This morning has been hectic.
At noon sharp, other than a few apprentice beast appraisers on duty at the emergency hall, everyone else went to the association’s main appraisal hall for a simple ceremony.
It was a ceremony to mark the appointment of their new chief.
Had it been Wang Ji in charge of something like this, he would have made it cumbersome and as grandiose as possible. But Tan Lin was the complete antithesis of what Wang Ji strived to be. She was strongly against such extravagance and wanted everything to be simple.
Still, it was a serious ceremony.
Almost all apprentices have now gathered at the main hall, there being nearly a hundred of them. The three elders were present as well.
Of course, the two official beast appraisers, Lin Jin and Gao Jiang had to attend the event too.
Tan Lin showed up at the hall shortly after.
She was still wearing purple robes and a frigid expression, looking like a dignified cold beauty.
For the most part, the entire association was glad that their new chief was an aloof ice princess. The first reason was that their new chief was an eye-candy, and apart from that, life was tough back during Wang Ji’s reign. Only bootlickers like Zhang He had a chance at promotions while the rest, who were diligent workers never really had the chance to advance.
Now that they had a new chief, this awful situation should be able to improve.
A few apprentice beast appraisers were absent from the assembly.
They were too deeply involved with Wang Ji’s schemes to the point where they’d easily be identified as his accomplices. When offered an opportunity to be excused, they ratted Wang Ji out on the outrageous things he had done since the old man by no means had a clean track record.
However, only Tan Lin and Elder Du knew about this and no one else was informed.
In other words, Wang Ji was completely done for. So forget him trying to make a comeback, he couldn’t even keep his qualifications as a certified beast appraiser anymore.
Despite her young age, Tan Lin had an oppressing aura. She gave a simple opening speech and a short introduction of herself. She was so straightforward that some of the people present were struggling to get used to such a change of pace.
“Anyway, from today onward, I will be working together with everyone here in expanding our Maple City’s Beast Appraisal Association through honor and disgrace.”
And that was her closing statement.
Compared to Wang Ji, this new chief was way too effective in delivering her message. If the former was the speaker, his lecture would have gone on for at least half an hour.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to announce!” Tan Lin abruptly changed the subject, turning to Lin Jin who was standing in the front row.
“Our association’s Appraiser Lin Jin has passed the Rank 2 beast appraiser advancement exam set by headquarters. From today on, his rank is promoted. Appraiser Lin Jin, will you please make your way to the stand?”
Upon hearing this, the crowd shifted their attention to Lin Jin. No one expected to hear this so everyone looked as startled as they were envious of Lin Jin.
Even Lin Jin himself hadn’t expected to hear his name being called out by Tan Lin, never mind the rest of the crowd. Tan Lin hadn’t informed him in advance but this wasn’t the time to be asking such questions. Taking a few steps forward, he went over to Tan Lin’s side.
Someone brought over a sleeve band made of satin.
This sleeve band was newly made with two beast ring patterns clearly embroidered on it.
“Appraiser Lin, headquarters has approved the final review. This Rank 2 beast appraiser sleeve band just arrived this morning and I thought this was a good opportunity to pass it to you, a way to encourage everyone else here if you will,” Tan Lin spoke eloquently.
However, it was obvious how she was using this moment to glorify Lin Jin in an attempt to make up for previously misunderstanding his intentions.
Having said that, Tan Lin personally helped Lin Jin put on the sleeve band that represented his status as a Rank 2 beast appraiser.
The audience below exploded into congratulatory cheers.
“Congratulations, Appraiser Lin!”
“A rank Appraiser Lin fully deserves!”
Standing among the crowd, Dong He looked so upset as if he had eaten a fly while Jia Qian wore a mask of indifference. On closer observation, one could notice the helplessness and envy deep within her eyes.
Many Rank 1 beast appraisers find themselves unable to advance to Rank 2 in their lifetime. Sometimes it was because they weren’t lucky, but for the most part, they just weren’t capable enough to do so. The Rank 2 advancement exam was no joke after all.
Jia Qian was currently being criticized by many behind the scenes. Rumors about her having an affair with Wang Ji began surfacing after the latter has fallen from grace and these stories were being described rather vividly.
Jia Qian didn’t try to refute the allegations.
There was no way to refute rumors like this.
Changing someone’s opinion completely was one of the hardest things to do in this world. And even more difficult than that was changing a crowd’s opinion.
Jia Qian admitted that she couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t even pass the Rank 1 beast appraiser’s exam.
But someone had done it.
Someone managed to turn their current predicament around in a short span of time and changed everyone’s opinion of him.
Jia Qian stole a glance at Lin Jin as she dug through her memories from her days at the academy. She was trying to search for Lin Jin’s unique traits and why he could pull through but she just couldn’t come up with anything.
Tan Lin hated wasting time needlessly. After announcing her appointment as chief and Lin Jin’s promotion to a Rank 2 beast appraiser, the assembly was over. There wasn’t the slightest bit of delay and this definitely left a good impression on everyone.
Some sharp-witted individuals could tell how this was Tan Lin’s tactic. Despite how young she looked, since headquarters had appointed her as Maple City’s chief, she must be deemed capable enough to shoulder the task.
“Appraiser Lin, Appraiser Gao, come to my consultation hall for a moment,” Tan Lin said before the assembly was dismissed.
Lin Jin paused while Gao Jiang hurried after Tan Lin in a respectful manner.
Inside her consultation hall, Tan Lin sat down and gestured for Lin Jin and Gao Jiang to take a seat as well.
Lin Jin complied easily whereas Gao Jiang seemed reserved. However, only God knew if his prudence was genuine or just an act.
“Both of you are the certified beast appraisers of our association, our mainstay. I hope that you two will continue to assist us into the future,” Tan Lin said directly. She had done some digging into the association’s internal affairs and got a rough idea of what was going on even if she didn’t know the full story.
She knew Lin Jin’s situation and somewhat understood Gao Jiang’s background.
All this while, both appraisers have been at odds with each other, it was mainly Gao Jiang who had been oppressing Lin Jin. But now that Lin Jin had climbed up the ranks, there was a threat of further internal dispute and as their newly appointed chief, Tan Lin wasn’t looking forward to dealing with such an issue. Hence, she had summoned both of them here to ‘reconcile’ their grudge.
Both Lin Jin and Gao Jiang were bright enough to understand what Tan Lin’s words implied.
Lin Jin was nonchalant as he didn’t have any problems with Gao Jiang. On the other hand, although Gao Jiang felt guilty for his actions, he chose to express his intention to support Tan Lin.
As long as they behaved, that was enough.
After leaving Tan Lin’s hall, Gao Jiang cast Lin Jin a glance before turning to leave. Clearly, his expression earlier was just for pleasing their new chief. Gao Jiang was undoubtedly still reluctant to admit defeat as he thought it was a humiliating move. However, Lin Jin’s influence was too overwhelming right now that he couldn’t put up a fight.
He could only choose to ignore his counterpart.
Once he got back, Gao Jiang got increasingly annoyed the more he thought about it. Tan Lin was young but she had an impressive father so he couldn’t offend her. But was did Lin Jin have?
What rights did the man have to defeat him in battle?
In terms of family background, Lin Jin’s wasn’t worth mentioning. In terms of experience, Gao Jiang was an official beast appraiser long before Lin Jin became one. And now, Lin Jin’s status within the association had exceeded his. One could only imagine how frustrated Gao Jiang was to hear about gossip relating to this.
“I’ll definitely pass the Rank 2 advancement exam one day.”
Suddenly, one of his affiliated apprentices informed him that he had a guest waiting outside.
Gao Jiang went out and his eyes instantly lit up.
“Chen Cheng, why are you here?” Gao Jiang greeted with a hearty chuckle.
It was Chen Cheng from the Friar Association who came looking for him. Both men were obviously well-acquainted with each other and had a fairly good relationship.
“Gao Jiang, I’m here to ask you for a favor. There’s a brat named Lin Jin in your association. Help me teach him a lesson,” Chen Cheng cut straight to the chase.