Chapter 12

Wang Rong’s earth-digging technique looked crude, but every detail was deliberate—details even many sect disciples wouldn’t understand.

The first rule of the Wang family’s combat secrets—run first!

Running first seems cowardly, but it’s actually a sophisticated wisdom.

If your opponent is stronger and you can’t win, running lets you seize speed advantage early, greatly increasing your chance of escape.

In a balanced fight, running first feigns weakness, then lets you suddenly turn and strike, seizing the initiative in reverse.

If you’re vastly superior, running first can also test whether hidden opponents lurk nearby.

If watchers waiting for an opening see you flee, they’re likely to reveal themselves to chase—doesn’t that avoid getting tripped up in the gutter?

If no watchers exist, running a few steps won't prevent you from turning back and catching your unlucky opponent.

In short, running first always yields greater benefit than risk.

Hence, this strategy was elevated to the first rule of the Wang family’s combat secrets.

But if Yulou were to analyze it, with his modern mindset, he’d see deeper underlying logic.

For instance, running first and feigning weakness is a form of specialized expectation management.

In modern workplaces and life, managing expectations of oneself and others is an extremely profound and complex discipline—even a biblical-level one in workplace struggles.

But applying expectation management logic to the “run first” combat strategy is equally valid.

Running first and feigning weakness is managing your enemy’s expectations!

The Miaofeng Mountain disciple who shouted, “You’re mid-Qi Refining and still trying to run?” was successfully manipulated by Wang Rongyuan.

Anticipating the enemy is hard, because in spontaneous encounters, you can’t predict their tactics or special techniques in advance.

If you know nothing, how can you anticipate the enemy?

But by actively guiding them, using controllable actions to provoke their behavior, you can predict their next move based on the expectations you’ve shaped.

This is the practical application of expectation management in combat—using proper expectation management to anticipate the enemy!

Half a step ahead is still ahead!

Cultivators react and move quickly; half a step can mean the difference between life and death!

The three outlaw cultivators, seeing Wang Rongyuan’s Qi Refining mid-level form vanish underground, swiftly surrounded him, each deploying techniques to locate him.

Underground, Wang Rongyuan first swallowed a Soul-Opening Pill—three-on-one, and he hadn’t even started fighting yet, already taking his blue mana? That’s the difference between having a family lineage and not!

Then he activated the wooden puppets he’d already planted when he crashed down from the sky, making them appear in the direction opposite his own.

Run first, lure them in, then use the wooden puppet to expose a weakness!

“There he is! Block him, don’t let him escape!”

The Miaofeng Mountain disciple at Qi Refining peak was the first to sense the wooden puppet, pointing toward it and warning his two companions.

The three swiftly flew toward the puppet’s location.

Due to differences in cultivation level and initial entry angles, their aerial formation naturally arranged itself: Miaofeng Mountain disciple in front, Qi Refining 10th-layer outlaw in the middle, Qi Refining 8th-layer outlaw at the rear.

The perfect moment to strike had arrived—how could Wang Rongyuan possibly miss it?

“Watch out!”

Two thick wooden vines erupted from the ground, lashing toward the Qi Refining 8th-layer outlaw at the back.

This was the Rapid Vine Technique, commonly used by Qi Refining-level Wood-element cultivators—fast, precise, brutal; if defense is weak or fire techniques aren’t applied quickly enough, one touch means death.

The Qi Refining 8th-layer cultivator instantly cast two Flying Fire Spells, blocking them before himself.

But the Qi Refining 10th-layer outlaw ahead instinctively activated a circular defensive magic treasure, intending to help his younger brother.

This—was the real opportunity!

The ground exploded with a “boom,” dust flying everywhere.

Before the sound reached the Qi Refining 10th-layer outlaw’s ears, a blue-and-red Medicine King Mace struck beneath him.

The Wang family’s combat secrets, seventh rule—if you absolutely must fight three at once, kill the one in the middle first!

The strongest will be hardest to kill; killing him wastes opportunity. In combat, every opportunity matters immensely.

In a one-against-three scenario, the meaning of “don’t miss your chance” becomes terrifyingly concrete.

Any mistake could mean disaster—death and dissolution of the Dao!

The weakest one knows he’s weakest, so he’s naturally most alert—he fears being picked off like a soft melon.

Under constant vigilance, with no major power gap, attacking the weakest might yield nothing.

Thus, killing the middle one becomes the relatively higher-success option.

Wang Rongyuan’s choice was clever: he first used the Rapid Vine Technique to attack the weakest, Qi Refining 8th-layer.

Seeing the Qi Refining 10th-layer outlaw try to save his comrade, he decisively went all-in!

Going all-in is wisdom—and courage!

Uncle Rongyuan had no lack of wisdom, nor of courage!

“Damn! Qi Refining 10th-layer!”

When the second-in-command realized Wang Rongyuan shared his cultivation level, it was already too late!

More accurately—it was far too late.

The top-grade magic treasure, the Medicine King Mace, was forged primarily from eighth-rank blue-and-white agate, with a ninth-rank bloodwood handle, inscribed with a full twenty-one layers of sealing arrays, designed to shatter defenses with raw force—unbreakable among peers!

The Qi Refining 10th-layer outlaw, juggling two magic treasures, had no time to block Wang Rongyuan’s mace.

Before the eyes of the two other outlaws, the blue-and-red Medicine King Mace pierced through their companion’s chest, emerging drenched in crimson.

The Qi Refining 10th-layer outlaw looked down at his hollowed chest and cursed.

“Liar!”

Then, his flight treasure and defensive treasure, now uncontrolled, fell to the ground alongside his still-warm corpse.

“Brother, we were just joking with you—who are you really?”

The Miaofeng Mountain disciple at Qi Refining peak was both shocked and furious—he simply couldn’t believe his three brothers had been tricked today!

The Rapid Vine Technique was a decoy, the wooden puppet was fake, even the Qi Refining 5th-layer pretense was fake.

All those Red Lamp Sect, Drop of Water Cave rumors—everything was a lie!

The wooden puppet that had emerged from the earth, having completed its task, had no expression on its wooden face—but the Miaofeng Mountain disciple swore he saw it smiling.

Smiling at his three brothers, calling them three big fools!

If Wang Rongyuan had so much as responded to the Miaofeng Mountain disciple’s nonsense, he’d be a fool too.

He didn’t answer the Miaofeng Mountain disciple’s words—not even the slightest intention to emerge from the ground.

He was playing earth-digging tactics—dare you land and fight a soil-and-wood-element cultivator?

Either don’t fight at all—or kill them all.

Retracting the Medicine King Mace, Wang Rongyuan immediately activated two special low-grade magic treasures—the Donkey-Hair Incense Pouches.

The Wang family excelled in raising donkeys, sustaining their lineage for a thousand years through Wood-element spiritual donkeys.

Naturally, they’d exploited every spiritual material from these donkeys to the extreme.

Though the Donkey-Hair Incense Pouches were only fifth-layer sealed low-grade magic treasures, with no attack or defense capability—even decent iron could destroy them.

But once filled with different substances, their effects became significant.

As the two pouches skimmed swiftly along the ground, pale yellow Desire-Inducing Incense began to spread across the battlefield.

In game terms, this was soft control—seemingly minor, but if stacked enough, it would cripple the enemy!

“Fine! If you want to fight to the end, don’t blame me for going all out!”

The Miaofeng Mountain disciple at the Qi Refining peak had insight—he saw through Wang Rongyuan’s moves.

He activated a mid-grade magic treasure: a white cloud-silk handkerchief, which floated in the air, raining down countless droplets.

You use incense to control me? I’ll use water techniques to break your Desire-Inducing Incense!

“Brother Three, combine your Fire Thunder Spells! If he won’t come out, we’ll blast this earth rat to dust!”