Seven Saints Merchant Guild

"I was just saying. Before he has the ability to protect himself, Da Mu's identity cannot be exposed."

Gula took out the Great Ball containing the medicinal herbs. "Since school started, we've spent fewer days attending class than taking leave. I'll go by myself this time. You stay at the academy."

Tang San knew that Gula bore an inheritance and possessed many methods. He nodded. "Be careful, then. Take this with you."

He took out a set of sleeve arrows and fiddled with them as he said, "This is a hidden weapon trigger mechanism I made. It can fire arrows, and if it catches someone off guard, it has a chance of killing a Soul Elder."

"Alright, I'll take it."

Gula curiously put on the sleeve arrows. His wrist was enveloped by them, which felt slightly unfamiliar, but as a trump card, they happened to make up for his lack of killing power.

Tang San smiled. "Be careful in every way. When you come back, I'll give you another surprise."

"Then I'll wait for your surprise."

Gula wondered what the surprise could be. A hidden weapon, or a new Tang Sect Secret Technique?

He shook his head inwardly. No matter what it was, Tang San's willingness to share it with him meant that he already considered him one of his own.

From now on, he could treat Tang San better as well.

Gula waved a hand. "I'm leaving. Help me ask the Dean of Students for leave."

With a flick of his sleeve, he ran out of the garden like the wind.

"Huh? I'm the one asking for leave?"

Tang San could no longer remain calm. Speechless, he said, "I might as well have gone to sell the medicine myself. Now I have to listen to Director Li nag again."

Helplessly, he headed toward the Dean's Office to request leave for Gula.

Three days later, Sacred Wood City.

This was one of the Heaven Dou Empire's eighteen main cities, as well as the city where the advanced Plant Academy was located. Plant Type Soul Masters accounted for a third of the city's population. Everywhere one went, there was lush greenery and flourishing vegetation.

Outside Sacred Wood City, the land was flat and open, while an endless mountain range lay not far away. Located in the central region of the continent, it was the most comprehensive medicinal herb trading market on the continent, as well as an important grain-producing region in southern Heaven Dou.

After paying the entrance fee, Gula entered Sacred Wood City. The hundred-meter-tall city walls towered behind him, while the streets were packed shoulder to shoulder with people. The fragrance of medicinal herbs masked the stench on people's bodies.

Stopping a passerby dressed as a merchant, Gula's eyes bloomed with a faint blue light as Psychic Power planted a suggestion. "Which medicinal herb merchant in Sacred Wood City is the most trustworthy? What faction stands behind them?"

The impatient passerby met Gula's gaze. His eyes became unfocused, and he stood there blankly before slowly saying, "The major merchant guilds are all trustworthy. I haven't heard of any of them cheating people."

Gula slapped his forehead. His paranoia had acted up again. He had only thought badly of others and forgotten that merchant guilds were legitimate businesses. They certainly would not casually cheat people—at least, his medicinal herbs were not valuable enough for them to compromise their integrity.

To be safe, he asked again, "Among the merchant guilds with the best reputation, whose purchase prices have been the highest recently?"

"The Seven Treasures Merchant Guild, the Spirit Merchant Guild, the Sacred Wood Merchant Guild, and the Seven Saints Merchant Guild. Their prices are about the same, they... they..."

The passerby's expression twisted in struggle, as though the question had touched on a sensitive subject.

Gula frowned. His Psychic Power was still not strong enough; he could not even hypnotize an ordinary person for very long. He increased his Psychic Power output, then hypnotized the passerby into forgetting him after getting his answer.

After doing all this, Gula turned and left.

The passerby stood there in confusion. "What was I trying to do just now? Why did I forget?"

Unable to recall what had happened, the passerby stopped thinking about it and returned to the street.

After considering several merchant guilds, Gula chose the Seven Saints Merchant Guild.

If he were considering safety, he should have chosen the Seven Treasures Merchant Guild, which had the Support System Sect as its backer.

But since several merchant guilds had reached a tacit understanding and controlled medicinal herb prices, if he wanted to sell at a high price, he needed to find a merchant guild willing to negotiate.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect purchased medicinal herbs mainly because it did not want to fall behind others. In truth, it did not have much demand for Body Strengthening and Bone Tempering Paste.

At least, before they recognized the benefits of Physique Strength for Soul Power cultivation, they would not spend a great price competing with Spirit Hall for medicinal herbs.

Spirit Hall, on the other hand, had too many people and would certainly control costs. Moreover, it was too powerful to offer a very high price.

The Sacred Wood Merchant Guild was a local powerhouse, so it was best not to take the risk.

The name Seven Saints Merchant Guild seemed unfamiliar, but when it came to the Seven Saints Alliance behind the major Great Soul Arenas, many people on Douluo Continent knew of it. It was a force formed by seven great families and spread throughout Douluo Continent.

The seven great families were major nobles of the Two Great Empires. Their inherited spirits were at least high-grade spirits, and relying on the Great Soul Arenas, they made fortunes every day. Even being rich enough to rival a nation could not describe their wealth.

If the seven great families had been able to work together wholeheartedly, then with the Soul Masters they had recruited through the Great Soul Arenas, they might not have been able to replace the Upper Three Sects, but replacing any two of the Lower Four Sects would have been no problem.

The Seven Saints Merchant Guild was precisely a merchant guild under the Seven Saints Alliance. Its shops were mostly located near or within the Great Soul Arenas in cities.

After asking around along the way, Gula successfully found the Seven Saints Merchant Guild outside the Great Soul Arena.

The Seven Saints Merchant Guild stood in the city center and covered over a thousand square meters. Upon entering, he saw all manner of exquisite decorations arranged throughout the spacious shop.

The pale golden walls gave it a magnificent and resplendent feel, contrasting with the simple and elegant tables, chairs, and sofas. A faint floral fragrance made one feel as though they had entered a garden, while Plant Type soul beasts trapped in wooden crates at the corners produced fresh air.

"Customer, what do you need?"

Seeing the disguised Gula, a woman dressed in a cheongsam stepped out. She bowed slightly in greeting, the curves at her chest trembling faintly as her soft, sweet voice tugged at the heartstrings.

Degenerate. Far too degenerate.

So this was what a merchant guild run by great nobles was like? Gula had broadened his horizons today.

"I have a batch of medicinal herbs, materials for Body Strengthening and Bone Tempering Paste. They can make roughly six thousand doses of medicinal paste. What price can you offer?"

Gula kept only a thousand portions of Medicinal Herbs, enough for roughly three people to use for a year. Once they ran out, he would wait for the prices to stabilize before buying more.

Hearing this, the qipao-clad waitress was startled. Working at the merchant guild, she needed a general understanding of the prices of all kinds of goods. The recently famed Body Strengthening and Bone Tempering Paste had already been driven up to nearly a hundred Gold Soul Coins per portion. One had to know that this was merely a single day's supply for a Soul Master below the Soul Elder realm!

Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors could consume two portions of Medicinal Paste per day, while Soul Kings could consume three portions per day. By the same logic, the higher one's cultivation, the more Medicinal Paste one consumed.

Soul Masters' frenzied pursuit of strength had left the Medicinal Herbs related to Body Strengthening and Bone Tempering Paste in short supply. Most of the herbs on the market had been bought up and turned into paste.

For new herbs to appear, they would have to wait until next year, when the medicinal herbs grew again. Otherwise, relying on the scattered herbs supplied by herb gatherers on the market, there was simply no way to meet the demand.

The waitress became even more enthusiastic. "Please have a seat, sir. Have some tea."

She bent over to pour Gula a cup of tea, but unfortunately, Gula kept his eyes straight ahead. He did not give her the openly leering response she was used to receiving from other customers.

The waitress smiled, the corners of her gentle lips lifting. "The Major Merchant Guilds have reached an agreement. The purchase price for the Medicinal Herbs needed for one portion of Body Strengthening and Bone Tempering Paste is ten Gold Coins."

"However, since you have such a large quantity of herbs, I'd like to make a friend of you. On behalf of the guild, I can offer you eleven Gold Coins per portion. What do you think?"