"However, Ninghua Sect has now been rebuilt, with ten thousand members, and is developing in a positive direction," Ye Huai said, his cool voice seemingly carrying a hint of pride.

Upon hearing Ye Huai's words, Daoist Jingxin's gaze was complex, revealing emotions of joy, loss, and melancholy.

It is gratifying that the old friends are still alive, but saddening that of the once vast sect, only a few people have survived.

The situation of Taichu Sect was similar to that of Ninghua Sect. He sighed and felt a mix of emotions.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but before he could utter a sound, Shi Zhili's expression changed, his brows furrowed, and he said in disbelief:

"What? She's the young sect leader of your Ninghua Sect?"

"Have the people of your Ninghua Sect been sealed for ten thousand years and become stupid? She has only known you for a short time, yet you so casually handed over the entire sect to her?"

His handsome face was filled with incomprehension.

Although Ninghua Sect is not as large as it used to be, it can still be considered a large sect with tens of thousands of members.

The effort these six people put in to rebuild Ninghua Sect from ruins to a scale of ten thousand people is unimaginable.

In the past, there were only two super sects in the cultivation world, Ninghua Sect and Taichu Sect, which crushed all other sects. Naturally, these two became rivals.

They are the kind of people who want to compete and compare in everything.

The young sect leader of the Tai Chu Sect was established early on. Among all the disciples of the Tai Chu Sect, Shi Zhili was the most outstanding one, and the words "a prodigy" were written all over his body.

Therefore, Master Jingxin chose Shi Zhili very early on.

On the other hand, Wuwei Daoist did not rush to select a young sect leader for Ninghua Sect.

Ye Huai, Song Weiyan, Bai Ruoan, and Su Xiyu, the four disciples of Immortal Lord Changli, are equally outstanding. It is an open secret between the two sects that the young sect leader will be chosen from among the four.

Among the four, Ye Huai, the eldest brother, was the most composed, so everyone generally assumed that Ye Huai would be the next sect leader of Ninghua Sect.

Even Shi Zhili thought so, secretly regarding Ye Huai as a rival.

Only someone like Ye Huai is worthy of being his opponent.

He had been secretly competing with Ye Huai for countless years, only to be told now that his rival had changed and the young sect leader of Ninghua Sect was someone else.

She's only in her early twenties, how can he accept competing with someone like that?

"In such a short time, I'm afraid they haven't even figured out her character yet. How can they entrust the young sect leader with such an important task?"

Shi Zhili continued speaking, unaware that Ye Huai and the others opposite him had changed their expressions.

"If someone is deliberately disguising themselves, do you still want the Ninghua Sect that you've worked so hard to rebuild? You used to be so careful and cautious, what's wrong with you? Have you been sealed away and gone mad? You're willing to use just anyone?"

"How could you be so hasty? You have no sense of propriety at all." Shi Zhili was exasperated; in his eyes, this was utter chaos.

"What methods did she use to bewitch you all?" Thinking of Ye Huai's composure when he introduced her as the young sect leader, he became even angrier. "Ye Huai, I've always considered you a rival, yet you're so spineless, handing over the position of young sect leader to someone else so easily."

I really misjudged you!

Shi Zhili turned to look at Shen Sangruo, his eyes filled with inexplicable hostility.

This targeting is clearly intended to get an "explanation" from her.

Or perhaps they could provoke her, forcing her to reveal her true nature, so that they could prove to her senior brothers and sisters what a mistake it was to make her the young sect leader of Ninghua Sect.

She raised an eyebrow, her expression unchanged, without the slightest hint of anger. Shi Zhili's words were not enough to stir her emotions; in fact, a faint smile even appeared on her lips.

But she didn't say anything.

The elder of the Tai Chu Sect, Daoist Jingxin, is still here. The brat has his parents to manage him; it's not time for her to interfere.

To be frank, his own sect now only has about ten people left, and instead of caring about how to rebuild his sect, he's meddling in other people's sects' affairs.

Jingxin Daoren is a good friend of Wuwei Daoren, so she wouldn't be unreasonable. If she put herself in Jingxin Daoren's shoes, she would be furious.

The Taoist Master Jingxin was extremely embarrassed. He raised his hand and smacked Shi Zhili on the head. "Shut up! Stop talking nonsense! How did I raise such an ill-mannered brat like you!"

Shi Zhili was an orphan he picked up from a family that had suffered a tragedy; the family's surname was Shi.

He took him as his apprentice, personally taught him, and named him "Zhili" in the hope that he would understand propriety and manners.

Today's aggressive behavior infuriated Master Jingxin, making his beard stand on end.

Shi Zhili clutched his head in pain, still looking indignant, feeling that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Am I wrong? I'm only doing this for the good of Ninghua Sect. I'm worried they'll be deceived. I'm afraid some people are unworthy of their positions and will bring shame upon the entire sect!"

"What makes her qualified to be the young sect leader of Ninghua Sect?"

"Just look at how young he is, already at the late Nascent Soul stage! You little brat, you were still being chased and struck by lightning at the early Nascent Soul stage when you were in your twenties, crying and running away!"

The Taoist Master Jingxin raised his fists again, striking Shi Zhili with both hands, trying to wake the muddle-headed brat up and make him recognize reality.

The image shifts dramatically from a wise and dignified elder to an old parent driven to the brink of madness by their own foolish child.

Seeing this, Shen Sangruo thought of a phrase: "still vigorous in old age".

The Taoist Master Jingxin looked rather thin, but his fists were incredibly powerful.

Shi Zhili didn't care about the pain from being hit by Daoist Jingxin, nor did he care about the dark history that had been exposed. All he could hear was the sound of Shen Sangruo's cultivation.

"Late Nascent Soul stage?!" he exclaimed in surprise, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets as he stared at her.

Their souls were affected, making them unable to detect the cultivation level of others.

Only highly skilled Daoists like Jingxin can barely detect some of it.

This gave Shi Zhili the illusion that even if her cultivation was not bad, it couldn't be that high.

Shen Sangruo smiled and nodded, "I wonder if such cultivation might catch your eye, fellow Daoist, and make you your opponent."

"What does cultivation level matter? If you want to become the young sect leader, how can you only have cultivation level? How dare you take Ye Huai's position? This shows that your character is not very good!"

Shi Zhili was quite stubborn, and it was unclear why he rejected her so much.

But this time, Ye Huai and the others, who had been holding back for so long, would not be polite to him anymore.

After receiving a signal from Daoist Jingxin, Song Weiyan spoke directly:

"Shi Zhili, show some respect to our junior sister! If you say anything like that to her again, don't blame us for disregarding our past friendship and being rude to you!"

Her tone was full of protection for Shen Sangruo, and her hostile attitude was exactly the same as Shi Zhili's attitude towards her before.