Definitely A Con-Man

"Level one yellow cow. Earth attribute. Has great endurance but unfortunately it has no promoting potential."

"Level one keen-eyed monkey. Wood attribute. An excellent climber with fantastic eyesight. Good for treasure hunting. Mediocre potential!"

"Level one black mastiff…"

Lin Jin's writing brush became one with his hand. Not once did he raise his head as he touched the beasts with his left and wrote with his right. 

It was all too easy for him.

While he found it simple, in the eyes of others it was a different story.

Zhao Ying felt the urge to speak but she hesitated. She obediently sat behind pelletizing and couldn't see what Lin Jin was writing. Judging by his appearance, what he's writing doesn't seem to be a joke, he had his focus magnetized to the paper. But still, this god-like speed should be unreal, right?

Most beast appraisals used a beast talisman to make observations, but Lin Jin had simply skipped this step. If Zhao Ying never knew that Lin Jin possessed actual skills, she would've thought he was scribbling nonsense too.

The countryside folks lining up in front couldn't resist gossiping either.

Although they were uneducated villagers, some of them had been through a beast appraisal before and observed that the tedious and highly sophisticated process took at least ten minutes, while this was completed under ten breaths.

It looked like child's play.

While they were suspicious, no one dared to ask but could only gossip in private.

"Is this beast appraiser reliable? How can he come up with a report just by touching the pets? I didn't even see him lift up his head."

"Maybe he's of a high level."

"That can't be. I've heard that beast appraisal is a vigorous process that requires beast talismans, activation, and at least a seal to affirm its attributes. But this guy is only touching them. He doesn't seem reliable to me."

"Who cares? It's ten copper coins an evaluation, what more do you expect? Also, he's from Maple City's Beast Appraisal Association, he should be legit. Look, he even has the beast logo of a certified beast appraiser on his shirt collar and sleeve."

After a closer look, sure enough, there was a level one beast logo on Lin Jin's garments.

This logo can only be used by certified beast appraisers. The rings on the logo represent the appraiser's level. Lin Jin had a single-ringed logo indicating a level one beast appraiser. Level two appraisers like Chief Wang Ji would have double-ringed logos. As for apprentices like Zhao Ying, there were only wave patterns on her sleeve, showing no rings. The appraiser's capability and level were proven through the embedded logos.

Amongst the crowd, a set of eyes scanned Lin Jin's sleeves thoroughly, then vanished without a trace.

In a luxurious courtyard within Everlasting Town, sat a man propped in his chair, slowly indulging in his tea.

Wei Changyong. A 'resident beast appraiser' with no real qualifications, he was living quite the life. Within the luxury of his vast home, the fine dining he experienced was incomparable to what the other villagers had, with more than ten servants paitently waiting to serve.

He was able to afford all this because he had a set of basic beast appraisal skills.

Residents here couldn't afford consultation with an official beast appraiser, but they also didn't want to risk signing blood contracts with random pet beasts. One mistake in attribute pairing comes a lifetime of misery. So, appraisers like him were on hot demand.

People like Wei Changyong resented the Beast Appraisal Association the most.

It was a fact. Anywhere you go, peers were always each other's competition, they're enemies. So every time the Beast Association sent an appraiser, he would be lurking in the shadows, scheming a sabotage to trash their reputation.

He had thought of going to exams to get himself certified, but it was just too hard.

Most of his skills were passed down from his elder generation, using only inferior methods that could never compare to a certified beast appraiser's. He's tried and failed the exams, He dreams of being an official, but he's barely even at par with an apprentice.

There were several times where he returned home in defeat, determined to let go of this field.

Hearing that the association will be sending representatives here today to steal his business, Wei Changyong was naturally in a bad mood. Suddenly, footsteps echoed from outside. He looked up to see his cousin brother, Wei Bi.

"Brother, I'm back." Wei Bi sat down beside him, scooped up a cup of tea, and drank it.

Wei Changyong asked disdainfully, "I told you to observe the Beast Appraisal Association. Why are you back so early?"

"Brother, I've made a huge discovery." Wei Bi was eloquent as he elaborated what he saw. As he listened carefully, his expression gradually turning into delight. "You're saying that this beast appraiser has a single-ringed logo on his sleeve?"

Wei Bi nodded firmly. He spoke in a boastful tone, "That's right. I saw it with my own eyes. Brother, think about this, those who have beasts logos are certified beast appraisers. But all this while, when have the stuck-up staff in the association ever send over a certified beast appraiser? They only send about seven or eight apprentices each time. But, what's weird is that they only sent two people today, and get this, that person's evaluation method is even wilder than yours! The more I looked, the fishier it smelled, so I hurried back to report to you."

Wei Changyong pondered for a bit before nodding. "You're right!"

Then, he slapped his thighs and stood up. "Let's go!"

Wei Bi was stunned. "And do what, brother?"

"To give them trouble!" Wei Changyong looked agitated. "The representative they sent this time is most probably a con-man. The typical Beast Appraisal Association would never send certified appraisers over. Plus, the number of representatives isn't right. It's obvious that something is amiss, I can tell with one look."

Wei Bi was confused. "Even if they're fakes, what's that got to do with us?"

Just after he said that, Wei Changyong slapped his cousin on the head. "You fool! Are you that clueless? If we can tell that they're liars but the others can't, I can beat them at their own game. I'll crash their party and force them to duel with me, then I'd definitely win. Then, I can label myself as a person who defeated a certified beast appraiser. After that, people will worship me and swarm through my doors, requesting my appraisal services. It'll be a shower of silver coins."

Wei Bi didn't understand anything but 'silver coins'.

As if he was injected with steroids, he went hyper. "Okay, brother. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

An idea flashed a lightbulb in his brain, so he quickly said, "Go to the backyard and bring me that weird chicken we got last time."

Wei Bi's face was frosted white. "That chicken looks demonic, and brother, weren't you unable to tell its background as well?"

Wei Changyong wore an incorrigible expression. "That's why I said you're a fool. After ten years of beast appraisals, what rare beasts haven't I seen? I can name a few, but I can't tell anything about that chicken at all. Just think, if I can't tell, so how can that con-man tell? Forget the con-man, even a real beast appraiser might not be able to evaluate it. So if he can't perform, that some accomplishment we're going to have."

Wei Bi finally understood.

He sprinted back and dragged out a huge cage, it had a thick cloth draped over it and between the metal slits, a sharp glint was vaguely noticeable.

On the streets.

In less than half an hour, Lin Jin had evaluated almost a hundred pet beasts, the evaluation reports piling up like snow.

The initially long queue grew slender.

This speed was simply daunting.

Initially it also gave Zhao Ying a shock, but now, she'd gotten used to it.

Had it been their usual arrangements, even with ten appraisers, they would need to spend at least half a day for so many people. If they came across a rare breed, it would require more time, usually taking up a day or so.

With only the two of them, Zhao Ying was sure that it was impossible for them to finish appraising each and every beast, but the results were nothing like her expectations.

They still had quite a while until dusk but they were almost done.

Meaning to say, if they hastened up, they could still make it back to Maple City.

As for the accuracy of Appraiser Lin's evaluations, it remained a mystery.

In quantitative evaluations such as this, apprentice appraisers would have a seventy percent accuracy while a certified appraiser's accuracy could reach up to eighty percent.

As long as they didn't make a terrible mistake, their mission today was considered complete.

Lin Jin came over as Zhao Ying was done with her pill. She watched him grab the pill and without looking or any second thoughts, he fed it to his pet, just like that. If he would've done this previously, she would've thought he was being rash, but now all she sees is the beaming confidence of a certified beast appraiser.

She even secretly skimmed through the contents of several beast evaluation reports. Then, she examined those pet beasts and verified that the results were all accurate. The reports bared such profound details, displaying the appraiser's knowledge. Swapping their positions, even if Zhao Ying used complex appraisal methods, she might not be able to conclude with such particularity.

"Appraiser Lin, have some water and rest." Zhao Ying respect for Lin Jin blossomed. For countryside appraisal missions, many appraisers were perfunctory in their tasks, only writing simple evaluation reports, But not for Lin Jin. None of his evaluation reports were superficial. All hundred reports were equally detailed and from his spirit, he inspired her.

Throughout this half a day, almost all of Zhao Ying's negative impressions of Lin Jin were shining in a new light. She also learned something.

Rumors can never be trusted.

Someone must have been deliberately trying to defame Appraiser Lin.

With only a few people left, Lin Jin stretched his wrist and said, "I'll rest after finishing up."

Other than his hand feeling tired, Lin Jin felt relaxed through his work. An interesting thing he realized was, for every beast he evaluates, the memorized information gets sorted into a list of contents so it's convenient when he retrieved it anytime he wanted to refer. With that, it lit up the museum, making it brighter and wider than before.

Lin Jin had a feeling that the more he appraised beasts and recorded them into the museum, it would give him some sort of an advantage. As for what advantage, he had no idea.

Coincidentally after this thought, he heard a 'ding dong' and an imprint appeared from the Museum of Deadly Beasts, rushing into Lin Jin's subconscious mind. Then, a voice resounded.

"Reward for recording over a hundred beasts: Wild Beast Deterrence, beginner's level."

"Wild Beast Deterrence allows you to tame unruly wild beasts. All beasts level three and below would be intimidated."

The voice was loud and clear, carrying an atmosphere of supremacy.

From that, Lin Jin gained a new memory. It was a technique of using aura to tame wild beasts.

Lin Jin was stoked.

Sure enough, there were benefits!

Because he had recorded over a hundred beasts, the museum gave him an achievement reward. Only, he didn't know how effective this 'Wild Beast Deterrence' was.

Feeling excited, Lin Jin returned to his senses and called out, "Next."

Just then, a deep voice cried out, "A level one beast appraiser, how rare. Why aren't you enjoying life in the city but came here to humble yourself instead?"

The man who spoke was Wei Changyong.

He had arrived long ago and had been observing in the dark. Alas, just as he speculated, this level one beast appraiser was definitely a hoax.