Infinite Professions-Chapter 165 - 79: Taking Root (Part 2)

As for why the Special Bureau created such a large lake inside the base, the official explanation is to provide scenery for relaxation, but in reality, it likely relates to the professional needs of a certain high-tier Professional.

Shen Hex isn’t clear on the specifics, nor is he interested in finding out. He only knows that there’s just the right lake here, suitable for him to cultivate inner peace while also advancing the "Spirit Fisherman" Professional Level.

As the latest Immortal Dao Profession, Spirit Fisherman isn’t particularly strong in this world.

After all, this world doesn’t have many peculiar Immortal Fates. The Human Empire is thorough in cleaning battlefields, and if anything truly remains, it’s likely related to the Evil God; otherwise, it couldn’t have survived the searches of the Special Bureau and other departments.

So, the Fate Fisher ability of the Spirit Fisherman has no room for development in this world, and it might even invite trouble.

But no matter; Shen Hex is interested in the subsequent Immortal Hermit and Immortal.

The functions of Longevity Immortal Blessed Land and Longevity Life Supplement Method are exceptionally powerful in any world, worth his effort and dedication.

"Shen Hex!"

"Captain!"

Halfway along his walk, he encountered a few people, surprisingly Zhong Qin and some team members.

"Finished checking out the house, how was it?"

Zhong Qin approached curiously.

"Pretty good."

Shen Hex smiled, then addressed everyone: "Come over to my place for dinner tonight, to celebrate the joy of the new home."

"That sounds great!"

Everyone readily agreed.

"Dinner?"

Only Zhong Qin was puzzled, "You’re cooking?"

"Of course I’ll cook,"

Shen Hex laughed, "Don’t trust my culinary skills?"

"It’s not about trust!"

Zhong Qin shook her head, her expression even more peculiar, "I just find it strange that you have the energy to dabble in cooking. I feel exhausted just practicing, how do you still have the mind to take on these things?"

"In life, you need to relax occasionally."

Shen Hex chuckled lightly and then changed the subject, "It’s settled, come to my place tonight, I’ll go gather some ingredients first."

"Ingredients?"

Zhong Qin looked at him, "What ingredients?"

Shen Hex laughed, "That depends on what’s available."

Zhong Qin: "..."

A moment later, in the residential area by Mirror Lake.

Named for its mirror-like qualities, the lake’s scenery is evident.

Though it’s an underground base, for some reason, there’s still sunlight streaming in and a gentle breeze wafting by. Willows are planted by the embankment, many people stroll about, and some even row boats on the lake. The serene scenery cleanses one’s spirit.

This kind of scenery is extremely rare in the current special times, but here, it’s quite ordinary.

"Mirror Lake, also known as Clear Lake!"

Zhong Qin, following Shen Hex, whispered, "It’s said to be the work of a certain high-tier Professional, whose abilities can harmonize geomancy, creating such wondrous landscapes with various functions, like this lake which can cleanse the mind and dispel the spiritual pollution caused by the Evil God. It’s a great treasure of our base."

"There’s a profession like this?"

Shen Hex found it novel upon hearing this, but continued without pause, heading to the tackle shop by the lake to buy a fishing set and a few packets of bait.

This Special Bureau base, although a base, is actually more like an internal city, especially the residential area where many relatives of Special Bureau members reside. Though they cannot come and go freely, the Special Bureau has allocated them quite a few jobs, even allowing them to run some shops.

The tackle shop is one of them, selling not only fishing gear but also renting boats, allowing for leisurely lake outings.

Shen Hex bought a fishing set, went to the embankment, and skillfully selected a fishing spot with a keen eye, preparing the bait and setting the ground for fishing.

"Are you going to fish?"

Zhong Qin, who followed him, looked at him peculiarly, "You have the leisure for this?"

"Why wouldn’t I?"

Shen Hex chuckled, tossing a few pieces of ground bait into the water.

"Why do you have so many hobbies?"

Zhong Qin shook her head, sat beside him, and counted on her fingers, "Look, you loved playing games in school, signed up for a bunch of extra classes, got into pig farming with thousands of pigs after school, and now you’ve started fishing here at the Special Bureau. You juggle so many things and still maintain your Martial Arts Cultivation, Professional upgrading, and your duties here. My word, don’t you ever feel tired?"

"When a hobby becomes a job, it naturally feels painful."

To her amazement, Shen Hex still chuckled lightly, "But if you turn your job into a hobby, then you’ll enjoy it."

Zhong Qin looked at him oddly, "So these are all your hobbies?"

"What else?"

Shen Hex attached the bait and confidently cast his first line.

"You certainly have a wide range of interests!"

Zhong Qin shook her head and then stood up, "I won’t keep you company. I haven’t even finished my assignments yet."

"Good luck, come over for dinner when you’re done."

Watching Zhong Qin leave, like a beast of burden, Shen Hex offered encouragement, then shifted his focus back.

He has now established himself at the Special Bureau, and next he wants to bring Shen Qingyue over for a peaceful life of "eating, sleeping, and patting the bean."

Practicing martial arts, cultivating immortality, fishing, cooking, fighting monsters, leveling up, sleeping, dreaming—just that simple.

As long as nothing unexpected happens, there won’t be any turmoil.

If something unexpected does happen, he can always make a swift retreat.

Free to advance or retreat!

So now, Shen Hex is quite relaxed, reviewing some new cultivation techniques he recently acquired.

These were exchanged from the Special Bureau’s merit library with his military rank promotion. Although he couldn’t take everything due to influence, he did secure a few desired techniques, including the previously interested Sacrificial Demon-Slaying Swordsmanship.

Shen Hex opened them, reading through and committing them to memory.

But he’s just browsing without any immediate plans to cultivate.

To him, cultivation techniques, unless yielding solid gains like foundation cultivation, aren’t worthwhile to practice in the real world.

The correct approach is to cultivate in dreams, making full use of the time flow speed advantage.

Because unlike concrete and tangible cultivation foundation, achievement realm—the fruition of comprehension—is universal across worlds, so it’s most advantageous in worlds where time flows faster.

This is Shen Hex’s plan going forward.

Unless there’s a task, he’d enter dreams, practice these techniques, further enhancing his powers and cultivation accumulation.

But dream training aside, he cannot completely neglect the tasks at hand.

Shen Hex diverted his True Yuan, tensing his body, establishing a "stress response" mechanism, so that any movement on the fishing rod triggers an automatic response to reel in or hook a fish,

Effectively a human auto-fishing machine!

It sounds fantastical, but for someone practicing Xingyi Fist Skill and having reached Tier Four in cultivation, it’s no hard feat, and he can maintain it for long periods.

Thus, transforming into a human auto-fishing machine, Shen Hex soon immersed his consciousness in dreams, intent on fishing while also dream training.

What, fishing like this lacks soul?

Sorry, he’s here to grind experience; as long as he can level up the Profession, who cares about the soul.

In the era of fast food, efficiency reigns supreme, all else must fall in line.

...

Zhuang Zhou’s Dream of the Butterfly, Cultivation World.

Dongting Lake, Fish Dragon Island.

Everything remains as it was, ever-changing yet unchanged.

This return to reality took him over a month, joining the Special Bureau, cleansing the Evil God Sect, and advancing as a Saint Walker and Sacrificial Training of the Slaying Art.

Very busy, but also very fulfilling.

While in the Dream Butterfly World, Dongting Fish Dragon, nearly ten years passed under the compression of time at a hundredfold speed.

A month compared to a decade!

Thus time has passed, and Dongting Lake has changed considerably, as has Fish Dragon Island.

But for Shen Hex, without notable and phased achievements, it’s all worthless.

No need for words, just continue the arduous cultivation.

Whatever upheaval occurs in the outside world, he remains unmoved at home!

Like a dormant fish or dragon, waiting for that day of transformation and leaping over the dragon gate, with the passage of endless ages.