Newly Arrived Convicts, an Eighth-Grade Spirit Pearl

Looking at the two professions side by side on the panel, Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been worried that the Nightwalker profession he had brought back would conflict with his Tanka Boatman profession. If it overwrote that profession, he would have been in trouble.

After all, on Blackwater Lake, his Tanka Boatman skills were vital. They were the foundation of his livelihood.

Now it seemed he had worried too much.

The profession panel seemed to have no upper limit. Professions could stack without end, accommodating countless possibilities.

The next two days passed without a ripple.

As expected, the disappearance of Zhao Qiu and his two companions caused no stir whatsoever.

Chen Ye's days returned to their former calm. He took his boat out, harvested pearls and handed them in each day, his life passing uneventfully.

Then, one day, the usually lifeless dockside town suddenly grew noisy.

Another batch of convicts had been escorted here.

Chen Ye stood on the edge of the crowd, watching the familiar scene before him with an indifferent expression.

Most of the newly arrived men wore numb expressions, their eyes vacant, as though their souls had been drawn out of them.

The women, meanwhile, sobbed quietly, their faces full of terror and bewilderment.

Before long, some high-ranking convicts gathered around, pointing at the women and commenting as though picking livestock at a market.

Strangely, though the women's faces were filled with humiliation, they all stood there obediently. A few of the reasonably attractive ones even looked relieved after being chosen, as though they had grasped a lifesaving straw.

Those who were not chosen, on the other hand, looked somewhat anxious.

Chen Ye had long since grown accustomed to scenes like this.

These women thought being chosen would free them from their sea of suffering, when in truth they were merely jumping from one fire pit into another, deeper one.

Once those high-ranking convicts grew tired of playing with them, their fate would be even worse than it was now.

But it had nothing to do with Chen Ye, and he could not be bothered to interfere.

Just as he turned to leave, a voice tinged with surprise and uncertainty suddenly came from the crowd.

"Chen Ye?"

Chen Ye stopped and looked toward the voice.

His gaze passed through the numb crowd, and then he saw a face that could be called delicate, but was now haggard and panicked.

Chen Ye recognized her.

Liu Chan.

A name that had held a significant place in his predecessor's memories.

The Liu Lineage and the Chen Lineage had been family friends for generations, and Chen Ye's predecessor and Liu Chan could be considered childhood sweethearts.

Later, however, the Chen Lineage fell from power. Not only did the Liu Lineage fail to lend a hand, they were the first to turn against them, even throwing stones down the well by joining the Chen Lineage's enemies in dealing them a vicious blow.

Chen Ye had not expected to see a member of the Liu Lineage here, in this manner, after so many years.

His gaze swept over the crowd.

Sure enough, he spotted several other familiar figures in a corner, including Liu Junshan, the head of the Liu Lineage, who had once called Chen Ye's father his brother and drunk and laughed with him.

By now, these members of the Liu Lineage had also recognized him, but the moment their eyes met his, the men lowered their heads in shame, not daring to look him in the eye.

Just then, Liu Chan squeezed out of the crowd, her face full of hope, and hurried over to him.

"Brother Chen Ye, it really is you!"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and two streams of clear tears slid down her cheeks at just the right moment. Her voice choked, and her expression was enough to make anyone pity her.

Liu Chan had noticed Chen Ye's clean, neat clothes long ago. They showed that he was probably doing well here.

Then she recalled the honest, kind-natured youth from her memories, who had always indulged her every wish, and hope instantly flared in her heart.

In her view, as long as she lowered herself and employed a few little tricks, she was bound to have him firmly in her grasp.

However, nothing she had imagined came to pass.

Chen Ye merely watched her in silence, his gaze as calm as a bottomless lake, without the slightest ripple.

Then he turned and made to leave.

Liu Chan froze.

His reaction was completely different from what she had imagined!

Seeing that Chen Ye was about to walk away, Liu Chan could no longer care about modesty or pride. She rushed forward recklessly and grabbed the hem of his clothes.

"Brother Chen Ye, don't go! You can't abandon me!"

She burst into loud sobs, her face smeared with tears and snot. She no longer looked the least bit like a young lady from a distinguished family.

"The Liu Lineage... the Liu Lineage is finished. Our whole family was exiled here. If you don't want me either, I really won't be able to go on living. Please, for the sake of the years we spent growing up together, take me in. I can do anything-wash clothes, cook, serve tea and pour water. I can do it all!"

Her cries drew many sidelong glances. The high-ranking convicts watched the show with interest, while every member of the Liu Lineage turned deathly pale.

Chen Ye stopped and glanced back at Liu Chan.

A trace of hope and pleading appeared on Liu Chan's face.

But Chen Ye simply said in an utterly flat tone, "What does that have to do with me?"

With that, he gave a gentle pull, shook off Liu Chan's hand and left without looking back.

Liu Chan stood there as if turned to wood, her mind completely blank.

Ever since her Lineage had fallen, she had felt as though she were living in a nightmare. Now, after finally catching a glimpse of hope, she had seen it shattered in an instant.

What had happened to the Liu Lineage did not cause the slightest ripple in Chen Ye's heart.

He felt no pleasure in revenge, no satisfaction in their misfortune, not even a trace of emotion.

To him now, these people were no different from stones by the roadside, unworthy of any emotion from him.

Back on his boat, Chen Ye resumed his work.

His goal was clear: find a high-quality spirit pearl to prepare for his next transmigration.

That ninth-grade spirit pearl last time had given Chen Ye a start as a lowly young book attendant who had been framed and put to death, leaving him hard-pressed at every step.

The quality of the sacrifice determined the rank of his starting identity. The higher his status, the smoother his start would be.

Of course, it could not be too high, either.

If he sacrificed a first-grade spirit pearl and was sent straight to a top-tier world where immortals and demons walked everywhere and mighty experts were worth less than dogs, his meager strength would probably not even qualify him as cannon fodder. There would be a very high chance of him dropping dead at the start.

After weighing it over and over, Chen Ye ultimately set his sights on the seventh or eighth grade.

A spirit pearl of that grade could guarantee him a decent start without sending him to a world that was too dangerous.

Over the next few days, Chen Ye dived more often and went deeper.

With Spirit Clam Sensing and his now formidable physique, Chen Ye worked with remarkable efficiency.

He even found several ninth-grade spirit pearls, but he took none of them.

After all, wealth should not be displayed.

Before, he had stood out just a little, and that had attracted the covetous attention of Zhao Qiu and the others.

Now, Chen Ye would naturally be even more careful.

Then, one day, when Chen Ye dived into a deep, secluded stretch of water he had never explored before, a sensation far stronger than any he had felt previously suddenly came from below.

A big one!

Chen Ye's spirits lifted. He immediately dived down and cleared away the silt on the lakebed.

Sure enough, beneath it was a giant clam the size of a millstone. The spirit clam's shell was covered in the marks of time and gave off a faint spiritual glow.

Chen Ye mustered the strength of nine oxen and two tigers before he finally managed to pry a gap in the tightly shut shell with his spirit shovel.

The moment the shell opened, a soft, gentle radiance shone through.

Chen Ye looked closely and saw an egg-sized spirit pearl lying quietly in the clam's flesh, giving off a purple halo.

An eighth-grade spirit pearl!