Having mastered to basics to a significant extent, Lin Jin began to have more confidence in himself.
Zhao Pi and that person were still acting.
Then, he suddenly came over, seemingly aggravated, and said to Lin Jin, “Appraiser Lin, what do you think about this?”
All this acting was for the sake of inflating Lin Jin’s ego so the latter would proactively get his blood contract level assessed. At the same time, they would attempt to make the results of this assessment as widely known as they could.
Once unfavorable results were shown, Lin Jin would undoubtedly face backlash according to Zhao Pi’s script. Either way, nothing would end well for Lin Jin.
‘Alright, since you love acting, I’ll act too.’
Lin Jin wore a ‘hesitant’ expression before shaking his head and whispered, “This doesn’t sound too good. I’m not well-prepared for an assessment right now.”
At this, Zhao Pi immediately replied, “Appraiser Lin, they’ve gone too far for bullying and underestimating you. You mustn’t back down now! C’mon, stand up to these folks man!”
The other guy was trying to upstage Zhao Pi by saying, “You don’t have the guts, do you? If you’re scared, just say so. Stubborn and wretched fool!”
His voice was bright, almost sounding like a dog barking.
Lin Jin showed a hint of anger before frowning and contemplating. Then, he tugged Zhao Pi’s arm and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to go, but I don’t have any spirit stones with me right now… Right, I don’t have any spirit stones. If I did, I would go for the assessment.”
The Friar Association’s blood contract assessment wasn’t free.
One had to pay for it.
And the price was quite steep as well.
Unlike the outside world, the Friar Association used a different currency. Instead of money, they traded with spirit stones here. It was said that the imperial city and some larger cities also used spirit stones as their main currency.
On average, the Friar Association would demand thirty low-grade spirit stones for a blood contract assessment. But this only applied to a first realm blood contract. To assess a second realm blood contract, the fees shot up to seventy low-grade spirit stones. As for the third realm, the cost would be a hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones. Finally, assessing a fourth realm blood pact would command twice the previous amount, totaling up to a whopping three hundred low-grade spirit stones.
Regardless if one failed the assessment, he still had to pay up the aforementioned amount.
Everyone else assumed that Lin Jin had found himself a convenient ‘excuse’.
‘It’s not that I’m a coward, but I don’t have any spirit stones right now, so you technically can’t call me a coward nor a wretched fool.’
Zhao Pi didn’t think Lin Jin would be ‘shameless’ enough to come up with such a pathetic excuse.
‘Hmph! I, Zhao Pi, am a renowned military adviser. I’ve already thought of ways to counter all the excuses you’re going to have. Lin Jin, you’ll definitely embarrass yourself today.’
After thinking to himself, Zhao Pi waved and said generously, “That’s alright. I, Zhao Pi, will pay the spirit stones needed for your assessment, Appraiser Lin.”
Zhao Pi assumed that even if Lin Jin passed the assessment, he’d achieve the first realm at best. Though, it was highly likely that this appraiser wouldn’t even make it past the first realm.
In other words, he only had to cough up thirty low-grade spirit stones to ensure the success of his scheme.
To him, thirty low-grade spirit stones was still an affordable sum.
Upon hearing Zhao Pi’s offer, a hint of ‘panic’ flashed across Lin Jin’s eyes.
Zhao Pi caught sight of it with his keen eyes and it pleased him. He mused, ‘Let’s see what other crappy excuses you can come up with.’
“You’ll pay for my assessment? Really?” Lin Jin asked.
Zhao Pi nodded. “Absolutely. Listen up everyone, I, Zhao Pi, will be paying for Appraiser Lin’s blood contract assessment fee! This is to clear his reputation and prove that he’s not a useless nor a wretched man.”
With this, Lin Jin’s fate was sealed with his own consent. Despite his visible reluctance, Lin Jin could only follow the group to get his blood contract level assessed.
With Zhao Pi and his group fanning the flames, there ended up being almost a hundred people tagging along to watch the show unfold. What a magnificent crowd.
Chen Cheng found an opportunity to slip in so when Lin Jin failed to pass the assessment, he can be start laughing at him, stirring up even more chaos. After that, Lin Jin’s reputation in the Friar Association would be utterly crushed.
The crowd arrived at the assessment department.
The people in charge of assessing blood contract realms were two of the Friar Association’s experienced elders. Both of them will be overseeing the assessment together to ensure maximum fairness. Due to how stern these elders have always been, as large as the crowd was, the people kept their lips sealed, with not a single one daring to cause a ruckus.
Lin Jin approached the elders, stating his intention to take the blood contract assessment.
One of the elders nodded and asked, “Do you know the rule?”
“Yes!” Lin Jin pointed to Zhao Pi and said, “He’ll be paying the spirit stones required for the blood pact assessment!”
It wasn’t a rare sight for someone else to be paying on behalf of the candidate. Thus, one of the elders beckoned Zhao Pi over.
“Will you be paying for him?” The elder affirmed.
Zhao Pi nodded and answered resolutely, “Yes!”
“Alright. Whoever will be assessing his blood contract level, enter the assessment room. Everyone else, wait outside!” An elder announced and the crowd obeyed.
These were the rules. To ensure that there was no results tampering, one’s blood contract was to be assessed inside an enclosed assessment room.
“I’ll be heading inside!” Having said that, Lin Jin flashed Zhao Pi a cheeky smile before entering the room.
Zhao Pi was dumbfounded.
Why did Lin Jin’s smile seem a little different from earlier? Prior to this, the man’s smile was half-hearted, hesitant, and timid. But now, his grin was filled with confidence and resolution.
For a moment there, Zhao Pi was befuddled.
‘Let’s just wait.’
Zhao Pi took out his disciple token and handed it over. He couldn’t possibly carry so many spirit stones around with him. Every transaction in the association was kept on tabs for them to pay off in due time.
It goes without saying that no one dared to escape from their debts in the association.
Suddenly, someone came over and said quietly to Zhao Pi, “Senior Zhao, say, this Lin Jin wouldn’t deliberately aim for a higher realm level, would he? If that happens, whether or not he passes, you’d still have to pay up.”
Zhao Pi stared back at him like he was an idiot and replied, “To think you’re a veteran disciple. You’ve forgotten that all blood contract assessments have to begin from the first realm, haven’t you? It’s only after you pass that you get to try for the next level’s assessment. That Lin Jin most probably won’t even pass the first one so I’d be spending thirty low-grade spirit stones at most. When he comes out after the assessment, you know what to do, right?”
“Don’t worry, Senior Zhao. You just have to sit back and watch. I guarantee you Lin Jin will be completely humiliated. Can’t say the same for anywhere else, but at least he won’t be able to so confident in the Friar Association anymore.”
“That’s perfect!”
The crowd waited.
A moment passed by and no one came out from the assessment room.
Zhao Pi found it odd. Normally, a first realm assessment should be brief, and once the candidate fails, the assessment would end then and there.
So why haven’t they come out yet?
‘Maybe they were held up by a delay or something.’ Zhao Pi found an excuse for himself and continued waiting.
A couple minutes passed by and still, no one came out.
By now, Zhao Pi realized that something was off.
If the assessment failed, they should have been out by now. There wasn’t a need to wait this long.
Something must have happened.
Everyone else began whispering among themselves.
“Why is it taking so long? Back then when I was assessing my blood contract realm, it was over in a flash.”
“Yeah. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t take this long.”
“Did something happen?”