Morning light had barely spread over the training ground's wooden posts when Zhao Wuji stood before the group carrying two iron buckets filled with blue-glowing liquid. "Today's morning training will be changed to 'Soul Power Compression.' Each of you will place a hand on the crystal ball in the bucket and continuously output Soul Power until it reaches ninety percent brightness. Tang San, you'll go first, and you have to keep outputting for an extra quarter of an hour!"
Just as Tang San approached the bucket, Xiao Wu leaned over and whispered, "This liquid seems to speed up Soul Power consumption. Be careful." Tang San nodded and deliberately rolled up his sleeves slowly, rubbing his fingers along the rim of the bucket. "What's the rush? I should get used to the liquid's temperature first. If it's too cold, it could affect the circulation of Soul Power." Only after everyone else had begun preparing did he place his hand into the bucket—the liquid was indeed bitingly cold, just enough for him to use "temperature effects" as an excuse to slow his Soul Power output.
Delayed output on the grounds of "adapting to the liquid temperature to prevent Soul Power disorder," avoiding premature high-intensity compression consumption. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 61.
The crystal ball slowly began glowing blue in the liquid. Tang San deliberately released only thirty percent of his Soul Power. When the ball reached fifty percent brightness, he stopped, maintaining it without letting it rise or fall. "Tang San! Why is it only at fifty percent? Are you holding back?" Zhao Wuji walked over, kicking the iron bucket by his feet and making it sway as a few drops of liquid splashed out.
"Teacher, the liquid is too cold, so Soul Power circulates slowly inside it. And if I output too quickly, my meridians will hurt. I can only release it gradually." As Tang San spoke, he deliberately made the glowing ball tremble before barely raising it to sixty percent. "Look, I only increased my Soul Power a little, and my arm is already getting sore. If I go any faster, I'll have to stop."
Zhao Wuji frowned and stared at him. By the time everyone else had finished their output, Tang San's crystal ball had only barely reached seventy percent, far short of the required ninety percent. "Train for another half hour! If you still can't reach seventy percent, don't expect to eat today!"
Tang San secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued maintaining thirty percent Soul Power output—extra training was perfect for accumulating more Slacking Value, and he could keep using the "low-temperature effects" excuse.
Maintained low output on the grounds of "low temperature causing meridian soreness," avoiding excessive compression. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 62.
The morning training was "team item coordination." Zhao Wuji tossed over a pile of battered wooden shields and broken swords. "Use these items to fight the dummies. Tang San, you can only use a wooden shield, and you'll have two more dummies than everyone else!"
Dai Mubai picked up a broken sword and swiftly chopped down a dummy. Ma Hongjun wrapped a wooden shield in Phoenix Flame and rammed it forward, knocking the dummies back again and again. Tang San hefted a wooden shield and deliberately slowed his movements. Whenever a dummy charged at him, he "just happened" to block his chest with the shield, but instead of striking back, he used the dummy's impact to retreat—"The wooden shield is too fragile. It'll break if I use too much force, so I can only dodge and stall." That way, he neither needed to expend Soul Power nor had to suffer Zhao Wuji's deliberate targeting.
"Tang San! All you know how to do is dodge? Fight back with that shield!" Zhao Wuji shouted from the side, cracking his whip against the ground.
"Teacher, the edges of this wooden shield are already cracked. If I use it to strike back with force, it'll shatter into scraps, and then I won't even be able to block." Tang San spoke as he deliberately let a dummy knock another crack into the shield. "Look, it cracked after blocking just once. If I use any more force, it'll be ruined."
Reduced counterattack strength on the grounds of "the item being fragile and needing protection from damage," avoiding excessive consumption. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 63.
During the noon break, Oscar handed him a sausage. "Teacher Zhao's been targeting you even harder today. This afternoon will definitely be worse." Tang San accepted the sausage, took only a small bite, and put it away—he would save it for the afternoon's exertion. Eating too much now would only make him sleepy.
As expected, the afternoon training was an "extreme physical endurance test." Zhao Wuji led them to a cliff at the back of the mountain. "Walk three laps along the path beside the cliff. Rocks will fall along the way. Tang San, you'll go last, and you can't start until everyone ahead of you has completed one lap!"
The cliffside path was only half a foot wide, with a bottomless valley beneath it. Dai Mubai was the first to step onto it, his footing as steady as though he were walking on level ground. Ning Rongrong used the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to enhance her balance and slowly made her way across as well. Only after everyone had completed a lap did Tang San leisurely step onto the narrow trail. He deliberately moved at an extremely slow pace. Whenever rocks fell, he "just happened" to turn sideways and evade them, though he intentionally let his clothes be grazed by one, making the situation look perilous.
"Tang San! Why are you so slow? Are you afraid of falling?" Zhao Wuji's voice rang out from above the cliff.
"Teacher, the path is too narrow, and the falling rocks are unpredictable. Going too fast could make me miss my footing. I need to walk slowly to see where they'll land." Tang San deliberately paused as he spoke, avoiding a falling piece of rubble. "Look, I nearly stepped into empty space just now. Any faster would be dangerous."
Slowed down on the grounds of "a narrow path preventing missteps plus unpredictable falling rocks," avoiding extreme physical exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 64.
When the evening training ended, Tang San was nearly exhausted, yet Zhao Wuji still stopped him. "Extra meditation training tonight. You'll meditate one hour longer than the others, and you must use the liquid in the bucket as assistance. If your Soul Power doesn't increase, I'll add even more tomorrow!"
Everyone groaned miserably, but Tang San quietly opened the system panel—he had 64 points of Slacking Value and still needed 36 more before his next Soul Power Increase. He slowly returned to the dormitory, calculating to himself: the liquid assistance was perfect for continuing to slow his meditation through the excuse of "low-temperature effects." Teacher Zhao's targeting was nothing but a great chance to accumulate points.
Night fell as Tang San sat beside the iron bucket and began meditating. He deliberately allowed only twenty percent of his Soul Power to circulate through the liquid—"Slow Meditation lets Soul Power blend better with the liquid," which both suited his slacking rhythm and earned him points. As long as I find the right excuses, no matter how ruthless Teacher Zhao is, I can keep walking the path to the pinnacle of slacking.
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