“You’re right, Brother Yan. Back when I took the test myself, I had to use one hour to complete the first round. That Portrait of Ten Thousand Beasts is no joke.”
“To become a Rank 4 beast appraiser, one must first be fearless against the deterrence of strong beasts. Those who lack the required level of courage can never become beast appraisers. This tea is still quite hot, but the taste is marvelous.”
Both Rank 4 beast appraisers knew how tough the first round was. If the candidate could not even make it past this round, there was no need for them to continue with the assessment.
Appraiser Yan had just blown the tea leaves away from the edge of his cup and was about to take a second sip when he froze up.
It was the moment he saw a man and one beast enter through the great hall’s entrance. Before he even realized it, the man was now standing before them.
“My name is Lin Jin. Pleased to meet you,” he said with a bow.
The two Rank 4 beast appraisers couldn’t conceal the shocked expressions they were wearing.
Appraiser Yan mused, ‘I’ve only just taken a sip of tea and it’s still piping hot. He actually passed through the Portrait of Ten Thousand Beasts that easily?’
How long did that take?
It had only been a matter of a few verbal exchanges.
Met with zero response after bowing at them, Lin Jin repeated, “My name is Lin Jin. Pleased to meet you.”
Finally, the two beast appraisers snapped out of their reverie.
As shocked as they were, it was clear that Lin Jin had made it past the first round with unprecedented speed. These two Rank 4 beast appraisers were the invigilators for this trial.
Their candidate would pass the first round if they managed to enter the hall.
Appraiser Yan put down his cup and returned a salute.
“Appraiser Lin, please exit through the side door over there. Through that door, you will arrive at a courtyard. There will be other appraisers to host the assessment.” Appraiser Yan didn’t sound the least bit pompous.
Although he was a Rank 4 beast appraiser, he knew full well how strong Lin Jin was, given how smooth he was able to make it through the first trial. Chances were high that this candidate would clear the Rank 4 beast appraiser assessment with ease.
When Lin Jin passes the assessment, he would be a Rank 4 beast appraiser, just like the two invigilators. Hence, there was no need for them to put up any airs.
Hearing this, Lin Jin quickly thanked them before heading for the side door.
After Lin Jin and Senior Mo left, the other Rank 4 beast appraiser commented, “This guy has a bright future.”
“Yeah. Lin Jin from Jade Dragon Kingdom. I’ll remember him. Let’s go, I’d like to see if he can pass the next stage.” Appraiser Yan gave up on his tea because he was much more curious about the results of Lin Jin’s next assessment.
After all, Lin Jin had just broken their record for clearing the first round in such a short span of time. Even ‘Mr. Zhong’ did not pass this stage so quickly back in his younger days.
Prompted by their curiosity, the two Rank 4 beast appraisers quickly got up to leave through the side door.
By now, Lin Jin had roughly figured out the format of this Rank 4 assessment.
That deterrence from the Portrait of Ten Thousand Beasts was one of the challenges.
It was simple to understand because a Rank 4 beast appraiser was expected to deal with beasts that were at least Rank 3 and up in the future. Sometimes, they would have to face Rank 5 beasts too.
In such situations, cowardice was not tolerated. Being able to withstand a beast’s intimidation was a fundamental ability shared among high-ranking beast appraisers.
It went without saying that Lin Jin was a pro at this.
After all, he had collected quite a few horrifying beast specimens in the Museum of Deadly Beasts. Although they were just sample images, all these samples retained the aura and intimidation of the original beasts.
Having spent a considerable amount of time dealing with creatures that were Rank 5 and above, Lin Jin had grown accustomed to facing powerful beasts.
Leaving that aside, back when he first triggered the Nine-Heaven Realm, the pressure that came crashing down on him from the nine skies was so much more powerful than the carvings near the entrance of the hall.
Lin Jin had nothing to fear, so the first round was a breeze to him.
After leaving through the side door, Lin Jin was greeted by the sight of a long pathway. It was flanked by twenty feet tall brick walls. The entire hallway was only a little over five feet wide but it was at least two hundred feet long.
Lin Jin glanced at it for a moment before he stepped forward into the hallway.
Suddenly, from a side door ahead, a crazed bull as tall as an adult human came charging at him.
This mad bull had four horns and a sturdy physique. With widened and bloodshot eyes, it charged straight at Lin Jin.
Lin Jin remained perfectly still.
He could see something stuffed inside the ears of this mad bull and the creature seemed to have been blessed by some sort of spell that induced its frenzied state. As its hearing was blocked, there was no way Lin Jin could comfort it.
It seemed like killing the creature was the only way to avoid getting himself hurt.
However, after confirming that this was the second stage of his Rank 4 assessment, Lin Jin decided against taking the easy way out.
In other words, he would not kill the bull.
That was because anyone who was capable of participating in a Rank 4 assessment would find it incredibly easy to kill a mad bull. Hence, the goal of this stage was not to slaughter the bull.
After giving it some thought, Lin Jin figured it out.
Raising a hand, he unleashed his deterrence ability. The mad bull gradually came to a halt a few feet away from Lin Jin, where it fell to the ground with a loud thud.
This was the power of Beast Deterrence.
If the purpose of the Portrait of Ten Thousand Beasts was to test Lin Jin’s ability to withstand the pressure of powerful beasts, then this round was intended to test his ability in controlling beasts. This was also a fundamental skill for powerful beast appraisers.
Like the previous round, Lin Jin was able to pass this round with relative ease.
He stepped forward and walked around the subdued mad bull. The bull remained still, maintaining its prostrating position.
Just like that, Lin Jin passed the second stage of his assessment.
The two Rank 4 beast appraisers from earlier witnessed everything.
Both of them looked equally incredulous.
“Without borrowing the strength of his pet beast, he managed to make that peak Rank 3 bull surrender. He’s quite skillful indeed.”
“What pet beast? That jade dragon doesn’t even have a blood pact with Lin Jin at all. If I’m not mistaken, that jade dragon should be a monster class.”
“What? A monster? H-How bold of this Lin Jin! Isn’t he afraid of the monster turning against him?”
“If he’s powerful enough, there’s no need to have such a fear. I’m now much more curious than ever. Come, let’s keep following him.”
And so, they too continued forward.
Lin Jin was gone by now. With the pressure gone, the mad bull stood up again, and just as it was about to go on a rampage, it was subdued once more by Appraiser Yan with a certain technique.
Rank 4 beast appraisers obviously couldn’t be compared to Rank 3 beast appraisers.
One point of distinction between Appraiser Yan and Lin Jin was how the former had to strike his palm at the bull to subdue it. In contrast, Lin Jin was able to do it from a distance. Looks like Lin Jin was much more skillful than Appraiser Yan.
This was the primary reason why they were so fascinated by him.
Upon leaving the hallway, Lin Jin arrived at a tiny yard. The Rank 4 beast appraiser reading inside was just as stunned when Lin Jin walked through the door.
“Are you Appraiser Lin Jin, who’s here for the Rank 4 assessment today?” the appraiser asked after recalling something.
Lin Jin nodded.
“That fast? I thought I would have at least two hours before you got here,” the Rank 4 beast appraiser remarked. He then placed his book down.
Appraiser Yan and his partner just happened to arrive at the yard, so the three Rank 4 beast appraisers had a small discussion before turning to Lin Jin.
“Appraiser Lin, come with us.”
Following behind the trio, Lin Jin arrived at yet another great hall. He was made to wait outside briefly before hearing a summon that allowed him to enter.
On the inside, ten Rank 4 beast appraisers were nicely seated.
Among them were the three invigilators from before.
To suddenly appear before ten Rank 4 beast appraisers made Lin Jin’s heart thump loudly. He straightened his back before stepping forward to give them a bow.
“My name is Lin Jin. Pleased to meet everyone!”
In the entire United Continent, only Heavenly Spiral Kingdom could afford to have ten Rank 4 beast appraisers show up in one space together. Should either one of these individuals travel to an intermediate country, they would be given as much respect as the country’s own ruler.
Heavenly Spiral Kingdom had more than twenty of these Rank 4 beast appraisers.
It thus came as no surprise that this place was recognized as the strongest state in United Continent.
