The middle-aged man's face flushed with anger as he watched Long Yi take down all the security guards.
"How dare you resist! You are provoking the War Department!" the middle-aged man roared, his face turning red.
"Li Xiaotian, you are going too far! The War God Banquet is hosted by the War Department, and the Emperor Hotel, as the organizer, also represents the War Department. Do you fear punishment from the War Department for acting like this?" Old Master Zhao's expression was grim, but his eyes gleamed with excitement. Li Xiaotian's men dared to cause trouble here, pushing him toward a dead end!
However, what happened next stunned everyone present. Long Yi took a step forward, grabbed the middle-aged man by the neck, and lifted him high.
"You. You are insolent!! What are you doing? Let me go quickly! Do you want to die?" the middle-aged man yelled, disbelief etched on his face. He was being humiliated like this on his own turf.
The Zhao family members also began to reprimand him, their boldness exceeding their imagination. Knowing it was a banquet hosted by the War Department, they still dared to act this way.
"Li Xiaotian, tell your people to stop! You can't act so presumptuously here!" the Zhao family members roared.
Li Xiaotian glanced over, stepped forward, his gaze cold, and said in a chilling tone.
"Zhao family, Zhao family, I don't know where you get your courage. Do you believe me if I say I will kill one of you if you utter another word of nonsense!"
Upon hearing this, all the Zhao family members froze, too scared to speak. They believed Li Xiaotian was capable of such a thing; in their eyes, Li Xiaotian was a madman!
"Grandfather, let's go inside first. The Li and Zhang families have already gone in!" Zhao Lu whispered to the Old Master Zhao, clearly indicating that their Zhao family couldn't afford to offend Li Xiaotian. What if he went mad if this continued?
But the Li and Zhang families could! And perhaps, upon meeting War God Long Batian inside, Long Batian himself might intervene.
Old Master Zhao's eyes lit up at her words. He shot Li Xiaotian a cold glare, then led the Zhao family around and into the hotel.
"Let's go. The fate of some people has already been sealed. We will wait for revenge!" Old Master Zhao said.
The onlookers around them voiced their indignation and discussed animatedly.
"This Li Xiaotian is too arrogant, acting like this even here. Look how scared the Zhao family is of him."
"Yes, he even struck the Emperor Hotel staff. Is he tired of living? If the War Department patrols arrive, they'll surely arrest them."
"Hmph! A nobody from Jiangnan is causing a ruckus in our capital. His end is already decided; he won't last much longer."
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man held by Long Yi kept shouting threats, greatly annoying Long Yi. He gestured to Li Xiaotian, asking if he should kill him.
Li Xiaotian shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed in one direction, where Jiang Hai was rushing over.
"Lord Jiang, you've come at the perfect time. I beg you to uphold justice. These people are impersonating guests of the War God Banquet, using fake invitation cards, and have even injured our hotel's security guards. They are utterly presumptuous!" The middle-aged man cried out as if he had found a savior upon seeing Jiang Hai.
He recognized the man; he was a trusted subordinate of Lord Li Shanhai of the War Department, and this person was primarily responsible for liaising with the hotel regarding the specifics of the War God Banquet.
"Shut up! You blind fool!" To his surprise, Jiang Hai glared fiercely at the middle-aged man, then quickly walked to Li Xiaotian's side, bowed, and said with a pale face.
"Mr. Li, I am deserving of death. I truly did not expect such a thing to happen."
Boom! This scene rendered the middle-aged man's mind blank. Then, his entire body began to tremble, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
The seemingly high-and-mighty Lord Jiang Hai was calling himself a subordinate before that man and even bowing in apology!
It's over! It's over! I'm dead! the middle-aged man thought. What foolish things had he just done? Tearing up the invitation card and ordering the arrest of the group!
In an instant, the middle-aged man understood everything. The invitation card he had torn up was genuine, personally written by Lord Li Shanhai himself!
"My lord, I am deserving of death! I have eyes but cannot recognize Mount Tai!" the middle-aged man said immediately, his voice cracking.
"Shut up! You idiot, how dare you confess to Mr. Li?" Jiang Hai cursed, wishing he could slap the fool to death.
"Mr. Li, I am truly sorry this time. It was my oversight. I will definitely ensure the Emperor Hotel provides you with an explanation," Jiang Hai said to Li Xiaotian with a respectful attitude, though his heart was filled with tension.
"Forget it, it's a trivial matter," Li Xiaotian said faintly.
Hoo! Upon hearing Li Xiaotian's words, Jiang Hai immediately breathed a sigh of relief. If this incident had angered Li Xiaotian, he would likely face a severe scolding from Lord Li Shanhai later.
"It's just a shame that he tore up that invitation card!" Li Xiaotian continued.
Hearing this, Jiang Hai turned and slapped the middle-aged man twice, his eyes filled with coldness.
"How dare you! You tore up an invitation card personally written by Lord Li Shanhai! When did your Emperor Hotel staff become so arrogant? You disregard even Lord Li Shanhai's face?"
"Bang!" The middle-aged man immediately knelt down, his face deathly pale. He trembled, his voice choked with tears.
"Lord Jiang, I am deserving of death, I am deserving of death!"
Jiang Hai cast a cold glance at him, then turned to Li Xiaotian and said respectfully, "Mr. Li, how should this person be dealt with? If you don't wish to see him again, he will disappear from this world tonight."
Upon hearing Jiang Hai's words, the middle-aged man's fear intensified. He kowtowed incessantly, his forehead bleeding.
Li Xiaotian frowned slightly and said, "Forget it, he's just an ant."
With that, Li Xiaotian grabbed Ye Qingmei and turned to walk into the hotel.
Behind him, the middle-aged man was still kowtowing, loudly thanking Mr. Li for his forgiveness.
This scene left the onlookers filled with shock, their faces exchanged glances.
"Who was it that said Li Xiaotian was just an ordinary person?" someone asked.
"What is his identity that makes Jiang Hai, the Governor of Jiangnan, so respectful?"
"Heh heh, Li Xiaotian's identity must be extraordinary. It's a pity the Zhao family didn't witness this scene. I really want to see the Zhao family's expression upon seeing this."
"Indeed, it seems there will be some excitement tonight."
In the banquet hall of the hotel, the Zhao family happened to find Old Master Li Wei Hai of the Li family and recounted their encounter with Li Xiaotian at the entrance.