Soul Power Compression Targeted, Props Limited, Cleverly Dealt With

As the morning light just brushed over the training grounds' wooden stakes, Zhao Wuji stood before the group, carrying two iron buckets filled with a blue-glowing liquid. "Today's morning training is 'Soul Power Compression.' Everyone place your hands on the crystal balls in the buckets and continuously output Soul Power until the crystal balls glow to ninety percent. Tang San, you're first, and you have to output for an extra quarter-hour!"

As Tang San walked to the iron bucket, Xiao Wu sidled up and whispered, "This liquid seems to accelerate Soul Power consumption. Be careful." Tang San nodded, deliberately rolling up his sleeves slowly, and rubbed his fingers on the rim of the bucket. "What's the rush? Let's get used to the liquid's temperature first. If it's too cold, it can affect Soul Power circulation." Only when the others were ready nearby did he place his hand into the bucket—the liquid was indeed bone-chillingly cold, perfect for using "temperature effects" to slow down his Soul Power output.

[Using "adapting to liquid temperature to prevent Soul Power disorder" as an excuse to delay output, avoiding early high-intensity compression and consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 61 points]

The crystal ball in the liquid slowly lit up with a blue glow. Tang San deliberately only used thirty percent of his Soul Power. When the light ball reached fifty percent, he stopped, maintaining it at that level. "Tang San! Why only fifty percent? Are you holding back?" Zhao Wuji walked over, kicking the iron bucket at his feet, causing the liquid to splash out a few drops.

"Teacher, this liquid is too cold. Soul Power circulates slowly within it, and outputting too quickly can cause pain in the meridians. I can only go slowly." As Tang San spoke, he made the light ball tremble, barely reaching sixty percent. "See? As soon as I increase it a bit, my arm starts to ache. Any faster and I'll have to stop."

Zhao Wuji frowned, staring at him. Only after everyone else had finished their output did Tang San's light ball grudgingly reach seventy percent, a far cry from the required ninety percent. "An extra half-hour of practice. If you still don't reach seventy percent, you're not eating today!"

Tang San breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. He continued to maintain his thirty percent Soul Power output—the extra practice would earn him more Slacking Value, and the excuse of "low temperature effects" could be used continuously.

[Using "meridian pain due to low temperature" as an excuse to maintain low output, avoiding excessive compression, Slacking Value +1, current total 62 points]

The morning training was "Team Prop Cooperation." Zhao Wuji threw a pile of worn-out wooden shields and broken swords. "Use these props to fight the dummies. Tang San, you can only use a wooden shield, and you have two more dummies than everyone else!"

Dai Mubai picked up a broken sword and knocked down a dummy in a few strikes. Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Flame enveloped a wooden shield, pushing a dummy back repeatedly. Tang San hoisted a wooden shield, deliberately slowing his movement speed. As a dummy charged, he "just happened" to block it with his chest using the wooden shield, but didn't counterattack forcefully. He merely used the dummy's impact to retreat—"The wooden shield is too brittle; it'll break if I use too much force. I can only rely on dodging to stall." This way, he didn't consume Soul Power and could still deal with the difficult situation.

"Tang San! Are you just going to dodge? Counterattack with the wooden shield!" Zhao Wuji shouted from the side, cracking his whip on the ground.

"Teacher, the edge of this wooden shield is already cracked. If I counterattack forcefully, it'll shatter into pieces, and then I won't even be able to block." As Tang San spoke, he deliberately let the wooden shield develop a crack from a dummy's impact. "See? It cracked after just one block. Any more force and it'll be useless."

[Using "fragile props to prevent damage" as an excuse to reduce counterattack strength, avoiding excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, current total 63 points]

During the lunch break, Oscar handed him a sausage. "Teacher Zhao is being even tougher on you today. There will definitely be something harder this afternoon." Tang San took the sausage and took only a small bite before putting it away—he'd save it for the afternoon's exertion. Eating too much now would just make him sleepy.

As expected, the afternoon training was "Extreme Physical Fitness Test." Zhao Wuji led everyone to the edge of a cliff behind the mountain. "Walk along the narrow path by the cliff three times. Rocks will be falling along the way. Tang San, you walk last, and you have to wait until everyone else finishes one lap before you start!"

The path along the cliff was only half a foot wide, with a bottomless valley below. Dai Mubai was the first to step onto it, his steps as steady as if he were walking on flat ground. Ning Rongrong used the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to boost her balance and slowly made her way across. Tang San waited until everyone else had completed their lap before leisurely stepping onto the path. He deliberately slowed his pace to an extreme. When rocks fell, he "just happened" to dodge them by turning sideways, but he intentionally let a corner of his robe be grazed by a rock, making it look extremely perilous.

"Tang San! Why so slow? Are you afraid of falling?" Zhao Wuji's voice boomed from the cliff.

"Teacher, the path is too narrow, and the falling rocks are unpredictable. If I go too fast, I might misstep. By walking slowly, I can see where they'll land." Tang San said, deliberately pausing to dodge a falling piece of debris. "See? I almost stepped into empty space just now. Any faster and it would be dangerous."

[Using "narrow path to prevent missteps + unpredictable falling rocks" as an excuse to slow down, avoiding extreme physical exertion, Slacking Value +1, current total 64 points]

As the evening training concluded, Tang San's stamina was nearly depleted, yet Zhao Wuji still called him over. "Extra meditation practice tonight. You have to practice for an hour longer than everyone else, and you must use the liquid in the bucket to assist. If your Soul Power doesn't improve, I'll add even more tomorrow!"

Everyone groaned, but Tang San quietly opened his system panel—64 Slacking Value points. He was still 36 points away from the next Soul Power increase. He slowly walked back to the dormitory, calculating: using the liquid for assistance would allow him to continue slowing his meditation speed under the guise of "low temperature effects." Teacher Zhao's challenges were all good opportunities to accumulate points.

As night fell, Tang San sat by the iron bucket and began his meditation, deliberately circulating only twenty percent of his Soul Power in the liquid—"Slow meditation allows for better fusion of Soul Power and the liquid." This fit his slacking rhythm and helped him accumulate points. He secretly thought: as long as he found the right excuses, even if Teacher Zhao was ruthless, the "peak slacking path" could still be walked.