As for that unpredictable Demon Sect Lady, Li Zhibai couldnât get a word in, so whatever the Chaoyun Sectâs attitude towards the Demon Sect was afterward, good or bad, it had nothing to do with her, essentially an outsider.
In a strict sense, she was only the Honored Guest Elder of Muyu Peak in the Chaoyun Sect, an indisputable outsider.
Shi Qingjun placed her wine cup on the flat area beside the railing, looking at Beisang Cityâs hustling and harmonious demeanor.
Though centered around a brothel and the red-light district, the place indeed appeared peaceful and serene... Suppose Zhu Tongjun could stay here forever, then long-term peace and stability wouldnât just be empty talk.
"Itâs time to call her Pingniang now," Shi Qingjun suddenly said.
Li Zhibai was momentarily taken aback, then nodded: "Iâm still not used to it."
She had been calling her Tong Jun for countless years.
"Itâs a good name though," Shi Qingjun remarked. "Sheâs changed a lot."
A good name...
Li Zhibai was a bit surprised; she instinctively didnât understand Shi Qingjunâs meaning.
Did the Sect Leader also think âPingniangâ was a nice name?
Indeed.
For someone like the Sect Leader, Zhu Tongjunâs act of defiling herself to reassure ordinary girls was quite commendable.
What astonished Li Zhibai the most, however, was the Sect Leaderâs attitude.
In the past, even the Chaoyun Sect didnât value the Sect Leader, but now... she would consider ordinary girls?
Li Zhibai couldnât comprehend the change, but she felt it was a good thing, not because she thought those in power should be gentle, but because under the Heavenly Dao, all living beings are equal.
Nowadays, the Sect Leaderâs attitude of treating everyone equally was closer to what Li Zhibai pursued as natural.
Now, having confirmed the Sect Leaderâs change and with nothing urgent, Li Zhibai gradually calmed down, able to chat casually with Shi Qingjun.
Just ordinary conversation, whatâs the big deal... As if chatting with the Sect Leader could be harder than teaching Changâanâs kid to cultivate.
She told herself from the start to stay calm, not to make a fuss, and lose decorum in front of the Sect Leader.
Now, sheâs finally done that.
Li Zhibai thought for a moment and said somewhat apologetically, "Although Tong Jun has changed a lot, in the end... sheâs not young anymore, always messing around like this... Itâs not very suitable."
Zhu Pingniang, being the Sect Leaderâs unofficial student, really tarnished the Sect Leaderâs reputation.
Shi Qingjun chuckled.
Not young?
That Ni Zi, Zhu Pingniang, is still a child; in Shi Qingjunâs eyes, with not even one full circle of Dao Patterns on her life wheel, calling her a little girl wasnât off mark. After all... even that Dame of the Demon Sect was just a younger sister before her.
"Has she changed a lot?" Shi Qingjun asked.
"A lot," Li Zhibai replied.
"You mean her temperament," Shi Qingjun looked at Li Zhibai.
The latter shook her head: "Not the coquettishness that Tong Jun feigned, but something else."
Shi Qingjun nodded gently.
Li Zhibaiâs observation was correct.
The biggest change in Zhu Pingniang compared to Zhu Tongjun wasnât her acting like a playful woman, cracking risquĂ© jokes, or becoming less âpureâ.
Simple coquettishness doesnât count for much.
In Li Zhibaiâs eyes, the genuine gentleness Zhu Pingniang exhibited towards her daughter was the notable change. This tenderness polished amidst mundane living, impossible to erase even over time, left present-day Tongjun with an enticing facade but...
In front of the Flower Moon Buildingâs ladies, Zhu Pingniang consistently exuded a warmth and elegance that naturally engendered goodwill.
This was something Zhu Tongjun could never have.
"When Tongjun first came to the Flower Moon Building... I wonder what she was like," Li Zhibai mused. As an elder sister, while pleased for her younger sisterâs growth, she now genuinely regretted missing so much.
Thinking of the slow transformation into the current Zhu Pingniang, those processes... must have been precious.
Unfortunately, she never saw it. Wanting to know now, she could only learn from the Flower Moon Building ladies.
"When first arriving at the Flower Moon Building," Shi Qingjun pondered.
Previously, she only stayed on the mountain, completely unaware of when Zhu Tongjun descended, but... it seemed she was there to guard the Beisang City Array Hub?
Did that thing really need guarding?
Beyond collecting Dao Rhymes, what other meaning did it hold?
Shi Qingjun thought again.
Forget it, itâs not important.
In her eyes, the utterly unnecessary Mountain Protection Array was extremely important in the minds of the younger generation, after all.
She could now contemplate matters from their perspective.
Whether or not there was an array, as long as she, the Sect Leader, was present, it was worth more than countless Qimen.
But now Shi Qingjun could comprehend the younger peopleâs minds since her previous impression was not at all that of a guardian of the mountain gates.
Consider Zhu Pingniang, who ventured alone into the Demon Sect Holy Mountain but returned unscathed; the Demon Sect Dame of Qiankun Realm wouldnât even deign to look at her, signifying that in the eyes of the Qiankun Realm, Zhu Pingniang was just a joke.
Hence, being both Qiankun Realm, both high atop Frosty Heaven, with the same delegation of power... there must be many in Chaoyun Sect who deemed her akin to that Dame, completely neglecting matters below.
Would she really not bother if a demon intruded upon Chaoyun?