Without minding the others, Lin Jin stepped outside and proudly walked away. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks as he remembered that he had left without purchasing the level-one beast energy pellet.
"Ugh fine, I'll go back and deal with what I've started! " Lin Jin whined to himself as he had to ignore the fact that he had to face the already enraged Dong He because of his dramatic reveal of the fire spirit crystal on purpose. Showing his face again would just fuel the fire into an explosion.
The easiest place where he could get his hands on the beast energy pellet was none other than the logistics department.
Of course that wasn't the only way for Xiao Huo to level up, as a common pellet like the beast energy pellet could be easily replaced with other things as well.
Without the pellets, Xiao Huo should be able to level up just fine, especially since Lin Jin had the fire spirit crystal with him. The pellets were just to increase the success rate of the transition.
He scanned through the Museum of Deadly Beasts as he headed back to the department, in search of other ways to level Xiao Huo up.
Spirit stones and beast energy pellets were part of the most common methods.
Suddenly, Lin Jin noticed that a new method had popped up which wasn't there before—it had appeared after he obtained the fire spirit crystal. He speed-read it in excitement.
"The perfect method of leveling up... the instructions are mentioned below... requires fire spirit crystal, six suns beast soul pellet."
As a beast appraiser, Lin Jin had never heard of a 'perfect' method of leveling up. Only when he continued reading did he discover the remarkable wonders of this method.
"The perfect leveling up method had a definite percentage of ascending two levels, and has a hundred percent chance of washing the body of casting's marrow, thus improving potential and the quality of innate nature."
Lin Jin grew breathless as he read this.
To be honest, Lin Jin had actually disliked Xiao Huo in the beginning. Xiao Huo was a fire wolf beast with such average qualifications and physique. It wasn't a beast that was up to Lin Jin's expectations. Not to mention it couldn't meet what was demanded from it and was decades apart compared to the rooster, Goldy, of the Golden Crow bloodline. Especially since he could easily find a stronger pet beast through the Museum of Deadly Beasts, he had thought about replacing Xiao Huo.
However, after knowing that Xiao Huo had sacrificed most of its spiritual energy and hurt itself just to save Lin Jin, he scrapped the idea. How could he abandon such a loyal beast especially after it had thrown aside its wellbeing for its master? Despite all that, Xiao Huo's potential and qualifications were still pending problems.
But now, the solution was projected right before him.
This perfect method was practically made for Xiao Huo. By using this method, Xiao Huo's achievements in the future would be immeasurable.
"Xiao Huo, aren't you a lucky fella!" Lin Jin laughed out loud as he cheekily rubbed the top of Xiao Huo's head. Xiao Huo didn't understand and just stared at Lin Jin with a pair of innocent eyes.
Lin Jin had the fire spirit crystal, so, what was a six suns beast soul pellet?
Lin Jin read the museum's contents.
The description for each material and procedure in the perfect level up method was in immense detail. If the museum prescribes a pellet medicine, the method for pelletization will be provided as well.
As expected, there was the procedure for the six suns beast soul pellet.
On the stone tablet, a detailed formula of the pellet was provided, even the refining methods and steps were listed one by one.
Lin Jin stopped walking and sat on the roadside. He started reading it as he stroked Xiao Huo's head.
Xiao Huo waited patiently while keeping guard of Lin Jin.
The passersby who saw this started to point and gossip about Lin Jin.
"Isn't that Lin Jin? What is he doing?"
"I don't know. Seeing that his eyes are closed, he seems to be enjoying himself. Is caressing a dog's head that satisfying to him?"
"From what I see, there's something wrong with the way he's wired."
Now, not just people from the association, even the clients that were there to have their beasts appraised had started staring at him. Everyone couldn't get their gazes off him after catching him in this weird scenario while he was dressed in his official beast appraiser's robe.
Somewhere not far from here, a fair-skinned young man graced through the shadows. But with careful observation, you'd notice that this young man had soft features and pale white skin. He might be dressed as a man, but from the missing Adam's apple, you can tell that under that disguise actually stood a woman.
This lady was young, yet lonesome and possessed a maturity beyond what people her age could comprehend. She shadowed her face, shielding it from the public as if she were a wanted person.
Behind her trailed a strict looking elder. The elder had an overwhelming aura, yet he walked behind her in a slightly submissive manner.
"Lu Bo, I want to be left alone." The young woman said softly. The elder's had a worried expression as he advised, "Master, I know you wanted to relax by coming to Maple City, but there really is no need for you to wait here just to request for the number plates from the Beast Appraisal Association... What expert would reject us, the Kyoto Association, if we called for them? Besides, we weren't able to get the number plates from this small place anyway, I would've arranged for them to go get them for you, but you wouldn't let me….. and hadn't we already found Master Liao? We're gonna visit him soon too..."
As he spoke, he turned to the young woman and a fierce glare appeared on her face. Thus, he didn't speak a word more.
"I'm here to relax, so I don't want to bother the others. Master Liao is an expert, but we shouldn't underestimate the others as well. It's fine if we can't get the chief and Gao Jiang's number plate, but isn't there another official beast appraiser?"
"I've heard about that person, he has a terrible reputation. He is an actual trash beast appraiser, he appraises pet beasts wrongly! Who knew that people like him are still able to make it as an official beast appraiser."
The young woman shook her head, "The scenery here is nice. Let me walk alone and don't follow me. Remember, this is an order!"
The elder seemed like he wanted to say something, but he just stood where he was.
The young woman strolled past the cobblestone path. Mellifluous birdsong flowed as the sweet scent of flowers seeped into her nostrils, yet she wasn't able to submerge herself in the beauty of nature. It was as if the boundary between her enjoyment was the invisible bubble that she was trapped in.
After taking a few steps, she noticed a young man in the robe of an official beast appraiser, sitting on the roadside. She observed that he was closing his eyes while letting out occasional chuckles while caressing the head of the dog next to him.
The young woman was curious. After giving it some thought, she approached him.
That person was really focused on caressing his dog to the point where he didn't even realize that there was someone approaching him. This piqued her interest in him even more. She always saw herself as a weirdo because she knew that other people saw her differently ever since she was young. Later on, after she understood her 'mission', she sealed her heart off from everyone else.
She also tried to fight back, but had never succeeded.
People tried to convince her, but she never listened, labeling her as the 'weirdo' in everyone's eyes.
Today, she had met another weirdo. The way the people around him looked at him and pointed fingers at him made her relate to him, this made her comfortable enough to approach him and sit beside him.
The dull-looking dog gave her one look and ignored her, sensing that she was not a threat.
She kept quiet too. She just sat there and basked in the sunlight. The person next to her was attracting everyone's attention, which gave her a sense of calmness.
"Got it!" After quite a while, Lin Jin finally mastered the way to make the six suns beast soul pellet. He had completely memorized the series of steps.
He opened his eyes and saw that Xiao Huo's head was slightly balding from his excessive stroking. The little fella had a look of complaint on its face. Lin Jin turned around and saw that he had company.
Lin Jin's heart almost flew out.
"What were you doing?" The woman in a man's disguise asked. This was what she was curious about.
"The comprehensive pelletization method!" Lin Jin answered honestly.
"Are you here to have your pet beast appraised? Or..." Lin Jin trailed off as he didn't see any pet beasts around aside from his.
"Hmm, in a way. I'm looking for guidance but I wasn't able to get on the chief's session."
"I can help you take a look!" Lin Jin casually said, but to his surprise, the person also very casually replied, "Sure!"
Finally, some business!
Lin Jin was excited. This darn Beast Appraisal Association had an assessment index that made him illegible to receive his basic salary unless he had at least one client per day.
"About that, did you get my number plate?" Lin Jin asked and the person shook their head. He was afraid of losing this business so he immediately blurted, "Well, that's alright, I have it with me. I'll give it to you, so you just give your signature later and pay the fee outside."
Lin Jin took out a number plate and passed it to the person.
The person took the number plate and kept it with them after giving it a glance. The person did not say a word, meaning that they accepted this agreement.
Lin Jin rubbed both his hands and waited for a moment. Seeing that the person still didn't say anything, he awkwardly coughed and asked, "So then... where's the pet beast?"
"There is no pet beast." The woman shook her head. A hint of slyness glowed in her eyes.
Lin Jin was taken aback as he thought to himself, 'Oh no, this person is mental.' What on earth was he supposed to appraise if there's no pet beast? If there wasn't one, then why did she not say so earlier? What a waste of his excitement.
After a moment of silence, the person asked, "So, can you take a look?"
Look at what?!
Lin Jin confirmed that she's either messing with him or she had some problems with her head. What a waste of her good looks.