# Chapter 1019: Death
The cultivators at the banquet were shocked.
No one could have predicted such an outcome.
Whether it was Yuan Zhi or Jun Wuyi, both were extremely dominant figures in Saint Ming City who had never suffered such a crushing defeat.
What was even more astonishing was that both the Yuan Saint Clan and the Jun Saint Clan had Saint realm titans attending tonight's banquet.
How could that man wearing the golden mask dare to strike so heavily? Was he not afraid of being unable to walk out of the Cai Family Saint Mansion's main gate?
The two battles just now had alarmed those distinguished figures in the central area.
Cai Yunji, the second young lady of the Cai Family, showed a worried expression and said, "That man was able to defeat Jun Wuyi and possesses such powerful spiritual power. He is definitely no ordinary rogue cultivator. At the very least, he is the heir of some Saint clan, possibly even a hidden dragon nurtured by some reclusive aristocratic family."
"Sixth brother, go discuss this with Prince Chi Yutang. It would be best to turn conflict into harmony, to avoid bringing unnecessary trouble to the Cai Family."
Cai Jinglun, the sixth young master of the Cai Family, shook his head: "Second sister, with the situation having developed to this point, how could Prince Chi still have any intention of backing down?"
Cai Yunji glanced in Chi Yutang's direction and indeed saw that Chi Yutang's face was filled with murderous intent, clearly having been truly enraged.
Now, if the Cai Family's younger generation went to dissuade him, wouldn't that offend Prince Chi as well?
One was a prince of the imperial clan, the other was a young man of unknown origin. The Cai Family's younger generation naturally knew which was more important.
Cai Jinglun wore an expression of having everything under control and said, "In this matter, our Cai Family should not interfere. Let Prince Chi handle it himself."
The Cai Family disciples present clearly all followed Cai Jinglun's lead.
Since Cai Jinglun had already made this decision, naturally, no one else could step forward to mediate.
Unlike Chi Yutang, Wan Huayu had a lively smile on her face, becoming increasingly curious about the identity of that man wearing the golden mask.
In this Saint Ming City, how could such a powerful spiritual power expert suddenly appear out of nowhere?
Chi Yutang's face was extremely gloomy. He raised his voice and shouted, "Commander Guo, someone is recklessly injuring people at the Cai Family Saint Mansion's banquet. Why haven't you executed him on the spot?"
Guo Lu, one of the ten great commanders of the Azure Dragon Army, was originally under the command of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor and naturally followed Chi Yutang's lead.
Guo Lu let out a loud shout and raised both palms simultaneously.
Two dense streams of purple energy surged from his palms, causing the entire spirit lake to tremble slightly.
Not far away, Xue Sanyi's body shrank slightly and he said, "Is Guo Lu going to use the Purple Flame Palm?"
"The Purple Flame Palm is one of the nine sacred arts of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. It is said that when executed by a Saint realm titan, the sky for a thousand miles would be covered in purple energy. When the palm imprint strikes the ground, it would trigger a great earthquake."
"Guo Lu once saved the young Tai Sui King, which is why he had the opportunity to learn the Purple Flame Palm."
"Guo Lu has already cultivated the Purple Flame Palm to the fifth level, capable of unleashing twenty-six times the attack power, which is quite close to the power of a sacred art."
As a ninth-order Half-Saint, standing at the pinnacle of those below the Saint realm, Guo Lu directly used his strongest technique. This showed that he truly intended to kill that man wearing the golden mask.
Many people silently mourned for Zhang Ruochen, thinking that he was too arrogant, otherwise he wouldn't die at the Cai Family Saint Mansion.
Some elders took Zhang Ruochen as a negative example to educate the younger generation present: "Young people should know when to bend and when to stand straight. When encountering a great figure like Prince Chi, one should learn to lower their head."
"Purple Flame Palm."
Guo Lu let out a deep shout, and both his palms emitted sounds like wind and thunder as they struck toward Zhang Ruochen's back.
He concentrated his palm force quite precisely, gathering it at a single point.
In this way, the power unleashed by the Purple Flame Palm would be even stronger.
"Sizzle sizzle."
The lotus platform beside Zhang Ruochen could not withstand the heat of the purple flames, caught fire, and soon turned to ashes.
"Your palm technique is cultivated quite well, but unfortunately, the power is somewhat lacking."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly turned around and blasted out the fist force he had already condensed, "Luo Water Fist Art, First Form: Heavenly River Divides Labor."
As his fist struck out, layers of water wave phantoms appeared behind Zhang Ruochen, making a "splashing" sound.
Fist and palm collided, immediately producing a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering sound.
Zhang Ruochen took a step back, then immediately stepped forward again, charging toward Guo Lu, "Luo Water Fist Art, Second Form: Nine Bends and Nine Turns."
Guo Lu was secretly shocked. He hadn't expected that the opponent was not only a powerful spiritual power cultivator but also had such formidable skill in fist techniques.
Two clusters of purple flames appeared once again on Guo Lu's hands, transforming into two patches of purple fire clouds, both striking out simultaneously.
Guo Lu possessed ninth-order Half-Saint initial stage cultivation. His own strength was indeed slightly superior to Zhang Ruochen's.
However, Zhang Ruochen's fist technique was more profound, unleashing stronger attack power, capable of bursting out thirty-two times the attack force.
Because of this, Zhang Ruochen was actually slightly gaining the upper hand, forcing Guo Lu to retreat repeatedly.
The thirty-six forms of the Luo Water Fist Art were originally a complete whole, each form stronger than the last, with power continuously rising, beating Guo Lu back step by step.
"Luo Water Fist Art, Twelfth Form: Thousand Waters Cascading Waterfall."
This fist force descended, directly breaking through Guo Lu's Saint Soul domain, striking him until he spat blood and retreated more than ten zhang.
But Zhang Ruochen had no intention of letting him off. He pursued and struck out three more fist imprints in succession.
"Luo Water Fist Art, Thirteenth Form: Long Rainbow Hanging Upside Down."
"Luo Water Fist Art, Fourteenth Form: Hundred Streams Contending for Flow."
"Luo Water Fist Art, Fifteenth Form: Heavenly Water One Line."
Three fist imprints, executed in one breath, struck Guo Lu until he spat out three mouthfuls of blood. His five viscera and six organs all suffered severe damage, and his entire body flew backward.
Zhang Ruochen flicked his sleeves, walked over, and stepped on Guo Lu's chest, saying coldly, "Do you know how to respect others now?"
At this moment, everyone held their breath, their eyes wide open, as if witnessing the most unbelievable thing in the world.
Guo Lu, one of the ten great commanders of the Azure Dragon Army, hailed as a pinnacle figure below the Saint realm, had been beaten to the ground.
If this news spread, it would surely shake the entire Saint Ming City.
From the small island in the center of the spirit lake, a group of outstanding talents and proud sons walked out one after another, rushing toward Zhang Ruochen's direction.
The other banquet attendees immediately retreated to a distance, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Zhang Ruochen still kept his foot pressed on Guo Lu's chest, his spine straight as an arrow, his entire body exuding a sharp and fierce aura.
Chi Yutang walked at the very front, staring at Zhang Ruochen, and snorted coldly: "No wonder you're so arrogant. So it turns out that Luo Xu, the Academy Master of the Eastern Region Saint Academy, is backing you."
Among those present, many recognized that Zhang Ruochen had used the Luo Water Fist Art and could see that he had already cultivated it to the sixth level or above.
Clearly, the man wearing the golden mask had received Luo Xu's true inheritance.
"Release Guo Lu. For the sake of Academy Master Luo Xu's face, this prince can spare you this time," Chi Yutang said.
Although Chi Yutang held the status of an imperial clan prince, he still didn't dare to easily offend someone like Luo Xu.
If the matter escalated further, it would be very disadvantageous for him.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Apologize."
"What did you say?"
A cold light appeared in Chi Yutang's eyes.
Zhang Ruochen added, "I told you to immediately apologize and admit your mistake. If you're quick about it, perhaps I might let him go."
Chi Yutang was first stunned, then laughed in extreme anger: "It has always been others who bow their heads and apologize to this prince. You are the first to dare tell this prince to bow his head and apologize. Kill him! If you have the guts, kill Commander Guo. Let's see if Academy Master Luo Xu can protect you!"
The cultivators behind Chi Yutang all showed mocking expressions. No one believed that Zhang Ruochen would dare to kill Guo Lu.
After all, Guo Lu belonged to the Ministry of War and was a lower-rank Domain King personally appointed by the Empress. Who would dare to openly kill him?
In everyone's view, even if Luo Xu himself came, he would have to think carefully before killing Guo Lu.
The corner of Zhang Ruochen's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a strange smile, and he suddenly stomped down hard.
"Crack."
The sound of bones breaking came from Guo Lu's chest as it caved inward. His five viscera and six organs were all crushed into bloody mud.
Even Guo Lu's Saint Soul was shattered by Zhang Ruochen's stomp, his divine form completely annihilated.
Seeing this scene, all the cultivators present opened their mouths wide, their minds going blank, collectively turning to stone.
On the small island in the central area, thirty-six beautiful young girls in colorful feathered garments stood there, also closely watching the direction of Zhang Ruochen and Guo Lu.
They were the Heaven-rank dancers of the Phoenix Dance Palace, each one outstanding, possessing beauty that was one in ten thousand, and all were Fish-Dragon realm cultivators.
The Cai Family had spent a large amount of spirit crystals to invite them to perform at the banquet.
More than half of them were frightened, their faces turning pale.
However, a few young women remained very calm, instead showing delighted expressions on their beautiful faces.
One eighteen or nineteen-year-old dancer transmitted her voice to a dancer wearing a veil: "Excellent! Guo Lu has finally received his just punishment. We planned seven times and lost more than ten Half-Saint realm senior experts without being able to kill him, yet he died at the Cai Family's banquet."
The dancer wearing the veil stood at the center of all the dancers, exuding a quiet and tranquil temperament. Because her figure was extremely beautiful and her skin snow-white, even standing among dozens of beauties, she could stand out.
Her eyes were very bright, full of spiritual grace, and she transmitted: "Guo Lu's strength was quite formidable. Even if I personally took action, I would only have a twenty to thirty percent chance of killing him. That man who killed Guo Lu is no simple person. He is definitely not unknown."
"As long as Guo Lu is dead, what does his identity matter?"
The dancer wearing the veil remained very calm, shaking her head, and transmitted: "I suspect that he deliberately killed Guo Lu, taking his life."
"How is that possible? Doesn't he know that killing Guo Lu means he himself will also die?"
The dancer wearing the veil said: "Just before we came to the Cai Family Saint Mansion, Zhang Fengxing came to the Phoenix Dance Palace to find me once, claiming that a Half-Saint realm expert wearing a golden mask wanted to see me. According to Zhang Fengxing's description, the person he encountered was very likely this young man who killed Guo Lu."
"Doesn't that mean he is very likely one of us? What do we do now? Killing Guo Lu is poking a hole in the sky. Even if we want to rescue him, I'm afraid we lack the power."
The dancer wearing the veil showed a contemplative expression, her beautiful eyes gazing at the man wearing the golden mask in the distance, and said: "This person's strength is so formidable. He shouldn't be an impulsive person. He probably has a backup plan."