Shrek Academy's First Class Meets Companions, Basic Training Skillfully Accumulates Value

As dawn broke, Shrek Academy's wake-up whistle echoed through the wooden cabin area. Tang San rubbed his eyes and sat up. Footsteps could already be heard outside the window—Xiao Wu's door next door creaked open, followed by her complaint: "This whistle is too early, I haven't slept enough yet!"

Tang San slowly folded his quilt and deliberately took his time washing up. By the time he reached the training grounds, five young men and women were already standing by the side: the fatty in yellow was practicing punches against a wooden stake, the bespectacled young man was taking notes, a girl with a ponytail was stretching, and the remaining two boys were huddled together discussing their Martial Souls.

"Tang San, over here!" Xiao Wu waved, with two empty spots beside her. As Tang San walked over, Flender arrived holding a stopwatch, with Zhao Wuji following behind: "Today's first lesson, weighted running! Twenty laps around the forest, with a ten-pound weight. Anyone who exceeds the time limit doesn't get breakfast!"

The fatty immediately cried out: "Ten pounds? Dean, that's too heavy!"

"If you think it's too heavy, then don't come to Shrek!" Zhao Wuji glared at him and tossed a pile of leg weights over. "Tie them on quickly, timing starts now!"

Tang San took the leg weights and deliberately tied them on slowly. By the time everyone else was half a lap ahead, he ambled along to catch up. He deliberately kept his speed at the very back. Ten pounds of weight was nothing to him, but "leading the pack consumes Soul Power." Staying behind could conserve his energy and allow him to observe the other students' strengths—the fatty in yellow's Martial Soul was likely the Evil Fire Phoenix, with steady footwork; the bespectacled young man's Soul Power fluctuations were very stable, appearing to be a control system Soul Master.

[Chose to run at a slow pace under the guise of "observing teammates' strength," avoiding the consumption of leading, Slacking Value +1, current total 45 points]

After ten laps, the fatty started to pant. Tang San remained behind, even slowing down a bit. Xiao Wu ran over: "Tang San, why are you running so slowly? Is the weight too heavy?"

"Running slowly allows me to last until the end. Running fast makes me tired easily, and if I exceed the time limit, I won't have breakfast," Tang San said with a smile, deliberately adjusting his breathing to make himself look a bit strained.

When they reached the eighteenth lap, the bespectacled young man suddenly stopped: "My name is Oscar, a Food System Soul Master. Here, have this." He handed over a sausage. "It can restore stamina."

Tang San took the sausage but didn't eat it immediately: "Thank you, I can still hold on. You should keep it for yourself." He knew Oscar's sausage was a Soul Skill. Eating it now would restore his stamina, and he might be asked to train more. It was better to "keep it for emergencies."

[Refused the recovery Soul Skill under the guise of "keeping it for emergencies," avoiding subsequent training consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 46 points]

Finally, after twenty laps, Tang San arrived exactly last. Flender glanced at him but said nothing, simply telling everyone to go eat breakfast. Breakfast was simple, just steamed buns and porridge. The fatty wolfed down his food, but Tang San slowly nibbled on his steamed bun, deliberately chewing slowly—"eating slowly reduces the feeling of hunger for subsequent training" and allowed him to rest longer.

The morning class was "Basic Control Training for Martial Souls." Zhao Wuji had everyone use their Martial Souls to precisely move pebbles from one wooden stake to another, without dropping them. Oscar's sausage Martial Soul was at a disadvantage; he could only slowly support the pebble as he moved it. The fatty in yellow's Phoenix Flame was too fierce; as soon as it touched the pebble, it scorched it hot. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, however, deliberately slowed down. Each movement would "just barely" make the pebble wobble, and it almost fell when it reached the wooden stake.

"Tang San, what's going on with your control accuracy? Didn't you practice this at Nuoding Academy?" Zhao Wuji walked over, frowning.

"Teacher, Shrek's training pace is different from Nuoding's. I need to adapt slowly. Rushing leads to mistakes and wastes time." Tang San quickly adjusted and finally moved the pebble to the wooden stake. "See, I've just started to adapt to the rhythm. I need more practice."

[Reduced control speed under the guise of "adapting to the new training rhythm," avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 47 points]

During the lunch break, Xiao Wu pulled Tang San to meet the other students: the fatty in yellow was Ma Hongjun, whose Martial Soul was the Evil Fire Phoenix; the bespectacled one was Oscar, a Food System Soul Master; the girl with the ponytail was Ning Rongrong, with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul; the other two boys were Dai Mubai, an assault system Soul Master, and Zhu Zhuqing, a speed system Soul Master. Dai Mubai sized up Tang San: "I heard you and Xiao Wu were recommended by the Master? How strong are you?"

Tang San quickly waved his hands: "My Soul Power isn't high, just enough to meet the admission standard. I still need to learn a lot from everyone." He deliberately downplayed his strength to avoid being seen as a "competitor" and reduce unnecessary sparring.

[Avoided sparring under the guise of "downplaying his own strength," avoiding combat consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 48 points]

The afternoon class was "Basic Teamwork Training." The six of them were divided into two groups: Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Oscar in one group; Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Ning Rongrong in the other. They played a game of "protecting teammates to retrieve a token." Dai Mubai's group quickly formulated a strategy: Dai Mubai would attack, Ma Hongjun would provide cover, and Ning Rongrong would assist. Tang San's group, however, deliberately slowed down their pace. Oscar was responsible for supporting the token, Xiao Wu was responsible for attracting attention, and Tang San "slowly looked for opportunities" from behind, deliberately waiting until the opponent was about to grab the token before gently entangling Dai Mubai's leg with his Blue Silver Grass to delay him.

"Tang San, why aren't you being more proactive? If you're any slower, they'll take the token!" Xiao Wu said anxiously.

"Teamwork isn't about speed; it's about finding the opponent's weaknesses. Rushing leads to counterattacks," Tang San said with a smile. Just as Dai Mubai was about to break free from the Blue Silver Grass, he gently wrapped it around him again. "See, this is just enough to delay him without consuming much Soul Power."

In the end, Tang San's group lost, but they weren't criticized. After class, Flender announced: "Starting tomorrow, we'll add morning runs, with the weight increased to fifteen pounds. Anyone who can't keep up won't stay at Shrek!"

Everyone groaned, but Tang San was already calculating—fifteen pounds of weight was just right to continue "running at a slow pace" and accumulate more Slacking Value. He walked slowly back to the dormitory and opened his system panel—48 points of Slacking Value, 2 points away from the next Soul Power increase.

Night fell, and the wooden cabin area of Shrek was quiet. Tang San leaned against the door, gazing at the moonlight outside. He thought to himself: Although life at Shrek was tough, as long as he found the right "slacking" methods, he could still steadily accumulate points and become stronger. Tomorrow's morning run would be another chance to earn some Slacking Value.