The assembly whistle at dawn came a quarter-hour earlier than usual. Tang San had just stuffed the Recovery Sausage into his training bag when hurried footsteps sounded outside the dormitory. He deliberately slowed down while tying his shoes, looping the laces around his fingers twice more. They were practicing multi-team coordinated defense today, and loose laces could easily cause a fall while running. Using "securing his shoelaces" as an excuse to stall would ensure his movements stayed smooth during training and help him better adapt to the main academy's emergency assembly rhythm. By the time he reached the training ground, Dai Mubai had already divided everyone into groups according to last night's plan: Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Oscar formed the left formation; Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun formed the right formation; Ning Rongrong stood in the middle, responsible for overall support.
"Today, we'll practice the Dual Triangle Linked Defense. The dummies will attack in two waves. The left formation defends the left route, and the right formation defends the right route. Ning Rongrong will relay Soul Power boosts. If either formation is breached, you fail! Tang San, you command the left formation!" The moment Teacher Zhao's voice fell, the dummy devices began to hum, and the first wave of dummies charged in simultaneously from both sides.
Using "securing shoelaces to avoid falling while running" as a reason to adjust preparation tempo, avoided training expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 115.
As soon as the left formation's dummies rushed within three meters, Tang San did not have the Blue Silver Grass entangle them across the entire area. Instead, he only bound the ankles of the two frontmost dummies. "Xiao Wu, take care of those two! Oscar, send sausages to the right formation! Keep the link intact first, then stop the breakthrough!" He deliberately reduced the left formation's defensive range to two meters. Dual Triangle Linked Defense emphasized left defense supporting right and right defense supplementing left. Too broad a range could easily break the link; reducing it would allow them to support the right formation in time. Sure enough, the number of dummies on the right suddenly increased. Just as Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Flame was about to fail, Oscar's sausages arrived in time. Dai Mubai seized the chance to launch a counterattack, and they barely held off the first wave.
"Tang San! Why is the left formation's range so small? The dummies nearly broke through!" Teacher Zhao said unhappily, holding up his binoculars.
"Teacher, if the range is too large, the coordination will break. The right formation was short on support just now. Only by reducing the range could Oscar reinforce them in time. Otherwise, if the right formation broke, the left formation wouldn't be able to hold either." As Tang San spoke, he adjusted the density of the Blue Silver Grass. During the second wave, the left formation's range did not expand, yet with Ning Rongrong's boost, it steadily withstood the dummies' assault. "Look, the link didn't break, and neither formation was breached. That's the key to the Dual Triangle."
Using "maintaining the Dual Triangle link to prevent support interruption" as a reason to reduce defensive range, avoided excessive expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 116.
Just after morning training ended, Flender suddenly hurried over with several teachers from the main academy. "Emergency notice! This afternoon, we're adding the Spirit Beast Ambush Simulation Assessment. Your opponents will be three 300-year Earth Bears. The seven of you will form one team and must complete 'defense—counterattack—capture' within half an hour. Only those who pass may participate in next week's Spirit Beast Forest Trial!"
Back in the dormitory, the seven people immediately devised tactics for the assessment. Tang San did not rush to assign attack duties. Instead, he first had Oscar prepare twice as many sausages. "Earth Bears have strong defense and tremendous strength. We need to withstand their charges first, then look for chances to counterattack. If we run out of sausages, our Soul Power will be cut off easily." He deliberately set his own battlefield-control task as "restricting the bears' leg movement." An Earth Bear's weakness was its abdomen, but they had to restrict its legs first. Otherwise, its charge would scatter their formation. Controlling the legs was safer than controlling the abdomen. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were responsible for targeting the abdominal weak points, while Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun handled the main assault.
When the afternoon assessment began, the three Earth Bears in the simulated arena had barely appeared before charging toward Ning Rongrong. Tang San immediately had Blue Silver Grass coil around the hind leg of the foremost Earth Bear, deliberately wrapping it only halfway. If he bound it too tightly, it would break free through brute force. A half-wrap could limit its charging speed while leaving Xiao Wu time to attack. Ning Rongrong took the opportunity to release her boost, and Dai Mubai's White Tiger Claw slammed fiercely into the Earth Bear's abdomen. The first bear was quickly subdued. Seeing this, the remaining two bears suddenly split up to attack. Tang San did not panic, instead directing the Blue Silver Grass from the left formation toward the right, where it neatly wrapped around another bear's leg. "Keep the link! Don't let them split us apart!" Just as half an hour elapsed, all three Earth Bears had been captured, and they passed the assessment smoothly.
"Tang San, why didn't you bind the bear's leg completely just now? It nearly charged out!" Teacher Li, who was overseeing the assessment, asked while his recording pen continued scribbling across the paper.
"Binding it completely would waste Soul Power. Earth Bears are immensely strong, and struggling free would also damage the Blue Silver Grass. A half-wrap restricts its speed and works perfectly with the main assault, saving more Soul Power." Tang San wiped away his sweat and had Oscar hand him a sausage. "Look, I still have half my Soul Power left. It's enough to handle unexpected situations."
Using "limiting charge speed to save Soul Power and prevent martial soul damage" as a reason to adjust battlefield-control strength, avoided excessive expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 117.
At the evening tactical review meeting, Flender held the assessment recording and said with a smile, "Your coordination today was far better than it was this morning, but you were still a little slow when facing split attacks. When you enter the Spirit Beast Forest next week, pay closer attention to teamwork!" Tang San did not rush to nod. Instead, he took out his notebook and slowly recorded the Earth Bears' attack patterns. Writing slowly would help him remember their weaknesses; writing too quickly could make him miss critical details. The next time they encountered similar spirit beasts, they would be able to respond faster. As he wrote, he told Xiao Wu, "When we go into the forest next week, stay close to me. The sound of an Earth Bear's charge can give us an early warning. Dodge as soon as you hear it."
Back in the dormitory, Tang San sat by his bed and meditated, deliberately reducing the circulation speed of his Soul Power to seventy percent of normal. Today's training and assessment had put a heavy strain on his meridians. Slow Meditation would make his Soul Power recovery more solid; going too fast could cause problems during the Spirit Beast Forest Trial. He touched the Soul Guiding Recovery Device tucked against his chest and silently thought, The Spirit Beast Forest trial will definitely be harder than this assessment. But as long as I find the right reasons to "maintain the link" and "limit speed," the path to the pinnacle of slacking can keep going, and the seven of us will only grow stronger.
Using "slowly recording spirit beast patterns + Slow Meditation for solid recovery" as a reason to adjust review and recovery tempo, avoided excessive expenditure. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 118.
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