The Astonishment of the 048 Forum Legends!

Pure Yang Ancestor Lü, whose given name was Lü Yan, courtesy name Dongbin, and also known as Master Pure Yang, is one of the Eight Immortals in popular folklore. He is considered the patriarch of the Daoist alchemical school, later imparting his teachings to Liu Haichan and Wang Chongyang, and is venerated as one of the “Northern Five Patriarchs” in the Daoist Quanzhen tradition.

This Eight Immortals Stance draws inspiration from the legend of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, and given that Master Lü is one of them, it is clear that this martial stance is closely tied to the Quanzhen Daoist tradition. Chen Jue did some research online about the Quanzhen sect and discovered that during the Yuan dynasty, this major sect spread southward, reaching the regions of Suzhou, Zhejiang, and Fujian—coinciding with the rise of the Boat Fist style.

Connecting the historical timeline and regions, Chen Jue could now see how the founder of Boat Fist, likely a coastal fisherman, must have learned authentic Daoist internal techniques from a Quanzhen priest who had come south to spread the teachings. Over a thousand years of evolution, these skills were handed down, eventually giving rise to Boat Fist and the Eight Immortals Stance.

“Who would have thought that the martial art I casually picked up would have such profound origins?”

“What a windfall!”

Having understood the story behind it, Chen Jue felt a rush of exhilaration and clarity. He went to the kitchen and drank a large pot of tonic soup to replenish his body after breaking through with the Eight Immortals Stance.

Now, having mastered the hidden force, Chen Jue’s attributes were as follows:

Player: Chen Jue
Age: 27
Health Index: 100%
Strength: 1.72
Agility: 1.27
Intelligence: 1.24
Constitution: 2.06
Skills: [Boat Fist Lv2 (377/500)], [Twelve Forms of Yijin Scripture Lv2 (47/500)], [Shaolin Iron Body Lv2 (2/500)], [Shaolin Child’s Skill (Perfected)], [Eight Immortals Stance (Perfected)]
Free Attribute Points: 0.41

All his attributes had improved to varying degrees compared to before he joined the martial arts event.

But the greatest change was mastering the hidden force!

Glancing at the two fist-sized craters left on the white wall, Chen Jue refrained from punching it again. Instead, he walked up, spread his legs, and pressed his right palm flat against the wall.

“Hmph!”

With a muffled grunt, his pores contracted, his heart thudded powerfully, and his blood surged into his right palm. A wave of heat burst forth from his palm.

With a dull thud, a puff of white dust rippled out from where his palm met the wall.

He withdrew his hand and saw that the spot where his palm had pressed was damp with sweat—the aftermath of unleashing the hidden force.

But more strikingly, the smooth white paint now bore a palm-shaped indentation, as if someone had pressed a palm print onto the wall itself.

Within the palm print, countless tiny pinprick holes were densely clustered—these were the marks left by Chen Jue’s hidden force, spraying out like needles!

“So this is what the masters in the forum meant by ‘force spraying like needles’?” Chen Jue gazed at the print for a long time, reluctant to look away.

If such power were unleashed upon a human body, it would tear through flesh and strike directly at blood vessels and tendons beneath the skin—enough to penetrate bone with just a bit more force.

Remembering the advice he’d received from the forum experts, Chen Jue was struck by a sudden idea. To repay their kindness, he fetched a clear glass tank from the kitchen, filled it with water, and set up his phone against the side, camera aimed at the water.

He submerged his hand in the tank, braced his feet, contracted his pores, and with a sudden jolt of his heart, unleashed the hidden force through his palm.

At once, countless hair-thin streams of water shot out from beneath his palm, darting straight to the bottom of the tank before dispersing.

Seeing the display, Chen Jue quickly relaxed, feeling heat surge through his body.

Mastering this hidden force was extremely taxing; each use made his heart pound wildly, as if it had swallowed a firecracker.

“The heart burns like fire, and the hidden force sprays forth!”

“If I use this too much, it might cut my heart’s lifespan short. Best to use it sparingly,” Chen Jue mused, grasping the underlying principles.

He wiped his hand dry, picked up his phone, and trimmed the video he’d just shot—showing the hidden force spraying like needles through water.

First, he sent the video to Master Li Xiangning. Without Li’s guidance in the Boat Fist formula, he would never have mastered the Eight Immortals Stance so quickly, let alone the hidden force.

Seeing no reply from Li Xiangning, Chen Jue assumed the master was resting or engaged elsewhere.

He then logged onto the martial arts forums and posted the video with the title: “Thanks to all the experts for your guidance—I’ve mastered the hidden force! I hope for your continued advice in the future!”

As soon as the post went live, the internal boxing forum, the traditional martial arts forum, and the national arts forum all erupted with excitement.

The comments beneath his post soared rapidly, soon passing 99+.

Half-Step Beng Quan Rules the World: “???”
Sun Family Taiji Heir: “???”
Little Vajra of Martial Arts: “???”
Shaolin Sweeper Monk: “Excuse me, off-topic, breaking the formation! OP, are you sure what you filmed is hidden force? Not some qigong special effect?”
Meng Family Bajiquan: “OP, you were pretending to be a newbie, claiming you couldn’t even close your pores, and now just a few days later you’re spraying hidden force like needles? (dog head) But these effects look pretty convincing—not a cheap trick.”
Demon-Dispelling Sunflower: “OP, are you sure you mastered hidden force and didn’t just pick up some computer CG skills? (dog head)”

Most forum members assumed Chen Jue’s video was faked with special effects, designed to fish for replies and likes.

After all, while the so-called experts in these forums spoke eloquently and seemed knowledgeable, those who had truly trained to a profound level were extremely rare.

Phrases like “force sprays like needles” and “hidden force bursts forth” were mostly picked up from martial arts novels or internet theories. No one had ever actually seen someone like Chen Jue emit hidden force in water like this.

However, the forums did conceal a few genuine masters, and some of those who had commented with question marks rushed to consult their elders or teachers after seeing Chen Jue’s video.

Meanwhile, Chen Jue’s account inbox was flooded with private messages—some asking about his special effects, others inquiring if he accepted disciples, and some even wanting to know his location, hoping to visit and test his hidden force firsthand.

All sorts of people showed up!

As for Chen Jue, after posting the video, he received a video call request from Master Li Xiangning on WeChat, which he answered and began chatting with the master.