Zhou Qiushi was the most talented among the group. A wave of radiance instantly chased away the mist and fog in his dao heart.

The other students also benefited, albeit slower compared to him. Their dao heart became less hazy as well.

“Poof.” Zhou Qiushi finally knocked down a fruit.

“I got one!” He became ecstatic and shouted.

His peers looked over and rejoiced. They held their breath and focused up in order to try.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qiushi continued trying with the fruits nearby. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a second one to drop.

“Poof!” Another talented disciple finally got one, resulting in cheers all around.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a third student successfully got one. No one else managed to do during this time, not even Qiushi.

In fact, getting three fruits was already exceeding their capabilities.

The circumstances permitted their success due to their motivation and Du Wenrui’s guidance. Du Wenrui himself thought that only Qiushi would be able to get one. Thus, this was a resounding success with two more students being able to do it.

“Hey, time’s up.” The student from Dawn shouted.

The group had no choice but to get down from the tree. They looked slightly ashamed.

“I think we’ve lost.” Qiushi quietly told Li Qiye.

The other students remained silent too. They mentally prepped themselves for something even more humiliating - crawling around the valley and barking like a dog.

Li Qiye still had a smile on his face and didn’t respond.

“You guys did a great job. Keep it up for a bright future.” Du Wenrui nodded approvingly.

“Only three? I can get five for sure.” The student from Dawn sneered.

“Go for it then.” Li Qiye said without giving a damn.

“What about you? Don’t think about backing out.” He glared at Li Qiye.

“Go first, I’ll wait till you’re done. It’s an easy victory anyway.” Li Qiye smiled in response.

“Okay, then start the time now. When time’s up, it’ll be your loss whether you have tried or not.” He sneered.

“So be it. The next set of time will determine the victor.” Li Qiye said.

“Start!” He leaped on top of the tree and began knocking the mature fruits. Meanwhile, Li Qiye stood there, seemingly not ready to start.

“Junior Brother, go try or you’ll run out of time.” Qiushi softly urged.

Though they weren’t hopeful about his success, an attempt was still better than doing nothing.

“No rush, there’s plenty of time left. Let him go first.” Li Qiye said.

The group gave up on persuading this fella.

“Poof! Poof! Poof!” Meanwhile, their opponent has gotten multiple fruits.

The group’s heart was hanging on a thread, especially when a third fruit fell.

“We’re losing for sure.” Their only hope has been extinguished.

“Junior Brother, go try already!” One student raised his voice at Li Qiye.

Li Qiye didn’t move an inch, still looking nonchalant.

“Please hurry!” The group became more nervous as time passed. They were ready to push him up the tree by this point.

“What is he doing? Does he want to renege?” The students from the other academies wondered.

“Haha, don’t worry, everyone saw him accepting the bet. He can’t back out now.” One of them sneered, more than willing to shame the students from Repentance even more.

“Poof!” Finally, the student from Dawn got a total of five fruits. He kept on trying but couldn’t get another, realizing that this was his limit.

He jumped down even though time wasn’t up.

“Five.” He laughed heartily while showing off his harvest.

“Amazing, Brother Dingyu, looks like you’re already an Ascender.” A student noticed his cultivation and praised him.

“Thank you, I’ve only recently broken through.” The Dawn student named Zhang Dingyu smiled. His words indicated humility but his expression was full of arrogance. [1]

“I can’t believe it, you’re really a genius.” The students nearby flattered him in succession.

“I won with five.” Dingyu snorted and stared contemptuously at Qiushi’s group.

The group was pale after seeing five. Though they already knew that they would lose, reality unfolding before them still hurt all the same.

They didn’t blame Li Qiye for not trying at all because that wouldn’t change anything. Even if Li Qiye could somehow get one fruit, they would still only have four. The dozens of them only got three so why would they blame him for not getting any? Moreover, he even joined the institution later than them.

The only thing they could do right now was bracing themselves for the upcoming disgrace.

“Calm down, it’s too early for conclusion when I have yet to start.” Li Qiye said insipidly and interrupted Dingyu’s gloating.

“You?” Dingyu guffawed after hearing this: “You don’t even dare to climb up there, let alone get some fruits. Okay, there is still one minute left, go see if you can get one now out of sheer luck. But don’t forget, even a miracle of getting one fruit is still not enough.”

“Got it.” Li Qiye said.

“Tick tock, start climbing already. You’re running out of time but I suppose struggling is useless anyway. You’ll all bark like dogs soon enough for that is your fate. Let everyone hear the barking of wretches from Repentance…” Dingyu laughed again.

“No need to climb.” Li Qiye smiled and flicked his finger.

“Poof! Poof! Poof!” A rain of fruits suddenly descended after his finger flick.

This scene was magnificent - dozens of White Hair Fruits fell down like a miracle.

Everyone became slack-jawed as a result, including Qiushi's group. They felt that this was just a dream. How could these fruits rain down like this?

“...” The spectators became frozen while Li Qiye swung his sleeve and caught all the fruits with a smile.

“Enough for everyone.” Having said that, he threw the fruits perfectly, giving his peers one each.

The students from Repentance couldn’t believe it despite holding the fruits in their hands.

“Forget it, I’ll be merciful and leave some for the rest.” Li Qiye glanced at the tree and declared.

No one moved an inch, still trying to make sense of what had transpired just now.

1. We finally know his name! I wonder why it took the author so long this time