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.
âPoof.â Zhou Qiushi finally knocked down a fruit.
âI got one!â 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 couldnât get a second one to drop.
âPoof!â 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 Wenruiâs 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.
âHey, timeâs up.â The student from Dawn shouted.
The group had no choice but to get down from the tree. They looked slightly ashamed.
âI think weâve lost.â 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 didnât respond.
âYou guys did a great job. Keep it up for a bright future.â Du Wenrui nodded approvingly.
âOnly three? I can get five for sure.â The student from Dawn sneered.
âGo for it then.â Li Qiye said without giving a damn.
âWhat about you? Donât think about backing out.â He glared at Li Qiye.
âGo first, Iâll wait till youâre done. Itâs an easy victory anyway.â Li Qiye smiled in response.
âOkay, then start the time now. When timeâs up, itâll be your loss whether you have tried or not.â He sneered.
âSo be it. The next set of time will determine the victor.â Li Qiye said.
âStart!â He leaped on top of the tree and began knocking the mature fruits. Meanwhile, Li Qiye stood there, seemingly not ready to start.
âJunior Brother, go try or youâll run out of time.â Qiushi softly urged.
Though they werenât hopeful about his success, an attempt was still better than doing nothing.
âNo rush, thereâs plenty of time left. Let him go first.â Li Qiye said.
The group gave up on persuading this fella.
âPoof! Poof! Poof!â Meanwhile, their opponent has gotten multiple fruits.
The groupâs heart was hanging on a thread, especially when a third fruit fell.
âWeâre losing for sure.â Their only hope has been extinguished.
âJunior Brother, go try already!â One student raised his voice at Li Qiye.
Li Qiye didnât move an inch, still looking nonchalant.
âPlease hurry!â The group became more nervous as time passed. They were ready to push him up the tree by this point.
âWhat is he doing? Does he want to renege?â The students from the other academies wondered.
âHaha, donât worry, everyone saw him accepting the bet. He canât back out now.â One of them sneered, more than willing to shame the students from Repentance even more.
âPoof!â Finally, the student from Dawn got a total of five fruits. He kept on trying but couldnât get another, realizing that this was his limit.
He jumped down even though time wasnât up.
âFive.â He laughed heartily while showing off his harvest.
âAmazing, Brother Dingyu, looks like youâre already an Ascender.â A student noticed his cultivation and praised him.
âThank you, Iâve only recently broken through.â The Dawn student named Zhang Dingyu smiled. His words indicated humility but his expression was full of arrogance. [1]
âI canât believe it, youâre really a genius.â The students nearby flattered him in succession.
âI won with five.â Dingyu snorted and stared contemptuously at Qiushiâs 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 didnât blame Li Qiye for not trying at all because that wouldnât 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.
âCalm down, itâs too early for conclusion when I have yet to start.â Li Qiye said insipidly and interrupted Dingyuâs gloating.
âYou?â Dingyu guffawed after hearing this: âYou donât 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 donât forget, even a miracle of getting one fruit is still not enough.â
âGot it.â Li Qiye said.
âTick tock, start climbing already. Youâre running out of time but I suppose struggling is useless anyway. Youâll all bark like dogs soon enough for that is your fate. Let everyone hear the barking of wretches from Repentanceâ¦â Dingyu laughed again.
âNo need to climb.â Li Qiye smiled and flicked his finger.
âPoof! Poof! Poof!â 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?
â...â The spectators became frozen while Li Qiye swung his sleeve and caught all the fruits with a smile.
âEnough for everyone.â Having said that, he threw the fruits perfectly, giving his peers one each.
The students from Repentance couldnât believe it despite holding the fruits in their hands.
âForget it, Iâll be merciful and leave some for the rest.â 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