Each tier of professions was further divided by strength into lower, middle, upper, and top-tier professions.
First published on Taiwan Novel Network, the top choice for reading Taiwanese novels: .
Super reliable, offering error-free chapters and a reading experience without scrambled chapter order.
Lower- and middle-tier professions were the most common. Upper-tier professions were relatively rare, while top-tier professions were even harder to come by.
To advance a profession, one not only had to acquire information about the next-tier profession and fulfill the advancement requirements, but also develop the profession to a certain extent.
"Development level..." Su Chen thought. "Jiang He is so powerful. It's probably not just because she's an Arcane Apprentice. Her profession development level should be quite high too."
Aside from those three major categories, the book vaguely mentioned a special case.
Special professions without ranks possessed extremely unusual abilities.
The book did not say much, but it directly listed one profession.
[Special profession discovered—Scholar. You may take the profession after fulfilling the requirements.] [Scholar profession requirement one: Study diligently for twelve years.] [Scholar profession requirement two: Learn at least twelve different types of knowledge, studying each for no less than one year.] [Scholar profession requirement three: Obtain information on one top-tier profession.]
Considering how profession information was practically kept secret in reality, it was rather strange that this special profession had been placed in the library.
On one hand, [Scholar] was considered a purely support-oriented profession.
On the other hand, its requirements were exceedingly harsh. Perhaps it was also meant to showcase one's foundation.
From what he understood, due to physical development, people could only begin the various forms of training required for professions when they were nearly adults.
Southwind City's education system was very rudimentary. People only enrolled in school in their teens to learn conventional knowledge.
But everyone wanted to become a professional. How could they possibly settle down and study knowledge that seemed useless?
After becoming a professional, the focus naturally became raising one's profession development level. Studying diligently for twelve years was almost impossible.
Not to mention learning twelve different categories of knowledge and obtaining information on a top-tier profession.
"Still..." Su Chen's expression turned rather strange as he looked at the panel.
[Scholar profession requirement one: Study diligently for twelve years. (Nine years completed)] [Scholar profession requirement two: Master twelve different types of knowledge, studying each category for at least one year. (Completed)] [Scholar profession requirement three: Obtain information on one top-tier profession. (Completed)]
Two of the requirements had already been completed, and he had finished nine years of the first one.
"Could it be because of my past life..."
Su Chen muttered to himself. He had at least graduated from university in his past life. Elementary school, middle school, high school, plus university—he had studied a wide variety of subjects for quite some time.
Yet it had only counted as nine years for him. Maybe it was because he had really enjoyed fooling around for several of those years.
"Still, three more years of diligent study is far too long..." Su Chen shook his head. Such a rigid time requirement was truly making things difficult.
"Why is it so long? Make it shorter, shorter..." Su Chen thought hard, trying to get [Scholar] to react, but the panel remained indifferent.
"Fine..." Su Chen gave up. He had no idea how to trigger a profession's human-like responses.
There was also another matter he cared more about: how many professions could one person hold at the same time?
The book's answer was straightforward—unlimited in theory.
This was not a game world where everyone had profession slots.
In theory, as long as the body did not reject them, one could continue taking on professions. But in reality, rejection happened frequently.
The requirements for each profession were mostly different, especially for high-tier professions. Conflicts could kill people.
A person's energy was limited as well. Rather than taking on more professions, it was better to seek a higher-tier profession. Even ten first-tier professions might not be as powerful as one second-tier profession.
"Grrr..."
His stomach protested. Su Chen sighed helplessly. He was hungry again.
His metabolism was too fast. Those canned goods he had eaten in the morning had been completely inadequate; they had nearly been digested before he even reached Southwind City.
And now, he was ravenous.
"I should check out the cafeteria first. There ought to be food with higher nutritional value..." Su Chen went to the first floor and retrieved the student ID he had used as collateral.
By the time he left the library, it was already getting dark outside. He stopped a kind-looking student and asked where the cafeteria was.
Just as he had guessed, the cafeteria did not accept cash. Student IDs were used as proof of payment instead.
But there was no money on his student ID.
"Mm... then I won't eat for now." Su Chen casually left the window. The staff member in charge nearly spoke, while the students waiting in line behind him were all rather speechless.
"Even a hero can be stumped by a penny." Su Chen grew hungrier and hungrier, wondering whether he should go mooch a meal off Jiang He.
"If it comes down to it, I'll just rob a meal here. Jiang He can deal with the aftermath anyway."
Robbing a meal was not a big deal. He figured there would not be any serious consequences, so he prepared to get back in line.
Then he paused. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a very familiar figure walking down from the second floor.
He had asked around before. The second floor was where the rich second-generation students ate, and the prices were not cheap.
Although Southwind Academy trained professionals, the vast majority of students learned miscellaneous professions, the kind that merely ensured they could earn a living after graduation. There were not many students from wealthy families.
More powerful physical and mental professions required resources far beyond what they could afford.
Without a solid foundation, it was easy to gain nothing in just three years—or even pay with one's life.
He looked at that figure. She was slender and graceful, with hair falling over her shoulders and delicate side features. She could be considered an acquaintance.
However, he had never seen what she looked like after washing up. The only reason he recognized her was because Little Pigeon had secretly shown him a photo before.
"Bai Fengxi..."
Hearing someone call her name, she paused. The few men and women beside her stopped as well and turned to look over in confusion.
"Another confession? Junior Bai is really popular."
"Look at her. She became a professional in only three months. With talent like that, her future is boundless..."
"This guy is pretty handsome, but why don't I remember him? I should have seen a handsome guy like this before..."
The discussions were quiet as gazes crossed through the air, all carrying the anticipation of watching a show.
"Sorry, I only want to study right now. I'm not interested in anything else." Bai Fengxi frowned slightly, her expression cool.
Su Chen was speechless. "Um, I'm Su Chen."
"Su... Chen?" Bai Fengxi froze slightly, her eyes widening. Both embarrassed and astonished, she sized him up and down before asking suspiciously, "You... are Su Chen?"
"It's me..." Su Chen nodded.
Bai Fengxi examined him carefully. His brows and eyes did seem somewhat familiar. So this guy actually looked pretty good after washing up.
"Ahem..." She coughed twice to hide her embarrassment. After saying something to the people beside her, she walked over and whispered familiarly, "Um, sorry. I'm just used to it."
The two had not interacted much, but they had not interacted little either. After all, they had made a living in the same place.
Only then did she notice the student ID hanging from Su Chen's chest, becoming even more surprised. "You... are a student of Southwind Academy too?"
"How did you get in?"
"It's a long story. There's something more urgent right now..." Su Chen said vaguely. "Do you have any money? Lend me some."
Visible wariness appeared in Bai Fengxi's eyes.
Su Chen was helpless too. "I don't need much, just enough for one meal. I just arrived today and wasn't prepared."
He further emphasized it, easing her suspicion.
"One meal..." Bai Fengxi fell silent for a moment, then took out a slender glass bottle from her pocket. It contained a cloudy, milky-white liquid. "This is concentrated nutrient solution. Dilute it with water, and it should last you a few days."
Su Chen's lips twitched. I said borrow enough for one meal, and you really gave me one meal.
Could this stuff possibly taste good?
Bai Fengxi explained quietly, "Actually, I'm having a hard time too."
What a familiar excuse.
Su Chen sighed. Before Bai Fengxi could hand it over, he took the concentrated nutrient solution from her. "Thanks."
Not far away, Bai Fengxi's companions were exchanging astonished remarks. "What's going on? Su Chen? An acquaintance?"
"Isn't Junior Bai the daughter of Vice Principal Yuan's friend? Her acquaintance shouldn't be ordinary either, right?"
"Zhou Zong, you've got a rival now." A baby-faced girl slyly said to the man standing off to the side.
Zhou Zong stared at Su Chen, his brows tightly furrowed. "Why do I feel like I've seen him somewhere before?"
As they spoke, Bai Fengxi had already returned. The baby-faced girl asked with a mischievous grin, "Little Bai, who's that?"
"A friend from before." Bai Fengxi returned to her cool demeanor, but Zhou Zong's brows relaxed at that moment. Seemingly casually, he said:
"I remember now. This afternoon, your friend seemed to have returned from outside the academy with Teacher Jiang He."
"Jiang He?" the baby-faced girl exclaimed. "That Violet? No way..."
Jiang He's reputation was widespread throughout the academy. Everyone's imaginations ran wild at once, and they all glanced toward Bai Fengxi.
Bai Fengxi paused. Zhou Zong stared at her, intending to see expressions such as shock or disappointment.
"Impressive..." Bai Fengxi uttered two words, sounding somewhat emotional. Everyone was stunned.
Impressive?
Zhou Zong looked utterly confused.
Yes, impressive. A drifter had managed to climb into a Southwind Academy teacher's bed. Wasn't that impressive?
Bai Fengxi simply kept walking.
Before you continue