Ryan Ouyang glared at her in annoyance, but Morgan Shangguan ignored him completely. Susie Yun could only laugh and cry at the scene.
"Morgan Shangguan, you actually turned my Demonhunters Guild into a heretical sect and drove out all the elders! And your reason was that they were too righteous! What nonsense is this? You must be trying to infuriate me to death!"
Susie Yun quickly reached out and patted his back comfortingly, "Ryan, Miss didn't do anything bad. Don't be angry."
Ryan Ouyang huffed, "Didn't do anything bad? She actually told the five newly promoted elders that she doesn't like gentlemen and doesn't want any of that righteous nonsense. What is that supposed to mean? She's turning the Demonhunters Guild into a den of heretics!"
Morgan Shangguan calmly reminded, "It's called the Cloud Guild now."
Seeing that Ryan Ouyang wanted to say more, Morgan Shangguan interrupted with a light laugh and turned to Susie Yun, "Susie, would you like to visit the underworld?"
Ryan Ouyang hurriedly shielded Susie Yun, like a mother hen protecting her chick, and warned, "Don't you dare try anything with Susie!" Then he muttered in defeat, "Fine, I won't say anything else."
Susie Yun chuckled. Miss was only joking, yet Ryan actually fell for it!
Morgan Shangguan found it amusing as well. Ryan Ouyang always acted so righteous and fearless, yet Susie Yun was his one weakness.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than three months had passed. During these months, the most sensational event in the martial world was that the former Demonhunters Guild, after its leader Ryan Ouyang was killed by the Ghost Guild, had become the Cloud Guild. In just three months, it grew rapidly, its power expanding, but it had completely turned into a heretical sect. The reason for Cloud Guild's swift rise was its constant absorption of smaller factions, causing widespread panic.
Originally, the largest powers in the martial world were the Four Righteous and Two Evil sects, but now it had become Three Righteous and Three Evil. The Ghost Guild was already a headache, and now the Cloud Guild had quickly surpassed Rakshasa Palace, standing side by side with the Ghost Guild as a leading evil force, naturally drawing the attention of the righteous.
Strangely enough, the Ghost Guild had never attacked the Cloud Guild, which made the righteous factions even more uneasy. Could it be that these two powers belonged to the same person, or had they reached an alliance?
No wonder people speculated like this—the leaders of both the Ghost Guild and Cloud Guild were shrouded in mystery, with no one knowing their true identities. It was entirely possible they were the same person, or at least working together.
If that were true, the martial world would soon face a catastrophe. Just as the righteous factions prepared to convene the Martial Arts Summit to discuss a solution, the Ghost Guild and Cloud Guild suddenly turned against each other. Though there was no open conflict, the tension between them was palpable.
As a result, the planned Martial Arts Summit was postponed. The righteous factions decided to wait and see; if these two powers kept each other in check, they could relax for the time being.
Susie Yun handed a stack of rice paper to Morgan Shangguan. "Miss, this is the information you wanted to investigate."
Morgan Shangguan took it from her. Now that the Cloud Guild was running smoothly, it was time to clear up some matters.
Susie Yun wondered why Miss wanted to investigate even her own origins, but she didn’t ask. She simply prepared pastries and tea before leaving.
Morgan Shangguan studied the documents carefully. The original Morgan was the daughter of Minister Magnus Shangguan, the prime minister of Azure Kingdom. Her mother died early, and she had a twin sister. Although the two looked alike, Mona Shangguan was renowned as a talented beauty, while Morgan was completely overlooked in her sister’s shadow. Minister Magnus had many concubines, but only these two daughters. He treasured Mona, so the concubines all tried to please her, and Mona always considered herself the most beautiful. She couldn’t stand Morgan’s identical looks, so the concubines bullied Morgan, and even the maids and servants rarely treated her kindly.
After Silvermoon Kingdom proposed a political marriage, the emperor of Azure Kingdom initially chose Mona Shangguan for her beauty and talent. Morgan could guess the reason: Emperor Alexander hadn’t named a candidate, so choosing Mona wouldn’t sacrifice his own daughter. With Mona’s looks and charm, she might even captivate Prince Damien. However, the crown prince of Azure Kingdom liked Mona, so he did everything to protect her and switched the candidate to Morgan. Minister Magnus didn’t object; in fact, he was quite supportive.
Morgan Shangguan shook her head. How pitiful—was this really her past life? She might not have been well-liked, but she certainly wasn't someone to be bullied by just anyone!
Next came the dossier on Damien Gray.
"Demon Child?" Morgan was a little surprised, then muttered, "So this world has spiritual power too?" But the Simon family's spiritual power seemed superficial, only useful for stargazing and divination, nothing like her ability to command spirits or travel to the underworld.
But now, even that superficial power was gone.
Next, after Consort Bella disappeared, there was a complete blank—no information could be found, until the Ghost King returned.
Morgan couldn't help but chuckle softly. The things written here were simply too amusing.
Damien Gray, frail and ill, stood in the royal court, his back straight and his face full of defiance. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at Grand Astrologer Simon, his finger trembling as he pointed, revealing his grief. His voice shook with sorrow, "Simon, you never had any real spiritual power! You deceived the Emperor, and to earn his trust, you sacrificed your own daughter and grandson. Do you have any humanity left? Poor mother... cough, cough..." Overwhelmed, Damien broke into a fit of coughing.
Emperor Alexander heard these words but remained skeptical. Yet when Damien demanded Simon demonstrate his spiritual power, Simon could only smile bitterly and say, "Your Majesty, I have lost my power."
The entire court was in an uproar at these words, and Emperor Alexander could no longer help but suspect Simon. Thinking of his beloved consort's death at Simon's hands, he flew into a rage and ordered Simon's execution.
Perhaps Simon felt guilty for causing his daughter's death, for he did not defend himself. He only asked Emperor Alexander to listen to his final prophecy—a prophecy whose contents, to this day, are known only to the emperor.