Anticipating Counterattacks, Adapting Cleverly; Simulating Soul Skills, Steadily Banking Points

As morning light filtered through the window lattice, Tang San was flipping through Fundamentals of Plant Martial Souls beside 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, wiping down their protective gear. When Zhao Yu saw him awake, he handed him a warm flatbread. "Tang San, eat up. This morning's training is in 'anticipatory counterattacks.' Teacher Zhang said we have to dodge the dummies' attacks while using our Martial Souls to launch low-intensity counterattacks. We need to get there early and get used to the rhythm."

Tang San closed the book and took the flatbread, but did not eat it right away. Instead, he stretched his wrists. "What's the rush? There's still an incense stick's worth of time before morning training. I'll wash up first. You guys go save a spot close to the dummies so we can see their attack paths clearly." Only after the three of them left with their flatbreads did he slowly start eating. He even spent an extra half incense stick's worth of time adjusting his wrist guards while washing up. By the time he headed to the training ground, quite a few students were already adjusting the dummies' Slide Rails.

Deliberately delayed preparations for morning training, avoiding premature high-intensity training expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 21.

At the training ground, the wooden dummies were still fixed to the Slide Rails, except several colored markers had been added to their bodies. Teacher Zhang held a control lever, and beside him sat a basket full of soft cork balls. "Today, we're practicing anticipatory counterattacks. As the dummies move, their markers will be exposed. You must first dodge the 'attacks,' then use your Martial Souls to strike the markers in return. Hit a marker three times, and you pass!" After saying that, he pushed the lever. The dummies immediately began moving along the Slide Rails, the soft cork "weapons" on their arms swaying lightly.

Tang San stood at the back of the line, watching the students ahead of him dodge quickly and counterattack with precision. He silently calculated, Counterattack training costs Soul Power. I need to find another excuse to reduce the expenditure. When his turn came, he summoned Blue Silver Grass and deliberately lowered the precision of its control. After dodging a dummy's "attack," the grass blades would always "just happen" to brush past the markers. Even when he occasionally landed a hit, he used only thirty percent of his Soul Power, and the cork ball struck the ground with barely any force.

"Tang San, why do you keep missing? The markers are so obvious. Is counterattacking really that difficult?" Teacher Zhang walked over, still slowly moving the dummy with the control lever.

"Teacher, anticipatory counterattacks require dodging first and striking afterward. The rhythm is much harder than simply dodging. I need to get used to connecting the 'dodge-strike' sequence first. If I go too fast, I'll lose sight of one thing while focusing on another, and end up neither dodging nor hitting properly." Tang San pretended to seriously adjust his rhythm. When the dummy moved toward him again, he barely managed to hit a marker. "See? I've just started to get a feel for the connection. I'll need to practice a little longer before I can be accurate."

Lowered counterattack precision under the pretext of "adapting to the dodge-strike connection rhythm," avoiding excessive expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 22.

Teacher Zhang said nothing more and simply told him to "practice three more sets." Tang San practiced at an unhurried pace, hitting only one marker in each set. He maintained exactly the appearance of "still finding the rhythm but not yet proficient," so he was not assigned any extra punishment training.

After morning training, Xiao Wu handed him a bottle of warm water. "Tang San, you obviously could have hit those markers accurately. Why did you deliberately miss? Teacher Zhang could tell you were trying to find the rhythm."

"Counterattacks are about stable connections, not speed. Once you find the right rhythm, you use less Soul Power." Tang San unscrewed the cap and drank slowly. "Come on, let's go eat. There must be meat buns today. If we get there late, they'll all be gone."

The two headed toward the cafeteria and ran into Master Yu Xiaogang on the way. He carried a cloth bundle containing several bamboo slips that recorded Soul Skills. "Tang San, come to my office after afternoon training. I'll teach you 'combining anticipatory counterattacks with Soul Skills.' Use basic Soul Power to simulate Soul Skill movements, and you'll be able to release Soul Skills faster in actual combat."

Tang San had just been 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-motion simulated movements. We'll start with the simple ones, and it won't consume much Soul Power."

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

The morning extra lesson was "simulated Soul Skill combat training"—the students formed pairs, used basic Soul Power to simulate Soul Skill movements, and engaged in low-intensity sparring. The focus was on the rhythm of releasing Soul Skills and evasion, without actually releasing any Soul Skills. Wang Hu wanted to pair up with Tang San, but Tang San shook his head. "I just finished anticipatory counterattack training, and my Soul Power hasn't recovered yet. Simulating Soul Skills consumes a lot, so I'll practice the basic movements first. Pair up with Li Qing instead. He has more Soul Power than I do."

Practicing the basic movements did not require simulating a complete Soul Skill; he only needed to repeat the opening posture. During training, Tang San deliberately slowed the opening posture, making every movement half a beat slower than standard. He used only twenty percent of his Soul Power as well, making it look as though he was carefully familiarizing himself with the details rather than exerting himself.

"Tang San, why are you practicing so slowly? Have you nearly forgotten the opening posture?" Teacher Li, who was overseeing the training, walked over with a Soul Skill movement diagram in hand.

"Teacher, the opening posture for simulated Soul Skills depends on precision. If I go too quickly, I might make the wrong movement and affect the later release of the Soul Skill. I'm practicing slowly to get the details exactly right. That way, I won't make mistakes when releasing Soul Skills in the future." Tang San pretended to study the diagram intently. Only after Teacher Li left did he resume his slow practice. "See? I've only just corrected the angle of my wrist. I'll need to practice a while longer before I'm proficient."

Lowered training speed under the pretext of "getting movement details exactly right," avoiding excessive expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 23.

Teacher Li said nothing more and turned to instruct the others. After the extra lesson ended, Tang San headed to the cafeteria. The moment he reached the entrance, he smelled the fragrance of meat buns. Wang Hu and the other two had already gotten their food and were waiting for him. "Tang San, you were way too meticulous just now. You spent half the lesson practicing a single opening posture."

"Details determine success or failure. It's better to practice accurately than to make mistakes later." Tang San picked up a meat bun and ate it slowly. "Master is guiding me this afternoon, so I need to conserve Soul Power. Hurry up and eat before it gets cold."

The afternoon extra lesson was "reinforcement of multi-target anticipatory counterattacks"—Teacher Zhang placed two moving dummies on the field and had the students deal with both dummies' "attacks" at once while striking the markers. The other students could barely land two hits, but Tang San deliberately focused on only one dummy. Whenever he occasionally "counterattacked" the other, he always missed, hitting only one marker.

"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, still adjusting the dummies' positions with the control lever.

"Teacher, multi-target counterattacks have to be learned one at a time. First I need to master the 'dodge-strike' rhythm for one, then increase the number. Otherwise, I might fail to handle either one properly." Tang San hurriedly explained, his eyes fixed on the dummy before him. "See? I've just gotten used to this dummy's rhythm. Once I add another, I'll definitely be able to handle it."

Teacher Zhang considered it and found his reasoning sound. He could only nod. "Fine. Practice with one for now. We'll increase it to two tomorrow."

Reduced the number of targets handled under the pretext of "gradually adapting to a multi-target rhythm," avoiding excessive expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 24.

After the extra lesson, Tang San went straight to Master Yu Xiaogang's office. Master Yu Xiaogang had already spread out the bamboo slips, which depicted the basic Soul Skill movements of Blue Silver Grass. "Today, we'll practice combining anticipatory counterattacks with Soul Skills. First, perform the opening posture for Blue Silver Grass's 'Binding.' When the dummy approaches, dodge first, then use the opening posture to simulate Binding. Practice until you master that connection."

Tang San followed the instructions and slowly performed the opening posture, deliberately making the connection between movements half a beat slow. Whenever the dummy approached, he dodged first, then leisurely raised his hand to simulate Binding. He even occasionally "accidentally" performed the wrong motion, pretending that he was "just getting familiar with the connection."

"Why are you still getting the movements wrong? Haven't you practiced the opening posture before?" Master Yu Xiaogang frowned and picked up a bamboo slip, pointing at the movement details. "Your wrist needs to bend a little more here. That will let you bind the target faster."

"The connection between counterattacks and Soul Skills is too new. I need to slowly blend the two movements together. If I go too fast, it's easy to forget the details." Tang San hurriedly adjusted his posture. When the dummy approached again, he barely managed to complete the connection. "See? I've only just blended the two movements together. Next time, I'll be more proficient."

Master Yu Xiaogang said nothing more and merely told him to "practice five more sets." Tang San trained at an unhurried pace, successfully connecting the movements only twice per set. He maintained exactly the appearance of "getting familiar with the connection but not yet proficient," so he was not asked to do any additional practice.

When he walked out of the office, the horizon had already turned orange-red with the evening glow. Xiao Wu was waiting at the door. "Tang San, you got out pretty early today. Master didn't keep you for extra practice?"

"Master helped me refine the movement details, so it wasn't that exhausting." Tang San stretched lazily. "Come on, let's eat. I'm starving."

The two walked toward the cafeteria. Along the way, Tang San silently calculated, I banked four points of Slacking Value today and practiced connections in Soul Skill simulation. Even with Master watching me, I didn't use much Soul Power. That's a guaranteed profit. As long as I keep finding new excuses like 'movement connection' and 'refining details,' I'll definitely accumulate Slacking Value faster.

The cafeteria lights were on. Tang San looked at the food before him and ate slowly. He knew that as long as he kept using new reasons like "gradual adaptation" and "refining details" to reduce expenditure, then no matter how many more Soul Skill training sessions the academy added or how much more detailed Master's guidance became, his "path to the pinnacle of slacking" would remain steady, and he would continue growing stronger step by step.