Beast appraisers in the countryside were required to report to the association after their work. The 'general affairs office' was in charge of such matters. This office handled daily affairs, including the payment of beast appraisers' salaries.
Lin Jin and Zhao Ying met up early in the morning and headed straight for the general affairs office with their notebooks. Soon, they arrived at a spacious wooden building.
As soon as he stepped through the door, he almost bumped into someone. The latter looked up and was immediately dumbfounded. With a displeased tone, he said, "Lin Jin, why are you still in Maple City? Didn't the president ask you to go to Everlasting Town for beast appraisals? "
This person was not tall, and his eyes were small. He had a mean expression on his face, and his sleeves were embroidered with fish patterns.
"Zhou Xiu!"
Lin Jin recalled that this man was the person-in-charge of the association's general affairs department. He was also an apprentice beast appraiser and ranked number two among all apprentices.
In Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association, Zhou Xiu was definitely a veteran in terms of seniority and age. In fact, he was on par with Chief Wang Ji in terms of age.
Perhaps it was because of this that he had taken on some specific duties. This person had always been sarcastic and unkind. To those who were inferior to him, he would frown coldly, but to those who were stronger than him, he would flatter them. It was very despicable.
From his memories, Lin Jin had often been harshly criticized by the man in the past.
For an official beast appraiser to be bullied by an apprentice, Lin Jin felt that his predecessor was such a coward.
"What are you standing there for? I'm asking you! Lin Jin, you didn't go to Everlasting Town, did you? "Zhou Xiu felt like he had something on Lin Jin so he looked excited.
Withdrawing from his memory, Lin Jin answered calmly, "Yes."
Zhou Xiu snorted coldly, obviously not believing it.
"Lin Jin, you should know the consequences of making a false report. If you're lying, we can revoke your qualifications as an official beast appraiser and kick you out of the association."
Lin Jin couldn't be bothered to waste his breath on such a person. He turned to Zhao Ying, who understood his intention and immediately handed him the notebook.
The latter took a look. There was a stamp from Everlasting Town's government so it shouldn't be fake. At the very least, it proved that Lin Jin had been there before. With a scoff, he began flipping through the pages.
With a glance, Zhou Xiu's face lit up.
"A hundred and sixty-three beast appraisals? Do you think I'm retarded? "
After a while, Zhou Xiu looked up and scolded, "Chief only arranged for you to go to Everlasting Town yesterday afternoon. Even if you leave immediately and don't sleep, you won't be able to finish appraising so many pet beasts. Lin Jin, even if you're faking, please put some effort into it."
After saying that, he threw the booklet on the ground.
Zhao Ying was the first to refute, "Apprentice Zhou, you're just looking at the records and you're saying that Appraiser Lin is a fraud. You're being too presumptuous."
Zhou Xiu became even angrier. "Who do you think you are, little girl? You think you're qualified to lecture me? Get out of my way! "
As he spoke, a yellow silhouette emerged from behind him, pouncing on Zhao Ying. Startled, the latter hurriedly performed a hand seal and her pangolin charged forward.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Zhao Ying's pangolin fell to the ground while the yellow silhouette retreated to Zhou Xiu's side.
It was a 'yellow pangolin'. It glared at Zhou Xiu, baring its fangs as it let out a low growl. It was Zhou Xiu's blood contracted pet beast.
It was said to be a jackal, a wolf, a tiger, and a leopard. In fact, jackals were ferocious beasts. Moreover, Zhou Xiu's yellow pangolin was a unique breed. Not only was it larger in size, but it also had two yellow feathers on its back that looked like wings. This pet beast's attribute was wind and it excelled in speed. It could even control strong winds. With Zhou Xiu's beast-taming skill, his combat strength was impressive.
When Zhao Ying saw her pet beast fall to the ground, she was so distressed that she almost burst into tears. She hurried over and saw a claw mark on the pangolin's body. Several of its scales had fallen off and blood was seeping out. It was clearly badly injured.
"You little girl, you have no respect for your elders. I'm teaching you a lesson so you'll remember." Zhou Xiu's attitude was arrogant and he was fearless.
To him, forget an apprentice who had just arrived, he didn't even care about Lin Jin. So if he bullied him, so be it.
Zhao Ying gritted her teeth in anger. But she knew that not only was Zhou Xiu's beast appraising skills outstanding, but his beast-taming skills were also top-notch. More importantly, his' yellow pangolin 'was already a rank 2 pet beast, one rank higher than her pangolin. So even if she was angry, she couldn't exact revenge.
Despite knowing this, Zhao Ying glared at Zhou Xiu.
"Little girl, are you still not convinced?" Zhou Xiu sneered, fearless.
Just then, someone said, "Zhao Ying, your pet beast is injured. Let me take a look at it and then you can have a match with this shorty. Remember, if someone hits you, you have to hit them back."
The one who spoke was Lin Jin.
He was currently caressing the pangolin's head, looking confident.
Zhou Xiu's expression darkened. He hated it when people called him a shorty. He said coldly, "This is the funniest joke I've heard today. Lin Jin, with your conduct, you can't even protect yourself. You want me to take a look at you? Let me make this clear, if this little girl can beat me, I'll call her my great aunt. "
"Everyone heard what you just said!" Lin Jin looked up. Due to the earlier commotion, many people had gathered around to watch. Having said that, Lin Jin ignored Zhou Xiu and bent down to massage the pangolin's body.
Zhao Ying was just as shocked as he was. With tears still dripping down her cheeks, she couldn't help but whisper, "Appraiser Lin, I can't do it. My pet beast is only a rank 1 while Zhou Xiu's is already a rank 2."
Pet beasts ranged from rank 1 to 9. Naturally, the higher the rank, the stronger.
Without looking up, Lin Jin said, "Don't worry, your pangolin has potential. Once it evolves to rank 2, it can activate the ability of its corresponding attribute. It might not necessarily lose to Zhou Xiu's pet beast."
At this, Zhao Ying smiled bitterly, thinking that Appraiser Lin made it sound too easy. While that was true, helping a pet beast evolve wasn't an easy task. She formed a blood pact with this pangolin three years ago. For the past three years, Zhao Ying had tried her best to help it evolve but to no avail.
For this, she had sought help from others. Some time ago, she even consulted another certified beast appraiser in the association, Gao Jiang. The latter told her that for the pangolin to evolve, it would take at least one to two years of training. There were no shortcuts.
Some pet beasts were like this. The path of evolution would be extraordinarily difficult.
"Appraiser Lin, you don't have to worry about it. I …" Zhao Ying had thought it through. So what if she was indignant? Strength determined everything, and what determined strength was the pet beast's rank.
Rank 1 and Rank 2. Despite being only one rank apart, there was a world of difference between them.
Rank 1 and Rank 2 relied on strength while Rank 2 relied on energy.
In other words, a Rank 1 pet beast could only rely on its own strength in battle. But once it reached Rank 2, it would be able to utilize its elemental energy. Just like Zhou Xiu's pet beast, the wind around its body was like this.
However, before she could finish, she saw a sudden burst of spiritual energy from her pet beast. At the same time, its aura surged, causing its clothes to flutter. In addition, the rocks beneath its feet buzzed and levitated into the air.
As the pet beast's owner, Zhao Ying naturally sensed the change in her pet beast at once.
"Rank 2?"
Zhao Ying's heart raced. Her fingers were trembling so much that they went numb. She was confused. Didn't they say that her pet beast wouldn't be able to evolve for at least one or two years? Didn't they say that there were no shortcuts?
Then what was going on?
Everyone around them fell silent as if they were witnessing something unbelievable. This was clearly the phenomenon of a pet beast's evolution. Cracking sounds came from the pangolin's body. In the blink of an eye, its original size doubled in size. The scales on its body became thicker and harder while its claws were as sharp as knives. With just a little bit of force, the stone floor beneath its feet was scratched deeply. Apart from that, fragments of soil and rocks gathered, fitting the pangolin's earth attribute perfectly.
At this sight, Zhou Xiu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
No doubt, the pangolin had evolved right under his nose. But how was that possible?
Could a pet beast evolve just by massaging it?
Forget seeing it, he had never even heard of it.
"Done!" Ignoring the crowd's reaction, Lin Jin patted the pangolin's head and stood up. He told Zhao Ying, "Go, fight it again!"
Zhao Ying's blood was boiling. Although she didn't know what Appraiser Lin had done, there was no doubt that Appraiser Lin was far more capable than she had imagined. To be able to evolve a pet beast that was stuck at a bottleneck in just a few breaths, even the chief might not be able to do it. What was laughable was that those brainless rumors claimed that he was trash, that he didn't live up to his name, and that he was a disgrace to all beast appraisers.
Now, it seemed like those were just malicious slander.
However, Appraiser Lin was a man of unquestionable integrity and a magnanimous demeanor. Instead of defending himself, he worked quietly and kept a low profile, enduring everything with his own strength. Zhao Ying didn't know about such a good man and capable master before, but now that she did, she would do everything within her power to help him.
She would help clear Appraiser Lin's name!
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