Night Training Perception Suppressed, Resource Competition Skillfully Buffered

The downpour didn't stop until late at night, and the training grounds were still flooded when Zhao Wuji's roar shattered the pre-dawn silence: "Everyone up! If you didn't get enough extra training last night, you'll make up for it today! Tang San, you have an extra 'nighttime perception training.' No laps. Go into the woods and find ten marked signs in the dark. If you don't find them all before sunrise, you don't eat today!"

Just as Tang San finished tying his gaiters, Xiao Wu brought him hot water. "Teacher Zhao is too harsh. It's pitch black in the woods, how are we supposed to find the signs?" Tang San took the cup and deliberately drank slowly, his finger tapping the rim. "What's the rush? First, let your eyes adjust to the darkness. You just came from a bright place, your eyes need time to adapt." After Xiao Wu joined the others for their laps, he picked up a flint (but didn't light it) and ambled towards the woods. Nighttime perception consumed Soul Power. Using "adjusting to the darkness" as an excuse to delay would conserve a little more energy.

[Using "adjusting eyes to the darkness" as an excuse to delay entering the woods, avoiding excessive early-stage high-intensity perception consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 57 points]

It was so dark in the woods that Tang San couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He summoned his Blue Silver Grass, deliberately narrowing its perception range to within three feet. Zhao Wuji was definitely watching from somewhere in the shadows, and a wider perception range might reveal his strength. Besides, the excuse of "a smaller range is more precise" was reasonable. After only a few steps, his foot suddenly snagged on a rope, and a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes. A scarecrow fell down, with a marked sign attached to it.

"Tang San! You're taking this long just to find one sign? Are you slacking off?" Zhao Wuji's voice boomed from a tree, laced with obvious malice.

Tang San feigned a startled jump, fumbling to take down the sign. "Teacher, it's too dark at night, and the Blue Silver Grass's perception can easily be blocked by branches. I have to probe slowly; if I go too fast, I might miss something." As he spoke, he deliberately made the Blue Silver Grass weave around a few branches before continuing forward. He paused with every step, as if carefully discerning the direction. "See, there are branches blocking the view behind this tree. If I didn't go slowly, I wouldn't have noticed it."

[Using "branches blocking perception" as an excuse to slow down the sign-finding speed, avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 58 points]

By the time he found the third marked sign, the sky in the east was already showing the pale white of dawn. Tang San deliberately sat on a rock to rest, holding the sign. There would be team training later, so he needed to conserve his strength. Sure enough, as soon as he walked out of the woods, Zhao Wuji called everyone together. "This morning, we'll practice 'resource competition.' Twenty loaves of bread are hidden in the field. Whoever finds them keeps them. Tang San, you enter last, and you can only search the areas others have already picked over!"

Dai Mubai and the others immediately rushed into the field. Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Flame illuminated a large area, and he quickly found three loaves. Ning Rongrong used her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to enhance her vision and also found two. Tang San slowly walked into the field, deliberately choosing the most remote corner. He only used twenty percent of his Soul Power for perception with his Blue Silver Grass. A remote corner means no one will compete for it, and I can find one slowly. Besides, he wouldn't have to compete with others, saving his Soul Power.

"Tang San! What are you doing in that spot? You haven't found anything in ages. Don't you want to find one?" Zhao Wuji walked over, holding a loaf of bread that hadn't been hidden, but he didn't hand it to Tang San.

"Teacher, the grass in the remote corner is dense, and the bread is hidden deep. I have to carefully sift through the grass; if I go too fast, I might damage the bread." Tang San said, deliberately using his Blue Silver Grass to gently push aside the grass. After a long while, he found a loaf that had been squashed and deformed. "See, it's indeed damaged. If I had been fast, this bread would be inedible."

[Using "avoiding damaging the bread" as an excuse to slow down the bread-finding speed, avoiding consumption from resource competition, Slacking Value +1, current total 59 points]

By the end of the morning training, Tang San had only found two loaves, and they were both damaged. Xiao Wu secretly gave him half of her bread. "Teacher Zhao is going too far, deliberately making you enter last and pick the most remote corner."

"It's fine. I need to save my strength for the team training this afternoon. This is just enough to fill my stomach for now." Tang San slowly nibbled on the bread, deliberately dragging out his meal time to half an hour. Delaying and resting a bit, otherwise I won't have the energy for more challenges this afternoon.

The afternoon training was indeed "team combat suppression." Zhao Wuji divided the six of them into two groups. Tang San's group's opponent wasn't Dai Mubai's group, but Zhao Wuji himself. The rule was that Tang San's group could only use their basic Martial Souls to attack and were forbidden from using Soul Skills, while Zhao Wuji could use twenty percent of his Soul Power.

"Teacher Zhao, this isn't fair! You're a Soul Sage. Even with only twenty percent of your Soul Power, we can't beat you!" Oscar couldn't help but exclaim.

"Fair? When you encounter a Soul Sage in actual combat, who's going to talk about fairness? If you can't beat them, you train until you can!" Zhao Wuji said, releasing two Soul Rings. The yellow rings were particularly striking in the sunlight.

Tang San quickly pulled back Xiao Wu, who was about to charge forward, and deliberately frowned as he analyzed, "Don't engage head-on. Let's run around the field and look for opportunities to ambush. His Soul Power is high, but his body is heavy, so he can't run fast." He deliberately made his team slow down their movements. Every time Zhao Wuji charged, they would "just happen" to circle behind a tree, using the trunk to block his attacks. Using the terrain for cover. This way, they wouldn't have to take direct hits and could delay the fight, preventing their Soul Power from depleting too quickly.

"Tang San! Are you just going to dodge? Fight me head-on if you dare!" Zhao Wuji punched a tree trunk, which instantly cracked.

"Teacher, our Soul Power is low, so we'll definitely lose in a head-on fight. By using the terrain to dodge, we can last longer and practice our skills more." Tang San said, deliberately letting his Blue Silver Grass lightly wrap around Zhao Wuji's ankle before quickly releasing it. "See, we just found an opportunity to sneak attack. Although it was ineffective, we at least practiced our skills."

[Using "using terrain to practice skills" as an excuse to slow down the combat pace, avoiding consumption from head-on confrontation, Slacking Value +1, current total 60 points]

By the end of the evening training, Tang San's group had lost, but they had lasted half an hour longer than expected. Zhao Wuji didn't criticize them further, merely stating coldly, "Extra training tonight. Everyone meditate for two hours. Tang San, you meditate for an extra hour. If your Soul Power doesn't improve, you'll have more extra training tomorrow!"

Everyone groaned, but Tang San secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Extra meditation training is perfect for accumulating Slacking Value, and "slow Soul Power improvement" is a reasonable excuse. He slowly walked back to the dormitory, calculating in his mind: his Soul Power was already level 16. If he could accumulate another 10 points, he could exchange it for the next upgrade. Shrek's challenges were the perfect opportunity to accumulate points.

As night fell, Tang San sat on his bed and began to meditate, deliberately circulating only thirty percent of his Soul Power. "Slow meditation allows Soul Power to become more stable." This fit his slacking rhythm and allowed him to accumulate points – killing two birds with one stone. He thought to himself: as long as he found the right excuses, even with Teacher Zhao's constant challenges, the "peak slacking path" could continue.