"Level 1 yellow bull. Earth attribute. Strong and durable. Too bad it has no potential to level up."
"Level 1 sharp eye marquis. Wood attribute. Good at climbing. Excellent eyesight. Good for treasure hunting. Decent potential!"
"Level 1 black mastiff …"
Lin Jin didn't let go of the brush. He didn't even lift his head. His left hand caressed the beast while his right hand continued writing. He picked up information from the Museum of Deadly Beasts and selectively copied it down.
It was simple.
But while he thought it was simple, it was a different story in the eyes of others.
Zhao Ying glanced at it, hesitating to speak. She had been brewing pellets at the back so she couldn't see what Lin Jin was writing. Judging by Lin Jin's serious expression, he didn't look like he was fooling around. But wasn't this evaluation a little too fast?
Most beast appraisals required the use of a beast talisman and a Dharma Eye. Lin Jin skipped this step. If she didn't know that Lin Jin was a 'real talent', Zhao Ying would have assumed that he was writing nonsense.
The villagers queuing up for the evaluation were also feeling apprehensive.
Although they were country bumpkins with limited knowledge, some of them had seen a beast appraiser's appraisal process before. It was a very sophisticated and complicated process. Usually, it would take at least ten minutes to appraise a pet beast. But this person before them only took ten breaths at most.
Wasn't this too much of a joke?
They were suspicious but they didn't dare to ask. They could only grumble in private.
"Is this beast appraiser reliable? Why does it feel like he's just caressing the beast before writing his conclusion? He didn't even lift his head! "
"Maybe he's skilled?"
"That's not it. I've heard that beast appraisals are very rigorous and require a beast talisman, a Dharma Eye, or at least a seal to appraise the beast's attribute. But this person is just caressing the beast. I don't think he's reliable."
"Who cares? It's only ten copper coins. What else can we expect? Moreover, he's from Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association so it shouldn't be a fake. Look, there's even a beast appraiser's beast pattern on his sleeves and collar."
Upon closer inspection, one could see a beast pattern on Lin Jin's collar.
Only official beast appraisers were allowed to use this beast tattoo. The number of rings in the beast tattoo represented their level. Lin Jin's beast tattoo was level one, corresponding to a Rank 1 beast appraiser. For example, Chief Wang Ji was a Rank 2 beast appraiser so he had two beast tattoo patterns on his sleeves. On the other hand, an apprentice beast appraiser like Zhao Ying only had 'fish patterns' on her sleeves. It didn't matter how many rings they had. Hence, one could tell the difference in strength and level from her clothes.
Among the crowd, one of them stared closely at Lin Jin's sleeves. Then, he rolled his eyes and quietly left.
In a luxurious courtyard in Changping Town, Wei Changyong was sitting on a deck chair, drinking tea.
As a 'civilian beast appraiser' with no proper qualifications, he lived a comfortable life. His house was huge and had many rooms. The food and necessities he enjoyed were far more luxurious than the other villagers. Just the servants he employed numbered more than a dozen.
All of this was due to Wei Changyong's primitive beast appraising skills.
In a place like this, commoners couldn't afford to hire a proper beast appraiser nor were they willing to simply capture beasts to form a blood pact. If their attributes were to clash, they wouldn't even have a place to cry. Hence, there was a market for civilian beast appraisers like him.
People like him hated the Beast Appraisal Association the most.
It couldn't be helped. People of the same trade were always enemies. This was the same logic no matter where they went. Hence, every time the Beast Appraisal Association sent someone down for a beast appraisal, he would secretly pay attention and think of ways to cause trouble for them.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of taking the official beast appraiser examination, but the problem was that it was too difficult.
His skills were mostly passed down by word of mouth from his father's generation. What he used were all primitive methods that were completely different from proper beast appraisals. He had tried but he couldn't pass the examination. He wasn't even qualified to be an apprentice, let alone an official beast appraiser.
After returning in defeat a few times, he had given up on this idea.
Hearing that someone from the association was here to steal his business, Wei Changyong was obviously in a bad mood. Just then, footsteps came from outside. Looking up, he saw his cousin, Wei Bi.
"Brother, I'm back." Sitting beside him, Wei Bi picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea.
Wei Changyong was displeased. "I told you to observe the Beast Appraisal Association. Why are you back so soon?"
"Brother, I made a huge discovery." Wei Bi spoke eloquently, telling Wei Changyong everything he had seen and heard. As Wei Changyong listened carefully, his expression gradually turned interesting. "You're saying that the beast appraiser who came this time has a one-ringed beast face tattoo on his sleeve?"
Wei Bi nodded profusely, "That's right, I saw it with my own eyes. It's absolutely true. Brother, think about it, anyone who uses a beast face tattoo is an official beast appraiser. But since when did those pampered fellows from the association ever send an official beast appraiser to the countryside to conduct beast appraisals? Usually, there would be seven or eight apprentices. But this time, there's another anomaly. They only sent two apprentices. Furthermore, that apprentice's beast appraising skills are even wilder than yours. I think there's something fishy going on, so I rushed back to inform you. "
Wei Changyong pondered for a moment before nodding. "That makes sense!"
He slapped his thigh and stood up. "Let's go!"
Beside him, Wei Bi was stunned. "Brother, where are we going?"
"To cause trouble for them!" Wei Changyong was visibly agitated. "The one who came this time is most likely a scammer. Normally, the Beast Appraisal Association wouldn't send an official beast appraiser here. Also, the number of people they sent isn't right either. I can see through such an obvious loophole with just one glance."
Wei Bi was confused. "Even if they're scammers, what does that have to do with us?"
Just as he said that, Wei Changyong slapped him on the head. "You idiot, you don't even know this? We can tell they're scammers, but others can't. So, as long as I beat them at their own game and cause a ruckus, forcing them to compete, I'll definitely win. Then, we can spread the word that I'm someone who can defeat an official beast appraiser. In the future, people who come to us for beast appraisals will probably trample on our doorstep. That's all silver. "
Wei Bi didn't understand the rest, but he understood the silver.
As if injected with steroids, he said, "Alright, I'll do as you say, Brother."
Wei Changyong's eyes darted around and he immediately said, "Go to the backyard and bring me that strange chicken we bought last time."
At this, Wei Bi paled. "That chicken is a little strange, and Brother, didn't you say you couldn't tell where it came from as well?"
Wei Changyong looked as if he was unteachable. "You can call yourself an idiot, but I've been appraising beasts for ten years. What kind of rare beasts have I not seen? I can more or less tell what it is, but that chicken, I can't even tell where it came from. Think about it, if I can't tell, how can that swindler see through it? Forget a scammer, even an official beast appraiser might not be able to tell. So, if he can't appraise it, we'll be the ones to blame. "
Wei Bi was enlightened.
At once, he went to the backyard and brought out a large cage. The cage was covered with a thick cloth and through the gap of the cage, he could vaguely see a sharp gaze.
On the street.
In less than an hour, Lin Jin had appraised close to a hundred pet beasts. Just the evaluation reports alone had piled up into a huge pile.
The originally long queue was now down to the last few people.
This speed was simply terrifying.
Zhao Ying had gotten used to it after her initial shock.
Usually, with so many people, even if there were ten beast appraisers, it would take at least half a day. If they encountered a rare species, it would be even more time-consuming. It was common for them to spend an entire day here.
Zhao Ying initially thought that they wouldn't be able to appraise all the pet beasts with just the two of them, but the result was completely out of her expectations.
There was still quite a bit of time before nightfall but they were already done.
In other words, if they were to hurry up, they might even be able to make it back to Maple City in no time.
She just wondered if Appraiser Lin's evaluation results were right.
Generally speaking, for a beast of this scale, an apprentice's accuracy rate was only seventy percent while an official beast appraiser's accuracy rate was above eighty percent.
As long as his results weren't too ridiculously wrong, today's task would be considered a success.
When she was done with her pill brewing, she saw Lin Jin take out the beast core and feed it to his pet beast without even looking at it. In the past, Zhao Ying might have thought that Lin Jin was being reckless. But now, she saw the confidence of an official beast appraiser.
She even sneaked a peek at the contents of a few evaluation reports. After examining the pet beasts, she was surprised to find that they were all correct. Moreover, the depth of the evaluation results was a testament to the vast knowledge of a beast appraiser. If it were her, she might not be able to come up with such a detailed evaluation conclusion even if she used all sorts of complicated evaluation methods.
"Appraiser Lin, drink some water and take a break." Zhao Ying's attitude toward Lin Jin grew even more respectful. Many beast appraisers in rural areas like this would just skimp on their work and their evaluation reports would be simple. However, none of Lin Jin's evaluation reports were half-hearted. Over a hundred of them were the same. Zhao Ying was impressed by his spirit.
In less than half a day, Zhao Ying's initial opinion of Lin Jin had changed. She also understood one thing.
Rumors couldn't be trusted.
Those rumors must be maliciously slandering Appraiser Lin.
Lin Jin looked at the few people left and stretched his wrists. "Let's rest after this."
Other than feeling tired from writing, he was actually quite relaxed. Moreover, Lin Jin discovered something interesting. Every time he appraised a pet beast, it would be recorded in the Museum of Deadly Beasts. It could even be compiled into a catalog that could be accessed at will. The originally dark and gloomy museum had also become brighter and more spacious than before.
Lin Jin had a feeling that continuously appraising pet beasts and recording them in the museum would bring him some sort of benefit. As for what it was, he had no idea.
Just as he thought of this, he heard a jingle. A mark flew out from the museum and rushed into Lin Jin's consciousness. Then, a voice rang out.
"Recorded over a hundred beasts. Rewarded with Elementary Beast Deterrence."
"Beast Deterrence. Able to deter wild and untamable beasts. Able to suppress all beasts below Rank 3."
The voice was loud and clear, carrying with it a sense of supreme authority.
Immediately, a memory appeared in Lin Jin's mind. It was a method to use spirit energy to deter wild beasts.
Lin Jin was dumbstruck.
Sure enough, there were benefits.
Since he had recorded over a hundred beasts, the museum had rewarded him. Lin Jin wondered how effective this' Beast Deterrence 'would be.
Feeling refreshed, Lin Jin's mind returned and he said, "Next."
Just then, an enigmatic voice rang out. "A Rank 1 beast appraiser. What a rare sight. Why are you here instead of enjoying your life in the city?"
The one who spoke was Wei Changyong.
He had actually arrived earlier but had been observing from the back. What he saw was just as he had guessed. This Rank 1 beast appraiser before him was definitely a liar.
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