Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector

For more than half a month now, Jian Wuchen had felt as if he were living in a joke.

He could practically feel the other Cultivators in the city gloating.

The great Celestial Sword Manor, the overlord of Qingzhou, had raised such a ruckus over a mere Little Swordsman who had just entered the Sea Condensation Realm, yet they couldn’t even catch his shadow.

This was tantamount to having the honor of Celestial Sword Manor—and his own honor, as Jian Wuchen—dragged through the mud and stomped into the dirt.

"Useless!"

Finally, Jian Wuchen could no longer suppress the fire in his heart and slammed the scroll in his hand to the ground.

"Completely useless, all of you!"

He stood up, glaring daggers at Zhao Qian and the others below him.

"It’s been more than half a month! I gave you all more than half a month, and this is how you repay me? Hundreds of you, and you can’t even find a single person in the Sea Condensation Realm. What do I even keep you around for? Does Celestial Sword Manor support you just so you can go out and make a spectacle of yourselves, embarrassing us?"

Jian Wuchen’s voice grew louder and louder until he was practically roaring.

A terrifying pressure unique to an Inner Realm expert emanated from him, beyond his control. The very temperature of the room seemed to drop to freezing.

Under this oppressive weight, Zhao Qian and the others trembled, sweat streaming from their temples and soaking their collars.

"Young Manor Master, please quell your anger!" Zhao Qian stammered, his voice choked with sobs. "That... that Chen Ye is just too cunning. We really have done our best!"

"’Done your best?’" Hearing this, Jian Wuchen looked as though he’d just heard the funniest joke on earth. He flashed in front of Zhao Qian, looming over him with eyes as cold and empty as a winter sky.

"Running around every day like a headless chicken—is that what you call ’doing your best’?"

Zhao Qian was struck speechless, unsure of what to say.

’He wanted to explain that they had indeed followed the Young Manor Master’s orders, but the Southern Wilderness Mountain Range was simply too vast. A sea of mountains and a tide of forests, it could easily conceal an entire army, let alone a single man.’

’Their own Cultivation levels weren’t low, but in that boundless mountain range, they were like a pinch of salt in the ocean, making no difference at all.’

But he didn’t dare say any of this.

To do so would be to question the Young Manor Master’s command, and the consequences would be even more dire.

"We’ve searched all the villages, towns, caves, and ruined temples within a five-hundred-li radius... We even went into the lairs of some Demon Ghosts, but we still haven’t found any trace of him," Zhao Qian explained, steeling himself. "He... it’s as if he just vanished into thin air."

"’Vanished into thin air?’" Jian Wuchen sneered. "People don’t just vanish into thin air. If you can’t find him, it simply means you’re incompetent!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He lifted his foot and kicked Zhao Qian squarely in the chest.

BAM!

Zhao Qian flew backward, slammed hard against the wall, and then crumpled to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The other disciples, seeing this, were scared witless and fell to their knees to beg for mercy.

"Young Manor Master, spare us!"

"Shut up!" Jian Wuchen barked. "Every single one of you is responsible for this failure. Starting today, all of your Sect Contribution Points and Elixir Pill rations are cut in half. They won’t be restored until you find that Chen Ye."

At these words, the faces of every disciple present turned ashen white.

Sect Contribution Points and Elixir Pills were the foundation of their Cultivation. But right now, not a single one of them dared to utter a word of protest. They could only swallow this bitter pill in silence.

"Now get the hell out of my sight and keep searching!" Jian Wuchen roared, pointing at the door. "Don’t even think about coming back to see me until you’ve found him!"

"Yes... Yes!"

Supported by his sect brothers, Zhao Qian struggled up from the floor. Then, like everyone else, he practically crawled and scrambled his way out of the suffocating room.

The room fell silent, leaving only the sound of Jian Wuchen’s heavy breathing.

After his outburst, the vicious anger in his chest had not subsided. Instead, it burned even hotter.

He paced back and forth in the room, his mind a chaotic mess.

’What in the world is going on?’

’Just who is this Chen Ye?’

’How could a mere Little Swordsman who just broke through to the Sea Condensation Realm possibly escape the Celestial Net of Heaven and Earth cast by Celestial Sword Manor?’

’Or... is someone helping him from the shadows?’

The moment the thought appeared, Jian Wuchen snuffed it out.

’Impossible.’

’Here in Qingzhou, who would dare to openly oppose Celestial Sword Manor?’

’Who would have the gall to shelter someone marked for death by Celestial Sword Manor?’

’But if not, how else could he explain the current situation?’

The more Jian Wuchen thought, the more frustrated he became, and he slammed his fist on the table beside him.

CRACK!

The table, made of high-quality ironwood, shattered on impact, turning into a pile of splinters on the floor.

"Wuchen." Just then, a calm and stern voice came from behind a screen, and Elder Jian walked out slowly.

Hearing Elder Jian’s voice, Jian Wuchen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his irritation. He turned and bowed to the Elder in salute.

"Elder."

"Still angry about that Chen Ye business?" Elder Jian asked, walking up to him, his tone flat.

"This disciple... I have made a fool of myself before the Elder." A look of shame appeared on Jian Wuchen’s face.

In front of Elder Jian, he didn’t dare show the slightest impertinence.

This was partly due to the Elder’s high rank and authority, but more importantly, Elder Jian had been one of his guiding mentors in the Sword Dao; he owed the man a debt of gratitude for his instruction.

"You are too impetuous. Losing your composure and taking your anger out on your subordinates over a mere Little Swordsman in the Sea Condensation Realm... If word of this were to get out, it would only cause others to look down on you, and to look down on our Celestial Sword Manor."𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖