CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 125: THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY PATTERN MASTER

Yunhu Commerce? Yue Jinghua immediately thought of a person. This person was none other than Luo Pan, who was eating and drinking, waiting for death in the Shang Kingdom’s prison.

Wasn’t the first Red Pearl-level mercenary task undertaken by Luo Pan’s rookie mercenary team related to Yunhu Commerce? It was said to be assisting Yunhu Commerce in transporting a batch of Dark Beast Eggs to the Dragon War Empire, only for the eggs to be inexplicably damaged at the empire’s border, incurring a massive debt of several hundred thousand Fifth-Order Xuan Pills.

Although the specific background of Yunhu Commerce was unknown, a commerce that could stand out among many and obtain the qualification to engage in large-scale Dark Beast Egg trade must not be of small origin.

As for the man before her, being a Dark Heavenly Master, it was certain that the identity of the young girl he was escorting would not be low within Yunhu Commerce.

As for the name of the Deputy Director, Xue Jinling Shang, it was the first time Yue Jinghua had heard it. In the half-year since she entered the Outer Court, she had only seen the Director Qiu Chuzi and that unnamed deputy director, as well as another fellow student, who until now had not shown their faces.

"Yunhu Commerce? The Yunhu that is one of the two imperial merchants of the Dragon War Empire?" Shalman, having been born into a well-known family, naturally had heard of the famous commerce on the continent. Upon hearing Teng Wu announcing his affiliation, his expression also changed slightly, and he couldn’t help but feel ashamed for his previous rashness.

Yunhu Commerce might not have a notable reputation among the civilians of Shang Kingdom, but among the upper nobles and Dark Practitioners, it was a well-known and distinguished presence.

A so-called commerce is a merchant association. Although it does not directly involve itself in politics, the power of merchants should never be underestimated, especially the imperial commerce of a country, whose influence can be said to penetrate every level of society.

There are many types of merchant associations, varying in size and scale. Small-scale commerce might have no more than two or three merchants, with very limited influence, whereas large-scale commerce could have traces of their merchants spreading across the entire continent.

Each commerce has its specialization in different goods. Most commerce tend to have strong regional characteristics, such as the Siberia Chamber of Commerce from the Xiboli Snowfield, specializing in various skins, furs, and Xuan Pills of Snow Domain Dark Beasts, while Beihai Commerce deals in trading Sea Beasts from the North Sea.

This is because Yunhu Commerce belongs to the large-scale commerce category, and moreover, it is a behemoth commerce that has been established for hundreds of years, with deep roots and connections to the Dragon War Empire.

Yunhu’s fame does not lie in the comprehensiveness of its goods, nor in the vastness of its power, nor because of the numerous merchants under its command. Yunhu’s reputation is solely due to one person, Yunhu boasts a team of renowned Tattoo Masters on the continent.

Tattoo Masters? After Teng Wu revealed his identity, Shalman put away his hostile attitude, asked the two to wait a moment, and started looking for Qiu Chuzi with Yue Jinghua in tow.

While searching, Shalman also imparted to Yue Jinghua the miraculous effects of Tattoo Masters.

"Tattoo Masters, Pill Masters, and Artifact Masters are all types of Dark Practitioners’ careers, but the former’s role is more magical compared to the latter two. A qualified Tattoo Master can engrave a Holy Rune on anything; for example, engraving a defense Holy Rune on a necklace, or a teleportation rune on a ring, or even an attack rune that doubles the attack’s effect on a sword." Shalman narrated it all with great familiarity, continuously discussing the stories about Tattoo Masters.

The scarcity of Tattoo Masters is because they require very high spiritual power, which is much higher than that needed by Pill Masters and Artifact Masters.

Because the Dark Practitioners of Canglong Continent had abandoned the cultivation of Spiritual Techniques for hundreds of years, there were very few with powerful spiritual power on the continent.

"The strongest Tattoo Master on the continent is firstly Sha Yan, the Divine Master of the Divine Court, followed by Yun Lang, the Holy Master of Yunhu Commerce. Their Holy Runes are unmatched in the world. Naturally, there’s no need to mention people from the Divine Court as ordinary people can’t even get in touch with them. Let’s talk about Yun Lang of Yunhu Commerce. There are rumors that once, in a drunken state, he tattooed a Phoenix Pattern on the hand of a singer. Guess what happened next?" Shalman again showed her talent as a spicy gossipmonger, her eyes sparkling.

"Could it be that she turned into a Dark Heavenly Master overnight?" Yue Jinghua guessed wildly.

"Do you think Dark Heavenly level is like rotten cabbages and lumps of earth, everywhere?" Shalman retorted, continuing her gossip unabated, "That singer was an ordinary person without any Dark Energy, unable to advance in rank due to lack of Dark Power. However, after she got the phoenix pattern, her dancing art improved significantly, and she became famous worldwide with her ’Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Dance.’ Rumor has it that when she danced, she could attract a flock of birds to dance with her, as if a phoenix descended to the world. Isn’t that magical?"

Yue Jinghua thought to herself, attracting birds like the phoenix doesn’t necessarily mean one has the physique of a phoenix. It could be due to a special Dark Array similar to those used by hunters when capturing Dark Beasts, which could also attract flocks of birds. However, to carve such a delicate Dark Array on a human’s body, this Tattoo Master named Yun Lang must be extraordinary.

"Besides the extraordinary tattoo arts of Yun Lang, Yunhu Commerce also has an entire team of Tattoo Masters. This is the most formidable aspect of Yunhu Commerce—they might buy the most common goods, but once engraved with a Holy Rune, their value increases a hundredfold," thought Shalman, a daughter not favored by fortune, finding it virtually impossible to get a necklace carved with a Holy Rune from Yunhu Commerce.

"Now that we’ve talked about Yunhu Commerce, shouldn’t you also tell me about that elusive deputy headmaster? I’ve been at the Outer Court for so long and have never seen the deputy headmaster, Xue Lingshang. Why are people from Yunhu Commerce here looking for her?" Yue Jinghua understood that Yunhu Commerce, which typically operated within the Dragon War Empire, must be connected to the loss of Dark Beast Eggs reported by Luo and others.

But the loss of the Dark Beast Eggs has been nearly ten days now; what’s the use of looking for the deputy headmaster?

"Haven’t I said before? The deputy headmaster is a weirdo; she knows a lot of bizarre things. For example, she knows divination, she knows Breeding, and I learned my Breeding Technique from her. She also knows gambling, and besides that, she’s quite the foodie. But the most important point is that she knows how to deduce the tracks of humans and beasts based on Dark Beasts’ footprints, feces, and even the growth patterns of roadside plants and trees," Shalman obviously admired the deputy headmaster, and as soon as she started speaking, she shared a lot of information about her.

"So, Yunhu Commerce came here just to find the deputy headmaster for clues about where the Dark Beast Eggs have gone to?" Yue Jinghua finally understood, but the deputy headmaster is not currently in the Outer Court, and just seeking Qiu Chuzi alone couldn’t solve the issue.

As the two walked through the forest, a sudden head peeked out from the trees, eyes grinning mischievously—it was none other than Qiu Chuzi, whom they were looking for, "No worries, the deputy headmaster isn’t here, but you two are. Shalman, didn’t you learn a lot of unique, unconventional techniques from the deputy headmaster? It just so happens we could use them. As for you, Yue Jinghua, you will replace the headmaster in escorting Shalman over."