Cooperative Defense Training, Senior Student Sparring Refines Tactics

The moment the pre-dawn assembly whistle echoed through Shrek Academy Main Campus, Tang San burst from the dormitory, his training bag slung over his shoulder. The sausages he'd saved from last night were still tucked in his pocket. He deliberately slowed his pace, checking the clasps on his Soul Guiding Bracer as he walked. Today's practice was team coordinated defense, and a loose bracer would affect Soul Power conduction. By feigning "equipment checks," he could delay, ensuring his movements were precise during training and allowing him to adapt to the main campus's morning drill rhythm. By the time he reached the training grounds, Dai Mubai and the others were already lined up in the designated area, and Teacher Zhao, who was in charge of the training, held a diagram of the defensive formation.

"Today we're practicing 'Triangular Coordinated Defense.' Three people per group: one main attacker, one controller, and one supporter. Successfully withstanding one wave of attacks from the dummies counts as passing! Tang San, you're with Xiao Wu and Oscar. You'll be the last group to train!" Teacher Zhao slapped the formation diagram onto the ground, and the dummy devices slowly began to activate, the clanging of metal echoing across the training field.

[Adjusting preparation pace under the guise of "checking bracer for Soul Power conduction errors" to avoid training fatigue, Slacker Value +1, current total 111 points]

The preceding groups began their training one after another. Some had their formations broken by the dummies due to coordination errors, while others successfully withstood the attacks. When it was Tang San's group's turn, he didn't rush to take the control position. Instead, he first had Oscar stand in the center of the triangle. "The support type is safest in the middle. I'll stand on the left to control the dummy's legs, and Xiao Wu will stand on the right to defend against surprise attacks. Let's start slow to find the formation's rhythm." As the dummy charged, he deliberately slowed the entanglement speed of his Blue Silver Grass, only wrapping around one of the dummy's legs. "We're just practicing the formation; entangling it too tightly would limit Xiao Wu's offensive space. Leaving one leg free allows us to coordinate the support and main attack." Oscar seized the opportunity to deploy his Recovery Sausage, and Xiao Wu's Waist Bow accurately struck the dummy's chest. Although they didn't withstand the attack on their first try, there were no coordination errors.

"Tang San! Why aren't you controlling with full force? The dummy is almost through!" Teacher Zhao walked over, his formation diagram still marked with errors.

"Teacher, the triangular formation emphasizes the synergy between 'control - support - attack.' If I control with full force, it will disrupt Xiao Wu's offensive rhythm. Practicing slowly is how we find the coordination gaps between the three of us. Rushing will only scatter the formation." As Tang San spoke, he adjusted the angle of his Blue Silver Grass entanglement. During the second practice, they finally withstood one wave of the dummy's attack. "See? We've just found the coordination rhythm. Practicing a couple more times will make us proficient."

[Controlling entanglement strength under the guise of "honing the triangular formation's coordination gaps" to avoid excessive consumption, Slacker Value +1, current total 112 points]

Morning training concluded. As soon as they returned to the dormitory, two senior students in the main campus uniform approached them. The taller one leading the pair knocked on the doorframe. "Heard you guys are from Suo Tuo City? Dare to have a spar? Losers buy us food for a week!" Dai Mubai was about to agree when Tang San stopped him. "We just finished defensive training and haven't recovered our Soul Power. Can we spar this afternoon?" He deliberately feigned exhaustion, but in reality, he wanted to use the noon break to figure out the seniors' Martial Soul types. If we spar without knowing our opponents' strength, we're likely to lose and waste Soul Power. It's safer to be fully prepared before fighting in the afternoon.

The sparring match in the afternoon took place in a corner of the training grounds. The senior students' combination was "strong offense + control," with their Martial Souls being a Great Axe and Vines, respectively. The referee had just called "start" when the Great Axe Soul Master charged forward, while the Vine Soul Master circled around to the side, intending to entangle Xiao Wu. Tang San didn't rush to control the Vines. Instead, he had his Blue Silver Grass wrap around the handle of the Great Axe. "The Great Axe is the primary damage dealer. Controlling the weapon first is more effective than controlling the person. The Vines are slow, and Xiao Wu can dodge them." Although this consumed more Soul Power than controlling a person, it managed to restrict the seniors' offense. Dai Mubai seized the opportunity to strike the Great Axe Soul Master's shoulder with his White Tiger Fierce Light Wave, and the Seven Devils successfully won the spar.

"Tang San, why didn't you control the Vines? Xiao Wu was almost entangled just now!" the senior student protested indignantly.

"The Vine Martial Soul has poor resilience; even if I control it, it's easily broken free. It's better to disable your output first. Besides, Xiao Wu's agile offense can dodge the Vines, so there's no need to waste Soul Power." As Tang San spoke, he had Oscar hand the seniors a sausage. "We concede. We'll buy the food, but next time you spar, please give us advance notice so we can prepare."

[Adjusting crowd control targets under the guise of "prioritizing limiting output Martial Souls to defend against attacks" to avoid ineffective consumption, Slacker Value +1, current total 113 points]

At the tactical review meeting that evening, Flender watched the spar recording and nodded with a smile. "Your coordination today is much better than this morning, but Tang San's crowd control can still be optimized. Tomorrow, we'll practice 'Multi-Group Coordinated Defense.' The seven of you will form two triangular formations and support each other!" Tang San didn't immediately respond. Instead, he took out his notebook and slowly recorded the errors from today. "Reviewing slowly and taking notes helps remember details. Rushing notes can lead to missing crucial information, and targeted adjustments can be made in tomorrow's training." As he wrote, he said to Xiao Wu, "You'll be with me tomorrow. Oscar will be with Dai Mubai. Don't rush too eagerly when supporting each other."

Back in the dormitory, Tang San sat on his bed meditating, deliberately keeping his Soul Power circulation speed at 70% of its normal state. "I trained and sparred today. My meridians need to relax. Slow meditation will make my Soul Power more stable. Going too fast might cause problems during tomorrow's training." He touched the Soul Guiding Recovery Device in his pocket and thought to himself: Although the main campus's training is harder than the branch campus's, as long as he finds the right excuses for "honing formations" and "limiting output," the "peak path of slacking" can continue, and the Seven Devils' coordination will become more and more proficient.

[Adjusting recovery rhythm under the guise of "slowly recording review details + slow meditation to protect meridians" to avoid excessive consumption, Slacker Value +1, current total 114 points]