Spirit Combat Registration Sets Combinations, First Battle Preparations Ensure Steady Response

As dawn broke, the bells of Suo Tuo City's Great Soul Arena echoed through the streets. Tang San was woken by the chimes, only to find Xiao Wu already knocking outside his door. "Tang San, hurry up! Dean Flender said we need to register for Spirit Combat early today, or we won't get a spot!"

Tang San slowly sat up, deliberately taking extra time to fold his blanket. His first Spirit Combat would be draining, and he wanted to conserve energy by using "packing and checking equipment" as an excuse to delay. By the time he left with his Spirit Combat bag, Dai Mubai and the others were already gathered downstairs. Flender held seven registration forms. "Register in the combinations we decided on yesterday. Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing are a pair, Ning Rongrong and Oscar are a pair, Ma Hongjun is solo, and Tang San, you and Xiao Wu are a pair. Start with the Bronze Tier matches!"

[Delayed gathering under the guise of "checking Spirit Combat equipment to prevent omissions," avoiding excessive preparation and consumption for early high-intensity registration, Slacking Value +1, currently accumulated 90 points]

The group followed Flender towards the Great Soul Arena. Along the way, Dai Mubai briefed Tang San and Xiao Wu on the precautions for two-person Spirit Combat. "Bronze Tier opponents mostly have Soul Power around level 20. You two have one control and one agile attack, so you need to coordinate well and not let your formation break." Tang San deliberately slowed his pace, letting his Blue Silver Grass quietly trail along the ground to scout. "There are many people and prying eyes near the Spirit Arena, there might be spies from the Martial Soul Hall. Walk slowly and observe more, you can get a feel for the environment in advance." As he spoke, he noted the escape routes along the road, preparing for any unexpected situations during the Spirit Combat.

Upon reaching the registration desk at the arena, the staff member took Tang San and Xiao Wu's forms and frowned. "Two-person Spirit Combat teams need a codename. What do you two want to be called?" Xiao Wu immediately raised her hand. "Let's be the 'Three-Five Combination'! Tang San is Little San, and I'm Xiao Wu!" Tang San didn't object, but he deliberately hesitated for two seconds when filling in their Soul Power Level. "I just broke through to level 17, filling in level 16 is safer, to avoid being matched with too strong opponents. Losing the first match would affect morale." As he filled it out, he confirmed with the staff member, "Bronze Tier opponents are all below level 20, right? Our Soul Power isn't that high, we want to get a feel for the rhythm first."

[Under-reported Soul Power Level under the guise of "ensuring a safe first match and avoiding strong opponents," avoiding high-intensity initial combat consumption, Slacking Value +1, currently accumulated 91 points]

After registering, Flender led everyone to the arena's waiting room. Soon, the big screen displayed the "Three-Five Combination's" first opponent: the "Iron Stone Combination," two assault system Soul Masters at level 20, with Martial Souls of Rock and Iron Hammer respectively. Xiao Wu immediately became nervous. "They're both assault system, and their Soul Power is higher than ours. What do we do?"

Tang San didn't rush to formulate a strategy. Instead, he took out an emergency Soul Power recovery potion and handed a bottle to Xiao Wu. "Drink half a bottle of the recovery potion first, don't panic. Assault system users have great strength, but they're slow. We can use hit-and-run tactics." He deliberately slowed down the strategy formulation process, first letting Oscar apply his Recovery Sausage to both of them before analyzing the opponents. "The Rock Martial Soul has strong defense, and the Iron Hammer Martial Soul has high attack power. Let's have Xiao Wu use 'Waist Bow' to attract attention first, then I'll use Blue Silver Grass to entangle the Iron Hammer's legs, disabling one damage source, and then slowly wear down the Rock's defense."

"Tang San, why aren't you formulating a quick attack strategy? Why not hit them hard while they're unprepared?" Flender walked over, still holding the opponents' data sheet.

"Dean, we're prioritizing stability in the first match. A quick attack can easily expose weaknesses, and our Soul Power is lower than theirs, so a quick attack would drain it too fast. By using hit-and-run tactics and slowly wearing them down, we can drag it out until their Soul Power is insufficient." Tang San pointed to the words "Iron Hammer's Soul Skill Cooldown is Long" on the data sheet. "See, the Iron Hammer's Soul Skill has a ten-second cooldown. We can entangle his legs during that time, which will save a lot of Soul Power."

[Slowed down the pace of the battle strategy under the guise of "prioritizing stability and attrition in the first match" to avoid quick attack consumption, Slacking Value +1, currently accumulated 92 points]

Soon, the arena's broadcast announced, "Three-Five Combination vs. Iron Stone Combination." Tang San and Xiao Wu walked onto the Spirit Combat stage, the cheers from the audience below deafening. As soon as the referee announced the start, the Iron Hammer Soul Master charged forward with his hammer, his Soul Power fluctuations carrying a clear assault aura. Xiao Wu charged forward as planned, deliberately slowing the activation speed of "Waist Bow." After the Iron Hammer released his Soul Skill "Stone Shatter Hammer," she jumped up and kicked his shoulder. "Attacking after he uses his skill avoids a counterattack. If I attacked too soon, I'd get hit by the hammer." As she fought, she coordinated with Tang San. Just as the Iron Hammer's Soul Skill was on cooldown, his legs were entangled by the Blue Silver Grass.

Seeing this, the Rock Soul Master immediately used "Rock Armor" and charged forward, trying to rescue the Iron Hammer. However, Tang San deliberately didn't entangle the Rock's legs. Instead, he made the Blue Silver Grass wrap around the opponent's arms. "The Rock has strong defense, entangling his legs is useless. Entangling his arms will limit his defensive range, giving Xiao Wu an opportunity to attack." While adjusting the angle of the Blue Silver Grass's entanglement, he had Xiao Wu circle behind the Rock and use "Waist Bow" to kick his back.

Fifteen minutes into the Spirit Combat, the Iron Hammer Soul Master had already depleted thirty percent of his Soul Power, and the Rock Soul Master's defense showed signs of cracking. Tang San deliberately lessened the force of the Blue Silver Grass's entanglement, only holding for two seconds at a time before loosening it, to avoid being injured by the grass blades when the opponent broke free with their Soul Power. "Entangling too tightly makes it easy for the Blue Silver Grass to be broken by Soul Power. Loosely entangling can restrict his movements without consuming much Soul Power."

[Reduced entanglement force under the guise of "avoiding Martial Soul strain" to prevent excessive consumption, Slacking Value +1, currently accumulated 93 points]

Finally, Tang San tightened the Blue Silver Grass when the Iron Hammer's Soul Skill was on cooldown, wrapping around his waist. Xiao Wu seized the opportunity and used "Waist Bow" to strike the Iron Hammer's chest. The Iron Hammer Soul Master was directly kicked off the Spirit Combat stage. Seeing his teammate defeated, the Rock Soul Master also voluntarily surrendered. The audience erupted in cheers, and the referee raised Tang San and Xiao Wu's hands. "Three-Five Combination wins!"

Walking off the stage, Flender smiled and patted Tang San's shoulder. "Good job. Much more stable than I expected." Tang San didn't relax, however. He immediately took a sip of a recovery potion. "We were just lucky in the first match; the opponents' Soul Power drained quickly. Next time we face faster opponents, we'll need to adjust our tactics." He was calculating in his mind: he had gained 4 Slacking Value today, and needed 8 more points for the next Soul Power Increase. The Spirit Arena trials were indeed a good opportunity to accumulate points.

As evening fell, the seven returned to the inn. Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's team had also won their Spirit Combat, but Ma Hongjun had lost his solo match. Flender announced, "We'll continue with Spirit Combat tomorrow. Tang San and Xiao Wu will fight two more matches, aiming to reach Silver Tier as soon as possible!" Tang San nodded, but in his mind, he thought: Tomorrow, I can use "adapting to different opponent rhythms" as an excuse to continue slowing down the Spirit Combat pace and steadily accumulate enough Slacking Value.

Night fell, and Tang San sat by the window meditating, deliberately keeping his Soul Power circulation at seventy percent of its normal speed. "Continuous Spirit Combat consumes Soul Power. Slow meditation allows Soul Power to recover more solidly; going too fast can leave hidden dangers." He looked at the moonlight outside and secretly thought: The Spirit Combat trials in Suo Tuo City had just begun. As long as he found the right excuses, like "adapting tactics to opponents" and "prioritizing stability in the first match," the "peak slacking path" could continue.