Extra Training Session: Skillfully Slacking, Master's Guidance Hides Strength

When the rooster crowed for the first time, Tang San was woken by footsteps outside the dormitory. After the extra classes, morning training had started half an hour earlier than usual. The teacher in charge of morning training was knocking on each dormitory door to wake the students up. Wang Hu and the other two rubbed their eyes and got up, moving much faster than usual, clearly afraid of being punished for being late.

Tang San rolled over and stayed in his warm bed. "You guys go wash up first. I'll rest a bit longer. Morning training lasts an hour anyway, so I'll just go in the middle," he said with his eyes closed, his voice laced with the laziness of just waking up.

[Initiated delay of morning training arrival time, avoiding early high-intensity exertion, Slacking Value +1, current total 30 points]

Wang Hu and the other two didn't say much. After a quick wash-up, they rushed to the training grounds. Tang San waited until they were gone, then lay down for another quarter of an hour before slowly getting out of bed. He deliberately slowed down while washing up, even taking an extra half a stick of incense to brush his teeth. By the time he walked towards the training grounds with his steamed bun, morning training had already been underway for nearly half an hour.

On the training grounds, students were divided into groups practicing Martial Soul evasion. Teacher Li patrolled with a wooden staff. Seeing Tang San arrive, he frowned, "Tang San, why are you late again? Hurry and get in line. Today we're practicing 'Soul Power Activation Evasion.' If you can't keep up, you'll have to run laps."

Tang San quickly agreed and walked to the end of the line. He followed the other students' movements but deliberately lagged half a beat behind, only activating thirty percent of his Soul Power. The Blue Silver Grass swayed gently by his wrist, appearing utterly weak. Each "evasion" looked like he had lost his balance and stumbled, just barely dodging the wooden chips Teacher Li threw.

"Tang San, put some effort into it! Activate more Soul Power!" Teacher Li walked over, his tone tinged with impatience.

"Teacher, my Soul Power is weak. If I activate too much, I get dizzy," Tang San pretended to stumble, leaning on a nearby classmate. "I'll practice slowly, and I'll catch up eventually."

[Used "weak Soul Power" as an excuse to reduce training intensity, avoiding high-intensity exertion, Slacking Value +1, current total 31 points]

Teacher Li could only sigh and turn to instruct other students. After morning training ended, Xiao Wu ran over and handed him a bottle of water. "Tang San, why were you practicing so slowly just now? Teacher Li was almost angry."

"If I practiced too fast, my Soul Power would be depleted long ago. I still have training class this afternoon," Tang San unscrewed the bottle and took a slow sip. "Conserving stamina is more important. There's no need to compete with them."

As they walked towards the cafeteria, they ran into Yu Xiaogang. He was holding a notebook, likely having just finished recording the morning training situation. "Tang San, your Soul Power activation during morning training is still too weak. Come to my office after breakfast, and I'll help you reinforce the basics."

Tang San's heart skipped a beat. Master Yu Xiaogang's "basic guidance" would surely involve high-intensity training. He had to find a way to avoid it. "Master, I didn't eat much this morning and feel a bit dizzy now. Could I come this afternoon? I'll have more energy after the afternoon training, and I'll learn faster."

[Used "insufficient stamina" as an excuse to postpone guidance, avoiding extra training exertion, Slacking Value +1, current total 32 points]

Yu Xiaogang glanced at him and nodded. "Alright, then come directly to the office after training this afternoon. Don't be late again."

After breakfast, the morning extra class was "Soul Power Control Practice" – students had to use their Soul Power to levitate pebbles, keeping them airborne for a quarter of an hour. Wang Hu and the others were levitating fist-sized pebbles, but Tang San deliberately chose a pebble the size of his thumb, activating only twenty percent of his Soul Power. The pebble hovered about two inches above his hand, swaying precariously, barely staying afloat.

"Tang San, why did you choose such a small pebble? Switch to a bigger one!" The teacher in charge of the training came over and pointed to the pile of pebbles nearby.

"Teacher, I have poor Soul Power control. I can't lift bigger pebbles. It would be troublesome if one fell and hit my foot," Tang San said quickly, weakening his Soul Power further. The pebble swayed even more violently.

[Used "poor control" as an excuse to choose low-difficulty training, avoiding high-intensity exertion, Slacking Value +1, current total 33 points]

The teacher didn't say anything more and turned to instruct others. Tang San held up the small pebble, but his eyes secretly glanced at Xiao Wu beside him. She was levitating a pebble as large as Wang Hu's, her Soul Power control very steady, clearly not exerting herself fully. It seemed Xiao Wu was also hiding her strength, just not as much of a "slacker" as him.

During the noon break, Tang San didn't return to the dormitory. Instead, he found a stone bench under a tree, opened his system panel – 33 Slacking Value points. He was still 17 points short of the next Soul Power upgrade. Leaning against the tree, he closed his eyes to "meditate," but was actually slacking off. Since the system didn't say "pretending to meditate" didn't count as slacking, it was a good opportunity to accumulate points.

[Used "meditation" as a guise for rest, avoiding extra activity exertion, Slacking Value +1, current total 34 points]

The afternoon extra class was "Martial Soul Basic Attack Practice." Teacher Li had students pair up and spar with basic attacks while he guided them. Wang Hu asked Tang San to team up, but Tang San shook his head. "My Soul Power is weak. Sparring with you would hold you back. You should find Li Qing. I'll just practice basic movements by myself."

He walked to a clear spot nearby, summoned his Blue Silver Grass, and swung it slowly. Each swing only went halfway, and he only used ten percent of his Soul Power. It looked like he was just making gestures, with no destructive power at all. Teacher Li walked over, took a look, and didn't say much, likely accustomed to his "weak strength" by now.

[Actively avoided sparring, choosing low-intensity solo training, Slacking Value +1, current total 35 points]

After training ended, Tang San couldn't put it off any longer and went to Yu Xiaogang's office. Inside, Yu Xiaogang had already set up two wooden stakes and a blue crystal ball nearby. "Let's test your Soul Power first and see if there's any progress after this morning's training."

Tang San placed his hand on the crystal ball, still only channeling thirty percent of his Soul Power. The crystal ball emitted a faint blue light, no different from the morning. "Still no progress?" Yu Xiaogang frowned. "Come with me. I'll teach you a simple Soul Power activation method that's more energy-efficient than what you usually practice and can improve your progress."

He led Tang San to the wooden stakes. "Use your Blue Silver Grass to wrap around the stake. Don't use too much Soul Power. Follow my rhythm." Yu Xiaogang demonstrated as he spoke. Although his Soul Power was weak, his control was precise. A thin, invisible thread of Soul Power gently wrapped around the stake, completing three circles.

Tang San followed along but deliberately slowed his movements and only used twenty percent of his Soul Power. The Blue Silver Grass lay limply on the stake, managing to wrap around it once before falling off. "Master, I still can't learn it. My Soul Power control is poor."

[Used "can't learn" as an excuse to reduce learning intensity, avoiding extra training exertion, Slacking Value +1, current total 36 points]

Yu Xiaogang didn't get angry, just patiently demonstrated again. "Don't rush. Take your time. Practice for fifteen minutes every day for a week, and you'll learn it. That's all for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

Tang San breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked him. By the time he left the office, it was almost dark. Xiao Wu was waiting for him at the door. "Did the Master give you a hard time? I thought you'd be kept here until dark."

"No, the Master just taught me a simple movement," Tang San smiled. "Come on, let's go eat dinner. If we're late, there won't be any hot dishes."

As they walked towards the cafeteria, Tang San pondered, Tomorrow, I'll accumulate another 14 Slacking Value points, and I can exchange for a Soul Power upgrade. Although these extra classes are troublesome, as long as I find the right way to 'slack off,' I can still easily accumulate points.

The sky outside gradually darkened, and the lights in the cafeteria flickered on. Tang San looked at the food in front of him and ate slowly. He knew that as long as he maintained this pace, his "peak slacking path" wouldn't be interrupted by the extra classes. Instead, he could use the opportunity of these classes to accumulate even more Slacking Value.