When the pre-dawn whistle rang out with a chill, Tang San had just stabilized his Soul Power. He opened his eyes and heard metal frames clanging in the training ground. Looking out the window, he saw Zhao Wuji directing the students as they built a semi-enclosed "Dual Realm Stacking Limit Array." Half the array was a muddy pool, while the other half was covered in gravel. Three Soul Power Suppressors stood in the center. "This morning's training is Dual Realm Stacking Limit. Under standing water, gravel, and Soul Power suppression, use your martial souls to smash ten stone targets in a row. Tang San, you're up first. Set the suppressors to maximum, and your stone targets will be twenty percent harder than everyone else's!"
Tang San slowly folded up his meditation cushion and deliberately wrapped two extra loops of binding around his waterproof boots. Dual Realm Stacking Limit was the most physically draining, and using "securing his boots to prevent slipping" as an excuse to stall would let him conserve a bit more energy. By the time he reached the array, Dai Mubai had already completed his test. Under low-to-mid-level suppression, three strikes of his White Tiger Claw had shattered ten ordinary stone targets. "What are you dawdling for? The standing water in there is about to turn cold!" Zhao Wuji tossed a stone target carved with the character "hard" at Tang San's feet. It landed with a dull thud, clearly thicker and heavier than an ordinary target.
Using "securing boots to prevent slipping in the Dual Realm" as a reason to delay the test, avoiding premature high-intensity stacked exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 77.
Tang San summoned Blue Silver Grass and deliberately slowed his Soul Skill output by half a beat. Under maximum suppression, the Blue Silver Grass trembled faintly the moment it wrapped around the stone target. His first Blue Silver Thrust left only a shallow mark on the target and failed to break it. "Tang San! You can't even break a hard stone target? Is your Blue Silver Grass made of noodles?" Zhao Wuji's whip cracked against the metal frame at the edge of the array, sending ripples through the standing water.
"Teacher, Soul Power circulates slowly in the Dual Realm to begin with. With the target twenty percent harder, Blue Silver Thrust has to find a crack first, or the grass blades could snap. Besides, the water makes the boots heavy, and the gravel digs into my feet. Moving too fast could throw me off balance, so I can only slowly find the point to exert force." As he spoke, Tang San had Blue Silver Grass slowly feel along the stone target. Only after half an hour did he find a thin crack. A thrust infused with thirty percent of his Soul Power finally shattered the target. "See? I only just found the crack. If I rush even a little, the attack will miss. I'll have to go even slower."
Using "Dual Realm imbalance + finding stone cracks to prevent martial soul breakage" as a reason to lower output strength and slow the destruction rate, avoiding excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 78.
An hour passed, and Tang San had shattered only four hard stone targets, six short of the required ten. "Train for another hour! If you still can't reach six, forget about eating today!" Zhao Wuji stood at the array's edge with his arms folded, his eyes fixed on Tang San's boots against the gravel. Tang San, however, felt relieved. The extra training would let him earn more Slacking Value, and he could keep using the excuse of "adapting to the Dual Realm."
The morning training was Team Combat Soul Skill Restriction. Zhao Wuji split the six of them into two groups and announced the rules. "Tang San's group can only use their first Soul Skills, no other Soul Skills. Dai Mubai's group can use their first two Soul Skills, and they'll have four more training dummies than Tang San's group!"
"Teacher Zhao, that's not fair! We can't possibly beat the dummies with only our first Soul Skills!" Xiao Wu clenched her fists, and the phantom silhouette of her rabbit martial soul faintly emerged.
"Fair? Having Soul Skills restricted is common in real combat. If you can't beat them, find a way!" Zhao Wuji blew the whistle, and the training dummies immediately closed in on both groups.
Dai Mubai's group quickly launched their attack. Ma Hongjun's second Soul Skill, Phoenix of Burning Fire, sent the dummies staggering back one after another. Tang San's group could only rely on Tang San's Blue Silver Bind and Xiao Wu's Waist Bow, while Oscar's sausages could only restore stamina. Tang San deliberately slowed the binding speed, each time only binding one arm or one leg of a dummy without completely immobilizing it. "Binding only half of them can divide their attention. If we bind them completely, the other dummies will seize the chance to surround us, making them even harder to deal with." This way, he neither had to use too much Soul Power nor give up the chance to drag things out.
"Tang San! Why aren't you binding them tighter? The dummies are almost touching Xiao Wu!" Zhao Wuji shouted from the side, pointing his whip at a dummy closing in on Xiao Wu.
"Teacher, binding them completely uses too much Soul Power. There are too many dummies—if I bind one, I'll have to let another go, or I won't have enough Soul Power left to bind the next one. Letting half a leg move can make them block each other's path instead." As he spoke, Tang San deliberately loosened one dummy's arm, making it crash into the dummy beside it. "See? This makes the dummies fall into disorder. It's less trouble than binding them completely."
Using "scattering the dummies + conserving Soul Power to prevent encirclement" as a reason to reduce binding strength and slow the pace of the confrontation, avoiding excessive exertion. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 79.
During the noon break, Xiao Wu split half her steamed bun with Tang San. "Teacher Zhao's restrictions today are ridiculous. There's no way we can win using only our first Soul Skills." Tang San accepted the bun but took only a small bite before putting it away. He would save it for the afternoon's exertion; eating too much now would only make his stamina drop faster.
The afternoon training was the Extreme Stamina Shuttle Run. Zhao Wuji led everyone to a steep slope behind the mountain. "Run back and forth on this slope twenty times. Carry a ten-jin stone each time. Tang San, you'll carry fifteen jin, and the last five trips must be run through standing water!"
The steep slope was already difficult to climb, and the added stone weight made it worse. Dai Mubai began panting after only five runs. Carrying his fifteen-jin stone, Tang San deliberately slowed his pace to a crawl and took a zigzag path uphill every time. "A zigzag route reduces the resistance of the slope, and running too fast through standing water makes it easy to fall. Going slowly is more stable." It saved stamina while also handling the extra weight requirement.
"Tang San! Why are you moving so slowly? Is the stone too heavy to carry?" Zhao Wuji's voice came from the top of the slope, and he was holding an even larger stone in his hand.
"Teacher, a fifteen-jin stone feels even heavier in standing water. If I run too fast, my center of gravity could become unstable and I might fall down the slope. And while taking a zigzag route up the slope is slower, it uses less strength. Otherwise, I won't finish twenty trips." As he spoke, Tang San deliberately staggered in the water. After steadying himself, he continued walking slowly. "See? I nearly fell just now. Going slowly is safer."
Using "preventing falls in standing water + conserving strength on the steep slope" as a reason to slow the shuttle-run pace, avoiding extreme stamina expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 80.
By the time evening training ended, Tang San had just completed all twenty runs, taking an extra hour compared to everyone else. "Tonight, you'll do extra Soul Power meditation inside the Dual Realm Test Array. If your meditation speed is slower than everyone else's, you'll carry another five jin of stone tomorrow!" Zhao Wuji's voice echoed through the twilight.
Everyone groaned miserably, but Tang San quietly opened the system panel. He had 80 Slacking Value, still 20 short of his next Soul Power Increase. He slowly walked back to the dormitory, calculating inwardly. Meditation inside the array was perfect for deliberately slowing down under the excuse of "Dual Realm interference." Teacher Zhao's attempts to make things difficult were all excellent chances to earn points.
Night fell, and Tang San entered the Dual Realm Test Array to meditate. He deliberately reduced his Soul Power circulation speed to sixty percent of normal. "Meditating in the Dual Realm can easily disrupt Soul Power. Slow circulation lets Soul Power adapt to the environment; going too fast may leave hidden risks." It fit his slacking rhythm while also earning him points. He thought to himself, As long as I find the right excuse, no matter how ruthless Teacher Zhao is, I can keep walking the path to the pinnacle of slacking.
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