"Fatty Luo, you've finally come to your senses!" Gan Jin paused, grinning, and walked into the room carrying the Zhanmadao wrapped in a cloth. He casually placed the large saber upright against the wall, then sat down squarely on the bed, sizing up the pretty girl. "That's more like it! I told you that kind of woman, Zhu Lisi, wasn't right for you. This one is so much better! A hundred times more beautiful than Zhu Lisi! And her temperament is beyond reproach! Standing next to her, a woman like Zhu Lisi would look like a toad next to a jade swan."

"Oh?" Luo Lin's small eyes narrowed as he looked at the girl, who blushed and lowered her head under Gan Jin's praise and admiration, before shifting his attention back to Gan Jin. "Classmate, do you really think she's this good?"

"Of course!" Gan Jin slapped the bed frame. "She's absolutely wonderful! So wonderful it couldn't be better! Look at her appearance, her demeanor. Let me tell you, if you weren't my classmate, I’d seriously try to take her from you…"

The girl buried her head so low it nearly hid in her slightly rising chest, her fair cheeks burning intensely from shyness, the flush reaching all the way to the roots of her ears.

"Really?" Luo Lin looked skeptical, as if he couldn't quite believe it.

Fearing Luo Lin wouldn't be able to distinguish which woman was better and might go looking for Zhu Lisi again, Gan Jin nodded vigorously again and again. "As true as can be!"

"Very good!" Luo Lin stood up, gripping the girl's hand which was trying to withdraw, then grabbed Gan Jin's palm and forcefully pressed their hands together. Amidst Gan Jin's bewildered expression, Luo Lin declared, "Brother-in-law! Since you are so pleased with my little sister, I entrust her to you."

"What did you say?" Gan Jin sprang up from the bed, his face registering a shock a hundred times greater than the shock everyone else had shown him that day. "I say, classmate, stop joking! She’s your little sister?"

Luo Lin lifted his head and smiled proudly. "A merchant's integrity is paramount! This is my younger sister, Luo Qingqing. (WW.)"

The girl, Luo Qingqing, sat there, nodding shyly, stealing glances at Gan Jin from the corners of her eyes, not saying a word.

"Impossible!" Gan Jin shook his head repeatedly. "You look so ugly, how could you have such a beautiful sister? Say, classmate, are you from the same father but different mothers? Or is she perhaps adopted by your family?"

"Nonsense!" Luo Lin spat a mouthful of saliva onto Gan Jin’s face. "She is my full sister."

"How can this be…" Gan Jin shook his head in disbelief repeatedly. "She looks so beautiful, and you look so ugly…"

"Classmate, I'm telling you very seriously," Luo Lin looked at Gan Jin with great earnestness. "Among the fatties, I am considered quite handsome."

"Brother Gan Jin…" Luo Qingqing shyly looked up, not daring to meet Gan Jin’s eyes, and whispered timidly, "Luo Lin is my real brother…"

Luo Qingqing’s voice was lovely—soft and crisp, yet different from Biluo’s timid tone.

Gan Jin looked at them both with a look of profound sorrow. "Next time, try to get your father drunk; perhaps you'll hear some shocking news. (WW.) For instance, that you two aren't actually biological siblings…"

Luo Qingqing let out a soft chuckle. "Brother Gan Jin, just like before…"

"Before?" Gan Jin looked at Luo Qingqing, confused. "We've met before?"

"Nonsense! Sis, I told you Gan Jin doesn't remember you, right? Never mind, once he marries you…"

"Brother~~"

Luo Qingqing whined softly, and Luo Lin quickly coughed twice before saying, "Classmate, do you remember when you first arrived in Oakland City, at the city gate, when you beat up some hoodlums who were bullying a girl?"

"I remember… ah?" Gan Jin’s eyes widened as he looked at Luo Qingqing. "I saved you then."

"En…" Luo Qingqing nodded shyly again.

"Ever since then, my sister has had feelings for you…"

"Brother~~" Luo Qingqing tugged at Luo Lin’s sleeve. "Take me home, it’s late. If I’m not back soon, Father will be angry…"

"Oh, oh…" Luo Lin, tugged toward the door by Luo Qingqing, didn't forget to turn back and say, "Hey, Brother-in-law, let me know when you plan to come to my house to propose…"

"Brother~"

"Ah… the little sister is shy… Brother-in-law, you must remember that…"

Luo Lin’s voice faded into the corridor outside.

Gan Jin shook his head with a wry smile and climbed back into bed. This was truly miraculous; the person he had casually struck out of ill humor years ago turned out to be Luo Lin’s sister, and even more astonishing was that Luo Lin had such a beautiful sister—it made it impossible to believe they were true siblings.

The room returned to silence, and Gan Jin sat cross-legged on the bed to begin his usual meditation…

"Hoo…"

It was another long and exhausting night. Gan Jin stretched, his body feeling incredibly refreshed after soaking in the fatigue-relieving potion in the Endless World.

Tilting his head, he looked at Luo Lin’s empty bed; Luo Lin had clearly taken his sister home last night and wouldn't be returning right away. Gan Jin carefully wrapped his hat in a sheet and slung it over his shoulder. He left a note for Luo Lin on the bedside table: Classmate, I’m going on a trial for the next few days. Prepare a feast, I’ll celebrate my successful trial when I get back.

Walking under the sky that hadn't quite turned to dawn, Gan Jin looked up at the stars that glittered like gemstones.

"H-hello…"

A giant black magic hat, a loose black magic robe, a timid tone of voice, an almost ninety-degree bow, and a surprisingly sizable bundle beside her—this was Biluo, who would be going on the trial with him today.

Gan Jin looked at the bundle, which reached nearly a quarter of Biluo’s height, and asked curiously, "Good morning, isn't that heavy to carry?"

"…"

Biluo remained silent, nodding her head, which caused the huge black magic hat to sway up and down.

After waiting a short while on the training ground, Keller, just as Rodriguez had guessed, began to move his corpulent body, intending to launch a surprise attack.

Seeing Gan Jin and Biluo, Keller’s expression visibly stiffened.

Gan Jin detected surprise in the Dean of Academic Affairs' eyes, along with a flicker of frustration that his wicked plan had failed.

"Here!" Keller pulled out a piece of black cowhide paper from his chest and tossed it to Gan Jin. "This is your map. The trial mission is simple. First, collect specimens from every marked point on the map. Second, the Warrior stream students must pluck a lock of hair from the forehead of the Golden-Haired Monkey King…"

The Golden-Haired Monkey King? Gan Jin wanted to ask Keller why he didn't just go die himself. Which first-year Warrior student was supposed to pluck hair from the head of a Golden-Haired Monkey King? He vowed that when he returned from the trial, he would sneak into Keller's house under the cover of night and give him a thorough beating, just to let him know that young people are impulsive and shouldn't be provoked casually.

The Golden-Haired Monkeys were herd animals. Despite being just monkeys, even wolf packs normally avoided them. They were agile, but also notoriously irritable, possessing significant strength; in a one-on-one fight against a wolf, they were by no means disadvantaged, and their claws were as sharp as blades. F