Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector

"Name."

"Chen Ye!"

"Identity."

"Refugee."

"Why do you want to enlist as a civilian laborer?"

"To learn martial arts."

Hearing this, the officer in charge of registration looked up at Chen Ye, seemingly surprised by his honesty.

Chen Ye’s expression was calm, his burly frame conspicuous in the crowd.

The officer nodded slightly, then patted Chen Ye’s shoulder. "A fine man. You’re even fit enough to be a Soldier."

Then, with a flourish of his brush, he wrote Chen Ye’s name directly into the register and handed him a wooden tablet.

"Take this tablet and go report over there."

"Yes, sir!"

To make a living in the army, having a good physique was the primary requirement.

Chen Ye was burly and strong, and he exuded a fierce aura just by standing there. The Squad Leader in charge of the civilian laborers was very satisfied with him, so he registered him directly. He even gave him the small position of Squad Leader, putting him in charge of four men.

The recruitment wasn’t over yet, so for the time being, the newly enlisted civilian laborers were all placed in a camp to undergo various forms of training.

That’s right, even civilian laborers tasked with transporting grain had to be trained.

Otherwise, if they encountered an unexpected situation while transporting grain and couldn’t even understand the most basic commands, it would be a disaster.

The entire training process was tedious and arduous, but Chen Ye took to it with relish.

Because he had, as he wished, learned the military’s Body Forging Technique.

This Cultivation Technique was crude and didn’t even have a formal name. But because practicing it to an advanced level would make one’s muscles, bones, and skin as hard as stone and difficult to injure with ordinary Swords and Sabers, the laborers privately called it the Stone Skill.

Despite this, Chen Ye cherished it, practicing every day with a ravenous hunger.

「Three months passed in the blink of an eye.」

A brutal summer arrived. The scorching sun was like a fire, and rolling heat waves rose from the main road, seeming to warp the very air.

Every laborer in the group was sunburned to the point of peeling, their steps unsteady as they pushed the carts. Only Chen Ye’s breathing remained steady; he wasn’t even sweating much.

The Fierce Body Talent that came with his bandits Profession gave him a physique and stamina far beyond that of an ordinary person.

His performance, naturally, did not escape the notice of the Squad Leader in charge of this team of laborers.

That evening, the Squad Leader, Bai Xuan, called Chen Ye over and said with great appreciation, "Kid, you’re doing a good job. Starting today, you’re in charge of twenty men. Your daily rations are doubled."

Bai Xuan’s favor naturally caused Chen Ye’s status among the laborers to rise, but it also attracted many jealous stares.

This was especially true for the old hands who had been here longer than him. The looks they gave him were filled with malice.

One day at mealtime, Chen Ye was holding a ceramic bowl, shoveling down vegetable congee flecked with a few specks of meat. A burly man with a face full of flesh walked over with his bowl and plopped down across from him.

"Well, well, if it isn’t our dear Mr. Chen? So young and promising. You’ve only been here a few days and you’re already climbing over our heads."

The man’s name was Li Gui. He was a veteran in the team and had always liked to form cliques. At this moment, he was flanked by a few of his cronies, all of them staring at Chen Ye with mocking eyes.

Chen Ye didn’t even raise his eyes, just kept eating.

Seeing Chen Ye ignore him, Li Gui couldn’t keep face and his voice grew louder.

"What’s wrong, Mr. Chen? Now that you’re an ’officer,’ are you too important to speak to us common folk?"

"Yeah, who does he think he is? He just got lucky and caught the Squad Leader’s eye, that’s all!" someone chimed in sarcastically.

The military’s rules were strict, and the civilian laborers were also bound by them. Private fights were strictly forbidden, with severe punishment for violators.

Li Gui and his men were trying to provoke Chen Ye. If he dared to make a move, even just a shove, they could blow it out of proportion and report him to the Squad Leader.

But Chen Ye refused to take the bait. From beginning to end, he acted as if he were deaf, focusing solely on the food in his bowl.

His calm demeanor made it seem as if everything happening around him had nothing to do with him.

Li Gui felt a lump of frustration stuck in his chest. His face flushed red, and it was clear he was about to lose his temper.

Just then, Chen Ye put down his chopsticks.

He had finished eating.

All eyes converged on him. The air seemed to freeze.

Chen Ye picked up his ceramic bowl and tapped it lightly on the table. With a crisp sound, the bowl broke into several pieces.

Then, under the astonished and uncertain gazes of Li Gui and his men, Chen Ye’s five fingers suddenly clenched.

"CRACK... CRUNCH..."

Accompanied by a grating, grinding sound, the ceramic shards in Chen Ye’s hand cracked inch by inch, then crumbled into a fine powder that trickled through his fingers.

The surrounding clamor came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone was dumbfounded, staring with wide-eyed disbelief.

Crushing a ceramic bowl with his bare hands?!

’This... Is this the entry stage of the Stone Skill?’

Li Gui’s face was ashen, his eyes filled with terror.

He had been in this team for two years and had practiced the Stone Skill countless times just to barely grasp the basics. But this kid in front of him had been here for just over three months, tops!

’He mastered the entry stage of the Stone Skill in three months!’

’Is he even fucking human?’

"What’s all this noise? You don’t want to eat, is that it?!"

A sharp roar came from behind the crowd. Squad Leader Bai Xuan had appeared at some point, his expression displeased.

Li Gui and his men flinched, hastily lowering their heads, not daring to even breathe a word.

Bai Xuan’s gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on Chen Ye and the powdered porcelain on the table. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

"Did you break this?"

"Yes," Chen Ye nodded.

"Military property is accounted for. You broke a bowl, so I’m docking you ten cents. Any objections?"

"None," Chen Ye answered calmly.

No one was a fool. It was obvious that the Squad Leader was punishing him on the surface but protecting him in reality.

Then, Bai Xuan shot a cold glance at Li Gui. "Since you love causing trouble so much, you’re on night watch from now on."

Night watch was an exhausting job, but Li Gui didn’t dare say a word against it. He could only accept with a pained expression.

And so, the incident came to an end.

After that, no one dared to cause trouble for Chen Ye again. The twenty laborers under his command treated him with even more reverence and fear.

Night fell.

The sky was full of stars.

After an exhausting day, Chen Ye returned to his tent.

He now had his own private quarters. It wasn’t large, but it was finally a space of his own.

The tent was unbearably stuffy. Chen Ye took off his shirt, baring his muscular torso, and walked to a small river not far behind the camp.

Finding a secluded spot, Chen Ye dove in headfirst.

The cool river water instantly enveloped his body, washing away the day’s heat and fatigue.

A moment later, Chen Ye surfaced. He lay on his back like a piece of driftwood, letting his body sway gently with the waves.

Chen Ye discovered that his swimming ability was getting better and better. Not only that, but whether he was practicing the Wind-Slicing Saber Technique or cultivating the Stone Skill, he felt he was achieving twice the results with half the effort.

’It seems that even though I can’t bring my other Professions in here, the instincts that are deeply ingrained in my soul can still be of great help.’

With a thought, the system panel materialized before his eyes.