“You…” David Warren’s dark face flushed a deep red.

……

Chapter Three: Countering the Scheme

……

“Enough.” Evelyn Grant rebuked softly to stop them, then added, “Sixth Uncle, don’t be impulsive. Let’s resolve everything calmly.”

Evelyn Grant herself was the legitimate daughter of the Gongsun clan of Shanyang, the principal wife of the former Wang clan patriarch, and the stepmother of the new Wang clan leader. With this status, she was more than qualified to mediate and handle this matter.

David Warren said emotionally, “Fifth Sister-in-law, it’s not that I, Old Six, am being impulsive, but that The Bennett Boy has gone too far. Everyone in Ping’an Town knows that from Dingpu Ferry, thirty li to the right up to the Rocky Shoals, is the Wang family’s water territory. But that brat Peter Bennett has repeatedly crossed the line to fish, and this time he brazenly crossed ten li over. If I don’t drive him out, will my Wang family still have a foothold on the Anjiang River?”

“Oh, oh, oh, Old Six Warren, don’t play the victim here.” Peter Bennett put on a look of great grievance. “The wind and current on the Anjiang are strong, and my Liu family’s territory is upstream. Sometimes it’s hard to keep the boat steady. But you, as soon as you showed up, rammed us with your fishing boat. After losing out in the scuffle, you even called for backup. How unreasonable! Are you bullying my Liu family just because we don’t have any elders or a clan leader?”

Charles Warren had been silently observing and analyzing. He was already certain that the Liu clan had deliberately provoked this dispute, most likely to test him as the new clan leader, or perhaps to gauge his abilities.

If he, as the clan leader, was incompetent or timid, the Liu clan would probably join forces with the Zhao clan, and a series of open and covert schemes would come flooding in.

“Ahem!”

Charles Warren coughed twice and calmly stepped forward.

“Nephew Shouzhe, you’re here too?” David Warren’s face lit up, then he said angrily, “Come, judge for your Sixth Uncle. This brat used tricks to ambush me. I’m not convinced and want a fair rematch.”

“So it’s the young master of the Wang clan—no, the clan leader himself.” Peter Bennett narrowed his eyes slightly, showing a hint of wariness and jealousy toward Charles Warren.

There was no doubt that Charles Warren’s overall strength far surpassed that of Peter Bennett. And at only eighteen, Charles Warren had already cultivated to the late stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining, with great potential for future growth.

Now, even within the Liu clan, there was considerable wariness toward Charles Warren. If he ever advanced to the Spirit Platform Realm, the power dynamics in Ping’an Town would change dramatically.

Some of the onlookers around them began whispering, clearly interested in the newly appointed young clan leader of the Wang family. Their words implied that the previous clan leader, Henry Warren, had died too early. If he had lasted another ten years and allowed Charles Warren to fully mature, the Wang family’s situation would be very different.

“Sixth Uncle, victory and defeat are common in battle.” Charles Warren narrowed his eyes slightly and lowered his voice to probe, “But Sixth Uncle, are you really confident you can win? If you lose again in front of everyone, it will damage our Wang family’s prestige.”

“Well…” David Warren hesitated, then said in a low voice, “I’ve clashed with that Liu brat several times before, and we were always evenly matched, each with our own advantages. But for some reason, today things were strange—his water evasion technique seems to have improved a lot. In the water, he was as slippery as a loach, and I was caught off guard. But don’t worry, nephew, I’ll give it my all to win this time.”

His water evasion technique improved a lot?

Heh, this was getting interesting. Charles Warren touched his nose, more or less understanding the other side’s tactics. They were creating conflict to provoke David Warren’s sense of injustice, then having the up-and-coming Peter Bennett defeat David Warren in front of everyone, thus damaging the Wang family’s prestige.

If they could further escalate things and get both sides to sign a wager, that would be perfect. At that point, they could take another big bite out of the Wang family.

Charles Warren had already made up his mind about the situation and immediately said, “Sixth Uncle, leave this matter to me.”

“This…” David Warren hesitated for a moment, but seeing Charles Warren’s calm demeanor, he composed himself and stepped back two paces. “Shouzhe, be careful. The Liu clan is best at playing tricks.”

“Don’t worry, Sixth Uncle, I won’t suffer any losses.” After reassuring him, Charles Warren looked around the scene and, under everyone’s gaze, announced loudly, “The Xuanwu noble families have always built their clans on martial strength. As for ancestral territory, if the younger generation can’t defend it, it’s only natural to retreat. Peter Bennett, since your Liu clan wants to encroach on and annex our Wang family’s fishing grounds, stirring up conflict is just a minor tactic. Why not be straightforward? Let’s follow our ancestors’ example and have a life-and-death duel between us peers. Whoever wins gets the other’s fishing grounds. How about it?”

“What?”

A chorus of shocked exclamations erupted around them. A life-and-death duel!? Was the young Wang clan leader really going to be this aggressive?

Charles Warren was five years younger than Peter Bennett, yet he was openly challenging him to a life-and-death duel. Peter Bennett’s face turned pale, and he didn’t dare accept. He could only force a smile and say, “Clan leader Wang, you must be joking. You’re the clan leader—how could you step into a life-and-death duel?”