There were people who were worried for Lin Jin too.
“Sister Qing, what do we do?” He Yu may not know a whole lot about beast appraising but even she knew that this was a terrible situation. Failure such a pivotal moment would mean the destruction of Lin Jin’s career as a beast appraiser. As a beast appraiser, reputation was of grave importance to Lin Jin. If he were to be humiliated here, Lin Jin may be forever looked down upon by his fellow appraisers.
There had been precedents of this too.
He Qing’s reaction surprised her.
“Worry not fellow sister, for Appraiser Lin is Curator’s disciple! Forget five pet beasts, I bet that he can handle five more with relative ease.”
He Qing’s faith in Lin Jin was astonishing.
Or rather, she had absolute confidence in this ‘Curator’ person.
To He Qing, Curator was omniscient and omnipotent. He was someone He Qing worshipped like a god. It was the reason why she supported his disciple wholeheartedly and had absolute faith in Lin Jin to pull his job off flawlessly.
He Yu shook her head.
Although she was aware of how skillful Lin Jin was, beast appraising and beast evolution were two different things. What’s more, skill ceased to be a pivotal factor given the fact that he was facing pet beasts whom he had never met before.
No matter how ignorant He Yu was, she knew that all pet beasts had different bloodlines and potentials. Even if they coincidentally had the same bloodline, there would be differences in their physique. There was no single universal evolution method that could be applied to all beasts, even if they were of the same “type”. If there were ten thousand beasts, there would be ten thousand methods.
Anyway, to He Yu’s knowledge, evolving five pet beasts under such circumstances was impossible for a Rank 3 beast appraiser. Maybe a Rank 4 beast appraiser could pull it off, but it was clear that Lin Jin wasn’t one.
After all, there were only Rank 3 appraisers in the Jade Dragon Kingdom. Only premium countries had the privilege of deploying Rank 4 beast appraisers.
He Yu refrained from telling He Qing this because the latter was still fangirling over Lin Jin. Whatever He Yu said wouldn’t get through to her sister’s thick skull.
Staring at Lin Jin, He Yu heaved a sigh as she tried to come up with a solution. She began to wonder if she could help Lin Jin out somehow.
Meanwhile, Lin Jin remained unaffected as if he had yet to realize what sort of situation he was in.
To other beast appraisers, this was a despairing situation.
The five lucky owners and their pet beasts were led onto the platform.
Some of them were quite clearly dressed like commoners, but there were a couple who were dressed extravagantly. These were either men of great status, and they might even be minor aristocrats.
All five owners bowed, but at that moment, they were so excited that they had no idea what to do with themselves.
The five pet beasts remained faithfully by their sides.
Lin Jin swept them all a glance.
Four dogs and a horned tortoise.
Dogs were commonly owned pet beasts. Of course, they belonged to the same family as wolves and there were many types with different physiques and appearances. They even had different habits and personalities.
All four dog beasts were unique. One, although tiny in size, was as muscular as a bull. It had a relatively short coat and a large meatball-like head. Another had silky long hair and a broom-like tail. One more had long, pointy ears and slender limbs.
The last one simply looked like a regular mongrel, trembling as it stood on the platform with trepidation in its eyes.
The horned tortoise was much more unique.
Horned tortoises varied in size as well and this one was quite big. It was about half as tall as a human adult. This creature had a thick shell and steel-like beak. It seems to be able to use its elemental powers, an indicator that it was already a Rank 2 pet beast.
Seeing Lin Jin display no signs of sorrow, He Qian knew that Lin Jin must be confident for him to remain so silent. He could tell how difficult today’s challenge would be too. If Lin Jin could pull this off, no one would question his previous decree anymore. Hell, they might even start praising His Majesty for his wisdom.
The same went for Lin Jin. So long as he passed this trial today, he would soar to greater heights and take his spot as the Jade Dragon Kingdom’s number one beast appraiser.
He Qian was by no means speculating After all, which appraiser could ever evolve all five of these pet beasts?
Even veterans like Tan Xun and Chu Chenghe would find it impossible.
Hence, He Qian planned to grant Lin Jin a new title after he succeeded, as ‘Jade Dragon’s Supreme Appraiser’.
With this, ‘Curator’ would be delighted too, right?
He Qian mused.
Also, Lin Jin had promised to invite Curator over, so the matter required utmost care. He Qian was aware that Curator’s visit might very well decide Jade Dragon Kingdom’s fate, and whether or not they could regain their former glory.
Of course, there were other risks involved too. He Qian was worried about Patriarch Xue Pao, but it was due to this incident that he gained a chance to meet Curator.
“Appraiser Lin, you may begin,” the temple attendant reminded him. Despite his worries, the show must go on.
Lin Jin nodded.
He went over and picked a Rank 1 hound beast, all while patting the creature’s head.
This was your run-of-the-mill hound beast without any bloodlines to speak of nor any evolutionary potential. Under regular circumstances, it could never evolve.
Until it met Lin Jin that was.
Lin Jin then patted another hound beast. To outsiders, he was merely familiarizing himself with these pet beasts until he reached the horned tortoise. Even then, Lin Jin only patted it on the head, nothing more.
After that, he said, “Done. You may all leave.”
The crowd was puzzled.
The five owners felt similarly confused, if not more. However, they did not dare to make a squeak. Nothing had begun yet so why did Lin Jin ask them to leave?
He Qian was just as confused.
Seeing how nobody was going to speak up, the temple attendant decided to step in, “Uhm… Appraiser Lin, you may start the evolution process now.”
He thought Lin Jin had forgotten about the process.
“I’m done,” Lin Jin answered, and the scene fell into pin-drop silence.
It wasn’t long before the people could be heard chattering away.
Some were shaking their heads while others who were about to open their mouths restrained themselves due to the occasion. However, almost all of them shared the same thought. ‘You just patted them on the heads and said the evolution process is done?’
‘Are you kidding me…’
Before they could go any further, the five pet beasts started morphing at the same time.
Flames burst forth from the three Rank 1 hound beasts, startling everyone so much that they back off cautiously. The aura of all three hound beasts skyrocketed as fire surged around them. Anyone who was slightly knowledgeable would know that the biggest trait of a Rank 1 beast evolving into Rank 2 was gaining the ability to use elemental powers.
No doubt, being able to use flames meant that all three pet beasts have evolved.
More was to come. The two Rank 2 beasts, a hound beast and a horned tortoise suddenly started calling out.
Immediately after, the Rank 2 hound beast shed all of its furs as the sound of bones cracking reverberated through the place. The horned tortoise’s shell cracked like aged walls, shattering piece by piece. The tortoise seemed to be expanding, which was why its shell was cracked in the first place.
Both their auras and elemental powers started surging.
Watching on from nearby, Tan Xun’s eyes widened.
“Remolding of physique… this… this is an evolution!”
Those around heard Tan Xun’s exclamation, further confirming their suspicions.
This was an evolutionary process and all five pet beasts had practically evolved at the same time. Many people had never seen such a phenomenon before.
Today, they gained new knowledge.
“Oh my god, did they all really evolve?”
“Five pet beasts evolving together and two of them are even evolving from Rank 2 to 3! This is incredible! Am I dreaming?”
