“My~ a Rank 4!”
Tan Xun’s amazement should come as no surprise. Rank 4 beasts were rare in the Jade Dragon Kingdom, and if one ever appeared, they would be forced to serve in the country’s Defense Department. Based on what Tan Xun knew, the Jade Dragon Kingdom currently had only seven Rank 4 beasts.
All seven Rank 4 creatures and their respective owners represented the backbone of their nation. After all, any and every Rank 4 beast was eligible to be designated as a guardian of their intermediate country.
Hence, Tan Xun was shocked to find out that Lin Jin’s pet beast was already Rank 4.
Lin Jin wasn’t surprised by Tan Xun’s discovery. After all, the man was a capable appraiser himself. A Rank 3 beast appraiser was well-respected, even here in the capital of the Jade Dragon Kingdom.
Also, Lin Jin wasn’t deliberately trying to hide it either. Everyone in Maple City already knew about it anyway and Ye Yuzhou and Bai Zhenkong must have already reported this to the imperial city so it wasn’t exactly a secret anymore.
Meanwhile, the white ape on Xiao Huo’s back intrigued Tan Xun even more.
As Rank 4 beasts had high spiritual intelligence and were all proud creatures, they would never tolerate having other beasts riding on their backs.
And so, Tan Xun began analyzing the white ape.
Lin Jin didn’t stop him. The Transformation skill this white ape used was obtained from the museum. It was an incredible skill that had the added benefit of concealment. While the white ape’s mastery of the skill wasn’t as good when compared to Shang’er and Little Five, he was still fairly proficient at it. If he didn’t engage in battle or let his demonic aura seep out, even beast appraisers shouldn’t be able to tell that it was a monster.
However, he might not be able to deceive Rank 3 beast appraisers and this was why Lin Jin wanted to keep him by his side too. If an expert came investigating, he could perform a reassuring solution.
By sealing off some of the white ape’s acupoints with the coiled wire needle, even a Rank 3 beast appraiser like Tan Xun would fail to recognize that this was a monster.
This was something Lin Jin recently learned from the pulse-seeking technique’s teachings. Until now, Lin Jin only understood about twenty or thirty percent of the pulse-seeking technique. This technique included the coiled wire needle and spirit sealing needle methods, which were profoundly useful. If Lin Jin were to continue learning about it, his mastery over the various techniques should improve significantly over time.
Tan Xun used normal methods to appraise the white ape but was surprised when he found nothing out of the ordinary.
After all, it was rare that he couldn’t tell a beast’s potential with skills like his.
Just as Tan Xun intended to continue probing, someone hurried over.
“Elder Tan, I finally found you. Something happened and the Rank 2 beast appraisers are at a loss…”
Tan Xun clarified before he was told what had happened.
“Oh dear, aren’t they experienced Rank 2 beast appraisers from headquarters? For them to be at a loss, it must be serious indeed.” Tan Xun chuckled, remaining composed. The messenger mused, ‘As expected of a Rank 3 beast appraiser. He manages to keep his cool and even a disaster can’t faze him.’
Only those who were truly capable could afford to be this composed.
“Let’s go. I just happen to have time to spare so I’ll go and take a look.” Tan Xun smiled, clearly thinking nothing of the situation. He then glanced at Lin Jin and said, “Appraiser Lin, if you have time, why don’t you come along? Once their problem has been resolved, we can go for a drink.”
“Sure! It’d be a great opportunity to learn from Appraiser Tan,” Lin Jin replied humbly. He was interested to see how a Rank 3 beast appraiser like Tan Xun would appraise and treat beasts.
Beast appraisers had to communicate with each other often too to improve themselves.
Tagging alongside Tan Xun, they walked around inside headquarters before arriving at the hall.
Upon entering the hall, Lin Jin noticed the monitor lizard lying on the ground. It was an intimidating creature and its scales were like a thick layer of armor. This was clearly no average beast.
However, this supposedly ferocious beast couldn’t be anymore dispirited and laid restlessly on the ground without even the strength to keep its eyes open.
The creature was seriously ill.
Tan Xun was stunned at the sight of it.
“Doesn’t this monitor lizard belong to Prince Yu?”
Tan Xun obviously recognized the beast. Those Rank 2 beast appraisers, who were initially downcast immediately lit up at the sight of Tan Xun. They hurried over to greet him with great anticipation.
“Elder Tan!”
“Greetings, Elder Tan!”
“Thank God you’re here!”
Tan Xun waved and asked, “What’s going on?”
One of the Rank 2 beast appraisers explained, “It was brought over from Prince Yu’s Manor this morning. The pet beast could still walk but was visually dispirited. I know that Prince Yu cares for his pet beast dearly so we decided to treat it together but who knew its condition would…”
The appraiser paused while someone else continued, “Who knew that this monitor lizard’s condition would turn out to be this strange. We tried every method in the book but can’t tell what’s wrong with it. It’s clearly healthy and there’s nothing wrong with its veins but it’s behaving as if it’s terminally ill. And it gets worse the more we treat it. As you see, we’ve stopped treating it in case it dies in our hands.”
Tan Xun’s expression turned grave.
He nodded and walked over.
The few Rank 2 beast appraisers sighed in relief. Tan Xun was a highly respected individual in headquarters and one of the first few Rank 3 beast appraisers they had. He was competent in both experience and knowledge.
Suddenly, they noticed the young man following behind Tan Xun. This young lad looked so much younger than they were but carried a dignified aura. More importantly, with their keen observation, they instantly noticed the two-ringed beast logo on his sleeve.
A Rank 2 beast appraiser at such a young age?
These beast appraisers exchanged glances, feeling shocked.
However, this young appraiser didn’t look familiar to them. Although there were tons of Rank 2 beast appraisers here, they definitely hadn’t seen this guy before.
‘Could he be Elder Tan’s new disciple?’ they mused.
Now was clearly not the time for introductions. It would be terrible if something happened to Prince Yu’s pet beast.
Tan Xun hurried over to begin his treatment.
Lin Jin glanced over curiously. If he had to be honest, he couldn’t tell what was wrong with the pet beast even with his current skills.
Based on the initial diagnosis, he might have come to the same conclusion as these Rank 2 beast appraisers. This pet beast wasn’t ill at all.
The hall fell silent as Tan Xun worked earnestly before looking just as confused in the end.
“This is odd!”
It was after he spoke that the others dared to ask.
“Elder Tan, what is it?”
“Yeah, tell us!”
Tan Xun turned to them and said, “It’s just like you’ve said, Prince Yu’s pet beast doesn’t seem ill at all. Not only is its energy and blood circulation strong, but it’s even in top condition. But why can’t it move then? This is strange!”
The group was even more relieved to hear this. Since even Appraiser Tan Xun came to this conclusion, at least their diagnosis was accurate.
“What medicine did you guys feed it?” Tan Xun asked.
Someone immediately brought over an evaluation report with a list of medicine it consumed on the back page.
“This much?” Tan Xun was shocked.
Upon taking a closer look, he nodded. All the medicine listed here were supplements so they shouldn’t do any harm to the pet beast. If that’s the case, why is it in such a state?
Lin Jin was listening carefully when a sudden thought came to mind.
Simultaneously, Tan Xun was also immersed in deep thought when his eyes suddenly lit up.
“I got it!”
He invoked a tiny seal onto the creature’s body and upon contact, the seal exploded into a ball of flame.
“So that’s it!” Tan Xun exclaimed.