Lin Jin was now sitting by a pond in headquarters' backyard. While he looked like he was enjoying the scenery, he was actually fiddling with something in his hand.
The water reservoir armor.
This item was a treasure. The water spirit energy it contained was incredibly dense. At his current stage, not only could it enhance Lin Jin's Cloud Mist, but he could also absorb water spirit energy from it to nourish his body when he held it in his hand during cultivation. Also, if he were to get injured, he could use this item to quickly recover.
Of course, the water reservoir armor's value wasn't limited to this. However, at Lin Jin's current level, he couldn't unleash its full potential.
Come to think of it, the demonic appraisers' branches around Reed City were really down on their luck. This treasure was right under their feet but they didn't even notice it after so many years. If they knew, they would probably die from anger.
Before he knew it, it was already noon.
Lin Jin wasn't hungry. This place was quiet and with the water reservoir armor's nourishment, Lin Jin was quite comfortable. After who knew how much time had passed, when he looked up, the sun was already setting. Lin Jin then realized he had been sitting here for half a day.
"It's about time." Lin Jin got up and put away the water reservoir armor. The thin layer of mist around him slowly dissipated.
He had arranged to meet Ouyang Tong at Auspicious Auspicious Residence. It was a restaurant so they could have a meal together.
Ouyang Tong had obviously arrived long ago. When he saw Lin Jin, he hurried over. "Appraiser Lin, everything is ready. We'll meet up after dark. We'll be heading to the dark cell."
Lin Jin nodded. He didn't ask about anything else but the demonic appraiser was on death row and was about to be executed. Under normal circumstances, outsiders shouldn't even think about meeting him. Yet, Ouyang Tong managed to arrange for it.
Of course, with Lin Jin's skills, he could even sneak in secretly. But that wasn't what he wanted.
What Lin Jin wanted was for Ouyang Tong to make the arrangements so that he could 'alert the enemy'.
Sure enough, Ouyang Tong ordered a table full of food at Auspicious Residence. There weren't many dishes but each one was exquisite. He had obviously put a lot of effort into it.
Lin Jin could tell that Ouyang Tong was trying to curry favor with him. Speaking of which, Ouyang Tong had helped him a lot so Lin Jin felt a little guilty.
"I'm quite close to Appraiser Tan Xun. The next time I see him, I'll put in a good word for you," Lin Jin said without hesitation. At this, Ouyang Tong was elated and immediately toasted Lin Jin.
"Appraiser Lin, try this. This is Auspicious Prosperity Residence's famous apricot wine. It's rich and mellow!"
Lin Jin turned to Ouyang Tong's pet beast.
Ouyang Tong was nothing out of the ordinary and so was his pet beast, a hardened boar.
Back at headquarters, Ouyang Tong didn't bring his pet beast along. He would only bring it out in private. As for why, it was simple. He didn't want to embarrass himself.
In his early years, Ouyang Tong was born poor. This Armored Wild Boar was caught by his father to form a blood contract with him. Later on, when Ouyang Tong passed the apprenticeship exam, his father contracted an illness and passed away.
Even after Ouyang Tong became an official Rank 1 beast appraiser, he didn't give up on this pet beast. In his words, this was the only thing his father had left for him. Hence, even when it was determined that it couldn't evolve, Ouyang Tong never thought of giving up.
However, because of this wild boar, he was often the butt of jokes. Hence, Ouyang Tong didn't bring his pet beast with him most of the time at headquarters to prevent others from gossiping.
"Let me take a look at your pet beast." Although he was talking to Ouyang Tong, he was looking at the wild boar. The wild boar was currently eating something not too far away. Right after Lin Jin said that, he waved his hand. As if sensing his presence, the wild boar lifted its head, got up, and walked over.
Ouyang Tong was surprised. But when he remembered that Appraiser Lin was a Rank 3, his beast taming skills must be much better than Ouyang Tong's so he wasn't surprised.
Of course, Ouyang Tong didn't think too much about it.
As a Rank 1 beast appraiser himself, he had long studied his pet beast thoroughly. To be sure, his pet beast was what people often referred to as a 'low-grade beast'. It couldn't even be considered a common beast. It had no potential and no unique bloodline. It was just an average hardened wild boar.
All these years, he had thought of ways to help his pet beast evolve, but all his attempts had failed without exception.
Because of this, he was mocked by others. Some even advised him to change pet beasts. Any pet beast would be better than this hardened wild boar.
After all, it was common knowledge that low-grade beasts couldn't evolve.
Ouyang Tong was well aware of this. He had thought of changing pet beasts, but as someone who was willing to lower his head and curry favor with others, Ouyang Tong refused to do so.
As he said, this wild boar was left to him by his father. Keeping it alive was a form of filial piety.
"To be honest, Appraiser Lin, I've thought of changing pet beasts too. But when I thought about how it's been with me for so many years and how it's only survived until now because of the blood contract, if I were to break it, it would die immediately. So I didn't do it." Ouyang Tong's smile seemed to contain a sense of clarity.
He had indeed come to terms with this matter.
Having said that, he drank a glass of wine.
However, just as he put down the glass, he heard a strange sound. It sounded like sand being ground. He turned around and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
A dense cloud of iron sand was emerging from his pet beast's body. Like a swarm of bees surrounding a nest, they circled around the wild boar before quickly converging to form something that looked like iron armor on the boar's forehead, front legs, and back.
Almost at the same time, Ouyang Tong felt a surge of energy flowing into him through the power of their blood contract. This feeling was both foreign and familiar at the same time.
It was foreign because he had never experienced it himself. It was familiar because as a Rank 1 beast appraiser, he had seen this attribute fluctuation far too many times.
This was clearly an advancement.
His pet beast had evolved?
Ouyang Tong found this to be too surreal and unbelievable. The problem was, even if it was an evolution, it shouldn't be this fast. And how could a low-grade beast evolve?
Lin Jin had already patted the wild boar's head. Then, he sat up straight, picked up his chopsticks, and continued eating.
Stunned, Ouyang Tong rubbed his eyes forcefully and hurried over to check on his pet beast.
Without a doubt, it was Rank 2.
Ouyang Tong used several methods to appraise it and the results were unquestionable. His wild boar had evolved. Moreover, it was probably of the metal attribute. This could be seen from the iron armor on its body.
The wild boar now looked much more intimidating than before. Its dark, reflective iron armor was like an imperial guard's armor. Just by looking at it, it exuded a murderous aura.
One look was enough to tell that it wasn't someone to be trifled with.
Aside from that, its flabby muscles looked incredibly sturdy. It was as if it had suddenly become ten years younger.
Even if Ouyang Tong were to continue eating, he would still be able to react.
He took a step forward and bowed deeply at Lin Jin.
There was no attempt at flattery or slyness in this bow. It was a show of respect. Lin Jin didn't stop him because he was worthy of such a bow. To put it bluntly, even a Rank 4 beast appraiser might be able to promote a Rank 3 pet beast to Rank 4, but they definitely wouldn't be able to promote a low-grade beast from Rank 1 to Rank 2.
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