Lin Jin was sitting by a pond behind the headquarters’ main buildings. It seemed like he was enjoying the scenery when in fact he was toying with something in his hand.
The water reservoir scale.
This was a piece of treasure packed to the brim with water spiritual energy. At the present stage, not only could it enhance Lin Jin’s Carrier Cloud but when he held it in his hand during cultivation, he could also absorb water energy from the scale to nourish his physical body. Also, if he got hurt, the scale was able to speed up his recovery process.
Of course, the benefits didn’t just stop there. Though, Lin Jin’s current level meant that he couldn’t fully utilize the scale’s powers.
While on the topic, the Demonic Appraisal Association branch near Reed City was really unlucky. This treasure had been right below their feet for so many years, but none of them realized it. Had they found out the truth now, those villains would probably be rolling in their graves.
Before Lin Jin realized it, noon came around.
Lin Jin didn’t feel hungry. This place was peaceful and with the water reservoir scale’s nourishment, Lin Jin felt rather comfortable sitting here. When he looked up again, the sun was already setting on the horizon. It was then that Lin Jin realized he had been sitting here almost all day.
“This should be enough.”
He got up and put the water reservoir scale away. The faint mist around him gradually dispersed as well when he did that.
He had agreed to meet Ouyang Tong at Fortune House, which was conveniently a restaurant so he could also get himself something to satiate his hunger.
Ouyang Tong had arrived in advance. At the sight of Lin Jin, he went over. “Appraiser Lin, it’s all settled. Once it gets dark, we can head to the dark cell at once.”
Lin Jin nodded silently. That demonic appraiser was placed on death row and his execution was scheduled to take place soon. In most cases, it wasn’t easy for outsiders to visit such an individual, but for Ouyang Tong excelled when it came to handling such tasks.
Of course, with Lin Jin’s skills, it would have been possible for him to just sneak in. Still, it wasn’t something that Lin Jin wanted.
Lin Jin wanted Ouyang Tong to make the arrangements so that he could startle the enemy into revealing themselves.
Ouyang Tong had reserved a table for them. Although there wasn’t a lot of dishes on the table, one could easily tell how much effort went into preparing each individual item.
Of course, Lin Jin was aware that it was part of Ouyang Tong’s plan to impress him. Indeed, Ouyang Tong had been of great use, to the point that Lin Jin felt somewhat guilty for his indulgence.
“I’m close with Appraiser Tan so I’ll remember to make a couple of positive comments about you the next time we meet.” Lin Jin chose to take the bull by its horns and his words delighted Ouyang Tong into pouring him more liquor.
“Appraiser Lin, try this! This is Fortune House’s famous almond flower brew. It has a very strong body!”
Then, Lin Jin looked at Ouyang Tong’s pet beast.
Ouyang Tong was an average guy and his pet beast was just as normal. It was an armored boar.
Ouyang Tong’s beast rarely appeared at headquarters. He would only let his companion out when they were out of public view. The reason was simple. Having such a normal beast was embarrassing.
Ouyang Tong came from a poor family and this armored boar was captured by his father for him to form a blood pact with. When Ouyang Tong became an apprentice beast appraiser, his father passed away from disease.
Later on, even after Ouyang Tong became a certified Rank 1 beast appraiser, he refused to give up on his companion. In his words, this was the only thing his late father left him so even if the boar was destined to a life of mediocrity, abandoning it was out of the question.
However, such stubbornness attracted a lot of nasty comments, and while Ouyang Tong was working at headquarters, he would refrain from bringing his pet beast along.
“Let me take a look at your pet beast.” Although Lin Jin was talking to Ouyang Tong, his eyes were fixed on the boar. The boar was currently chomping away loudly in a nearby corner. Right after Lin Jin had spoken, he beckoned at the boar, who raised its head at him. As if it sensed Lin Jin’s call, it came over on its own.
Ouyang Tong observed the interaction with an awe-struck expression. However, remembering that Appraiser Lin was a Rank 3 appraiser whose beast taming skill must be far superior to his own, it didn’t seem all that surprising anymore.
As a Rank 1 beast appraiser himself, Ouyang Tong conducted thorough research on his own pet beast before concluding that it was an ‘inferior beast’ as many would call it. The answer he arrived at was that it wasn’t ‘average’. It was worse than that. The creature had no evolutionary potential nor any unique bloodline. It was just a normal armored boar that one would find anywhere in the woods.
All these years all the special methods he used to help his pet beast evolve ended up in failure.
For this reason, he was mocked and ridiculed countless times. Some even advised him to get a new pet beast as any random pet beast would be stronger than his armored boar.
After all, everyone knew that an inferior beast couldn’t possibly evolve.
And Ouyang Tong knew this well. He too pondered the possibility of getting new pet beast but for someone like Ouyang Tong who was willing to bow in the face of difficulties and flatter others to curry favors, he took no action in this aspect.
His answer remained firm. This boar was a gift from his late father and to leave it aside was the worst form of disrespect he could ever show.
“To be honest, Appraiser Lin, I’ve thought about getting a new pet beast too but this guy has been with me for so many years now. He only survived so long because of our blood pact. If I undo the bond, he might die almost immediately so I’d rather not do it.” There was a sense of enlightenment in Ouyang Tong’s smile.
He had come to accept the truth, as unpleasant as it was
Then, he took a swig of strong liquor.
However, the instant he put his cup down, he heard a peculiar sound like sand being ground together. When he finally turned around, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
A dense cloud of iron sand began to wrap around his pet beast’s body like bees swarming around a hive, enveloping the armored boar completely. Then, the sand consolidated on the boar’s forehead, front and hind legs, and even its back, forming what looked like iron plates.
Simultaneously, through his blood pact, Ouyang Tong felt a surge of energy coming through to him. This sensation was so novel yet familiar.
It was novel because he had never experienced it before. It was familiar because, as a Rank 1 beast appraiser, he had seen this happen one too many times.
It was an evolution.
Did his pet beast just evolve?
Ouyang Tong found it all too surreal and inconceivable. But the thing was, even if it was an evolution attempt, it couldn’t have succeeded so quickly. What’s more, how could an inferior beast even evolve?
By now, Lin Jin was patting the boar’s head before straightening his back to continue enjoying his dinner.
Ouyang Tong was struck dumb. He had to rub his eyes and check the beast to see if he was dreaming or not.
No doubt, it was now Rank 2.
Ouyang Tong tried a few more appraisal methods and arrived at the same result. His boar had evolved and had a steel attribute. That much he could tell from the creature’s steel armor.
His boar seemed much more intimidating compared to before. That dark glistening steel skin looked just like a soldier’s armor and it exuded a deadly vibe.
It didn’t look like a pushover anymore.
Its once saggy skin was now firm and taut as if the creature was ten years younger.
No matter how dense Ouyang Tong was, he should have figured it out by now.
He stepped forward and gave Lin Jin a deep bow.
This bow held no intention of flattery nor slyness. It was out of pure respect. Lin Jin didn’t stop him either because he could afford to accept Ouyang Tong’s appreciation. To toot his own horn, even for a Rank 4 beast appraiser, evolving an inferior Rank 1 pet beast to Rank 2 was harder than evolving a Rank 3 pet beast to Rank 4.
