endurance, and stabilizing the stance.

Beyond that, some stances could also train one’s reflexes and visual tracking abilities. The Eight Immortals Stance, which Chen Jue practiced, embodied all of these traits.

After two hours of training, the increase in his attributes was dramatic—a leap compared to practicing only the Ship Fist.

Player: Chen Jue
Age: 27
Strength: 0.89
Agility: 0.81
Intelligence: 1.22
Constitution: 1.26
Mastered Skills: [Ship Fist Lv1 (47/200)], [Twelve Poses of Muscle-Tendon Classic Lv0 (4/100)], [Eight Immortals Stance Lv0 (19/100)]
Free Attribute Points: 0.08

A day’s practice had given Chen Jue a handsome haul of stats. Glancing at the time, he saw it was already past five in the evening. He took a shower and prepared a hearty meal to replenish his strength.

After dinner, stomach full, Chen Jue took another walk toward the reservoir behind the hill.

This time, he didn’t train atop the dam. Instead, he followed the steps beside the dike down to the water’s edge.

There, a metal sluice gate—painted bright red and highly visible even at night—controlled the reservoir’s floodgate at the bottom. But Chen Jue wasn’t here for the gate. With a spring of his foot, he leapt aboard a small boat moored at the shore.

The boat, likely used by the reservoir staff to clear debris from the water’s surface, had been tied up there for some time. Chen Jue had noticed it during previous training sessions but, not having mastered the Eight Immortals Stance then, had hesitated to practice on it.

Now, with the stance under his belt, it was time to experience the true environment for the Ship Fist.

No amount of theorizing could replace firsthand experience.

The moment he stepped on the boat, however, he felt it wobble beneath him—the hull shifting with his weight, rocking in the water.

He tried a few moves of the Ship Fist, stood briefly in the Eight Immortals Stance, and immediately felt a rush of realization.

Training on this little boat was far more difficult than atop his wooden table at home.

Any movement or burst of force sent the craft swaying violently. There was no way to make large, evasive moves or strike with full power—one careless mistake and he’d be in the water.

“The stance work still isn’t solid enough.”

“My fist technique may have reached entry level, but my foundation’s not yet steady enough to use full force,” Chen Jue thought, feeling as though he wore invisible shackles.

He longed to continue training on the boat and push his stats higher, but the environment simply wouldn’t allow it.

After some thought, Chen Jue’s gaze settled on his free attribute points.

“If that’s the case… Eight Immortals Stance, level up!”

After just a short bout of practice, the stance’s proficiency had climbed to (20/100).

And with 0.01 free attribute points raising skill proficiency by 10, Chen Jue decided to invest all his points in the Eight Immortals Stance.

In a single breath, the skill’s proficiency soared past 100, climbing to Level 1!

A sudden rush of unfamiliar muscle memory flooded Chen Jue’s body. The once awkward and somewhat unrefined stance was, within seconds, broken through—he’d truly entered the door.

Most people of ordinary talent would need at least three months to reach entry level in the Eight Immortals Stance; those with strong aptitude, practicing diligently, would still require a month or more.

But for Chen Jue, from first learning the stance to genuine entry, it had taken only a handful of hours!

Such was the effect of the attribute panel within him.

It was like opening a temporal shortcut in training that would otherwise require step-by-step progress—within the blink of an eye, he had reached the threshold.

Now, with the stance mastered, Chen Jue felt his footing vastly improved. Even on the little boat, his Ship Fist moves became powerful and assured.

Though he wasn’t yet as steady as standing on solid ground, he could at least hold his ground on the boat without fear of falling into the water.

Moreover, the stance’s benefits in building endurance and enhancing agility were now even more pronounced.

After a few laps of practice on the boat, his strength and agility ticked upward once more.

“Haha! This is fantastic!”

The visible, tangible sense of becoming stronger was so exhilarating that Chen Jue couldn’t help but shout his joy aloud!