Targeted in the Stormy Mud, Skillful Response During Night Training

The sky hadn't even brightened, but the torrential rain outside was already drumming a frantic rhythm on the wooden roof. Tang San had just reached for the leg wraps by his pillow when he heard Zhao Wuji's roar from the training grounds: "Everyone out! You think you don't have to train just because it's raining? Twenty laps this morning, and we're moving the training to the muddy grounds in the back mountain!"

Xiao Wu, wrapped in her jacket, ran over and knocked on his door. "Tang San, it's raining so hard, there's no way we can run in the mud!" Tang San slowly opened the door, still holding a cloth to wipe dust off his leg wraps. "What's the rush? Tie your leg wraps tight first. Your shoes are likely to come off in the mud, so you need to wrap them a couple of extra times." He deliberately slowed down as he tied his wraps, adding half an inch to each layer compared to usual. By the time Xiao Wu had already run out the door, he leisurely picked up his shoes and ambled towards the back mountain—the heavy rain made visibility poor, which was perfect for him to use "can't see the road clearly" as an excuse to slow his pace.

[Used "securing leg wraps to prevent shoes from falling off" as a reason to delay departure, avoiding early high-intensity exertion in the downpour. Slacking Value +1, current total: 53 points.]

Deep footprints had already been made in the muddy ground of the back mountain. Dai Mubai and the others were running, their feet sinking deep into the mud, their pant legs completely covered in dirt. Zhao Wuji rode his horse back and forth alongside them, his whip occasionally cracking against the ground. "Tang San! Last one here again? Trying to slack off?"

Tang San deliberately walked through puddles. As soon as his shoes stepped into the mud, they sank half an inch. "Teacher Zhao, the rain is too heavy, and I can't see the road clearly. I was afraid of falling into a pit, so I had to walk slowly." As he spoke, he joined the group, deliberately shifting his weight to his back leg, taking half a beat longer with each step than the others. He didn't even bother to wipe the mud splashing onto his pants—pretending to be "affected by the environment," when in reality, he was only channeling fifty percent of his Soul Power to deal with the resistance.

Just as they were on their fifth lap, Zhao Wuji suddenly sped up his horse, his whip pointing towards a dirt slope ahead. "Everyone charge up there! Whoever gets there last doesn't get lunch!" Dai Mubai immediately exerted himself, the phantom image of his White Tiger Martial Soul faintly appearing. Ma Hongjun also activated his Soul Power, a faint flame rising behind him. Tang San, however, deliberately slowed his pace. The mud on the slope was even more slippery. He "accidentally" fell, bracing himself with his hands in the mud, looking utterly disheveled.

"Tang San! Are you doing this on purpose? You can't even climb a dirt slope?" Zhao Wuji reined in his horse, his voice laced with anger.

"Teacher, the slope is too slippery. My hands were in the mud just now, and I lost my strength. I need a moment to recover." Tang San slowly got up, deliberately rubbing his wrist. After everyone else had charged to the top of the slope, he slowly shuffled upwards, slipping with every step. "See, I can't even stand steadily on this slope. Going faster will just make me fall."

[Used "slippery mud + hand weakness" as a reason to slow down climbing the slope, avoiding forced acceleration and exertion. Slacking Value +1, current total: 54 points.]

The morning run ended, and everyone looked like mud figures. Oscar handed out sausages, his fingers trembling. "The morning training will definitely be harder. Teacher Zhao's eyes were already giving you a weird look." Tang San took the sausage, took only a small bite, and put it away—saving it for the high-intensity exertion at noon. Eating too much now would just make him drowsy.

As expected, the morning training was "Martial Soul Heavy Obstacle Clearing." Zhao Wuji led them to an open area covered in rubble and threw over a pile of twenty-pound iron balls. "Each of you carry an iron ball and use your Martial Soul to clear the rubble. Tang San, you clear the area in the very back. The stones there are twice as big as everyone else's!"

Dai Mubai picked up an iron ball and shattered the rubble with a few strikes of his White Tiger Claw. Ning Rongrong amplified Ma Hongjun, and his Phoenix Flame crackled as it burned the rubble. Tang San hoisted the iron ball and deliberately reduced the wrapping force of his Blue Silver Grass. Each time he wrapped around a piece of rubble, it would "just happen" to only grab half of it, causing the stone to fall to the ground, requiring him to re-wrap it—the rubble was too big; wrapping too tightly would break his Blue Silver Grass, and wrapping too loosely would cause it to fall. This just allowed him to slow down.

"Tang San! You're clearing slower than a snail! If you can't carry the iron ball, just say so!" Zhao Wuji walked over and kicked away a large piece of rubble at his feet.

"Teacher, the stones are too big. If the Blue Silver Grass wraps too tightly, the sharp edges will break it. If it wraps too loosely, it'll fall. I can only slowly find the balance." Tang San said, deliberately letting a piece of rubble fall to the ground. "See, it fell again. I have to start over. Going faster would just waste more time."

[Used "sharp edges of stones preventing Martial Soul damage" as a reason to reduce wrapping force and slow down clearing speed, avoiding excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1, current total: 55 points.]

Zhao Wuji didn't say anything further but stood nearby, watching him. By the time everyone else finished at noon, Tang San had only cleared half the area. During lunch, Xiao Wu secretly gave him half of her steamed bun. "Teacher Zhao is going too far, deliberately giving you the big stones."

"It's fine. The team training this afternoon is more important. I need to conserve my energy first." Tang San slowly nibbled on the bun, deliberately taking half an hour to eat—stalling for time to rest. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the energy for the afternoon.

The afternoon team training was indeed "Resource Skewing and Making Things Difficult." Zhao Wuji divided the six of them into two groups. Tang San's group received only one tarp and three torches, while Dai Mubai's group got two tarps and five torches. They were tasked with building a temporary shelter in the downpour, with the first group to finish winning.

"Teacher Zhao, this isn't fair! Our group has too few supplies!" Xiao Wu couldn't help but exclaim.

"Fair? Where is there fairness in actual combat? If you don't have enough resources, figure it out yourself!" Zhao Wuji stood with his arms crossed, his tone icy.

Tang San quickly pulled Xiao Wu back, deliberately frowning as he looked at the tarp. "It's okay. We can cut the tarp apart and share it. We'll use the torches sparingly." He deliberately slowed down the process of cutting the cloth, the scissors "accidentally" cutting crookedly, requiring him to re-cut it. When setting up the frame, he deliberately inserted the wooden poles a bit shallowly. The frame swayed slightly before he secured it—the ground was wet in the downpour; inserting the poles too deep would be exhausting, while inserting them too shallow would make them unstable. This was just enough to delay the time.

Dai Mubai's group quickly finished their shelter. Tang San's group had only completed half, and a corner of their tarp was being blown up by the wind. Zhao Wuji shouted from the side, "Tang San! You're the leader, and you can't even build a shelter properly?"

"Teacher, the rain is too heavy. The tarp is swaying in the wind. Inserting the wooden poles deeper is exhausting, and inserting them shallower makes them unstable. I can only adjust slowly." Tang San said, deliberately re-inserting the wooden poles. "See, as soon as I secure it, the wind blows and it sways again. Going faster won't work."

[Used "preventing wind from affecting tarp and avoiding difficulty of deep pole insertion" as a reason to adjust the building pace and slow down, avoiding excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1, current total: 56 points.]

As the evening training concluded, Zhao Wuji announced again, "Extra training tonight! Everyone run ten laps around the training grounds. Tang San, you run five extra laps, and add an extra five pounds of weight!"

Everyone groaned in despair, but Tang San secretly breathed a sigh of relief—the extra training was a perfect opportunity to accumulate more Slacking Value. He slowly walked back to the dormitory, wiped the mud off himself, and pondered: "For the extra training tonight, I'll use the excuse of 'poor visibility in the heavy rain to prevent falls' to slow down. Anyway, Teacher Zhao's making things difficult are all good opportunities to accumulate points."

Night fell, and the torrential rain hadn't stopped. Tang San hoisted his weighted leg wraps and leisurely ran towards the training grounds, secretly thinking: "My Soul Power is already level 16. If I accumulate 4 more points, I can exchange them for the next upgrade. Although life at Shrek is difficult, as long as I find the right excuses, the 'peak slacking path' can continue."