I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

The sand quarry dock on the banks of the Tazhai River.

The diesel engine of the sand dredger roared loudly, and thick black smoke billowed from its exhaust pipe.

Two hundred tons of Heihe River sand filled two large iron-clad ship holds, causing the ship to draft extremely deep.

Lin Ting stepped onto the wooden planks laid out on the shore and strode onto the bow of the first sand-carrying ship. He steadied himself and turned around.

Lin Fei walked at the front, shirtless, with a one-meter-long thickened seamless steel pipe slung over his right shoulder.

The polished steel pipe reflected the sunlight as he strode onto the deck and stood behind Lin Ting.

Fifty men from Zhongtang, who had drunk the medicinal soup, lined up in two rows and boarded the boat one by one.

They were all shirtless, carrying extremely heavy steel pipes.

The muscles on each person's body bulged out, and the veins stretched from their arms to the backs of their hands.

The knife wounds and scratches left from the water battle have all fallen off and new flesh has grown.

Fifty people boarded two sand-carrying ships and stood on the deck without making a sound.

Lin Fei slammed the steel pipe onto the iron deck with a dull thud. He gripped a scrap plank on the side of the ship with his left hand, his fingers clenched together.

He crushed a three-centimeter-thick solid wood board into powder with one hand, and wood chips fell through his fingers.

"Set sail," Lin Ting ordered.

The captain sounded the horn, and the sand-carrying ship pushed through the waves, heading downstream along the Tazhai River.

A river breeze blew in his face as Lin Ting stood at the front, watching the river widen over time.

Fifty loyal men stood on both sides, their steel pipes hanging steadily beside their legs.

Their breathing was long and powerful, their chassis extremely stable, and they did not yield an inch as the ship rocked.

The power within them surged wildly through their veins; they all held their breath, waiting for blood to be drawn.

The lower reaches of the Tazhai River, the waters of Wangjia Village.

The river narrows here, and a thick iron cable stretches across the water, its ends firmly secured to the banks with cement piles.

Red and white plastic buoys were hung on the iron chains, completely blocking the entire waterway.

Behind the iron chain, a dozen speedboats and wooden fishing boats were lined up in a row.

Wang Hai, shirtless, sat on the bow of the largest speedboat in the middle.

He was carrying a meter-long iron harpoon, the tip of which was still stained with blood from the previous fight.

Lin Daqiang sat next to Wang Hai, holding a bottle of chilled beer. He had parked his Mercedes on the shore and taken a speedboat specifically to watch the excitement.

"Village Chief Wang, those landlubbers from the Lin family really got what they deserved today."

Lin Daqiang took a big gulp of beer, let out a burp, and said, "I reckon that kid named Lin Ting is hiding in the ancestral hall crying right now."

Wang Hai picked up the towel around his neck and wiped the water droplets from his face, then grinned.

"Lin Daqiang, what are you talking about? What good are the Lin family members? When it comes to the water, dragons have to coil up and tigers have to lie down."

"There are over a hundred water ghosts in my Wangjia Village. I could drown them all with just a spit from each of them." Wang Hai slammed the iron harpoon onto the deck.

Around the speedboat, hundreds of thugs from Wangjia Village were either sitting on the side of the boat smoking or wading in the river.

Holding machetes, iron bars, and barbed fishing nets, they boasted to each other about how they had just submerged the Lin family in the water, making them drink mud and sand.

Lin Daqiang took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to Wang Hai.

"Village Chief Wang, if they come with money to redeem the road later, this 50,000 yuan won't be enough." Lin Daqiang leaned over to light a fire for Wang Hai.

Wang Hai took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring.

"Fifty thousand? That was the price just now. A few of my brothers were injured earlier, shouldn't their medical expenses be included?"

"Next time, I want 100,000, 100,000 for the whole boat." Wang Hai tapped on the edge of the speedboat's metal frame.

As the two were talking, the thug who had been keeping watch in the reeds on the bank stood up and shouted, pointing upstream.

"Brother Hai! The Lin family's ship is here again!"

Wang Hai stood up and flicked the cigarette butt in his hand into the water. He squinted as he looked ahead.

At the bend in the river, two iron boats loaded with river sand, billowing black smoke, were heading towards the iron chain without slowing down at all.

Lin Daqiang also stood up, grabbed the windshield of the speedboat, and peered forward.

"Is Lin Ting an idiot? He just got beaten up, and he brought no money, yet he still brought his boat over? Does he really think the iron chains of Wangjia Village are made of mud?" Lin Daqiang cursed.

Wang Hai snorted and bent down to pick up the megaphone.

"Grab your weapons! Everyone, get your act together! The Lin family is trying to force their way in! Let them know who's in charge of Tazhai River today!" Wang Hai yelled into the loudspeaker.

Hundreds of thugs sprang into action. Those soaking in the water swam to the speedboat, took the fishing nets and long ropes from the deck, and the thugs on the boat gripped their machetes tightly.

The sand-carrying ship is getting closer and closer.

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters.

The massive hull pushed up waves half a meter high, and the engine roared deafeningly.

When the sand-carrying vessel was less than ten meters away from the iron cable, the captain suddenly pulled the control lever.

The propellers reversed direction, creating large patches of white foam on the water's surface, and the two heavy sand-carrying ships remained steadily afloat on the river.

Wang Hai stood on the bow of the speedboat, raised a megaphone, and shouted at the sand-carrying ship.

"You little brats from the Lin family! Didn't you get enough water earlier? What, you've sent a new batch of people to die?" Wang Hai's voice echoed across the river.

There was no response from the sand-carrying vessel.

Lin Ting stood at the bow of the ship, his hands behind his back. He looked at Wang Hai without saying a word.

Fifty loyal men stood on either side, shirtless, carrying thick steel pipes, staring intently at the speedboat below.

No one cursed or talked back. Apart from the idling of the engine, there was no other sound on the sand-carrying ship.

Lin Daqiang felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Lin Ting standing on the bow of the boat. He leaned close to Wang Hai's ear.

"Village Chief Wang, something's not right. These people aren't making a sound, and the steel pipes they're holding are thicker than before," Lin Daqiang said in a low voice.

Wang Hai shoved Lin Daqiang away.

"What are you pretending to be? Once you're on the water, even cannons won't work!" Wang Hai continued shouting through a megaphone.

"Lin Ting! You're that new great-grandfather? Let me tell you, the toll has gone up! One hundred thousand a boat! Not a penny less, and I'll stab your boat through the bottom!"

Lin Ting didn't even lift his eyelids.

Lin Fei, carrying a steel pipe, stood to Lin Ting's right. He looked at Wang Hai and spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the deck.

Seeing that he was being completely ignored, Wang Hai's anger surged. He had been collecting tolls on the Tazhai River for so many years, and no one had ever dared to embarrass him like this.

"You're asking for it! Get them! Drag them all into the water and feed them to the turtles!" Wang Hai threw away the megaphone, raised the iron harpoon in his hand, and swung it forward.

The thugs of Wangjia Village were waiting for these words.

More than a dozen speedboats and fishing boats quickly dispersed and surrounded the two sand-carrying ships.

"Throw the hook!" shouted one of the thugs in charge.

Dozens of thugs standing on the small boat swung the hemp ropes in their hands. Sharp iron hooks were tied to the ends of the ropes. They swung them twice overhead, then released them.

Clang!

Clang!

The iron hook slammed into the metal side of the sand-carrying boat, wedging itself tightly at the edge.

The thugs put their machetes in their mouths, gripped the ropes with both hands, and braced their feet against the metal hull of the sand barge, climbing up as fast as monkeys.

The thugs in the water also had daggers in their teeth, climbing up the lowered rope net.

Lin Daqiang clapped his hands and laughed on the speedboat.

"Lin Ting! You're going to die! I'm going to slap you with my own hands later!" Lin Daqiang shouted at the sand-carrying ship.

On the deck of a sand-carrying ship.

Lin Ting watched the thugs climbing up and took a step back.

Lin Fei took the steel pipe he was carrying on his shoulder and walked to the side of the ship, looking down directly below.

A shirtless hoodlum from Wangjia Village with a ribbonfish tattooed on his chest climbed the fastest.

He grabbed the metal sheeting of the ship's side with both hands, used his waist strength, and flipped himself onto the deck of the sand-carrying ship.

The thug landed on his feet and took the iron harpoon out of his mouth. He looked up and saw Lin Fei standing in front of him.

Without saying a word, the thug gripped the wooden handle of the harpoon with both hands and thrust it forcefully into Lin Fei's chest.

Lin Fei stood still, his feet firmly planted on the deck, not moving an inch.

He looked at the harpoon tip that was thrusting towards him, reached forward with his left hand, spread his fingers, and grabbed the iron rod of the harpoon.