Li Miao completely disregarded the gazes of the surrounding martial artists, and on his own accord, lifted Headmaster Wu's head and slammed it down again.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
He held back his strength, not wanting to actually smash the man to death. But even with just one-tenth of his power, it was more than a second-rate nobody could endure.
Twenty-seven phrases on his lips, twenty-seven in his heart, which meant Headmaster Wu had to kowtow fifty-four times.
Heaven help him, he might not even kowtow that many times to his own father in his entire life.
By the fifth kowtow, the stunned Headmaster Wu finally reacted, struggling to open his mouth and curse Li Miao.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, his entire face was pressed into the dirt, and he could only make muffled, whimpering sounds.
By the twentieth kowtow, Headmaster Wu had already begun to beg for mercy.
By the fortieth kowtow, Headmaster Wu had completely fainted, his head and face covered in blood.
Li Miao showed no intention of stopping, still gripping Headmaster Wu's nape and slamming him onto the ground.
At this point, whether it was the disciples of the Huanhua Sword Sect, Headmaster Wu's own followers, or the martial artists watching the spectacle, all had fallen silent.
The one who had come out to mediate was now covered in cold sweat, his legs trembling, almost wanting to leave.
"Fifty-four."
Bang!
Finally, Li Miao stopped, lifted Headmaster Wu, and threw him onto the ground like a broken sack.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he smiled at the leading youth.
"Alright, you don't need to leave."
Immediately, he seemingly intentionally or unintentionally scanned the surroundings.
Swish—
In an instant, the surrounding martial artists scattered and retreated.
Those who were too crowded behind couldn't get out, and for a moment, they were flustered and helpless. A sudden idea struck them, and they sharply turned to look at the person beside them.
"Ah, Brother Li! Long time no see!"
The person was startled, then instantly reacted.
"Ah? Ah! Brother Wang, Brother Wang, what a coincidence!"
Two strangers enthusiastically began to converse, turning their faces away to avoid Li Miao's gaze.
"Mm, that's about right."
Li Miao smiled.
To be honest, a nobody like Headmaster Wu wasn't worth him condescending to bully.
By his nature, he would naturally just casually point a Xuantian Finger at him and kill him to be done with it.
If he were in Shuntian Prefecture, he should be leisurely sipping a bowl of hot tea, enjoying the screams of this person being tormented by Wang Hai, and eating some dried fruits and candied treats. When it was all over, he would get up, put on his clothes, and throw a few taels of silver on him to treat his injuries.
He went to all this trouble, of course, to make everyone remember his face.
Relying solely on these few people from the Huanhua Sword Sect to prove that he only arrived at Shaolin today was not enough weight.
But after this incident, these hundreds of people present should all remember his face. If the imperial court were to become suspicious in the future, these people would all be his witnesses.
The leading youth saw Li Miao smile kindly at him, and he actually shivered.
Heaven help him, where did this peerless fiend come from? There wasn't anyone named Li Miao in the martial arts world. How did he end up encountering him!
One must know, this was the Shaolin Temple's mountain gate!
He was momentarily flustered and stammered, "Li, Big Brother Li, I..."
Li Miao chuckled, "Don't be nervous."
"It's just a small warning to make him more careful when traversing the martial arts world in the future. He'll be fine after half a year of recuperation in bed."
"If he continues like this every day, he'll inevitably lose his life. I'm actually doing this for his own good."
"Ah? Ah, yes, yes..."
The leading youth, on his first trip down the mountain, had never encountered such "I'm hitting you for your own good" bandit logic from Li Miao. For a moment, he only felt that something was wrong, but he didn't dare to refute.
Just as he was in a dilemma, and the surrounding martial artists felt like they had daggers at their backs, the atmosphere suddenly grew quiet.
Creak, creak, creak—
The Shaolin Temple's mountain gate finally slowly opened.
A monk walked out of the mountain gate, clasped his hands together, and bowed to everyone.
"Patrons, you have waited long."
He raised his head, about to continue with some polite words, but he suddenly froze.
A person lay on the ground, his head and face covered in blood, and a group of people surrounded him, shouting, "Headmaster! Headmaster!" in a chaotic manner.
The surrounding martial artists looked at the sky, the ground, the trees, but no one dared to look in that direction.
His lips moved, but he didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, someone was more anxious than him.
A martial artist quickly stepped forward: "Greetings, Master! Let's go in quickly!"
With that, he didn't wait for a reply and rushed through the gate as if fleeing for his life.
The others also surged forward as if escaping, like a flock of birds.
The monk was busy with hospitality and had no time to think about the strangeness of the situation just now.
In a moment, only Li Miao, Yin Minjun, the Huanhua Sword Sect group, and the Headmaster Wu group remained in the open space outside the mountain gate.
"Let's go, everyone else has gone in."
Li Miao called out, then walked towards the entrance, with Yin Minjun naturally following behind him.
The Huanhua Sword Sect members looked at each other, and could only follow Li Miao.
Leaving Headmaster Wu and his group to shout and panic in place.
"Patron, where are you from?" The monk who was receiving guests asked.
"Huanhua Sword Sect." Li Miao answered casually.
"Oh no, this is bad!" The leading youth secretly thought.
This person, could he be a demonic fiend using the name of my Huanhua Sword Sect to cause trouble at Shaolin!
He was grateful that Li Miao had stood up for them, but his methods were too extreme, not like the conduct of a righteous sect. And since it concerned the sect's reputation, he didn't dare to gamble.
So, from behind Li Miao, he winked and made faces at the monk receiving guests, trying to convey a message.
But Yin Minjun stepped forward and blocked him, her gaze sweeping coldly over him, making him momentarily speechless.
"Patrons of the Huanhua Sword Sect, please follow me."
The monk didn't see the leading youth's warning, nodded, and led everyone into the temple.
They walked along and arrived at a large plaza.
Generally, large sects with some standing in the martial arts world would have such a plaza within their gates. On ordinary days, it was used for disciples to practice martial arts, and in case of any major events within the sect or in the martial arts world, it would be used as a venue.
At this time, many people were already seated on the north side of the plaza, all from major sects who had entered the temple early through a side gate. Many chairs were placed on the east and west sides, where smaller and medium forces and rogue martial artists who had waited outside could seat themselves.
Since ancient times, the south was considered the most honorable direction, so those of the highest status sat on the north side, facing south.
As for the south side, because it faced north and also carried the meaning of "defeat" which martial artists greatly avoided, no seats were arranged there.
Li Miao walked in with a steady stride, and the major sects seated on the north side showed no reaction, but the martial artists on the east and west sides all changed color.
"How did Shaolin actually let him in!"
"What should we do now? That Headmaster Wu is a good second-rate fighter; to make him look like that, this person is probably an ultimate master!"
"Looking at his actions, it's not the style of a righteous sect. He's probably going to cause trouble!"
Li Miao looked left and right, then lifted his foot and walked towards the east side.
It was still morning, and he found the sunlight glaring if he sat on the west side.
He had only walked halfway when someone on the east side suddenly stood up.
"Ah! I forgot, my birth chart is incompatible with the east! Brother Wang, I'm going to sit on the west side!"
"I'm incompatible too, I'm incompatible too! Let's go together, let's go together!"
For a moment, there was a chaotic scramble.
By the time Li Miao approached, the seats that were almost full had become more than half empty.
Those who remained didn't not want to leave, but rather, the seats on the west side were already full.
Li Miao led Yin Minjun and the Huanhua Sword Sect to sit in the front row, and the people around them quietly shuffled their bottoms away.
In a short while, a large empty space formed around Li Miao.
At this moment, the major sects seated on the north side also noticed the situation here and all cast their gazes over, but they were surprised for a moment.
"Hmm? Isn't that Elder Yin of the Hengshan Sect?"