CHAPTER 724: Becoming Famous

The time ticked on until another half year had passed.

The Godswamp Pharmacy was quite influential in the Darkness Dominion. Although its operations in the City of Shadows were completely destroyed, the damage was limited and didn't extend beyond the territories owned by the House of Sainte.

The Dominion of Darkness had a total of seven cities of the same size as the City of Shadows. The headquarters of the Godswamp was in the city of Hushveil. The power and influence of the House of Sainte had not yet spread to other cities.

After the incident, the true master of the Godswamp apothecary placed all the blame on Steiss. He claimed that Steiss had committed these crimes on his own, without his approval or knowledge, and that the crime was an isolated incident that had nothing to do with the rest of the Godswamp group. He also strongly condemned the actions of the House of Sainte, saying that the House of Sainte had no right to seize their resources in the City of Shadows and demanded that they be returned.

Needless to say, Andre did not buy his excuse. He posted notices all over the City of Shadows describing the crimes committed by the Godswamp Pharmacy, as well as Steiss's will admitting that he had committed these crimes with the full knowledge of the master of the Godswamp Pharmacy.

Andre had not only confiscated the resources and properties of the Godswamp Pharmacy in the City of Shadows, he had also asked the City Lord of Hushveil City to arrest the master of the Godswamp Pharmacy.

All sorts of rumours quickly spread throughout the Dominion of Darkness. The heated dispute between the House of Sainte and the Godswamp Pharmacy was widely discussed throughout the Dominion of Darkness. During this time, the Godswamp Pharmacy suffered a huge drop in sales at its stores throughout the Dominion of Darkness.

However, the Godswamp Pharmacy's master was difficult to kill. Thanks to his quick damage control, he was able to distance himself from the incident in the City of Shadows and escape persecution by the rulers of other major cities. His apothecary managed to stay in business, although its reputation was damaged and its profits severely affected.

From this perspective, it was clear that the Godswamp Pharmacy had considerable influence in the Darkness Dominion. It was also clear that while the House of Sainte was powerful, their power was limited to the City of Shadows, and they couldn't do much in the other cities.

As time went on, the shouting match between the House of Sainte and Godswamp gradually died down. The House of Sainte, of course, refused to return those assets. They also declared that the key figures of the Godswamp Pharmacy were forbidden to enter the City of Shadows, and would be arrested if discovered on their territory.

Meanwhile, the Master of the Godswamp spread malicious rumours about the House of Sainte, claiming that they were overbearing and domineering, and that their claim to the Godswamp's assets in the City of Shadows was unjustified.

All sorts of rumours spread throughout the Darkness Dominion. Of all the names involved in the rumours, there was one notable character who stuck in the minds of many - Bryan, the genius apothecary!

Between the House of Sainte and the Godswamp Pharmacy, the biggest beneficiary was undoubtedly Han Shuo. As the rumours of what happened that night spread, Han Shuo, a quack who knew nothing about pharmaceuticals, became known to many as a gifted, brilliant pharmacist.

Rumours of the wonders of Han Shuo's pellet medicines spread throughout the City of Shadows. With this wave of rumours, the reputation of Han Shuo and his Celestial Pearl Pharmacy was raised to a whole new level. Han Shuo was known as the best pharmacist in the City of Shadows, while many in the Darkness Dominion came to know Han Shuo. Many considered him to be a young and talented apothecary.

With that, the question that had puzzled Han Shuo was solved of its own accord.

Due to the deliberate efforts of a certain party, the news that Han Shuo wanted to hire skilled pharmacists spread like wildfire throughout the Darkness Dominion. Although the pharmacists who had been insulted by Han Shuo did their best to slander Han Shuo, there were still many other pharmacists who were just as obsessed with the art of refining medicine. They did not care about Han Shuo's character and travelled thousands of miles to the City of Shadows for a chance to join the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy.

Those pharmacists who were willing to endure and suffer Han Shuo's irascible and outrageous temper were mostly very talented and good at what they did. With Gu Li, an experienced pharmacist, conducting the interviews and selecting the candidates, the number of pharmacists under Godswamp Pharmacy grew.

Gradually, Han Shuo's three-storey shop was not big enough to accommodate the large number of pharmacists. Han Shuo had been waiting for Andre to contact him. He had made all the necessary preparations to take over the Godswamp Pharmacy.

A few days later, the war of words between the House of Sainte and Godswamp had completely died down. It was around this time that Andre finally sent men to invite Han Shuo to the Sainte residence. Han Shuo was overjoyed. He immediately went to the Sainte Residence with Andrina.

When Han Shuo arrived and saw that Andre had a worried look on his face, his heart sank.

He forced a smile and said, "Lord Andre, why do you look so worried? Please don't tell me that the deal has fallen through. I have already recruited many apothecaries.

I really don't know what to do with them if I can't take over Godswamp Pharmacy.

Andre's expression relaxed slightly when he saw that Han Shuo had arrived. He forced a smile, shook his head and replied, "It's not as bad as you imagine, but there are indeed some problems. You should know that the Sainte family is large and has many loud, talking mouths. Sometimes even my brother and I have to bow to their will.

"The assets that used to belong to the Godswamp Pharmacy are worth around five million black crystal coins.

My original plan was for you to pay me a portion of the crystals and slowly repay the rest once your pharmacy began to turn a profit. However, recently there have been some members of my family who have become very vocal. They feel that the terms are too charitable to you and have suggested all sorts of conditions. Sigh, even I can't do much about that!"

"What conditions exactly?" Han Shuo knitted his brows and asked. He could understand the difficult situation Andre was in.

"Considering the fact that you saved Carmelita's life twice, they want you to either come up with three million black crystal coins or run the Godswamp Pharmacy together with the House of Sainte - which in reality will be you running the business while the House of Sainte sits there and takes a share of the profits!"

Andre had an embarrassed smile on his face as he said, "Bryan, I have a few paternal cousins in the family. Although their strengths are nothing to write home about, they still have some status and say in the family. I can't do much without the unanimous approval of the family clan.

It wasn't the first day Han Shuo had arrived in the City of Shadows and he knew a thing or two about how large family clans worked. In the House of Sainte, the brothers of Wallace and Andre held the highest status, but they were not the ultimate authority. Although the powers of their paternal cousins were nothing to write home about, even Wallace and Andre sometimes had to bend to their will because of their seniority.

However, Han Shuo would not believe that Wallace and Andre were not selfish in the slightest! The assets of the Godswamp Pharmacy in the City of Shadows were no small sum. Han Shuo knew that Wallace and Andre would want something in return for handing over the assets to him.

Han Shuo knew that it was unrealistic to take over the assets of five million black crystal coins for practically nothing, and he had the intention of slowly paying back the House of Sainte in the future. However, this unexpected hurdle came up at the last minute.

"How exactly will the profit sharing they proposed work?" Han Shuo thought for a moment before asking.

"Thirty-seventy. You take thirty percent and the House of Sainte takes seventy percent of future profits. You don't have to return any crystal coins if you agree to this," Andre hesitated for a moment before saying in a rather embarrassed manner.

Han Shuo furrowed his brow. If Han Shuo agreed to this proposal, a large portion of the future profits would go to the House of Sainte. This was obviously not Han Shuo's plan.

"Lord Andre, can you help me sell some divine essence?" Han Shuo asked after thinking about it for a moment.

"Divine essence? You have divine essence?" Andre was stunned. He wasn't sure if he had heard correctly.

"I discovered a deposit of Divine Essence and mined it soon after my arrival on Elysium. I know that Divine Essences are precious and valuable. I have never dared to reveal it because I know I am weak. But now that I'm in urgent need of a large sum of crystal coins, I must liquidate them. Would Lord Andre be so kind as to help me?" Were it not for the unique circumstances, Han Shuo would not be willing to let go of his divine essence. But in order to prevent the House of Sainte from taking a huge cut of his profits, Han Shuo had no better option.

"No problem. No matter how or where you get these things, as long as you can come up with three million black crystal coins to stuff people's mouths with, the Godswamp Pharmacy will be yours.

Actually, my original intention was for you to pay a few tens of thousands of Black Crystal Coins up front and slowly pay back two million Black Crystal Coins in the future. But those old fogies just wouldn't trust you. I feel very helpless about this too. I apologise, Bryan!" said Andre.

"It's alright!" Han Shuo replied smiling. Immediately after, he took out the Divine Essences in his possession and laid them all out in front of Andre.

Of the divine essences he originally possessed, the earth energy essences had been given to the earth elite zombie before he left, while the death and destruction divine essences, Han Shuo had used them all up on himself. Han Shuo also decided not to reveal the few pieces of Divine Essences of Life Energy since he was in the Darkness Domain.

With that, twenty-two pieces of Wind Divine Essence and eighteen pieces of Lightning Divine Essence were placed in front of Andre. Han Shuo asked, "This is all I have. Is it worth three million black crystal coins? If it's not enough, I can find ways to make it up." Han Shuo was aware that Akley still possessed some divine essence. He intended to bring down the Godswamp Pharmacy by hook or by crook.

There was always a risk in Han Shuo exposing so many Divine Essences at once. However, Andre, as a high-ranking member of the House of Sainte, was definitely not an uncultured man.

Han Shuo believed that even with so many Divine Essences in front of him, he would not do anything reckless. And most importantly, Han Shuo trusted Andre and believed that his presence in the City of Shadows would benefit the House of Sainte. It was for these reasons that Han Shuo dared to do this.

"In the City of Shadows, a piece of Wind Divine Essence is valued at around sixty thousand black crystal coins.

Lightning Divine Essence is slightly more expensive at around seventy thousand black crystal coins. So these divine essences here could be sold for around two and a half million Black Crystal Coins. Andre's eyebrows furrowed as he thought for a moment before he suggested, "How about this?

I will make up the half million and Carmelita will get ten percent of the profits Celestial Pearl makes in the future. Ten percent isn't too much. Besides, the existence of this relationship will give your Celestial Pearl Pharmacy advantages in doing most things in the City of Shadows. What do you think?"

Since ten percent was a negligible amount for Han Shuo, and since the beneficiary was Carmelita, Han Shuo did not hesitate at all and agreed.

"Wait here while I discuss this with them. I believe they will have no objections!" Andre breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made his way to a dark and tall building at the back of the Sainte Residence.

An hour later, Andre returned with a smile on his face and a stack of documents in his hands. He handed them to Han Shuo and said, "These documents prove that you have full ownership of all the properties and assets previously owned by Godswamp Pharmacy. As of today, all of the Godswamp Pharmacy's stores and resources in the City of Shadows and its satellite cities are yours! Congratulations, Bryan!"

"Thank you, thank you. Hehe..." Han Shuo had a broad smile on his face and handed the divine essences to Andre. Then he asked, "How is Carmelita? Is she getting better?"

Andre put the divine essences away and replied with a smile, "Don't worry, she's fine. After a short pause he continued, "Speaking of Carmelita, I must thank you again. With these Divine Essences, we can exchange them for more Destruction Divine Essences for her. My family clan has invested a lot of resources to help this girl recover sooner. Hopefully, she won't suffer any more injuries."

Han Shuo's heart had long since flown to the heavens after receiving these documents. After hearing Andre's reply, he stood up and said with a smile, "I'm glad she's all right. erm, I have to hurry and finish the business with Godswamp Pharmacy. I will stop bothering you."

"You will be very busy for some time. Haha, go ahead." Andre knew that Han Shuo was excited to take over the Godswamp Pharmacy. He let Han Shuo leave without exchanging pleasantries.

On their way back, Andrina asked Han Shuo, "Bryan, do you think this guy has any selfish motives?"

"Definitely!" Han Shuo chuckled softly and explained, "Considering the huge assets and resources of Godswamp Pharmacy, and the outstanding reputation and strength of our Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, there is no doubt that Celestial Pearl Pharmacy will surpass Godswamp Pharmacy in the future before it collapses. I suspect that Andre wants to gain some advantage for his House of Sainte by getting a share of the profits.

Otherwise, given the power and status that Wallace and Andre hold in the Sainte family, they could, albeit with difficulty, silence their parental cousins if they really wanted to. But Andre certainly did not expect me to be in possession of so many divine essences. Hehehe."

"Will he find ways to hinder you?" Andrina knitted her brows and asked.

Han Shuo shook his head and replied with a smile, "Don't worry, he is a smart man. Besides, I have given him so much divine essence. As for the House of Sainte, my presence is beneficial to the City of Shadows. The House of Sainte is in possession of all the resources of the city, and they certainly wouldn't make life difficult for me because of this little interest. There will be many things they will have to rely on me for!"

***After Han Shuo left, Andre fiddled with the divine essence in his hand while smiling to himself, "I really can't get my head around this boy. Deposit of Divine Essence? How long has he been on Elysium? Sigh. A miscalculation, a miscalculation indeed. How would the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy be worth only three million Black Crystal Coins in the future? This boy is very cunning indeed!