Pijialuolo's appearance forced Su Xin to withdraw for the moment. But at this point, whether Su Xin retreated or not no longer made any difference, because Su Xin knew exactly what Pijialuolo intended. He had appeared here not to protect Shaolin Temple, but to annex it!
Of course, Pijialuolo's methods might be far gentler, but the result would be the same.
If Su Xin had handled such a matter, there would have been only two choices: submit or die. It was faster and cleaner that way. As for Pijialuolo, one only needed to look at his conduct in the Immortal Domain and during his time at Shaolin Temple to know that he was also a terrifying existence. Most chilling of all, he had worn a mask called "Holy Teacher" for his entire life.
In essence, Pijialuolo and Su Xin were the same kind of person. One cared for appearances, while the other cared for what lay beneath.
After leaving Shaolin Temple, Qi Long and the others returned as well.
Su Xin asked, "Have you intercepted them all?"
Qi Long's expression was somewhat ugly. He bowed to Su Xin and said, "Please forgive me, my lord. Your subordinate failed in his duty and allowed some of Shaolin Temple's younger disciples to escape—around a dozen or so."
Su Zichen said from the side, "This cannot really be blamed on Lord Qi either. Among those Shaolin Temple disciples was Yuan Kong, the most outstanding of Shaolin Temple's younger generation. His strength is astonishing. I never saw him make a move when I was at Shaolin Temple, but the strength he displayed just now was nearly at the Soul Fusion Realm. We let our guard down for an instant, and he escaped with a portion of Shaolin Temple's disciples."
Su Xin waved a hand.