Carrying weight is beneficial to agility.

After practicing on the embankment for over an hour in the morning, mainly focusing on boxing postures and stances, his free attribute points increased by 0.03, but none of his individual attributes saw any significant improvement. Glancing at the time, it was only seven o’clock, and with no one else around, Chen Jue left the embankment, hopped onto the small boat moored by the water, and continued his training.

Practicing the Eight Immortals Stance and the Boat Fist on the boat was noticeably more efficient; the proficiency of both skills increased at a rate visible to the naked eye. However, training on the boat was quite mentally taxing. To avoid falling into the water, he had to keep his wits about him, always alert and vigilant, which kept his mind taut and tense.

By the time he’d finished, it was after eight o’clock, and his free attribute points had accumulated to 0.07—an even greater increase than with the environmental buffs on the embankment! Furthermore, the deepened practice of the Eight Immortals Stance boosted his constitution by another point.

It was worth noting that Chen Jue’s constitution attribute had already reached 1.32, 32% above the standard value. To break through further would ordinarily require adding points directly. He hadn’t expected that advancing in standing postures could further strengthen his constitution!

This surprised and delighted Chen Jue.

“Practicing boxing without mastering the stances is all for naught in the end. I wonder just how much the Eight Immortals Stance can transform my constitution,” Chen Jue pondered to himself.

He got off the boat, picked up the four-pound sandbags, strapped them on again, and prepared to head down the mountain for breakfast. Although he’d already done some uphill running with weights that morning, perhaps the load wasn’t high enough, as his agility attribute hadn’t improved much. Chen Jue resolved to increase the weight a little when he returned.

He hadn’t gone far before he ran into Master Huang, the elderly man who had taught him the Boat Fist. Despite his age, Master Huang was full of energy, his face glowing with health. He was returning from exercising at the equipment near the temple and met Chen Jue head-on as he came down from the embankment.

“Grandpa Huang!” Chen Jue greeted him cheerfully.

“Oh, it’s you! Up early to train?” Despite not having seen Chen Jue for a few days, Master Huang recognized him instantly.

“That’s right, Grandpa Huang. I even learned the Eight Immortals Stance from the internet,” Chen Jue chatted with him for a bit, showing off some of the skills he’d refined over the past few days.

Master Huang was utterly astonished.

“Well, I’ll be! Young man, you really are a natural talent! How did you learn so quickly? And this Eight Immortals Stance—it’s almost exactly the way the elders in our village used to teach it. Even I never quite mastered it,” Master Huang exclaimed in surprise, eagerly asking Chen Jue to teach him.

Chen Jue didn’t refuse. He found a quiet spot and explained the Eight Immortals Stance to Master Huang, demonstrating it and guiding him through the movements, returning the favor for teaching him the Boat Fist.

“Yes, yes! That’s exactly it! No matter how the old masters taught me before, I could never get it. I can’t believe you, an outsider, learned it before I did,” Master Huang said, his face filled with nostalgia, as if recalling past village memories.

Chen Jue also shared his experience of learning online. Despite being a rural man in his seventies, Master Huang was eager to learn and kept up with the times, using a brand-new Huawei smartphone clearly provided by his children.

Chen Jue helped him download the instructional videos. As Master Huang watched them, he mumbled to himself, his eyes slightly reddening, whether from excitement or from reminiscing about days and people long past, it was hard to tell.

“Old now! Not much use left in me! The teacher in this video is great, but I fear I’m too old to keep up with the Eight Immortals Stance. But I can show it to my granddaughter. Young man, how old are you? Not married yet, are you? Would you like to meet my granddaughter?” With that, Master Huang shifted the topic, opening WeChat and showing off a profile with a young woman’s photo.

Chen Jue glanced over and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. The girl in the photo was striking and valiant, dressed in a white military uniform, clearly serving in the navy—a disciplined and upright young lady.

“Grandpa Huang, you needn’t worry! With so many handsome soldiers in the military, I’m sure your granddaughter will find someone worthy,” Chen Jue replied, waving his hand and not daring to ask for her WeChat. After a few more words, he beat a hasty retreat, leaving Master Huang sighing in regret, “Such a fine young man! Just a bit too well-fed, looks like a big business owner. Tongtong probably wouldn’t go for that type.”

After descending the mountain, Chen Jue made his way quickly to Lin Family Village and, as usual, ordered a big bowl of glutinous rice and sweet soybean milk for breakfast—a classic combination that no one in Wenshi could ever grow tired of.

Of course, he didn’t order extra buns as he had before, as eating too much would be too heavy, not good for digestion or for further training.

Back at home, he checked his attribute panel:

Player: Chen Jue
Age: 27
Health Index: 89%
Strength: 0.95
Agility: 0.88
Intelligence: 1.22
Constitution: 1.33

Skills Mastered: [Boat Fist Lv1 (83/200)], [Twelve Forms of Muscle-Tendon Change Lv0 (8/100)], [Eight Immortals Stance Lv1 (46/200)]

Free Attribute Points Available: 0.07

“My agility really did go up! Looks like weighted training actually works,” Chen Jue remarked with pleasure.

A busy morning had not only improved his skill proficiencies, but also brought some unexpected gains.

He removed the weights, brewed a pot of ginseng tea, and sat down to rest for half an hour, using the time to order some Yunnan Baiyao for external use online.

The muscle soreness from weight training couldn’t be managed by natural recovery alone. With no home remedies or secret formulas on hand, he opted for Yunnan Baiyao, renowned as a national medicine for treating bruises and promoting blood circulation.

He’d used it often for sports injuries when he was a student.

Not wanting to waste time going all the way to the pharmacy in Panlong Town, he simply ordered online from a local Wenshi supplier. If things went quickly, it might arrive as soon as tomorrow. Anticipating he’d need it frequently in the future, he ordered two more boxes, spending over two hundred yuan.

Once his stomach had settled, he began practicing the Twelve Forms of Muscle-Tendon Change.

This set of exercises also promotes blood circulation and stretches the muscles and tendons, but the training progressed slowly. After several days, he still hadn’t broken through to the introductory level, and the proficiency rose painfully slowly—only one point every half hour.

He reasoned that this must be a more advanced art. After all, the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic had been written to death by countless martial arts novelists, unlike the obscure Boat Fist or Eight Immortals Stance. The Twelve Forms of Muscle-Tendon Change, as a Shaolin art, was a household name—virtually legendary.

Given its reputation, it was to be expected that progress would be slow and difficult.

But Chen Jue, used to rapidly grinding attributes, had little patience for the slow progress. He resolved to save up more free attribute points and simply break through with a direct upgrade.

Before that, though, he’d have to guard against depleting his body as he had when adding points to the Eight Immortals Stance before.