A Rank 3 beast appraiser was definitely a prominent figure.
There wasn't a single Rank 3 beast appraiser in the entire Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association.
Lin Jin immediately greeted him with the etiquette of a beast appraiser. "Elder Tan!"
Tan Xun smiled and nodded. He had a good impression of Lin Jin. Despite his young age, he possessed extraordinary skills yet he wasn't arrogant.
It was then that Lin Jin noticed the painting.
He walked over to take a closer look before exclaiming in surprise, "Isn't this the painting I lost? Why is it here?"
This confirmed what Gu Mengzhong had said before.
He was the one who gave this painting to Lin Jin.
So why did Lin Jin's painting end up at the City Lord Manor? Why was it given to Tan Xun as a gift?
This was what everyone wanted to know.
Since it was a gift from Wang Ji to the City Lord Manor, they had to ask him first.
Thus, Tan Xun asked Wang Ji, "Chief Wang, how do you explain this?"
Wang Ji was already sweating profusely. He could only say, "Perhaps Appraiser Lin accidentally left it behind and it was mistaken as a gift."
"That doesn't make sense. You can't just pick something up and use it as a gift. Chief Wang, are you hiding something from us?" Gu Mengzhong glanced at Wang Ji and knew he wasn't telling the truth.
"No, I'm not sure about that either. My subordinates were the ones who prepared the gift. I was completely kept in the dark about this." Wang Ji tried his best to defend himself, but his efforts were futile.
Lin Jin's words pierced through the veil of paper. "That's possible.
"That's possible. That night, I appraised a batch of mutated beast eggs and spent the whole night tossing and turning. I don't know when I fell asleep. When I woke up, the painting was gone. It's possible that someone took it by mistake. Don't blame President Wang for this. He definitely doesn't know."
F * ck!
Wang Ji felt a chill run down his spine as if his clothes had been ripped off his body.
His cover was finally blown.
"Mutant eggs?" Tan Xun frowned. As if remembering something, he immediately asked, "Appraiser Lin, are you saying that you were the one who appraised the batch of mutant eggs sent over by the City Lord Manor?"
Lin Jin nodded. "That's right. I heard they were sent over by the City Lord Manor. There were a total of eleven."
"Did you appraise it alone?" Tan Xun asked again.
Lin Jin answered honestly, "Chief Wang and Appraiser Gao Jiang have already completed the evaluation reports for two of them. As for the other nine, I wrote them myself."
Tan Xun took a deep breath.
He probably already knew what was going on.
He glared fiercely at Wang Ji. The latter no longer dared to raise his head, and his hands were trembling nonstop.
It wasn't that Wang Ji was incompetent, but according to the rules of beast appraisers, plagiarism was a taboo. Not only did he plagiarize, he even destroyed Lin Jin's evaluation report.
Wang Ji thought to himself. No matter what, he could not admit it.
Tan Xun ignored him and turned to Lin Jin instead.
"Appraiser Lin, it just so happens that I've personally appraised those eleven mutated beast eggs before so I'm very familiar with them. Since you said that you've appraised them yourself, you must have remembered the details. I won't look at your evaluation report. I just want to ask you about one of the beast eggs. It was one foot and eight inches tall and had patterns that looked like golden rings …"
Before he could speak, Lin Jin continued, "I remember. When I appraised this mutated beast egg, it was a wind-slashing mantis with a metal attribute. This was what was written in my evaluation report …"
Lin Jin spoke tirelessly, explaining his appraisal theories and the details he relied on. Most importantly, as long as it was an evaluation report he wrote, there would be a 'copy' of it in the Museum of Deadly Beasts so he couldn't forget it. He just had to read it out loud.
Wang Ji's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as he mused, 'Is Lin Jin a ghost? How could he remember this? ' Moreover, Lin Jin had recited it word for word.
Tan Xun, Tan Lin, and the other beast appraisers listened in silence. Sometimes their eyes lit up, sometimes they frowned in contemplation, and sometimes they came to a sudden realization.
They were all mesmerized.
When Lin Jin was done, everyone felt like he hadn't had enough.
This was especially true for Tan Lin. She was now looking at Lin Jin as if he was a monster. As a Rank 2 beast appraiser, Tan Lin had always thought highly of herself. She assumed that among the beast appraisers in Jade Dragon Kingdom who were under thirty years old, she could be ranked in the top five.
But today, she felt like Lin Jin had beaten her to a pulp.
Even if she had a dozen reference books, she wouldn't be able to come up with a theory for appraising a mixed beast.
However, this only served to ignite her competitive spirit.
In terms of age, she was about the same as Lin Jin. In terms of experience and background, she had the guidance of a Rank 3 beast appraiser father. No matter how she looked at it, she shouldn't lose to Lin Jin.
But now, she had to admit that she was inferior to Lin Jin.
Tan Xun was now certain of his speculation because he had seen some of the theories Lin Jin mentioned in Wang Ji's evaluation reports before. Although they had been modified, the essence was the same.
"Lin Jin, let me ask you again. Do you remember a beast egg that was the largest in size? How did you appraise it?" Tan Xun asked.
Lin Jin nodded. "I do. It's a fire-scaled tyrannosaurus. It's a fire attribute. That's what I wrote in the evaluation report …"
Another round of explanation.
This time, everyone was convinced. Some of the smarter ones had already taken out their notebooks to record the key points. This was comparable to a teacher's lecture.
Seeing this, some of them quickly followed suit. Many of them were busy taking notes. Those who didn't know better might even think that some great appraiser was giving a public lecture.
Tan Xun nodded as he listened. He was a Rank 3 beast appraiser. If he couldn't tell what was going on, he would have lived his life in vain.
"Alright, Appraiser Lin, that's enough." Tan Xun stopped asking questions because there was no need to.
He turned to Wang Ji and asked, "Chief Wang, let me ask you. Did Appraiser Lin participate in the appraisal of that batch of mixed beast eggs? If he did, why was your signature the only one in the evaluation report? "
Wang Ji felt his scalp prickle. He lowered his head and said nothing.
Tan Xun immediately turned to Gao Jiang and asked, "Appraiser Gao Jiang, right?"
Startled, Gao Jiang nodded at once. "Elder Tan, I'm Gao Jiang."
"Let me ask you. Did you know about this?" Tan Xun asked with a dark expression.
Gao Jiang groaned inwardly. Wang Ji could keep quiet but he didn't dare to not answer. He could only bite the bullet and say, "I did."
"Did Appraiser Lin participate?"
"Yes, but Chief Wang was the one who arranged the details."
"Good!"
Tan Xun suppressed his anger and yelled at Wang Ji, "Wang Ji, do you know your crime?!"
As a beast appraiser, plagiarizing others' evaluation reports was taboo.
What was plagiarism?
Taking someone else's knowledge for one's own use and claiming to the public that it was his own merit.
This was what Wang Ji was doing now.
"I didn't see Lin Jin's signature in those eleven evaluation reports. As a chief, don't you feel ashamed for plagiarizing others' evaluation reports and taking credit for it?"
Tan Xun was furious. What Wang Ji had done had crossed the line.
Cold sweat dripped down Wang Ji's face. He knew that he had lost the upper hand.
Only then did everyone come to a sudden realization.
"So it was Appraiser Lin who appraised the mixed beast eggs!"
"Chief Wang not only suppressed Appraiser Lin, but he also plagiarized and took credit for it. How despicable."
"So Appraiser Lin has suffered so much. I believed the rumors and thought he didn't live up to his reputation. Now that I think about it, I'm truly ashamed!"
"Now that the truth has been revealed, it was Wang Ji who had been suppressing and defaming Appraiser Lin."
Tan Xun turned to Tan Lin and said, "Lin'er, you're still an inspector sent by headquarters. According to headquarters' rules, how should we deal with this matter?"
Tan Lin said with a straight face, "According to headquarters' rules, plagiarizing and taking credit for it is a huge taboo. Also, Chief Wang abused his authority to bully his subordinates. His behavior is unethical and I believe he is no longer fit to be chief of Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association. As an inspector from headquarters, I hereby revoke Chief Wang Ji's position. As for his Rank 2 beast appraiser qualification, I will report this to headquarters and let them decide."
Having said that, she took out the Beast Appraisal Association's communication amulet and wrote down her decision. Then, she invoked a spell and the amulet immediately transformed into a stream of light that shot into the sky.
At this, Wang Ji finally couldn't take it anymore. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.
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