Increased Burden Meets Difficulties, Team Training Steadily Handled

The pre-dawn whistle blew half a quarter-hour earlier than yesterday. As Tang San opened his eyes, he heard Xiao Wu fumbling with her clothes in the next room. He slowly sat up, deliberately dawdling while folding his quilt. Flander had mentioned adding weight to their training yesterday, and the fifteen-jin leg weights were significantly heavier than the ten-jin ones. He needed to conserve his energy for the subsequent challenges. By the time he reached the training grounds, Dai Mubai had already laid out everyone's leg weights, with an additional two-jin iron plate tied to each one, bringing the total to seventeen jin.

"Teacher Zhao said the newcomers need more practice. These iron plates are extra," Dai Mubai said, raising an eyebrow at Tang San with a hint of amusement in his voice. Ma Hongjun had already tied on his leg weights and was grimacing as he stretched his knees. "This is too heavy. Twenty laps will wear us out, won't it?"

Tang San picked up a leg weight, deliberately slowing down as he tied the laces. His finger "accidentally" brushed against the edge of the iron plate, and he pretended to have scraped it. "The edge of this iron plate is too sharp. I need to tie it a bit looser, or it'll chafe my leg." After everyone else had already completed one lap, he ambled along, deliberately lowering his center of gravity. His steps appeared heavier than yesterday, but in reality, he was only using fifty percent of his Soul Power to cope with the weight.

[Using "avoiding chafing" as an excuse to adjust the tightness of the leg weights and delay the start, thereby avoiding excessive high-intensity exertion. Slacking Value +1, current total 49 points.]

Just as they were on their fifth lap, Zhao Wuji rode his horse alongside the group, a whip in his hand. "Tang San, why are you running at the back again? Do you think seventeen jin is too heavy? If you can't handle it, then don't run. Shrek doesn't keep trash!" The whip cracked against the nearby bushes, startling Ma Hongjun into a stumble.

Tang San deliberately panted heavily, lowering his voice. "Teacher Zhao, my leg was chafed raw by the leg weights yesterday. I'm afraid to use too much force, lest the wound splits open." As he spoke, he slowed his pace, falling exactly to the back of the group, maintaining a distance of half a zhang from Zhao Wuji's horse. This way, he wouldn't be whipped, but he could still appear to be struggling.

Zhao Wuji squinted at his pant leg, said nothing further, but quietly sped up his horse. The overall pace of the group quickened, and Ma Hongjun soon began to fall behind. Tang San remained at the back, neither falling behind nor pushing ahead.

[Using "old injury affecting performance" as an excuse to maintain a slow pace and avoid being deliberately pushed to exert more. Slacking Value +1, current total 50 points.]

Finally, after twenty laps, Tang San had just untied his leg weights when he saw Oscar offering him a sausage. "Eat up quickly. The morning training will definitely be harder later." This time, he didn't refuse, but he only took a small bite, saving most of it for "emergencies." If the midday training increased in intensity, he could still replenish his stamina.

The morning training was indeed challenging. Zhao Wuji led everyone deep into the woods and pointed to a clearing covered in thorns. "Today, we practice breaking through obstacles with our Martial Souls. Clear a five-foot-wide path using your Martial Souls. Tang San, you'll be last. I need to watch you train."

The others quickly got to work. Dai Mubai used his White Tiger Claw to hack through the thorns. Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up, giving Dai Mubai a strength boost. Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Flame burned the thorns with a crackling sound, but he accidentally scorched a nearby tree branch and was scolded by Zhao Wuji. When it was Tang San's turn, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass, deliberately lowering the toughness of the grass blades. Each time he wrapped around a thorn, he "just happened" to break it in half, requiring another wrap to clear the remaining piece.

"Tang San, why is your Blue Silver Grass so weak? It can't even break through thorns?" Zhao Wuji walked over, snapping a thorn under his foot.

"Teacher, the thorns have barbs. If the Blue Silver Grass is too tough, it'll get snagged and break. By lowering its toughness, I can clear them slowly. Otherwise, if it breaks, I'll have to summon it again, which takes more time." As Tang San spoke, he deliberately let a Blue Silver Grass blade get caught on a barb and break in two. "See? It broke. I have to start over."

[Using "avoiding Martial Soul breakage" as an excuse to reduce toughness and slow down clearing speed, thereby avoiding excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1, current total 51 points.]

Zhao Wuji said nothing more but stood by, watching him until Tang San took half an hour to clear the five-foot-wide path, more than twice as long as the others. During lunch, Xiao Wu leaned over. "Teacher Zhao is definitely making things difficult for you. You were too slow clearing those thorns just now."

"Being slow is better than having my Martial Soul broken. I'll need it for the team training this afternoon," Tang San said, slowly nibbling on his steamed bun. He deliberately broke the bun into small pieces and chewed slowly, stalling for time to rest. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the energy for the new challenges in the afternoon.

The afternoon team training was indeed more difficult. Zhao Wuji divided the six of them into two groups and tasked them with "escorting a token" across a clearing filled with traps. He specifically stipulated that Tang San's group's token was a heavy iron block, three times heavier than the wooden token of Dai Mubai's group, and the traps were twice as frequent.

"Teacher Zhao, this iron block is too heavy. Our group only has Oscar, who's a support, and we can't carry it!" Xiao Wu couldn't help but protest.

"If you can't carry it, then don't train. Shrek's team needs to be able to handle any difficulty," Zhao Wuji said, crossing his arms and standing aside, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Tang San quickly pulled Xiao Wu back, deliberately frowning as he weighed the iron block. "It's okay. We'll carry it together. Xiao Wu and I will carry the front, and Oscar will support the back. We'll just go slowly." He deliberately lowered his posture for carrying the iron block and took small steps. Every time they approached a trap trigger point, he would "just happen" to pause, pretending to observe the trap. In reality, he was using his Blue Silver Grass to quietly scout ahead, only using thirty percent of his Soul Power to trigger the grass blade's perception, avoiding detection by Zhao Wuji.

[Using "distributing the load" as an excuse to slow down movement speed and use trap observation as a buffer, thereby avoiding trap trigger exertion. Slacking Value +1, current total 52 points.]

By the time they were halfway through, Dai Mubai's group was nearing the finish line, while Tang San's group had only covered a third of the distance. They had also triggered two traps: one when Xiao Wu carelessly stepped on a tripwire, and another when Oscar's hand slipped while supporting the iron block, nearly dropping it into a trap. Zhao Wuji shouted from the side, "Tang San, you're a control system user. Why aren't you scouting ahead?"

"Teacher, the traps trigger too quickly. Scouting with Blue Silver Grass requires slow testing. If I go too fast, it might get cut by the traps." As Tang San spoke, he deliberately slowed down the speed at which his Blue Silver Grass scouted, extending it only half a foot ahead each time. "See? I just avoided a hidden pit. If I had been faster, I would have fallen in."

In the end, Tang San's group arrived at the finish line an hour later than Dai Mubai's group. Zhao Wuji didn't criticize them, but coldly stated, "Tomorrow, the weight will be increased by another three jin. Anyone who can't keep up will pack their bags and leave."

Everyone groaned in despair, but Tang San secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had accumulated 4 Slacking Value points today and had even exchanged them for a Soul Power boost, bringing his Soul Power to level 16. He slowly walked back to the dormitory, watching the sky darken outside. He mused inwardly: he wasn't afraid of the extra three jin tomorrow. He could just use the excuse of "adapting to the new weight buffer." The challenges at Shrek were actually a great opportunity to accumulate Slacking Value.