Environmental Perception's Clever Response, Cooperative Training Steadily Accumulates Value

As dawn broke over the dormitory windowsill, Tang San was woken by Wang Hu's coughing. He opened his eyes to see light snow falling outside, the air in the dorm carrying a chill. Wang Hu and the other two were warming their hands by the stove. Seeing Tang San awake, Li Qing quickly handed him a thick coat. "Tang San, hurry and put this on. It's snowing today, the morning training grounds will definitely be freezing. Teacher Zhang said we're practicing 'Environmental Interference Perception,' and the snowflakes will affect Martial Soul perception. We need to get there early to adapt."

Tang San slowly sat up, took the coat, but didn't put it on immediately. Instead, he rubbed his shoulders. "What's the rush? The roads are slippery in the snow, you'll fall if you go too fast. I'll wash up first. You guys go ahead and grab a spot out of the wind, so you don't get a headache from the breeze." He deliberately dawdled while folding his blanket. Once the other three had bundled up and left, he slowly got dressed, even finding an extra scarf to wrap around his neck. By the time he walked towards the training grounds, the snow had become much heavier.

[Proactively Delayed Morning Training Departure, avoiding risks and premature exhaustion from traveling in the snow. Slacking Value +1, current total 13 points]

At the training grounds, snowflakes rustled against their bodies. Teacher Zhang held a basket full of pebbles, and several swaying wooden targets hung from a nearby stake. "Today we're practicing Environmental Interference Perception. I'll throw pebbles to create interference. You need to perceive the trajectory of the wooden targets under the dual interference of snowflakes and pebbles, avoiding any targets that come close. Each person must avoid eight targets to pass!" As soon as Teacher Zhang finished speaking, the pebbles in his hand flew out along with the snowflakes.

Tang San stood at the back of the line and summoned his Blue Silver Grass. Unlike the others who spread their grass blades to resist interference, he deliberately kept his grass blades close to his body, narrowing his perception range to within two feet. Snowflakes landed on the grass blades, creating a false impression of "perceptual disturbance." Each time a target approached, he "just barely" dodged it at the last moment, occasionally letting a target brush past the edge of his clothes.

"Tang San, why do you always dodge at the last second? Is the interference from the snowflakes that severe?" Teacher Zhang walked over, still intermittently throwing pebbles.

"Teacher, when the snowflakes hit my Blue Silver Grass, the perception signal keeps cutting out. I have to wait until the target is close to determine its trajectory. If I react too quickly, I might misjudge," Tang San pretended to adjust his perception seriously, dodging sideways only when the target was right in front of him. "See, I just dodged this one, and the perception was interrupted by snowflakes again. I have to find the signal again."

[Used "Environmental Interference Perception Signal" as an excuse to reduce dodging efficiency, avoiding excessive consumption. Slacking Value +1, current total 14 points]

Teacher Zhang didn't say much more, only telling him to "practice three more sets." Tang San slowly went through the motions, dodging only two targets in each set. This put him in a state of "greatly affected by the environment but persisting," thus avoiding extra punishment.

After morning training, Xiao Wu handed him a hand-warming pouch. "Tang San, you could clearly perceive the targets' trajectories earlier. Why did you deliberately wait until the last moment to dodge? Your hands are red from the cold."

"Predicting in advance under environmental interference consumes too much Soul Power and makes you cold. It's better to dodge steadily," Tang San took the pouch and warmed his hands. "Let's go to the mess hall for food. They'll definitely have hot congee today. If we go late, it'll be cold."

As the two walked towards the mess hall, they ran into Yu Xiaogang. He was holding a paper-wrapped package, which seemed to contain pastries to warm him up. "Tang San, come to my office after training this afternoon. I'll teach you 'Multi-Target Prediction Under Interfering Environments' to consolidate this morning's training. Environmental interference is very common in actual combat."

Tang San was about to make an excuse when Yu Xiaogang spoke first, "Don't tell me it's cold or you have weak Soul Power. I've prepared ginger tea to warm you up. Drink it during training, and you won't get cold or consume too much Soul Power."

With no other option, Tang San nodded. "Understood, Master."

The extra class in the morning was "Cooperative Perception Training." Students were divided into groups of five. They would collectively perceive a moving wooden target. One person would be responsible for predicting the trajectory, one for issuing signals, and two for dodging and protecting. They would practice for half an hour. Wang Hu and his two companions were naturally in the same group as Tang San. When assigning roles, Wang Hu wanted Tang San to be in charge of prediction, but Tang San shook his head. "I caught a chill during morning training, so my perception isn't very accurate. I'll be responsible for protection. You three handle prediction and signaling; I'll just fill in."

Being responsible for protection meant not having to actively perceive. He only needed to block the wooden target when it got close. During training, Tang San deliberately slowed down his response speed. Each time, he would "just barely" entangle the target with his Blue Silver Grass right before it touched a teammate. This way, he neither let his teammates get hurt nor used excessive force, thus avoiding consuming too much Soul Power.

"Tang San, can you respond faster when protecting? That target almost hit Li Qing just now!" Wang Hu was a bit anxious, still waving his signal flag.

"My hands are frozen and weak from the snow, so I can't move quickly. Besides, responding too quickly might cause me to bump into teammates. It's safer to be steady," Tang San said with a smile, gently pushing the target aside with his Blue Silver Grass. "See, this way, no one gets hit, and I didn't exert much effort. It's much better."

[Reduced response speed by citing "frozen hands from snow + avoiding bumping into teammates," avoiding excessive consumption. Slacking Value +1, current total 15 points]

After the extra class, Tang San walked towards the mess hall. As he reached the entrance, he saw the steam rising from the building. Wang Hu and his companions had already gotten their congee and were waiting for him. "Tang San, you came out pretty early just now. Didn't Master keep you for extra training?"

"Master reduced the interference, so it wasn't as strenuous to train," Tang San stretched. "Let's go eat at the mess hall; I'm starving."

As they walked towards the mess hall, Tang San mentally calculated: He gained 4 Slacking Value today and practiced prediction under interference. Although Master kept an eye on him, he didn't get cold or consume too much Soul Power, so it was a net gain. From now on, as long as he continued to find new excuses like "environmental interference" and "cooperative teamwork," he would definitely accumulate Slacking Value faster.

The lights of the mess hall were on. Tang San looked at the hot dishes in front of him and ate slowly. He knew that as long as he persisted in using new reasons like "adapting to the environment" and "cooperating with teammates" to reduce consumption, no matter how many complex training sessions the academy added or how detailed Master's guidance became, his "peak slacking path" could proceed steadily, and he could grow stronger step by step.