Preemptive Counterattack Skillfully Adapted, Soul Skill Simulation Steadily Accumulates Value

As the morning light filtered through the window lattice, Tang San was flipping through "Fundamentals of Plant Martial Souls" by his pillow. The annotations on "Fine Control of Blue Silver Grass" still carried the scent of ink. Wang Hu and the other two were gathered around the table, polishing their protective gear. Seeing him awake, Zhao Yu handed him a warm wheat cake. "Tang San, hurry up and eat. Today's morning training is 'predictive counterattack.' Teacher Zhang said we need to dodge the dummy's attacks while using our Martial Souls for low-intensity counterattacks. We need to get used to the counterattack rhythm early."

Tang San closed the book and took the wheat cake but didn't eat it immediately. Instead, he stretched his wrists. "What's the rush? There's still about an incense stick's worth of time before morning training. I'll wash up first. You guys go ahead and grab a spot close to the dummies so you can see the attack trajectories clearly." After the three left with their wheat cakes, he slowly nibbled on his. While washing up, he deliberately took half an incense stick's time to adjust his wrist guards. By the time he walked to the morning training ground, many people were already adjusting the dummy's sliding tracks.

[Delayed morning training preparation, avoiding early high-intensity training consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 21 points]

On the training ground, the wooden dummies were still fixed on the tracks, but they now had several colored markers on them. Teacher Zhang held a control stick, with a basket full of cork balls beside him. "Today we're practicing predictive counterattacks. When the dummy moves, it will expose marker points. You need to dodge the 'attack' first, then aim at the marker points with your Martial Soul to counterattack. Hitting three marker points each counts as passing!" After speaking, he pushed the control stick, and the dummy immediately moved along the track, its cork "weapon" still swinging gently.

Tang San stood at the end of the line, watching his classmates quickly dodge and then counterattack precisely. He was calculating—counterattack training consumed Soul Power, so he needed to find a new excuse to reduce consumption. When it was his turn, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass, deliberately reducing the control precision of the grass blades. After dodging the dummy's "attack," when his Blue Silver Grass swung towards the marker point, it always "just" grazed past it. Occasionally, when he did hit it, he only used thirty percent of his Soul Power, and the cork ball landed on the ground with little force.

"Tang San, why do you always miss? The marker points are so obvious, is counterattacking that difficult?" Teacher Zhang walked over, his control stick still slowly moving the dummy.

"Teacher, predictive counterattack requires dodging first, then attacking. The rhythm is much harder than simply dodging. I need to get used to the 'dodge-attack' connection first. If I rush, I'll lose focus and fail to both dodge and hit." Tang San pretended to adjust his rhythm seriously. When the dummy moved towards him again, he barely managed to hit a marker point. "See, I've just found a bit of a connection. I need to practice more to be accurate."

[Reduced counterattack accuracy under the guise of "adapting to the dodge-attack rhythm," avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 22 points]

Teacher Zhang didn't say anything more, just told him to "practice three more sets." Tang San practiced slowly, hitting only one marker point per set, just enough to be in the state of "finding the rhythm but not yet proficient," without being given extra practice.

After morning training, Xiao Wu handed him a bottle of warm water. "Tang San, you could have hit it accurately just now, why did you deliberately miss? Teacher Zhang could tell you were finding the rhythm."

"Counterattacks require a stable connection, not speed. Finding the right rhythm allows for less Soul Power consumption." Tang San unscrewed the cap and drank slowly. "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat. There will definitely be meat buns today. If we go late, they'll be gone."

As the two walked towards the cafeteria, they ran into Master Yu Xiaogang, who was holding a cloth bag containing several bamboo slips recording Soul Skills. "Tang San, after training this afternoon, come to my office. I'll teach you 'combining predictive counterattacks with Soul Skills.' By simulating Soul Skill movements with basic Soul Power, you can release Soul Skills faster in actual combat."

Tang San was about to make an excuse when Master Yu Xiaogang spoke first. "Don't tell me you're still finding the rhythm. I've prepared slow-speed simulated movements. We'll start with the simple ones, and it won't consume too much Soul Power."

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

The morning's extra class was "Simulated Soul Skill Combat Training." Students paired up, using basic Soul Power to simulate Soul Skill movements in low-intensity combat. The focus was on the rhythm of Soul Skill release and dodging, without actually releasing Soul Skills. Wang Hu wanted to team up with Tang San, but Tang San shook his head. "I just finished practicing predictive counterattacks, and my Soul Power hasn't recovered yet. Simulated Soul Skills consume a lot. I'll practice basic movements first. You find Li Qing to team up with; he has more Soul Power than me."

Practicing basic movements didn't require simulating complete Soul Skills; it only required repeating the starting gestures of Soul Skills. During training, Tang San deliberately slowed down the speed of his starting gestures, making each movement half a beat slower than the standard speed, and only releasing twenty percent of his Soul Power. He appeared to be slowly familiarizing himself with the details of the movements, not exerting himself.

"Tang San, why are you practicing so slowly? You're almost forgetting the starting gestures?" Teacher Li, who was in charge of the training, walked over, holding a Soul Skill movement diagram.

"Teacher, the starting gestures for simulated Soul Skills emphasize details. Rushing can lead to incorrect movements, which will affect subsequent Soul Skill releases. I'm practicing slowly to perfect the details, so I won't make mistakes when releasing Soul Skills in the future." Tang San pretended to study the diagram seriously. After Teacher Li left, he continued his slow-paced practice. "See, I've just adjusted the wrist angle correctly. I need to practice more to become proficient."

[Reduced training speed under the guise of "perfecting movement details," avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 23 points]

Teacher Li didn't say anything more and turned to guide others. After the extra class ended, Tang San walked towards the cafeteria. As soon as he reached the entrance, he smelled the aroma of meat buns. Wang Hu and the other two had already gotten their food and were waiting for him. "Tang San, you were practicing so meticulously just now, spending half the class on one starting gesture."

"Details determine success or failure. It's better to practice accurately now than to make mistakes later." Tang San picked up a meat bun and ate it slowly. "I have Master's guidance this afternoon, so I need to conserve my Soul Power. Hurry up and eat, don't let it get cold."

The extra class in the afternoon was "Consolidating Multi-Target Predictive Counterattacks." Teacher Zhang placed two moving dummies on the field, asking students to simultaneously deal with the "attacks" of both dummies and hit the marker points. Other students could barely hit twice, but Tang San deliberately focused on only one dummy. When he occasionally "counterattacked" the other dummy, he always missed, hitting the marker point only once.

"Tang San, why are you only dealing with one dummy? Both dummies are moving slowly, can't you handle one more?" Teacher Zhang walked over, his control stick still adjusting the dummy's position.

"Teacher, multi-target counterattacks must be done one by one. I need to master the 'dodge-attack' rhythm for one before increasing the number, otherwise, I'll be unable to handle both well." Tang San quickly said, his eyes fixed on the dummy in front of him. "See, I've just mastered the rhythm for this dummy. If I add another one, I'll definitely be able to handle it."

Teacher Zhang thought about it and felt what he said made sense, so he nodded. "Alright, then you practice with one for now, and we'll increase it to two tomorrow."

[Reduced the number of targets under the guise of "gradually adapting to multi-target rhythm," avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 24 points]

After the extra class ended, Tang San walked directly to Master Yu Xiaogang's office. In the office, Master Yu Xiaogang had already spread out the bamboo slips, which depicted the basic Soul Skill movements of Blue Silver Grass. "Today we're practicing the combination of predictive counterattacks and Soul Skills. First, do the starting gesture for Blue Silver Grass's 'Entangle.' When the dummy approaches, dodge first, then use the starting gesture to simulate Entangle. Practice this connection until you're proficient."

Tang San followed the instructions, slowly performing the starting gesture, deliberately making the connection between movements half a beat slow. When the dummy approached, he dodged first, then slowly raised his hand to simulate Entangle. Occasionally, he would "accidentally" make a mistake, pretending to be "just getting familiar with the connection."

"Why are you still making mistakes? Haven't you practiced the starting gestures before?" Master Yu Xiaogang frowned, picked up the bamboo slip, and pointed to the movement details. "Your wrist needs to bend a bit more here to entangle the target faster."

"The connection between counterattacks and Soul Skills is too new. I need to slowly integrate the two movements. Rushing can lead to forgetting details." Tang San quickly adjusted his movements. When the dummy approached again, he barely managed to make the connection. "See, I've just integrated the two movements. I'll be more proficient next time."

Master Yu Xiaogang didn't say anything more, just told him to "practice five more sets." Tang San practiced slowly, making only two successful connections per set, just enough to be in the state of "familiarizing with the connection but not yet proficient," without being asked to practice more.

As he walked out of the office, the sky in the distance was already tinged with orange-red sunset clouds. Xiao Wu was waiting for him at the door. "Tang San, you came out quite early today. Did the Master not keep you for extra practice?"

"The Master helped me refine the movement details, so it wasn't as strenuous." Tang San stretched. "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat, I'm starving."

As they walked towards the cafeteria, Tang San was thinking: I gained 4 Slacking Value points today, and I practiced connections in Soul Skill simulation. Although the Master was watching me, it didn't consume too much Soul Power, so it's a clear profit. As long as I continue to find new excuses like "movement connection" and "perfecting details," I'll definitely accumulate Slacking Value faster.

The lights of the cafeteria were on. Tang San looked at the food in front of him and ate slowly. He knew that as long as he persisted in using excuses like "gradual adaptation" and "perfecting details" to reduce consumption, even with all the extra Soul Skill training at the academy and the Master's detailed guidance, his "peak slacking path" would proceed steadily, and he would grow stronger step by step.