That pillar wasn’t too far away from the invigilators so all ten of them were able to see clearly.
“A needle?”
After the initial shock subsided, Appraiser Yan finally realized the secret behind Lin Jin’s trick.
“I understand it now. You used a needle as the medium to cast the Beast Subduing Seal. This is certainly impressive. What a great idea!”
Appraiser Yan didn’t ask for the specifics of the technique, since it likely involved unique secrets of the spell-caster. To inquire about the methodology would be inappropriate, but it was a completely different story if Lin Jin was willing to share his secret.
But of course, Lin Jin would never do that.
With this, the second question was considered answered. Lin Jin’s prowess at utilizing his needles came as a pleasant surprise to all the Rank 4 beast appraisers.
Subsequently, the other Rank 4 beast appraisers threw their questions at Lin Jin.
Some questions were simple but tricky, some required significant accomplishments in beast appraising to answer. They were all queries that exceeded the knowledge expected of a Rank 3 beast appraiser. In other words, only a Rank 4 beast appraiser was capable of generating suitable answers.
Lin Jin answered them all with utmost sincerity without displaying any hints of arrogance, and that impressed many of the Rank 4 beast appraisers.
He was exceptionally capable at beast appraising, and yet he possessed no egotistic qualities. A person like him was indeed suited to bear a Rank 4 title.
Next, someone had Lin Jin perform an appraisal. Of course, they didn’t bring the actual beast but instead a DNA sample from the creature.
Such challenges were incredibly tough for beast appraisers as they had to figure out the whole beast with merely a fraction of its body. Fortunately, this was right up Lin Jin’s alley, so he started writing an evaluation report immediately after he got the sample.
Lin Jin had already developed his own style of report-writing, and it was famous for containing intricate details. No one had ever complained about a flaw in his reports.
Lin Jin managed to appraise three rare beasts back-to-back using only samples of their fur, blood, and scale. Without a hitch, he managed to come up with reports that could only have been described as having pinpoint accuracy.
As they read Lin Jin’s evaluation reports, most of the Rank 4 beast appraisers, Zhong Zifeng included, nodded in approval.
However, there were also invigilators who looked grim and were visibly displeased.
“Appraiser Lin, that jade dragon behind you isn’t your pet beast, is it?” one of the Rank 4 appraisers asked out of the blue. Judging by his tone, he sounded hostile.
Lin Jin didn’t try to hide it. “This dark jade dragon isn’t my pet beast but a Rank 4 monster.”
The invigilators weren’t surprised.
As prominent beast appraisers of United Continent, they could obviously tell that Senior Mo was a Rank 4 monster from the moment he entered the place with Lin Jin.
However, controlling monsters wasn’t an uncommon sight to beast appraisers here at Heavenly Spiral’s Beast Appraisal Association Headquarters. They weren’t fazed, unlike people from other regions who were appalled by the existence of monsters.
The Rank 4 beast appraiser continued, “You’ve specifically brought this Rank 4 monster here because you thought that the Rank 4 beast appraiser assessment would require an evolution test. That’s why you have allowed a monster whom you are familiar with to tag along. You want to promote it to Rank 5, am I correct?”
The invigilator was spot on.
Lin Jin did think of it that way. Since he had to do an evolution test anyway, why not let Senior Mo benefit from it? That was Lin Jin’s reason for intentionally bringing Senior Mo along this morning.
Seeing Lin Jin nod in response, the invigilator snapped, “How dare you bring your petty shrewdness all the way here to Heavenly Spiral City?! Aside from the fact that you’ve taken the liberty of bringing a monster through our gates, thereby disrespecting us in the process, this jade dragon is already of high quality, to begin with! I’m willing to go out on a limb to say that you have been studying it for a long time now. Now that it’s showing signs of evolution, do you seriously think this dragon will be your express ticket to pass the Rank 4 assessment? Hmph! Utter nonsense!”
The invigilator’s accusation not only stunned Lin Jin but also startled the other Rank 4 appraisers.
However, his words did make sense. Although his choice of words was spiteful and his tone was harsh, this man made sense.
Indeed, a Rank 4 beast appraiser’s promotion shouldn’t be taken so lightly.
Lin Jin did not anticipate this sudden turn of events, but he was able to notice one major error in the invigilator’s accusation.
Senior Mo wasn’t a jade dragon of high quality. Quite the contrary in fact, as it was actually a huge challenge to promote Senior Mo to the next rank. After all, the creature was an old fart.
He was more than two hundred years old.
He was nearing the end of his lifespan.
Even if he showed signs of evolution, successfully promoting him would be much harder than promoting other pet beasts to Rank 5. Thus, Lin Jin wasn’t actually choosing the easy way out by using Senior Mo.
Lin Jin didn’t try to refute the invigilator’s accusation because this assessment was impression-based. If he insisted on debating with the invigilator, even if he finally proved himself right, he would risk losing marks from the other invigilators.
Lin Jin wasn’t that foolish.
In addition, he could distinctly hear the provocation from that invigilator’s tone. Since that person was also a Rank 4 beast appraiser, how could he not tell Senior Mo’s age?
For him to make such an inflammatory accusation after being able to tell this much, this situation was something worth spending one’s time to think about.
And so, Lin Jin smiled back at the invigilator silently.
That appraiser probably didn’t expect Lin Jin to ‘back off’ so he was caught off-guard by that smile.
“Appraiser Yang Ming, you haven’t asked a question yet,” reminded Appraiser Yan, in an attempt to smooth things over.
Yang Ming?
Lin Jin made a mental note of that name.
They were complete strangers, so why did the man insist on making things hard for him? Lin Jin decided to tread carefully from this point on.
“Alright, I’ll be asking my question now,” said Appraiser Yang Ming with a smile. Staring straight at Lin Jin, he said, “I personally value spells. As a beast appraiser, one must be proficient in spell-casting so I’ll give you fifteen minutes to break this spell of mine.”
Having said that, Appraiser Yang suddenly lifted a finger.
A ray of light shot out, hitting Senior Mo who stood behind Lin Jin.
Poor Senior Mo couldn’t react in time so he felt his body stiffen as an excruciating pain invaded his limbs and mind. After letting out a painful wail, he fell to the ground, paralyzed.
In just one move, he subdued a Rank 4 monster.
Admittedly, Appraiser Yang Ming had terrifying skills that were expected of a Rank 4 beast appraiser.
“Isn’t that Baleful Wind?” Appraiser Yan commented, feeling dumbstruck. “Appraiser Yang, isn’t this a little too heavy-handed?”
Despite that, Yang Ming shrugged off the question and filled his cup with fresh, hot tea.
“Since this is a Rank 4 assessment, we have to take it seriously. Appraiser Lin is exceptionally knowledgeable and his appraisal skills are just impressive. It only makes sense for us to test his spell knowledge as well. As for Baleful Wind, it will naturally be removed once this cup of tea cools,” he replied casually.
Upon hearing this, Appraiser Yan refrained from asking any more questions. However, everyone here knew how potent Baleful Wind was. It was a brilliant spell that only Rank 4 beast appraisers could cast.
It was also a secret art unique to only Heavenly Spiral’s Beast Appraisal Association Headquarters.
It was commonly used to paralyze beasts Rank 4 and below, forcing them to experience appalling torture. More importantly, prolonged exposure to Baleful Wind would cause irreparable damage to the targeted beast.
At his age, even if Senior Mo was born with a strong constitution, prolonged exposure to this spell carried the risk of shortening his lifespan. If anything went wrong, it would be incredibly difficult for him to recover from it.
Prior to this, Lin Jin was unaware of Baleful Wind’s effects, but upon touching Senior Mo, the Museum of Deadly Beasts showed him an explanation of the spell. Almost immediately, Lin Jin’s expression darkened.
The caster had done this on purpose.
Lin Jin never had any fights with Yang Ming nor had they even met before this. There must be a reason for his harassment but now wasn’t the time to investigate it.
Lin Jin had to save Senior Mo first.
Other than Baleful Wind, Lin Jin realized that another obscure spell has been cast on Senior Mo.
‘Bone Decay’.
It was a much more wicked spell but because of how discreet Yang Ming was when he cast it, unless someone investigated it up close, they would never realize that it was in operation.
To confirm his suspicion, even Zhong Zifeng didn’t realize Yang Ming had cast a hidden spell.
From this, Yang Ming was evidently one of the most prominent among the ten Rank 4 beast appraisers, at least where cultivation was concerned.
