Shrek's First Lesson: Meeting Companions and Cleverly Stockpiling Points Through Basic Training

At dawn, Shrek Academy's wake-up whistle echoed through the wooden cabin district. Tang San sat up, rubbing his eyes. Footsteps already sounded outside the window—the door to Xiao Wu's room next door creaked open, followed by her complaint. "Isn't that whistle way too early? I haven't slept enough yet!"

Tang San slowly folded his blanket and deliberately took his time washing up. By the time he reached the training ground, five young men and women were already standing at its edge: a chubby boy in yellow was practicing punches against a wooden post, a bespectacled boy was taking notes, a girl with a ponytail was stretching, and the remaining two were huddled together discussing their martial souls.

"Tang San, over here!" Xiao Wu waved, with two spots still open beside her. Tang San had just walked over when Flender arrived carrying a stopwatch, with Zhao Wuji behind him. "First lesson today: weighted running! Twenty laps around the forest with ten pounds of weight. Anyone who goes over time gets no breakfast!"

The chubby boy immediately cried out, "Ten pounds? Dean, that's way too heavy!"

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

Tang San took the leg weights and deliberately tied them on slowly. Only after everyone else had run half a lap did he leisurely follow. He intentionally kept himself in last place. Ten pounds meant nothing to him, but taking the lead consumed Soul Power. Staying behind would save stamina while letting him observe the other students' strengths—the chubby boy in yellow probably possessed the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul, and his steps were steady; the bespectacled boy's Soul Power Fluctuation was stable, so he appeared to be from the control type.

Chose to follow at a slow pace under the pretext of "observing companions' strength," avoiding the expenditure of leading the run. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 45 points.

After ten laps, the chubby boy began panting. Tang San still trailed behind and even slowed down a little more. Xiao Wu ran over. "Tang San, why are you running so slowly? Is the weight too heavy?"

"Running slowly lets you last until the end. Going too fast makes you tired easily, and if we go over time, there'll be no breakfast." Tang San smiled as he deliberately adjusted his breathing to make himself look slightly strained.

By the eighteenth lap, the bespectacled boy suddenly stopped. "My name is Oscar, a Food System Soul Master. Here, take this." He handed over a sausage. "It can restore your stamina."

Tang San accepted the sausage but did not eat it immediately. "Thanks, but I can still keep going. Save it for yourself." He knew Oscar's sausages were a soul skill. Eating one now would restore his stamina, but he might be assigned extra training as a result. Better to save it for emergencies.

Refused a restorative soul skill under the pretext of "saving it for emergencies," avoiding the expenditure of subsequent extra training. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 46 points.

At last, after finishing all twenty laps, Tang San arrived exactly last. Flender glanced at him but said nothing, merely sending everyone to breakfast. Breakfast was simple, consisting only of steamed buns and porridge. The chubby boy wolfed his down, while Tang San slowly nibbled his bun and deliberately chewed at a leisurely pace—eating slowly can reduce hunger during later training—and it also gave him more time to rest.

The morning lesson was "Basic Martial Soul Control Training." Zhao Wuji had everyone use their martial souls to move pebbles precisely from one wooden post to another without dropping them. Oscar's sausage martial soul put him at the greatest disadvantage, so he could only slowly support a pebble as it moved; the yellow-clad chubby boy's Phoenix Flame was too fierce, heating the pebble the moment it touched it; meanwhile, Tang San deliberately slowed down his Blue Silver Grass, making the pebble sway "just so" with every movement and nearly drop when it reached the post.

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

"Teacher, Shrek's training rhythm is different from Nuoding's. I need to adapt slowly. If I go too fast, I'll make mistakes easily and waste even more time." Tang San hurriedly adjusted and finally moved the pebble onto the post. "See? I've only just started getting used to the rhythm. I still need to practice for a while."

Reduced control speed under the pretext of "adapting to a new training rhythm," avoiding excessive expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 47 points.

During the noon break, Xiao Wu pulled Tang San over to meet the other students. The chubby boy in yellow was Ma Hongjun, whose martial soul was the Evil Fire Phoenix; the bespectacled one was Oscar, a Food System Soul Master; the ponytailed girl was Ning Rongrong, whose martial soul was the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda; of the other two, one was Dai Mubai of the assault type, and the other was Zhu Zhuqing of the Agility Attack Type. Dai Mubai looked Tang San over. "I heard you and Xiao Wu were recommended by Grandmaster. How strong are you?"

Tang San quickly waved his hands. "My Soul Power isn't high. I only barely met the enrollment standard, and I still have much to learn from everyone." He deliberately downplayed his strength to avoid being treated as a "competitor" and reduce unnecessary sparring.

Avoided sparring under the pretext of "downplaying his own strength," avoiding combat expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 48 points.

The afternoon lesson was "Basic Teamwork Training." The six split into two groups: Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Oscar formed one group, while Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Ning Rongrong formed the other. They played a game called "Protect Your Teammates While Retrieving the Token." Dai Mubai's group quickly formed a strategy: Dai Mubai would attack, Ma Hongjun would provide cover, and Ning Rongrong would support. Tang San's group deliberately slowed their pace. Oscar was responsible for holding up the token, Xiao Wu for drawing attention, while Tang San "slowly looked for an opportunity" from the rear. He deliberately waited until the other side was close to obtaining the token before lightly wrapping Dai Mubai's leg with Blue Silver Grass to stall for time.

"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 being fast. We need to find their weaknesses. If we rush, it'll be easy for them to counterattack." Tang San smiled. Only when Dai Mubai was about to break free of the Blue Silver Grass did he lightly bind him again. "See? This stalls them at just the right time, and it doesn't consume much Soul Power."

In the end, although Tang San's group lost, they were not criticized. After class, Flender announced, "Starting tomorrow, there'll be extra morning running. The weight increases to fifteen pounds. Anyone who can't keep up doesn't belong at Shrek!"

Everyone groaned, but Tang San was calculating inwardly—fifteen pounds was perfect for continuing his slow-paced follow-running, and he could stockpile more Slacking Value as well. He slowly returned to the dormitory and opened the system panel—48 points of Slacking Value, still 2 points short of the next Soul Power Increase.

Night fell, and Shrek's wooden cabin district became quiet. Tang San leaned against his door, gazing at the moonlight outside the window as he secretly thought, Life at Shrek may be exhausting, but as long as I find the right way to slack off, I can still steadily stockpile points and grow stronger. Tomorrow's morning run would earn him more Slacking Value again.