Clever Responses Through Environmental Perception, Steady Gains Through Cooperative Training

Just as morning light spilled over the dormitory windowsill, Tang San was awakened by Wang Hu's coughing. He opened his eyes to see light snow drifting outside, while the air in the dormitory carried a chill. Wang Hu and the other two were gathered around the stove, warming their hands. Seeing Tang San awake, Li Qing quickly handed him a thick coat. "Tang San, put this on. It's snowing today, so the morning training ground will definitely be freezing. Teacher Zhang said we'll be practicing 'Environmental Interference Perception.' The snow particles will affect martial soul perception, so we need to get there early and adapt."

Tang San slowly sat up and accepted the coat, but did not put it on right away. Instead, he rubbed his shoulders. "What's the rush? The roads are slippery in snowy weather. If we walk too fast, we might fall. I'll wash up first. You guys go claim a spot out of the wind so you don't get headaches from the cold." He deliberately dawdled while folding his blanket. Only after the three of them wrapped themselves up and left did he slowly get dressed, even finding an extra scarf to wrap around his neck. By the time he headed for the morning training ground, the snow had already begun falling more heavily.

Proactively delay morning training departure, avoiding the risks of hurrying through snowy weather and excessive early exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 13 points.

At the morning training ground, snow particles struck their bodies with soft rustling sounds. Teacher Zhang held a basket full of pebbles, while several swaying wooden signs hung from the nearby posts. "Today, we'll practice Environmental Interference Perception. I'll throw pebbles to create interference. Under the dual interference of snow particles and pebbles, you must sense the trajectories of the moving wooden signs and avoid the ones that approach you. Avoid eight signs each to pass!" As soon as Teacher Zhang finished speaking, the pebbles in his hand flew out amid the snow.

Tang San stood at the back of the group and summoned Blue Silver Grass. Unlike the others, who spread out their grass blades to resist the interference, he deliberately kept the blades close to his body, shrinking his perception range to within two feet. When snow particles landed on the grass blades, they happened to create the illusion of "perception interference." Whenever a wooden sign approached, he would "just barely" dodge it at the last moment. Sometimes, he even let the sign brush past the hem of his clothes.

"Tang San, why do you always dodge at the last moment? Is the interference from the snow particles really that severe?" Teacher Zhang walked over, still tossing pebbles intermittently.

"Teacher, the snow particles keep hitting the Blue Silver Grass and interrupting the perception signals. I have to wait until the wooden signs get closer before I can determine their trajectories. If I move too soon, I might misjudge the direction." Tang San put on an expression of serious concentration as he adjusted his perception. Only when a wooden sign swung before him did he sidestep. "Look, I just avoided that one, and the snow particles interrupted my perception again. I have to find the signal all over again."

Using "environmental interference disrupting perception signals" as an excuse to reduce dodging efficiency and avoid excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 14 points.

Teacher Zhang said nothing more and merely told him to "practice three more sets." Tang San trained at an unhurried pace, avoiding only two wooden signs in each set. He maintained just the right appearance of "being heavily affected by the environment but still persisting," so he was not assigned any extra punishment training.

After morning training ended, Xiao Wu handed him a cloth hand-warmer. "Tang San, you clearly could have sensed the wooden signs' trajectories earlier. Why did you deliberately wait until the last moment to dodge? Your hands are red from the cold."

"Making predictions in advance under environmental interference uses too much Soul Power, and it's easy to get cold too. It's better to dodge steadily." Tang San took the cloth bundle and warmed his hands with it. "Come on, let's go eat at the cafeteria. There'll definitely be hot porridge today, and if we're late, it'll get cold."

As the two headed toward the cafeteria, they ran into Master Yu Xiaogang. He held an oil-paper packet that seemed to contain warming pastries. "Tang San, come to my office after training this afternoon. I'll teach you Multi-Target Prediction Under Interfering Environments and reinforce this morning's training. Environmental interference is very common in actual combat."

Tang San was just about to make an excuse when Master Yu Xiaogang spoke first. "Don't tell me you're cold or low on Soul Power. I've prepared warming ginger tea. Drink it while you practice. You won't get cold, and it won't use up too much Soul Power."

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

The morning's extra lesson was Cooperative Perception Training. The students formed groups of five individuals and jointly sensed a moving wooden target. One person was responsible for predicting its trajectory, one for sending signals, and two for dodging and protecting. They would train for half an hour. Wang Hu and the other two naturally formed a group with Tang San. When tasks were assigned, Wang Hu wanted Tang San to handle prediction, but Tang San shook his head. "I caught a chill during morning training, so my perception isn't very accurate. I'll handle protection. The three of you can predict and send signals, while I'll fill in where needed."

Protection did not require active perception. He only needed to help block the wooden target when it drew close. During training, Tang San deliberately slowed his movements when filling in. Each time, he would "just barely" use Blue Silver Grass to bind the wooden target right before it hit a teammate. He neither let anyone get hurt nor pulled hard, avoiding excessive Soul Power consumption.

"Tang San, can't you move faster when filling in? That wooden target was about to hit Li Qing!" Wang Hu was a little anxious, still waving the signal flag in his hand.

"My hands are frozen in this snowy weather, so I can't move that quickly. Besides, rushing in too fast might make me collide with a teammate. It's safer to be steady." Tang San smiled as the Blue Silver Grass in his hand gently pushed the wooden target aside. "Look, nobody got hit, and it didn't take much effort. Isn't that great?"

Using "frozen hands in snowy weather + avoiding collisions with teammates" as an excuse to slow support movements and avoid excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 15 points.

After the extra lesson ended, Tang San headed for the cafeteria. The moment he reached the entrance, he saw steam drifting out from inside. Wang Hu and the other two had already gotten their porridge and were waiting for him. "Tang San, you were way too steady when you filled in earlier. If it had been someone else, they definitely would've panicked."

"Cooperation is about coordination, not speed." Tang San accepted the hot porridge and drank it slowly. "Master will be guiding me this afternoon, so I need to warm myself up. Hurry and drink yours before it gets cold."

The afternoon's extra lesson was Complex Environment Perception Consolidation. Teacher Zhang scattered wood shavings around the field and had the students stand directly in the wind, simulating a "multi-interference environment" as they sensed the trajectory of distant wooden targets. The other students could barely sense wooden targets thirty feet away, but Tang San deliberately shrank his perception range to within ten feet. Every so often, he would "fail to sense" a wooden target and need to readjust.

"Tang San, why can't you even sense a wooden target ten feet away clearly? Are the wood shavings and wind noise really that disruptive?" Teacher Zhang walked over, still fanning with the fan in his hand and deliberately intensifying the wind interference.

"Teacher, the wood shavings stick to the Blue Silver Grass, and the wind noise is chaotic. The perception signals keep drifting. I can only stabilize the signals by reducing the range. If the range gets too large, I can't find the wooden target at all." Tang San hurriedly explained, staring at the wooden target before him. "Look, I just caught this target's signal, but the wind got louder and I lost it again. I have to find it all over again."

After thinking it over, Teacher Zhang felt that his explanation made sense and could only nod. "Fine. Practice within ten feet first. Expand the range after you've adapted."

Using "stacked interference causing signal loss" as an excuse to shrink perception range and avoid excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 16 points.

After the extra lesson ended, Tang San headed straight for Master Yu Xiaogang's office. Master Yu Xiaogang had already prepared ginger tea. Several grooved wooden pieces sat on the table, with scraps of paper scattered beside them to simulate interference. "Today, we'll practice Multi-Target Prediction Under Interfering Environments. Watch these two wooden pieces. Paper scraps will drift onto them, and under the interference, you must tell me the direction in which the wooden pieces will sway next."

Following the instructions, Tang San summoned Blue Silver Grass and deliberately let the grass blades sway lightly. Whenever paper scraps landed on the blades, he would "just happen" to pause, as though readjusting his perception. Every time, he waited until the wooden pieces had swayed twice before answering. Occasionally, he even gave the wrong direction, pretending that "signal interference caused a misjudgment."

"How can you still get it wrong? The paper scraps aren't causing that much interference, are they?" Master Yu Xiaogang frowned and brushed some of the paper scraps aside.

"The paper scraps stick inside the grooves of the wooden pieces, changing their center of gravity as they sway. I have to wait for two rotations to determine the new trajectory. If I answer too quickly, it's easy to be wrong." Tang San quickly explained, only answering after the wooden pieces swayed for a third rotation. "Look, now that I've figured out the new center of gravity, I'll get it right next time."

Master Yu Xiaogang said nothing more and simply told him to "practice five more sets." Tang San trained at an unhurried pace, getting only one answer right in each set. He maintained just the right state of "being interfered with but still adjusting," so he was not asked to do any additional training.

When he left the office, the snow had already stopped, and a faint orange glow spread across the horizon. Xiao Wu was waiting for him at the door. "Tang San, you got out pretty early today. Master didn't keep you for extra practice?"

"Master reduced the interference, so it wasn't as tiring to practice." Tang San stretched lazily. "Come on, let's go eat at the cafeteria. I'm starving."

As the two headed toward the cafeteria, Tang San calculated inwardly. I gained 4 points of Slacking Value today and practiced prediction under interfering environments. Even though Master was watching me, I didn't freeze or use too much Soul Power. That's a guaranteed profit. As long as I keep finding new excuses like "environmental interference" and "cooperative coordination," I'll definitely accumulate Slacking Value even faster.

The cafeteria lights glowed brightly. Tang San looked at the hot dishes before him and ate slowly. He knew that as long as he continued using new reasons like "adapting to the environment" and "cooperating with teammates" to reduce his exertion, then no matter how many complicated training sessions the academy added or how detailed Master's guidance became, he could steadily continue down his "path to the pinnacle of slacking" and grow stronger step by step.