Everyone had their own thoughts. By now, they could hear the commotion outside.
"They're here!"
Usually, unless it was a special year, the Emperor, the royal family, and the officials' celebrations would be held separately from the people. One would be held in the inner courtyard while the other would be held in the outer courtyard.
Only during special years would the Emperor celebrate the Jade Dragon Festival with the people.
Speaking of which, there wasn't any special annual fee this year, but this time, Jade Dragon Emperor chose to celebrate with the people. At this moment, the emperor and his officials were gathered at the Jade Dragon Dais in the temple plaza. The Jade Dragon Dais was circular in shape and had three elevations. Each platform had twelve steps, and the Jade Dragon Dais was surrounded by imperial guards. Ordinary people couldn't even get close to it, much less go up. They could only catch a glimpse of the Emperor's face from a certain distance away from the guards.
The entire Jade Dragon Festival was carried out in an orderly manner.
As the host of the ceremony, Lin Jin naturally had to wait until he reached Jade Dragon Platform.
Dressed in his appraiser's robe, he looked calm. The officials finally got a closer look at Lin Jin and they gasped inwardly. This Appraiser Lin was too young.
But to everyone's astonishment, when Lin Jin stepped onto the stage, the Imperial Guards' pet beasts and the high-ranking officials' pet beasts all bowed down. Some of them even laid flat on the ground, not daring to move.
This was something that had never happened before.
In fact, some people had noticed this strange phenomenon long ago.
Usually, the streets were crowded with people and pet beasts of all kinds. In previous years, there would be all sorts of pet beasts howling and chirping. But this year was different. Other than the ceremonial music, there was no other sound. All the pet beasts were quiet as if a boorish man had suddenly become well-mannered.
Some attributed it to the jade dragon deity's manifestation of his dragon aura while others suggested other reasons. But anyone with some knowledge would know that this had something to do with Lin Jin.
In an instant, Lin Jin's image was shrouded in a mysterious veil among the officials.
Behind him, He Qing wasn't surprised at all.
This was Curator's unique skill. As Curator's disciple, Appraiser Lin obviously knew how to use it. He Qing suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of pride.
Beside her, He Yu stared at the solemn Lin Jin, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
The next step was to recite some prayers and prayers that had been prepared in advance. Generally speaking, the symbolic meaning was greater than the actual meaning.
His waist was aching, his legs were sore, and his throat was parched. It was a pity he couldn't drink water, or rather, he hadn't had a single drop of water since daybreak. In the past, he would be able to hold on for a few days without water, but now, he felt like he couldn't hold on any longer.
"Let's end this quickly."
Lin Jin couldn't remember how many times he had thought of this.
Below them were the beast appraisers of headquarters. Yu Mantang was annoyed to see Lin Jin stealing the limelight on stage, feeling jealous.
It had been a year since he became a Rank 3 beast appraiser, but he had never had a chance to show his face.
'I refuse to believe that you, Lin Jin, are a peerless genius. Let's see how you deal with the evaluation later, 'Yu Mantang mused.
He knew it was wrong to think this way, but he still hoped that Lin Jin would suffer a huge setback later.
In fact, many others shared the same thought. After all, many veteran beast appraisers had never had a chance to show their faces in public. It would be a lie to say they weren't jealous.
In particular, many beast appraisers had been stuck at Rank 2 for decades, failing multiple times in their attempts to break through to Rank 3. Yet, Lin Jin, who seemed so young and inexperienced, managed to surpass them. Even after the incident with Yang Qingshi, they were still indignant.
Hence, many of them were praying that Lin Jin would pick a Rank 2 or even a Rank 3 pet beast. If that happened, he would definitely embarrass himself in front of everyone.
Of course, there weren't many Rank 3 pet beasts so the chances of him picking one were slim. However, a Rank 2 was still a possibility.
Finally, the tedious and boring ceremony came to an end. Lin Jin let out a sigh of relief. He would never do something like this again.
"Next up is the fortune drawing segment."
Lin Yao had practiced this before. For this segment, a reputable person would have to go to the lot pot and draw three bamboo sticks. Based on the sticks, the person would be assigned a position. The ground of the Jade Dragon Temple was made of hexagonal stone slabs. These stone slabs were meticulously arranged. There were eighty-one bamboo sticks in the pot and after three draws, the person would be able to determine the position of a stone slab based on the stick. Then, the pet beast of the person on the slab would be blessed once.
In fact, the host would have to resort to some tricks to evolve.
This segment was also the most popular one among the people. It was a little like a lucky draw, and once a person was chosen, it would be the top prize that could change their fate.
Wouldn't a pet beast's evolution change their fate?
In the past, either Lin Jin, the host of the ceremony, or the temple attendant would do the drawing. However, if His Majesty was here, the emperor would definitely be the one to do it.
It was the same this time.
Tan Xun and the others had already informed Lin Jin of this rule, so Lin Jin had Jade Dragon Kingdom's emperor personally draw the lots. He Qian was dressed to the nines today. It was a grand occasion. He walked over slowly and according to etiquette, he bowed to the heavens and the jade dragon deity. Then, he said a few words that Lin Jin couldn't remember. It was nothing more than 'Heaven bless Jade Dragon, the dragon deity bless Jade Dragon Kingdom', 'Jade Dragon Kingdom will have good weather, and the people will live in peace' and so on.
After a long speech, He Qian picked up the pot and shook it.
Clack!
When the first stick fell, someone immediately picked it up respectfully and handed it to He Qian with both hands. He Qian glanced at it and chuckled. "The Earth Origin Stick. Not bad."
It was indeed not bad.
The temple attendant raised the stick and showed it to everyone.
Then, He Qian shook it for the second time. This time, he saw the 'Ben Stick'. Although it was rare, it had appeared in previous years. However, it was rare for it to appear after the Earth Origin Stick.
In fact, with these two sticks, they could roughly determine the location. When the temple attendant showed them the second stick, the hundreds of people in the southeast corner were extremely excited.
Because the two sticks were located right where they were. In other words, no matter what the third stick was, it would definitely be in this area. It wouldn't be out of range.
The people in the other areas were obviously dejected.
However, everyone knew that only one person would be chosen in the end.
Of course, based on the number of floorboards, it wasn't exactly the same person. Because among the many floorboards, there was one that was more special.
It was the only 'Sleeping Dragon Stone' in the Jade Dragon Temple.
There were many legends surrounding this Sleeping Dragon Stone, but the biggest difference was that it was larger than the other stone slabs. Hence, more people could stand on it. At least five to six people and their pet beasts could stand on it.
However, this Sleeping Dragon Stone was unique in the entire Jade Dragon Temple. Among the thousands of floorboards, the chances of picking this one was extremely slim. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was one in ten thousand. Hence, in the past few centuries, no unlucky soul had ever picked this one.
Even now, with the Sleeping Dragon Stone in this area, the chances of picking it were only one in a hundred.
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