Soul Skill Connection Slow to Mesh, Team Cooperation Steadily Accumulates Value

The first light of dawn had just painted the dormitory floor a pale gold when Tang San was woken by the sounds of Wang Hu tidying his protective gear. He opened his eyes to find the "Basics of Soul Skill Connection" that Master Yu Xiaogang had lent him the night before lying on his pillow, the pages still holding the paragraph he'd marked yesterday: "Blue Silver Grass Entanglement and Predictive Connection." Seeing he was awake, Li Qing handed him a piece of sugar cake wrapped in oiled paper. "Tang San, eat up! Today's morning training is 'Practical Soul Skill Connection,' and Teacher Zhang said we need to combine yesterday's predictive counter-attacks with soul skill opening moves. We should get there early to get used to the connection rhythm."

Tang San closed the book and took the sugar cake but didn't eat it immediately. Instead, he rubbed his wrist. "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 connection details clearly." After the three of them left with their sugar cakes, he slowly nibbled on his, taking extra time to move his fingers while washing up—after all, soul skill connection required fine motor control. "Pretending to warm up" could both delay his departure and make his subsequent "slow pace" seem more reasonable. By the time he walked to the training grounds, many people were already practicing connection moves against the dummies.

[Delayed morning training departure, avoiding early high-intensity connection training consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 25 points]

At the morning training grounds, several wooden stakes with soul skill trajectories drawn on them had been added next to the wooden dummies. Teacher Zhang held a small flag, and beside him were bamboo slips for recording movements. "Today we're practicing practical soul skill connection. You'll first dodge the dummy's attack, then connect with a soul skill opening move, and finally use your Martial Soul to simulate soul skill output. The entire process needs to be seamless. Three consecutive successful actions per person will be considered passing!" After he finished, he waved the small flag, and the dummy immediately moved along a track, its soft cork "weapon" swinging rhythmically.

Tang San stood at the end of the line, watching his classmates quickly complete the "dodge - opening move - simulated output" sequence. He calculated internally—continuous 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 and deliberately slowed his movements: after dodging the dummy's attack, he paused for a second before starting the soul skill opening move. During the simulated output, he only used twenty percent of his Soul Power, his Blue Silver Grass lightly brushing against the wooden stake without even touching the marked line.

"Tang San, why are you so slow with your connections? Didn't we practice the opening moves yesterday?" Teacher Zhang walked over, his small flag still waving gently. "You need to connect immediately after dodging. If you're slow in a real fight, you'll be attacked long before you can react!"

"Teacher, soul skill connection isn't just stacking actions. You need to blend the rhythm of the dodge with the force of the opening move. Moving too fast can lead to excessive force, disrupting the rhythm for the subsequent simulated output." Tang San pretended to carefully adjust his force. When the dummy moved again, he barely managed to complete one connected action, and his simulated output still missed the marked line. "See, I'm just starting to get a feel for controlling my force. I need to practice a bit more to be both connected and precise."

[Used "Force Control and Rhythm Adjustment" as an excuse to reduce connection speed, avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 26 points]

Teacher Zhang didn't say anything more, merely telling him to "practice three more sets." Tang San practiced at a leisurely pace, completing only one connected action per set, and his simulated output never touched the marked line, perfectly fitting the state of "adjusting rhythm but not yet proficient," thus avoiding extra punishment.

After morning training, Xiao Wu handed him a bottle of warm water. "Tang San, you could have connected faster just now, why did you deliberately slow down? Teacher Zhang didn't even comment on your simulated output missing."

"Connection requires matching force and rhythm, not just speed. Slow adjustment conserves Soul Power." Tang San unscrewed the cap and drank slowly. "Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch. I bet they have hot congee with pickled vegetables today. If we go late, the congee will be cold."

As the two walked towards the cafeteria, they ran into Yu Xiaogang, who was carrying a cloth bag containing several small wooden tokens carved with soul skill trajectories. "Tang San, after training this afternoon, come to my office. I'll teach you 'Multi-Soul Skill Connection Priority.' In actual combat, you might have to deal with multiple attacks simultaneously, so you need to know which soul skill to connect first for a more stable outcome."

Just as Tang San was about to make an excuse, Yu Xiaogang spoke first. "Don't tell me you're still adjusting your rhythm. I've prepared a simplified connection process, starting with two soul skills. It won't consume too much Soul Power."

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

The morning's extra class was "Team Soul Skill Cooperation Simulation." Students were divided into groups of four to simulate team cooperation in combat: one person responsible for predicting enemy trajectories, one for connecting control-type soul skills, and two for connecting support or attack-type soul skills. The focus was on practicing the details of "who connects first, who connects later." Wang Hu and his two companions were naturally in the same team as Tang San. When assigning roles, Wang Hu wanted Tang San to handle the control-type soul skills, but Tang San shook his head. "I just finished practicing soul skill connections, and my force control isn't stable yet. I'll be the support connector. I'll help fill in the gaps in your control. You three handle the core prediction and control; it will be more stable to cooperate like that."

Support connection didn't require actively initiating a soul skill; it only involved lightly filling the gap during a teammate's control with their Martial Soul. During training, Tang San deliberately slowed his gap-filling speed, each time "just in time" to brush the dummy with his Blue Silver Grass as his teammate's control was about to end. This neither interrupted his teammate's control rhythm nor used much force, thus avoiding excessive Soul Power consumption.

"Tang San, can you fill in the gaps faster? That dummy was almost out of control just now!" Wang Hu sounded a bit anxious, his simulated soul skill movements not stopping.

"Team cooperation relies on gap connection, not just fast filling. Filling too early can overlap with your teammate's control and waste Soul Power; filling too late lets the dummy escape control. You need to find that 'gap-filling' timing." Tang San said with a smile, his Blue Silver Grass gently pushing the dummy back into his teammate's control range. "See, I just found the right timing for filling the gap. It neither overlaps nor escapes, saving a lot of Soul Power."

[Used "Finding the Gap-Filling Timing" as an excuse to reduce filling speed, avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 27 points]

After the extra class, Tang San walked towards the cafeteria. As soon as he reached the entrance, he smelled the aroma of hot congee. Wang Hu and his two companions had already gotten their congee and were waiting for him. "Tang San, your gap filling just now was so precise, perfectly timed within the gap. We didn't even react."

"Team cooperation relies on finding the timing, not speed." Tang San took the bowl of congee and drank slowly. "Master's guidance is this afternoon; I need to conserve my Soul Power. You guys drink up quickly so it doesn't get cold."

The afternoon's extra class was "Multi-Soul Skill Connection Consolidation." Teacher Zhang placed three dummies on the field, simulating "multiple enemies attacking simultaneously," and had the students practice "which dummy's control soul skill to connect first." Other students could quickly judge the priority, connecting with the closest dummy first. Only Tang San deliberately slowed his judgment speed, each time choosing to connect with a dummy after a "mere" two-second hesitation. Furthermore, when connecting, he only used thirty percent of his Soul Power, his Blue Silver Grass wrapping loosely around the dummy.

"Tang San, why is your judgment so slow? The priority is obvious: connect with the closest one first, then worry about the farther ones!" Teacher Zhang walked over, his small flag still pointing at the dummy's position.

"Teacher, when facing multiple enemies, priority isn't just about distance; it's also about the dummy's 'attack' force. See that farther dummy? Its 'weapon' is swinging harder. If I only look at distance and ignore force, I could be ambushed by the farther dummy. I need to slowly judge the dual priority of 'distance + force.' Rushing could lead to misjudgment." Tang San said quickly, his eyes fixed on the farther dummy. "See, I've just distinguished the force difference between the two dummies; I'll be able to judge more accurately next time."

Teacher Zhang thought for a moment and found his reasoning plausible, so he nodded. "Alright, then you practice 'dual priority judgment of distance + force' first. We'll speed up tomorrow."

[Used "Dual Priority Judgment" as an excuse to reduce judgment speed, avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 28 points]

After the extra class, Tang San walked directly to Yu Xiaogang's office. Inside, Yu Xiaogang had already arranged the small wooden tokens into two rows, respectively carved with the trajectories of "control-type soul skills" and "support-type soul skills." "Today we're practicing multi-soul skill connection priority. I will push two small wooden tokens simultaneously. You need to judge which soul skill to connect first to block the wooden token. Each correct judgment with a standard connection action will be considered passing."

As instructed, Tang San slowly raised his hand, deliberately halving his judgment speed. As the wooden tokens moved, he paused for a second before choosing which soul skill to connect. He also deliberately slowed his connection movements, occasionally "accidentally" choosing the wrong soul skill, feigning the appearance of "just getting familiar with dual priority."

"Why are you still choosing the wrong one? The control-type soul skill can clearly block the wooden token better!" Yu Xiaogang frowned and slowed down the wooden tokens' movement speed slightly. "You need to remember, in actual combat, control-type soul skills usually have higher priority than support-type ones. You need to control the enemy first before talking about support."

"Within dual priority, you also need to differentiate soul skill types, which is more complex than simply looking at distance and force. I need to slowly memorize the type priority." Tang San quickly adjusted his judgment. When the wooden tokens moved again, he barely managed to choose the correct soul skill. "See, I've just remembered the type priority; I'll be able to judge faster next time."

Yu Xiaogang didn't say anything more, merely telling him to "practice five more sets." Tang San practiced at a leisurely pace, choosing the correct soul skill only three times per set, and his connection movements were consistently slow, perfectly fitting the state of "memorizing type priority but not yet proficient," thus avoiding any extra practice requirements.

As he walked out of the office, the sky at the horizon was already dyed a pale red by the sunset. Xiao Wu was waiting for him at the door. "Tang San, you came out quite early today. Did Master not keep you for extra practice?"

"Master slowed down the wooden token speed and helped me sort out the type priority, so it wasn't as strenuous." Tang San stretched. "Let's go to the cafeteria for dinner; I'm starving."

As they walked towards the cafeteria, Tang San mused to himself: Today he'd gained 4 Slacking Value points, and he'd practiced gap-filling timing during team cooperation. Although Master was watching him, he hadn't consumed much Soul Power, so it was a clear win. In the future, as long as he continued to find new excuses like "dual priority" and "gap-filling timing," his Slacking Value would definitely accumulate 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 "type priority memory" and "gap-filling timing" as new reasons to reduce consumption, even if the academy added more team training, and Master refined his soul skill connection guidance, his "peak slacking path" could still proceed steadily, allowing him to grow stronger step by step.