Anticipating Their Anticipation

"Stop right there!!"

The Second Elder's beard trembled with rage as he stomped his foot heavily.

Watching Tang Xiao's resolute back, he knew his nephew's temper was just like that stubborn mule Tang Hao's; once he set his mind on something, not even nine oxen could pull him back.

If he truly let Tang Xiao go alone and the boy fell into the hands of Bibi Dong, the Clear Sky Sect would lose its Sect Master and its only Title Douluo. Even with their natural defenses, they would be on the brink of annihilation.

"Come back! Who said we weren't going to save them?!"

The Second Elder roared, calling out to Tang Xiao, who had already reached the doorway.

Tang Xiao paused, turned around, and looked at the Second Uncle who had been obstructing him with a complex expression.

"Second Uncle..."

"Sigh..." The Second Elder let out a long, weary breath. "You child, why are you always so impatient?"

He swept his gaze across the elders standing around with varying expressions, finally gritted his teeth, and made a compromise:

"Since the Speed Clan is already surrounded, that is where Bibi Dong has brought her main force. If we charge in directly, we will be facing two Title Douluos, a new Pope whose strength is unfathomable, and thousands of spirit masters. Even if we manage to save them, we would be stripped of a layer of skin ourselves."

"That is utter stupidity."

The Second Elder walked to the map and pointed heavily at three other locations:

"If we are to save them, we must use strategy."

"Since the Speed Clan is the bait and the main force, it means the troops surrounding the other three clans must be thin! They might even be bluffing!"

"We are not going to the Speed Clan!"

Tang Xiao was stunned: "Not going to the Speed Clan? Then where?"

"We go to save the Strength Clan! The Defense Clan! The Breaking Clan!"

A sharp glint flashed in the Second Elder's eyes, his tone becoming resolute and ruthless:

"We shall do the exact opposite of what she expects!"

"Doesn't Bibi Dong want to use the Speed Clan to lure us into a trap? Then we won't touch that hard nut to crack! We will use the force of a thunderbolt to wipe out the encirclement of the three outer clans first!"

"As long as we are fast enough to save those three clans and gather their strength together with our own Clear Sky Sect elites..."

"By then, we will have enough chips and military force in our hands!"

"Only then will we carry the momentum of a great victory, combine our forces, and break the siege on the Speed Clan!"

"This is the most secure method, and the one that best preserves our strength!"

Having said this, the Second Elder looked at Tang Xiao, his tone carrying a hint of admonition:

"Sect Master, this is also a gamble."

"We are betting that Bibi Dong is arrogant enough to concentrate her main force on the Speed Clan while neglecting the other three!"

"As long as we can wipe out her divided forces first, the situation will reverse!"

"This..."

Tang Xiao fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

He had to admit that while the Second Elder's plan was somewhat circuitous, it was far more rational than crashing headlong into Bibi Dong's embrace.

If they could first rescue the Breaking Clan, known for their offensive power, and the Defense Clan, with their astonishing durability, it would indeed be a great boon for the subsequent battles.

Moreover, this gave the elders a way to save face—it wasn't that they weren't saving them, but that they were saving the easy targets first, avoiding the strong to strike the weak.

"Good!"

After a long silence, Tang Xiao nodded heavily. The red light in his eyes receded slightly, replaced by a cold, calculated killing intent.

"We shall follow Second Uncle's plan!"

"Assemble the men immediately, divide into three routes... No! Concentrate our forces!"

Tang Xiao thought for a moment and dismissed the idea of splitting up. "If we are to avoid the strong and strike the weak, we must ensure an absolute advantage!"

"We will head to the Strength Clan first, as they are the closest!"

"Once we save Titan and his men, our strength will grow even greater!"

Speed Clan encampment.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, and the once serene forest was now a scorched wasteland.

Bibi Dong looked at the casualty report in her hand, her expression extremely ugly.

"Two thousand elites, attacking the Speed Clan—a group of less than five hundred, most of whom are the elderly, weak, women, and children..."

Bibi Dong's voice was heavy with suppressed fury. "And you actually suffered one hundred and thirty-six dead and one hundred and twelve severely wounded?!"

Bibi Dong slammed the report onto the ground.

Is this the spirit master legion that Martial Soul Hall prides itself on? Facing a group of Speed Clan members who only know how to run and have almost zero offensive power, they actually managed to produce such a shameful casualty ratio?

If this had been the Breaking Clan with their explosive attack power, or the Defense Clan with their astonishing durability, wouldn't these two thousand men have suffered over fifty percent casualties?

Within the Sea of Consciousness, Nan Feng watched this scene and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This casualty ratio truly redefines The Emperor's understanding of the word 'trash'."

"I'd long heard that the spirit masters of Martial Soul Hall were accustomed to a life of luxury. They howl like wolves when fighting a winning battle, but the moment they encounter any decent resistance or the enemy starts fighting for their lives, these guys only know how to spam their spirit skills blindly."

"Five hundred glass cannons who only know how to run managed to trade for over a hundred of our lives. If the forces were equal, or if they ran into those hammer-wielding lunatics from the Clear Sky Sect..."

"How the hell are we supposed to fight this war?"

Nan Feng shook his head, his tone filled with disdain. "Enough, stop looking at that shameful report. Hurry up and pack up; the main army is moving out."

"Moving out?"

Bibi Dong was stunned. "To where? Back to Martial Soul City?"

"Back to the city? We've only just finished warming up," Nan Feng said.

"Naturally, we are going to reinforce the other three fronts."

"Reinforce?"

Bibi Dong furrowed her brows, struggling to keep up with the thought process of this Old Spider. "Wait, wasn't our plan to 'besiege a point to strike the reinforcements'? Shouldn't we be staying here to wait for the rabbit, waiting for Tang Xiao to bring the main force of the Clear Sky Sect to save the Speed Clan, and then using the terrain and our ambush to deal them a heavy blow?"

"If we leave, what happens if Tang Xiao shows up and finds nothing?"

"Finds nothing, my foot!"

Nan Feng rolled his eyes. "Unless his brain is flooded, he would never run here!"

"Why?" Bibi Dong was even more confused. "Didn't you swear in the Elder Hall that the Clear Sky Sect would save the Speed Clan first for the sake of face and family? Didn't you say this was their weak point?"

"Big sister, that was to fool those old fossils!"

Nan Feng wore an expression that said, Are you stupid? "If I didn't say that, would they have agreed to leave the Elder Hall? Would they have agreed to this plan of splitting our forces? Would they have let you take two thousand men to fight this guaranteed, lopsided victory?"

"If I hadn't framed the Speed Clan as a vital strategic location that must be contested, would they have felt safe enough to slack off on the other three fronts?"

Bibi Dong: "..."

"Besides, use your brain." Nan Feng pointed at the ruins outside. "First of all, why attack the Speed Clan? It was to enrage the Clear Sky Sect and force them to leave that turtle shell they call Clear Sky Peak. That much is correct."

"But, two thousand spirit masters, two Title Douluo, and an unfathomable Pope, all besieging a tiny Speed Clan."

"And the result? A few scouts just happened to escape and just happened to bring the news back to the Clear Sky Sect that we had split our forces into four to attack the Four Great Clans simultaneously."

"What is this?"

"This is showing our hand! It's like carving the word 'trap' on our foreheads for them to see!"

"The elders of the Clear Sky Sect are selfish, but they aren't idiots. Would they jump into such an obvious pit?"

"The people of the Clear Sky Sect care about face, but they don't want to die."

"If they really came directly to save the Speed Clan, it would be equivalent to abandoning the high ground and facing our main force head-on. That is the worst possible strategy."

"As long as there is even one sensible person left in the Clear Sky Sect, they will never choose this path."

Bibi Dong frowned, as if she had grasped something, yet didn't fully understand. "Then you mean..."

"The reason I had you release the news that all four clans were under attack simultaneously was to point them toward a 'clear' path," Nan Feng said.

"Look, the Speed Clan is the trap, and our main force is here. What about the other three clans? Those are feints, and their defenses are thin."

"If I were Tang Xiao, or an elder of the Clear Sky Sect..."

"I would definitely choose—to avoid the strong and strike the weak!"

"Go save the Strength Clan, the Defense Clan, or the Breaking Clan first!"

"Those three clans have strong combat power; once saved, they can serve as cannon fodder and bolster their own strength. Plus, there are only feinting troops there; the risk is low, and the reward is high."

"Once they unite those three clans and have a formidable force, they can turn back and challenge us. Wouldn't that be much more certain?"

"They can save face—since they did send troops—while minimizing their own losses by letting the affiliated clans take the heat."

"That is the choice those hypocritical old fossils would make."

Having said this, Nan Feng spread his hands, looking entirely matter-of-fact:

"Therefore, Tang Xiao will absolutely not come to the Speed Clan."

"His current marching route is one hundred percent aimed at the Strength Clan or the Defense Clan, whichever is closest to them."

"Why are we staying here? To drink the northwest wind?"

"Naturally, we are going to outplay their expectations and go straight there to intercept them!"