Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector
Chapter 15 - 13: Another Class Change

Chapter 15: Chapter 13: Another Class Change

[Name: Chen Ye]

[Profession: Flying Thief (Level 3)]

[Talent: Light as a Feather]

[Skills: Skillful Hand Lv. 9, Fast Blade Lv. 8, Roof Walking Lv. 3]

The changes on the panel appeared before his eyes.

His Flying Thief profession had leveled up, and his Roof Walking skill had advanced along with it. This was undoubtedly thanks to last night’s trip to the Lu Mansion.

Chen Ye understood. ’It seems you can’t level up this Professional Panel just by practicing blindly. Practical application is what truly matters.’

Last night’s infiltration and letter-drop, though seemingly simple, was a complete Flying Thief operation. The experience it provided was far greater than what he’d gained from half a month of arduous training.

Meanwhile, a pall of gloom and despair hung over the Lin Family estate.

In the main hall, Lin Hong’s eyes were bloodshot. He stared fixedly at his daughter, who knelt on the ground with her hair in disarray and her cheeks swollen. His gaze held none of its former affection, only icy disappointment and towering rage.

"You wretch! You have brought complete and utter shame to the Lin Family!"

With a roar of fury, he grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it to the ground, sending porcelain shards flying everywhere.

Lin Yan trembled but stubbornly held her ground. "Father, I was framed! Someone is trying to harm me! The Lu Family has gone too far!"

"Framed?" Lin Hong laughed in anger. He walked step by step toward Lin Yan, looking down at her. "Even now, you still dare to be stubborn? If you hadn’t had a secret affair and gotten pregnant, would the Lu Family have made such a scene, willing to tear apart all pretenses just to break off the engagement? Do you take everyone in the world for a fool!"

He suddenly raised his hand, about to slap her again.

But looking at his daughter’s tear-streaked face, he couldn’t bring himself to strike. His hand just trembled violently in mid-air.

Finally, he dropped his hand dejectedly, his voice filled with exhaustion and finality.

"Someone!"

Two burly matrons immediately entered.

"Take the Third Young Miss back to her embroidery chamber. Without my command, she is not to take a single step out of her room!" Lin Hong’s voice was as cold as ice. "Also, fetch the best doctor in the city. Tell him the Third Young Miss has caught a cold and is unwell."

He paused, each word seeming to be squeezed from between his teeth.

"Tell the doctor to use the best medicine, and make absolutely sure... that wretched thing in her belly doesn’t see tomorrow’s sun!"

"No, Father! You can’t do this to me." Lin Yan finally felt fear. She struggled frantically, crying out, "That’s your grandson, Father!"

"I, Lin Hong, have no such grandson!" Lin Hong roared.

"Mother, say something!" Seeing that pleading with Lin Hong was futile, Lin Yan immediately turned her sights on her mother.

But her mother sat motionless in her chair, head bowed, continuously telling her Buddha Beads and muttering under her breath, as if in a deep trance.

The two matrons no longer hesitated. They seized Lin Yan and began dragging her toward the rear courtyard. Her shrill cries gradually faded into the distance until they disappeared completely.

That night, a bowl of pitch-black medicinal soup was forcibly poured down Lin Yan’s throat.

After the excruciating pain, there was only a cold emptiness.

She lay on the bed, her face ashen, but her eyes burned with a crazed hatred. She couldn’t understand how things had been exposed. How did the Lu Family know so much?

"Meng Tao..." she called out weakly.

Her personal maid, Meng Tao, knelt by the bed, crying. "Miss, I am here."

"Go, go find out what’s being said outside. At any cost, I want you to find out who it was... that stabbed me in the back!"

Meng Tao accepted the order and left. A day later, she returned with news.

"Miss, the rumors outside are running wild. They say the Lu Family received an anonymous letter that described your affair with that young master at Fayuan Temple in perfect detail. The Lu Family followed the lead from the letter, and a single investigation revealed everything..."

Fayuan Temple!

Hearing that name, Lin Yan’s mind frantically searched for anyone who might want to harm her.

Was it one of those close friends who secretly couldn’t stand her? Or one of her father’s political rivals?

She thought of countless possibilities, but it never occurred to her that the culprit behind it all could be the little Scholar’s Attendant she had casually framed, who she assumed had long since died in the Chaotic Burial Mound.

For a high-and-mighty young lady like her, the life or death of a servant wasn’t even worth a moment’s thought.

Unable to find an enemy to blame, the venomous hatred in her heart burned like a rootless wildfire, consuming her from the inside and twisting her with torment.

At the same time, the Lin Family used all its power to try and suppress the scandal. But how could it be so easy to silence the wagging tongues of the masses?

This scandalous affair had already become the hottest topic of gossip among the Capital City’s populace. All sorts of jokes and stories were endlessly circulating. Lin Yan, the Third Miss of the Lin Family, became a synonym for "promiscuous and shameless," her reputation utterly destroyed.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Spring turned to summer, and the storm in the Capital City gradually subsided. Although the Lin Family’s scandal was still a joke on people’s lips, it was no longer the center of attention.

And during this half-year, Chen Ye had practically turned himself into a Cultivation machine.

By day, he hung out in the marketplace with Fang Tao and the others, studying the essence of Skillful Hand. He used greedy merchants and domineering thugs as his practice targets. His technique became increasingly phantom-like; often, in the middle of a casual chat, he could lift the most crucial item from his target.

At night, when all was silent, he transformed into a ghost of the night. He moved across the tightly-packed rooftops, practicing his Roof Walking Body Technique, treating the entire expanse of South City’s roofs as his personal training ground.

The thin Small Knife in his hand, through countless slashes and scrapes, became like an extension of his own arm.

Finally, late one night half a year later, as Chen Ye finished his last practice session and silently returned to his small hut from the rooftops, a series of notifications exploded in his mind.

[Skill: Skillful Hand has been raised to Lv. 10 (Max Level)!]

[Skill: Fast Blade has been raised to Lv. 10 (Max Level)!]

[Profession: Flying Thief has been raised to Level 5 (Max Level). Advancement conditions met. Do you wish to advance your Profession?]

’It’s here!’

A jolt went through Chen Ye’s heart. Suppressing his excitement, he immediately thought, ’Yes!’

The next moment, three completely different streams of information surged into Chen Ye’s mind, transforming into three brand-new profession options that floated silently in his Sea of Consciousness.

[Option 1: Mechanical Hand]

[Description: In your eyes, all things in the world are composed of tenons, springs, and pivots. Locks are a language, and traps are puzzles. You are born with the ability to see through their construction and dismantle their core.]

[Professional Talent: Spiritual Heart and Skillful Fingers—You are born with an extraordinary intuition and Perception Power for all mechanisms, contraptions, and locks, allowing you to swiftly perceive their structural weaknesses and operating principles.]

[Option 2: Nightwalker]

[Description: The night is your domain, and the shadows are your royal robes. You will become the purest of stealth agents, walking in the cracks between moonlight and shadow. Your footsteps cannot be heard, your tracks cannot be found.]

[Talent: Shadow’s Son—You are a favorite of the shadows, born with the ability to merge with the darkness. Your aura, voice, and form will be greatly suppressed in the shadows, making you almost impossible to detect.]

[Option 3: Thousand-Faced Guest]

[Description: One face, one identity. Your voice, your gait, your bearing—all are your disguises. You can be a noble prince or a lowly street vendor. By switching between countless identities, you can achieve goals no one else can reach.]

[Professional Talent: Face of No Form—Your disguise and imitation abilities will be second nature. You can easily alter your own aura and charisma, making your disguises flawless and extremely difficult to see through.]