# Chapter 1020: Pointed at by a Thousand Fingers
Earlier, Chu Siyuan had already declared that no matter what happened, he could handle it.
Therefore, even though he had just stomped Guo Lu to death, Zhang Ruochen still wore a look of disdain, fearless.
Chu Siyuan, on the other hand, was startled. The fine wine he had just swallowed nearly choked him.
"He actually killed a lower-ranked Domain King?"
Chu Siyuan's heart pounded violently, but he still forced himself to remain calm, not showing any excessive reaction.
That kid Zhang Ruochen was truly bold and reckless, lawless...
No.
Chu Siyuan realized something was wrong. He felt that he had already been dragged into the water by Zhang Ruochen. In his heart, he silently repeated: "This old man has nothing to do with this. I must not be implicated."
"This old man has nothing to do with this. I must not be implicated."
...
The old Daoist, who had been eating and drinking heartily all along, raised his head and glanced in Zhang Ruochen's direction, revealing a barely perceptible strange expression.
All the guests at the banquet snapped out of their shock.
Some of the women present let out screams. Even those high-ranking Half-Saints drew in cold breaths, unable to remain calm.
A Ninth-Step Half-Saint had fallen, a lower-ranked Domain King had been stomped to death—this was too crazy!
Such a major incident—how tremendous would the shockwaves be?
The young prodigies present looked at Zhang Ruochen with gradually growing fear. They felt that this person was a demon king, that there was no one in the world he dared not kill.
Cai Yunji and Cai Jinglun exchanged glances, both seeing the horror in each other's eyes. They hadn't expected the situation to escalate to such a terrible degree.
Chi Yutang stared at Guo Lu's corpse, stunned for a moment, then met Zhang Ruochen's cold eyes and said, "You... are dead for sure..."
"Is that so?" Zhang Ruochen appeared very calm. He swept his gaze around and noticed that the Cai family guards had already surrounded the area, completely encircling the Spirit Lake.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, walked toward Chu Siyuan, clasped his hands, and bowed to him, saying: "Senior Painting Saint, this junior has followed your instructions and eliminated all those petty villains who sought to harm you. Now, can you, venerable elder, calm your anger?"
Chu Siyuan's expression was stiff, caught between laughter and tears, but he still maintained a composed and unhurried demeanor.
There was no choice. Even if he wanted to distance himself from Zhang Ruochen now, it was impossible.
Besides, as the dignified Painting Sect Master, what great storms and waves had he not encountered? How could he lose his composure over the death of a lower-ranked Domain King?
"Well done."
Chu Siyuan's demeanor was calm. He nodded and added: "A group of audacious juniors, daring to try to kill this old man in such a public setting—do they really think I am someone to be bullied?"
Painting Saint?
Everyone looked toward Chu Siyuan, their expressions filled with confusion.
Chi Yutang sneered: "What nonsense Painting Saint? Kid, you'd better come over here and accept your death."
"Silence."
A deafening roar came from afar, forming ripples of sound waves that spread in all directions.
"Whoosh—"
Beams of holy light soared from the depths of the Cai family's sacred estate, landing on the surface of the Spirit Lake.
One sacred figure after another appeared, all of them giants of the Saint Realm. Radiant holy light emanated from their entire bodies, like stars descending to the mortal world.
"Pay respects to the Saint."
Over ninety percent of the cultivators present immediately knelt on the ground.
Only a few distinguished individuals remained standing, but they still bowed in salute.
A Saint had appeared, and all living beings knelt.
One of the sacred figures walked toward Chu Siyuan and bowed respectfully, saying: "Disciple did not know that Teacher had graced the Cai family's sacred estate with your presence. I neglected you, venerable elder. I hope Teacher will not be angry."
This person was Chu Siyuan's second disciple, Cai Tong, who was also the eldest son of the Cai family's patriarch.
The Cai family patriarch was about to retire, and in recent years, he had gradually transferred his authority to Cai Tong.
Now, Cai Tong held the power of the entire Cai family and was about to become the ruler of a medieval aristocratic clan.
It could be said that Cai Tong was one of the most top-tier overlords in the entire Kunlun Realm.
In the current world, there were very few people who could make Cai Tong bow respectfully, and clearly, Painting Saint Ancestor was one of them.
Many cultivators present turned pale.
Especially the few Confucian students standing behind Chi Yutang—their entire bodies trembled.
Confucianism placed great emphasis on "distinctions between superior and inferior, order between old and young, hierarchy between upper and lower, and separation between internal and external." Ritual, law, and respect for teachers and elders could not be transgressed.
A student who did not respect his teacher would surely be cursed and boycotted by Confucian scholars throughout the world. Moreover, the few Confucian students present had offended a Confucian Ancestor.
Chu Siyuan put on a very angry expression and said coldly: "The young disciples of Sacred Bright City are truly outstanding talents. Coming here today has really opened this old man's eyes."
Cai Tong naturally understood the coldness in his teacher's tone. He turned his gaze toward Cai Jinglun, his expression extremely severe, and said in a deep voice: "Jinglun, what exactly happened? Who offended Teacher?"
At this moment, Cai Jinglun also noticed Chu Siyuan sitting there. He immediately walked over, knelt on the ground, looking quite panicked and uneasy, and said: "Disciple's disciple pays respects to Grandmaster."
Chu Siyuan turned his gaze away, ignoring Cai Jinglun, appearing aloof and detached.
Cai Jinglun immediately recounted the entire sequence of events to Cai Tong.
Of course, fearing that he would offend Chu Siyuan and ruin his future official career, Cai Jinglun's account leaned more in favor of Chu Siyuan and Zhang Ruochen.
Cai Tong's gaze grew increasingly cold. He stared at Chi Yutang and barked: "Your Highness the Heir Apparent, you actually dared to make a move against Painting Saint Ancestor—is this not a bit too arrogant and overbearing?"
Faced with the vast holy might emanating from Cai Tong, even Chi Yutang, with his cultivation, could only barely endure it. His heart was filled with resentment.
Who would have known that old man was actually one of the four great Confucian luminaries, the Painting Saint?
At the same time, Chi Yutang's heart was also filled with fear.
One must know that the Four Confucian Sects represented the four sacred lands of Confucianism. All powerful Confucian disciples had studied and attended lectures at these four sacred lands.
As the Painting Sect Master, Chu Siyuan's disciples and followers were spread throughout the court and countryside, and most of them held high positions.
If they invoked Confucian ritual and teachings, all stood up, and collectively impeached Chi Yutang...
Let alone Chi Yutang, even Lingxiao Heavenly King would be in trouble.
A Confucian Saint stepped forward and said coldly: "Can imperial clan members act lawlessly just because of their status? Chi Yutang, you actually dared to send people to assassinate Painting Saint Ancestor—this is truly lawless. This Saint will now submit a memorial to the Empress, stripping you of your Heir Apparent status and reducing you to a commoner. Lingxiao Heavenly King, for failing to discipline you properly, should also be punished."
The other Confucian students also began to denounce him: "Daring to make a move against a Confucian Ancestor—who knows what other treasonous acts you might commit in the future."
"The Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor has a mix of good and bad. While it produced a hero like Chi Wansui, it also produced a degenerate wastrel like Chi Yutang."
"What degenerate wastrel? You're flattering him. This person is worse than a pig or a dog."
"If Chi Yutang is not severely punished, this old man will go to the Central Imperial City to submit a petition."
...
Those Confucian disciples were all like they had been injected with chicken blood—unyielding, fearless of power, and indignant at the state of the world. They cursed Chi Yutang thoroughly.
Even Zhang Ruochen was greatly surprised. He hadn't expected the Confucian disciples to be so fierce, completely unafraid of Chi Yutang's status, cursing him as harshly as possible.
Chi Yutang was so angry that white smoke rose from the top of his head. He struggled to suppress the fury in his heart and said: "This matter is indeed this Heir Apparent's fault. This Heir Apparent apologizes to Painting Saint Ancestor. However, Painting Saint Ancestor ordered someone to kill Commander Guo Lu—shouldn't he also give this Heir Apparent an explanation?"
"Presumptuous."
That Confucian Saint roared loudly, spitting out a mouthful of righteous qi, directly sending Chi Yutang flying, and said: "Junior, daring to speak to the Ancestor in such a manner—this old man will teach you a lesson on behalf of Lingxiao Heavenly King today."
"Bang." Chi Yutang crashed to the ground, blood flowing from his seven orifices, having suffered severe injuries.
A scholar stepped forward and said: "Guo Lu was merely a junior, yet he dared to make a move against Painting Saint Ancestor. He deserved to die. Killing him was letting him off easy—his entire clan should be exterminated."
"Yes, exterminate the nine clans."
Many Confucian disciples stepped forward, cursing Chi Yutang and Guo Lu without mercy. Some even suggested dragging Guo Lu's corpse out for flogging.
Finally, the Cai family patriarch personally came forward to apologize to Chu Siyuan, which slightly eased Chu Siyuan's expression.
Chi Yutang and the cultivators of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor all slunk away in disgrace, taking Guo Lu's corpse with them.
This time, Chi Yutang could only accept his defeat. Who could he blame for running into an iron wall—and one that couldn't be any harder?
Even if the powerful Lingxiao Heavenly King came in person, he would have to show some deference to Painting Saint Ancestor and wouldn't dare to offend him too much.
At this moment, Chi Yutang only wanted to rush back immediately and report to Lingxiao Heavenly King, trying to make up for tonight's mistakes as much as possible.
If that old man Chu Siyuan used his influence to stir up the entire Confucian path and blow the matter out of proportion, then the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor would also be in big trouble.
The Cai family patriarch and several Confucian Saints invited Chu Siyuan to the depths of the Cai family's sacred estate to welcome him and apologize.
That was a banquet for Saint Realm figures. The younger generation had no qualifications to participate, so Zhang Ruochen naturally stayed behind.
Cai Jinglun and Cai Yunji took the initiative to walk over to Zhang Ruochen, apologized to him, and invited him to the island at the center of the Spirit Lake.
The banquet continued, but everyone's attitude toward Zhang Ruochen had completely changed.
A young man who could stay by Painting Saint Ancestor's side was definitely someone with boundless prospects.
Coupled with Zhang Ruochen's ruthless methods in stomping Guo Lu to death earlier, all the cultivators present developed a sense of awe and fear.
"I was... actually sitting at the same table as Painting Saint Ancestor... and I treated him like a plague god. If I had known his identity earlier, I would have clung to his leg." Xue Sanyi was filled with regret.
The others also sighed repeatedly, feeling they had missed an opportunity.