Chapter 23 - Who Does Lin Jin Think He Is

All that painstaking on the production and refining of the pill and hassle from obtaining the fire spirit crystal had finally been rewarded. Not with just any reward but with the best possible outcome. Lin Jin could wake up in euphoria for each day he slept.

Level two beasts could utilize their attributes, while level three beasts could alter their sizes.

This was a huge leap in between, and rumor has it that level four concealed a mysterious power within. However, this was a thought for another day. Lin Jin was deeply gratified that Xiao Huo leveled up twice in a row. What a miracle that was.

The perfect evolution was amazing.

After indulging in the flavors of this forbidden fruit, Lin Jin figured that his pet beast's future promotions would all be perfect evolutions because Xiao Huo's potential rate had jumped up from one to three just from this incident.

People would be shocked if they found out.

Raising a pet beast's potential rate was a tough process that was equivalent to remolding the creature entirely. How many beast appraisers could achieve this?

Pretty sure no one else in Maple City could do it, for now.

His pet beast's evolution, and two levels at that, immediately gave Lin Jin a confidence boost. With a level three, Lin Jin could sashay all over Maple City as if he owns the place.

Xiao Huo became dourer than before even at its original size. Its silky fur was glazed with a layer of fire spiritual energy, it was impossible to tell that it was a level three without shifting forms.

The next day.

Beast Appraisal Association.

Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun came to Lin Jin's appraisal room early bright to clean up, wipe his table, and fix tea. As apprentices who were learning under their teacher, it was normal for them to perform such minor duties.

"Why isn't Appraiser Lin here yet?" Lu Xiaoyun asked.

"He should be here soon," Zhao Ying assured her.

Examining this secluded and run-down room, Lu Xiaoyun got irritated by this injustice. "Appraiser Lin has such exceptional skills and profound knowledge, but the association is treating him this way instead. Even I can't stand it."

Zhao Ying smiled and said with confidence, "True gems will eventually shine. We were once clueless on Appraiser Lin's personality and abilities too, but now that we know, we can't just let this go on. Although Appraiser Lin doesn't mind it, we can't let him be bullied. We have to stand up to those libelers."

"You're right. Just the thought of it riles me. When we tried explaining to those people on the way here, not only did they refuse to believe us, they even said we were being cheated and wouldn't listen to us." Lu Xiaoyun's chest heaved heavily as she exhaled rage from her nostrils.

"It'll take more than a day to change other people's impressions. What matters now is that we have faith in Appraiser Lin." Just then, Zhao Ying noticed Lin Jin's silhouette and she quickly went over.

"Appraiser Lin!" The girls greeted in unison. Lin Jin merely nodded, putting on the airs of a mentor. He had apprentices affiliated with him after all, so he had to behave accordingly.

Xiao Huo trotted behind him. Straightaway, Zhao Ying's pangolin and Lu Xiaoyun's red fox sensed the presence of a formidable enemy. The red fox fur spiked on the hunch of its back.

Lin Jin patted Xiao Huo's forehead and it withheld its domineering aura.

Upon Xiao Huo's arrival, both Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun were washed over with perplexity. The little guy seemed to have shed his skin overnight, no doubt it was a sign of advancement.

"As expected of Appraiser Lin!" The girls were growing fond of it. In their knowledge, Lin Jin had evolved three pet beasts in just two days. If only they knew that Xiao Huo continuously evolved up to level three, they wouldn't be this composed.

Lin Jin admired the cleaned room, neat table, and prepped tea, he couldn't help but squeal in delight in his heart.

However, the trio waited and time passed, but their room remained empty.

Lin Jin was mildly embarrassed. It was normal for him, but if there was nobody to consult, how was he supposed to teach the girls?

After some thought, Lin Jin flicked his calligraphy brush and swiftly duplicated details of the pangolin and red fox obtained from the museum. He wrote at least ten pages for each creature.

At first, Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun were clueless about the purpose of his actions. They hovered aside and observed. But as they watched, their interest piqued and immersed themselves into the process.

The writing was complete.

Lin Jin lowered his brush and said, "Since you girls are apprentices studying under me, I have to pass on my knowledge without any reservation. There are evaluation reports of your pet beasts. Have a look at them and you may exchange with each other for research purposes."

The girls quickly received the reports like they were gems. 

Although they'd only swept a glance at it earlier, they were overwhelmed by its contents because extraordinarily, the report contained not only the bloodline origins of the pet beasts, it even revealed the bloodline branches of its ancestors. Those pieces of thin paper were dripping with such immense detail of the beasts that nobody could ever imagine reading an evaluation report like this. Nothing else was worth mentioning.

The scariest part was, the report included particular shortcomings and weaknesses on the beasts with methods to resolve these issues, but what really took the cake was the methods of evolution.

Up till here, Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun were exchanging glances back and forth. They could see the prominent shock on each other's faces, but besides shock, it was infused with excitement.

Choosing to learn under Lin Jin was the right decision. In the study of beast evaluations, the guidance in evolving a pet beast was the most valuable and also the most difficult. Not every official beast appraiser researched this branch of study. Even if they did, they would hide away their knowledge, only penning down the results, never the process. Nor would they easily teach their apprentices as well.

But in Lin Jin's evaluation report for them not only had the evolution methods written down, it included how the method was obtained, probing methods of a pet beast's bloodline, observation, consultation of the creature's physique, and attribute tests. Each of these knowledgeable variants complemented each other so that the results were reasonable.

There wasn't a hint of secrecy.

The girls began jittering in excitement. While they felt overwhelming gratitude, they were parched for more knowledge.

Lin Jin swept a glance at them and shook his head, he thought to himself how the contents he copied were barely anything from the museum. This was only twenty percent and it already had the girls jumping. If he'd copied them all, their souls might have jumped out and never came back.

He was going to take it slow. Lin Jin understood the principle of working steadily. If he copied everything in one go, they wouldn't be able to digest it all. After all, all the museum's contents were known to be mysteriously profound.

Lin Jin took a sip of his tea and relaxed his muscles. Staring at his still doorway, he shook his head. This was unacceptable. As a certified beast appraiser who offered consultation services but had no customers, not only was this shameful but would also affect his assessment.

'Since no one's coming, I'll just have to proactively search for them!' Lin Jin had decided. He can't possibly wait for the problem to resolve itself.

Since Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun were deeply immersed in their reports, Lin Jin let them be and stood up to leave, taking Xiao Huo with him.

Compared to the serenity at Lin Jin's place, the association was erupting with life. Infinite streams of people poured in demanding beast appraisals and medical attention. Just as always, Chief Wang Ji and Appraiser Gao Jiang's consultation tokens sold out faster than hotcakes.

As a level one official beast appraiser, Gao Jiang's status was just below Chief Wang Ji's. So naturally, his consultation hall was vast and bright, complete with bonsai decorations. Ironically, it was beyond comparison to Lin Jin's place.

"Although this beast is compatible with you attribute-wise, it holds an average potential. I could help it increase its potential, but there's a limit to its growth. Taking your future into account, I'd recommend you to get another beast."

As Gao Jiang was summarizing the evaluation report, the person across him looked doubtful, clearly reluctant to give up their pet beast.

Gao Jiang saw this and his expression turned foul, which encouraged his apprentice to speak impatiently, "Appraiser Gao has made it clear enough, why don't you understand? Your pet beast's potential is only average, in other words, there's no hope for it to evolve. If you want to hold onto this useless creature, no one's stopping you."

The client got even more distressed, staring at the toucan in his arms, torn between his choices.

"If you want to reconsider, do it at home. Don't delay and hold up the line. If you've made a decision, you can purchase another pet beast at our association. I'm not exaggerating but all our pet beasts here have proper bloodlines and are a selection of rare species with great potential." The apprentice began chasing this client away.

The client had no choice but to nod, say his thanks, and leave.

He had only taken a few steps before he was obstructed.

"Excuse me, sir. I couldn't help but notice that you look upset. Is it because of this pet beast in your arms?"

The client was in a sour mood. When he turned to realize that the person he was facing had a single-ringed pattern on his sleeve, evidently a certified beast appraiser, he swallowed back the ball of cuss puke he was about to gag out.

This certified beast appraiser was none other than Lin Jin. He just happened to pass by and ran into this person, so he asked nonchalantly. Who knew that he had hit the jackpot instead.

He sighed. "This toucan has been with me for years. We're like family, so how could I abandon it just because there's no hope for it to evolve?" The client briefly explained before lamenting.

Lin Jin reached out to touch the toucan and then replied, "It's true that it lacks potential but saying that it can't evolve is a mistake. Come, come. Come with me and let me take a look. I can guarantee that you'll be able to evolve it within three days."

The client was overjoyed and left with Lin Jin.

Unfortunately, Zhang He who coincidentally walked by had witnessed this incident that sparked an idea into his mind. He entered Gao Jiang's consultation hall and elaborated on the incident while adding details to the situation.

Appraiser Gao Jiang scowled. Lin Jin's actions were clearly a challenge to him.

Slam!

The impact from Gao Jiang's palm split a crack on the stone table beneath.

"Who does Lin Jin think he is to dare question my appraisal results?"