A woman in her late sixties or seventies strode in from the doorway, her lavish attire matched only by the fierce, domineering look on her face.
"Who are you?" President Summers frowned.
"I'm Rachel Young's mother-in-law!" the old woman barked, her voice full of anger. "This woman was fooling around before she even got married—and she had an illegitimate child!"
With that bombshell, everyone stared at Ms. Rachel Zhang with renewed suspicion.
Ms. Rachel Zhang was so furious her whole body shook, her eyes burning with venom as she glared at Chloe Zhu.
It must have been her—she must have leaked the news about her illegitimate daughter to her husband's family.
Her husband's family was extremely conservative. If they found out about something like this, they'd definitely kick her out!
Such a vicious woman!
She took a deep breath, forced herself to swallow the rage boiling inside, and said, trying to sound respectful but desperate, "Mother-in-law, I swear I didn't do it!"
"Your own mother spilled everything!" The old woman's words hit Rachel Young like a sledgehammer, leaving her ghostly pale.
"This is a Divorce Decree!" The old woman threw the decree in Rachel Young's face. "Get out of our family!"
With that, she stormed off.
Rachel Young stumbled, her legs nearly giving out before she collapsed into a chair, utterly defeated.
In that moment, it felt as if even with ten thousand mouths, she wouldn't be able to clear her name.
"There's no need to investigate further. That's enough!" President Summers said with a frown. "No one is allowed to speak a word about what happened today."
"Yes, sir." Everyone echoed in agreement.
But everyone knew perfectly well—this kind of scandal would spread faster than wildfire.
Ms. Rachel Zhang's reputation in the Spirit Alliance was officially ruined.
Vice President James started to say something, but in the end, he stayed silent.
But after hearing Rina Chu's story, Rachel Young's mother-in-law completely lost it—her reputation was already ruined, so she barged over and slapped the Divorce Decree right in Rachel Young's face.
But he had no evidence.
Besides, Rachel Young herself wasn't exactly innocent—so many people had seen it...
"Ms. Rachel Zhang." President Summers called out again.
Rachel Young looked up, wordlessly meeting President Summers' gaze.
"As a Spiritual Alchemist, personal virtue is just as important. Otherwise, how could patients and those who use your pills ever trust you?"
"President, I really was framed by Chloe Zhu..." Rachel Young said, pale and weak.
President Summers didn't say a word and simply turned and walked away.
The Enforcement Team followed him out.
Vice President James glanced at Chloe Zhu, then left as well.
Chloe Zhu flashed Rachel Young a smile, then walked away with elegant steps.
Rachel Young stared at Chloe Zhu's retreating figure, her hands clutching the armrests so tightly her knuckles turned white, eyes squeezed shut in bitter resignation.
......
Back in the Manor Alchemy Room, Chloe Zhu asked Rina Chu, "What's the story with Rachel Young's mother-in-law?"
Rina Chu replied that when they decided to go after Ms. Rachel Zhang, she leaked the news to Rachel Young's in-laws.
Her husband's family was cunning too—they dug up the truth straight from Rachel Young's own mother.
Today, Rina Chu deliberately went over and said she was Ms. Rachel Zhang's servant, and that something terrible had happened—urging them to hurry and save her.
Naturally, her family wanted to know what was going on.
Rina Chu was always honest, so she just told them everything.
Originally, Rachel Young's in-laws cared about their reputation and hadn't made a final decision.
But after hearing Rina Chu's story, Rachel Young's mother-in-law flew into a rage. She figured their reputation was ruined anyway, so she stormed over and threw the Divorce Decree in Rachel Young's face.
"Look at you! Getting more and more impressive!" Chloe Zhu pinched Ray’s cheek with a grin.
Rina Chu gave a mischievous smirk. "Hey, I've always been this awesome!"
......
Later, Chloe Zhu popped into her Sanctum and teased Ray, "Wow, who knew your bubbles were such a big deal! If you weren’t my little Ray, your mom might’ve gotten knocked off by Rachel Young today!"
Ray grinned and blew another bubble.
This bubble floated out, growing bigger and bigger, until it wrapped up a Spirit Beast that was being kept behind the ancient tower.
Even with a Spirit Beast that huge inside, the bubble still floated on the breeze, drifting toward them.
This Spirit Beast's cultivation was about equivalent to a human Spirit Master, sixth or seventh rank.
Inside the bubble, the Spirit Beast flailed around in panic, but no matter what it did, the bubble wouldn't burst.