All eyes were on Du Wenrui now. One student asked: “Just how strong is the supreme fruit?”

“It would have no problem helping you become an Ascender if your dao foundation is deep enough, especially when you have the light affinity.” Wenrui sent him a mysterious glance and smiled.

“Becoming an Ascender right away?!” The students were shocked to hear this and exchanged glances.

For many here, just becoming a True G.o.d was a great achievement. Becoming an Ascender was even more amazing, perhaps their final stop.

Now, this single fruit alone could let them reach this realm so easily? It’s legendary, to say the least - a one-and-only immortal fruit.

After all, cultivation required honest training. Very few things could let people skip realms. Alas, the Academy of Light had this gift for their members.

“What a fruit…” A student murmured while taking a bite of his own fruit.

The juice made his taste buds erupt with a light affinity. This was irresistible for cultivators of the light so he took another bite right away.

All the students started fantasizing about obtaining the supreme fruit.

“Okay, calm down, everyone. The supreme fruits aren’t that easy to obtain. Normally, only True Emperors or someone at that level are capable of getting them. There are a few exceptions.” Wenrui shook his head then glanced at Li Qiye, inadvertently or otherwise.

Li Qiye was still at ease and ignored the comment, seemingly not interested in this fruit.

Some of the students salivated despite hearing about the difficulty.

“Keep on picking along the way, don’t dream about the supreme fruit. Even if you get one, you will need a long time to digest it. Eating the whole thing in one go will result in implosion due to the overwhelming amount of light energy.” Wenrui elaborated.

The group stopped thinking about the supreme fruit for now. First, they probably couldn’t even get it. Secondly, they might not be able to digest its power.

In Repentance Inst.i.tution, all the teachers and even the dean were weaker than True Emperors. Only the four great academies had students at the imperial level.

The group continued forward. They picked more fruits along the way. Some were as big as watermelons or as small as sesame seeds.

Of course, the rank had nothing to do with size.

A seed-sized fruit could be at the third rank while the watermelon one was only a first rank.

In the beginning, the students thought that picking these sacred fruits was very easy. Though they couldn’t get every single one, getting several from each tree was possible.

As they moved deeper into the orchard, this was no longer the case. One tree had fruits that were impossible to get.

They also saw students from the other academies. The students from the big places didn’t stop in this outer area and simply gave them a cold stare before moving on, not wanting to waste time.

The ones from lesser academies were still stronger than Zhou Qius.h.i.+. They had a far better harvest, whether it be quant.i.ty or quality. This particular group was very unhappy with Zhou Qius.h.i.+ and the others running around to pick fruits.

“Go play outside and pick first-ranked fruits with your meager power.” One of them coldly said.

That’s why whenever a relatively high-ranked tree was spotted, they would instantly take over that spot even if Qius.h.i.+’s group got there first.

“Stand aside, we go first. You can’t pick them even if you try so that will only waste our time.” Another said with disdain.

Qius.h.i.+ and the others naturally got annoyed. Alas, these outside students were far stronger than them. Plus, they really couldn’t pick the fruits as well.

These fellas could pick three to five fruits on a good tree while it would be a miracle if they could get just one each.

As for third-ranked and up trees, only half of them would be able to get one. This resulted in scoffs and jeers.

“See? Go stick with the first-ranked fruits.” One student laughed.

Qius.h.i.+’s group had no response. After rotating to the last student, they quietly left. Only a few of them found success.

Du Wenrui didn’t interfere at all and only smiled during the observation.

He and Li Qiye crossed another peak and decided to stop at a mountain stream for a break. The students caught up later.

He looked up and pointed at the next area: “There is a fifth-ranked tree named White Hair in that valley, the finest among this grade. A single one is comparable to two to three other fifth-ranked fruits. Go take a look.”

“A fifth-ranked fruit…” The students’ eyes lit up.

They haven’t gotten that much success with finding trees after being in the orchard for so long, let alone a fifth-ranked tree.

“Let’s take a look.” They knew that the probability of success was low but they still wanted to try.

After all, they had plenty of people. Maybe one person would get lucky.

“Go.” Wenrui wanted to see their enthusiasm and determination.

The group climbed up and eventually entered the valley only to find a sea of students waiting.

A towering tree nearly blotted out the sky above this valley, needing a dozen people or so to fully wrap around it with their arms extended.

It was red from top to bottom. Even the green leaves had a touch of red inside, looking like rubies. The branches had a hard time carrying the weight from all the fruits.

As Wenrui had said, its name was White Hair with jade-like fruits the size of a thumb. The red fruits were covered in tiny white hair, looking just like frost needles.

It was very popular with a long line stretching across the valley like a serpent. A dozen or so could climb the tree at the same time.

Its popularity wasn’t surprising at all. This was the finest fifth-ranked tree. One fruit from it was three times the value of another fifth-ranked fruit.

“s.h.i.+t,, so unlucky!” One student knocked many ripe fruits up there but didn’t get a single one.

“Bam! Bam! Bam!” Another was extremely fast and got ten fruits right away.

“Show some mercy, Qingfeng. Leave some for us.” A friend querulously complained.

“Yeah, yeah, the tree is full of them, enough for everyone.” The student named Qingfeng happily put away the fruits and left.

“Time’s up, switch now!” The student next in time has been keeping track of time and shouted.

The students on the tree had no choice but to go down regardless of their harvest. Some left with a smile while others wore a frown.

“It’s our turn!” The next group also climbed with haste while the ones after started counting.

This was the only way to accommodate the sheer number of students wanting to try.

Zhou Qius.h.i.+’s group saw this and also lined up in the back.