Practicing the Eight Immortals Stance on a table was far more difficult than practicing on level ground.
One careless step could send him straight off the table.
To prevent that, Chen Jue went and removed the cushions from the living room sofa.
The sofa in the old house was a large, seven-seat fabric set. Twelve cushions could be removed from it, enough to circle the table without leaving a single gap.
"Now I don't have to worry about falling!"
Chen Jue thought he was quite the clever fellow, making good use of what he had. Clearly, his intelligence attribute of 1.22 wasn't just for show.
Being 22% above the standard adult human's intelligence of 1 had not only helped him get into university, but also allowed him to learn these boxing techniques, stillness exercises, and stance skills smoothly, without any stumbling blocks.
In a martial arts novel, this would probably count as exceptional comprehension and considerable natural talent!
But to reach the level of extraordinary comprehension and unparalleled talent, he would probably have to add more points to his intelligence.
"I'll get my constitution up to 2 first, twice that of a normal adult, then consider working on intelligence." With that plan in mind, Chen Jue began practicing the Eight Immortals Stance.
The Eight Immortals Stance took its name from the legend of "the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their own powers."
To keep his footing on the narrow, rocking deck of a fishing boat and unleash Boat Boxing against an opponent-wasn't that just like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea and treading the waves as though walking on level ground?
The concept was profound, and the stance was difficult to practice. Once Chen Jue began practicing on the Solid Wood Square Table, he found himself constantly on edge, afraid that one careless step would send him tumbling off.
It was worlds apart from practicing on level ground!
Still, the practice allowed him to discover what made the Eight Immortals Stake Skill so different.
Like other stance skills, it built strength and improved agility, but that constant state of mental tension also greatly improved Chen Jue's ability to track movement with his eyes.
At first, while practicing his boxing on the table, he could only vaguely make out where his feet would land. After two hours, however, he could see the area around his feet with remarkable clarity!
On top of that, his body gave off much more heat and sweat than it had when he practiced Boat Boxing earlier.
That was probably because his constant mental tension kept all his muscles engaged, increasing his physical exertion.
"This really was the right stance skill to practice! Strength and agility both went up by 0.02, and constitution increased by 0.01 too."
"My free attribute points are up to 0.08 as well!"
Drenched in sweat, Chen Jue hopped off the square table, once again mulling over that fundamental principle of training: "Practice boxing without foundational training, and you'll have nothing to show for it in old age."
That foundational training didn't mean qigong or internal energy cultivation. It meant the stance skills that went with the boxing!
According to the experts on the forums, almost every external or internal boxing style with a complete lineage included stance training.
Though each school's stance skills had different underlying ideas, most had evolved around the principles of "strengthening the body, building strength, and stabilizing the lower body."
Some stance skills could also train reflexes, visual tracking, and more. The Eight Immortals Stance Chen Jue practiced encompassed all those features.
As a result, two hours of practice had made all his attributes jump considerably, proving far more efficient than practicing Boat Boxing alone.
Name: Chen Jue Age: 27 Strength: 0.89 Agility: 0.81 Intelligence: 1.22 Constitution: 1.26 Mastered skills: [Boat Boxing Lv1 (47/200)] [Twelve Forms of the Muscle-Changing Classic Lv0 (4/100)] [Eight Immortals Stance Lv0 (19/100)] Available free attribute points: 0.08
A day's practice had earned Chen Jue quite a few attribute gains.
He checked the time. It was already past five in the evening, so he took a shower and began cooking to replenish his nutrients.
After eating his fill, Chen Jue took another walk up to the reservoir behind the mountain.
This time, rather than practicing on the dam, he followed the steps beside it down to the water.
A metal gate control had been installed along the steps to open and close the Floodgate Valve at the bottom of the reservoir. Painted red, it stood out even at night.
But Chen Jue hadn't come for the gate control. He pushed off the ground and leaped onto a small boat moored by the shore.
The boat probably belonged to the reservoir staff, who used it to clear rubbish from the water. It had been moored there all along.
Chen Jue had noticed it on his previous trips to practice on the dam.
Back then, though, he hadn't learned the Eight Immortals Stance and hadn't dared board the boat to practice.
Now that he had successfully learned it, he naturally wanted to experience the environment Boat Boxing was truly meant for.
A thousand explanations were no substitute for experiencing it firsthand.
The moment he stepped onto the little boat, however, Chen Jue felt it rocking beneath his feet.
His weight had set the hull swaying in the water.
He tried a few Boat Boxing moves, then held the Eight Immortals Stance for a moment. A sense of understanding washed over him: So that's how it works.
Practicing on this little boat was considerably harder than practicing on the Solid Wood Square Table at home!
Even a casual move or a burst of force made the hull rock violently. He didn't dare make any large evasive movements or unleash his full strength, afraid that one mistake would send him overboard.
"My stance training still isn't good enough!"
"I've grasped the basics of the boxing, but my lower body isn't stable enough. I can't unleash my strength freely." Chen Jue felt as though he had been shackled.
He wanted to keep practicing on the little boat and grinding his attributes, but the conditions simply wouldn't allow it.
After considering his options, Chen Jue could only turn his attention to his free attribute points.
"In that case... Eight Immortals Stance, level up!"
His brief practice on the boat had already raised his Eight Immortals Stance proficiency to (20/100).
And 0.01 free attribute points could increase a skill's proficiency by 10.
So Chen Jue poured all the free attribute points he had originally intended to spend on constitution into the Eight Immortals Stance.
Its proficiency shot straight through 100, and its level rose to Lv1!
Unfamiliar muscle memories instantly flooded Chen Jue's entire body. The Eight Immortals Stance, which had still felt awkward and unfamiliar, with some movements not even quite correct, reached the beginner level in just a few seconds!
An ordinary person practicing the Eight Immortals Stance would need at least three months to reach the beginner level. Even someone with better comprehension and talent would need a month or so of diligent practice.
But Chen Jue?
From learning the Eight Immortals Stance to truly reaching the beginner level, he had taken only a few short hours!
That was the effect of the attribute panel within him!
It was like activating a time cheat for training that normally had to progress step by step, taking a shortcut that let him reach the beginner level in the blink of an eye.
After reaching the beginner level in the Eight Immortals Stance, Chen Jue immediately felt much steadier through his lower body. Even his Boat Boxing on the little boat began to carry a fierce, vigorous force.
He still couldn't move as though he were on level ground, but at least he could keep his footing on the boat without fearing he would fall into the water.
On top of that, the stance's effects on building strength and improving his movements were considerably greater than before.
After a few rounds of the Eight Immortals Stance on the little boat, his strength and agility each rose a little.
"Haha! This feels amazing!"
Growing stronger so visibly was utterly intoxicating, so much so that Chen Jue couldn't help shouting aloud!
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