In a grand hall at the summit of Qinglin Academy, Leng Yanran sat on the main seat, watching the restrained young man before her with cold eyes.

    Although the young man was restrained, his gaze was bold. He looked directly into Leng Yanran''s eyes without glancing at her graceful figure.

    The two of them locked eyes for a full ten minutes, neither uttering a word as if whoever spoke first would lose.

    Finally, Leng Yanran gave in. She looked at the young man and asked coldly with a sneer, "I''ve heard you''re quite unwilling to be my direct disciple, that you even publicly refused, causing everyone in the Academy to know about it?"

    Upon hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on the young man''s face.

    Indeed, when Chen Wudi told him this news, he did say he wouldn''t do it, but he never expected that Chen Wudi, the loudmouth, would spread the news throughout the entire Academy.

    As a result, the whole Academy was talking about how impressive Xu Nian was; he had actually refused the coveted status of a direct disciple.

    In reality, Xu Nian didn''t want to be a direct disciple; he was simply afraid of Leng Yanran''s revenge.

    But Leng Yanran''s next words nearly made Xu Nian spit out a mouthful of blood.

    "You don''t want to be a direct disciple, do you? You don''t want to see me, do you? Fine, today I insist you become my direct disciple. Furthermore, you must move into this Qingtian Hall and live with me!" Leng Yanran said with a malicious smile.

    Xu Nian''s eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face.

    He never imagined that this cold and unbeatable Leng Yanran could have such a playful side.

    And that statement: live with me!

    The more he thought about it, the more it seemed off. Was she proposing they cohabit?

    Could it be they were going to lead a happy life under the guise of master and disciple, but in reality husband and wife?

    Seemingly noticing Xu Nian''s wild thoughts, Leng Yanran glared fiercely at him. This gesture added an indescribable charm to her originally icy and stunning demeanor.

    "What is so enticing?" Xu Nian''s curiosity grew even stronger.

    "Golden Crow Fruit!" Leng Yanran uttered three words.

    Xu Nian''s eyes instantly widened in surprise.

    He had never expected that such a thing as the Golden Crow Fruit would exist within Jade Cave Heaven.

    The Golden Crow Fruit is an incredibly rare and extraordinary fruit tree, bearing fruit only once every three years, and each time, only a single fruit.

    Once a person consumes the Golden Crow Fruit, although it doesn''t increase cultivation, it can help open the Mud Ball Palace and condense Spiritual Sense.

    Spiritual Sense is an indication of the strength of a cultivator''s soul, and normally, cultivators can only condense Spiritual Sense when they reach the Saint Level. However, with the Golden Crow Fruit, regardless of realm, one can condense Spiritual Sense.

    What use is condensing Spiritual Sense?

    The benefit is significant. A person''s insight is related to the strength of the soul, and a soul with condensed Spiritual Sense is incredibly strong, making progress in cultivating combat skills and techniques at a speed several or even dozens of times faster than others.

    Not only that, once Spiritual Sense is condensed, one can cultivate soul-based combat skills. These kinds of combat skills are fatally effective against average cultivators, absolutely serving as a trump card.

    Most crucially, condensing Spiritual Sense also means that one has the potential to step into the Saint Level, a feat even Marquis Level powerhouses can only envy.

    Now he finally understood why those students are willing to suppress their realms to enter Jade Cave Heaven—the allure of the Golden Crow Fruit alone is enough to attract all powerhouses below the Saint Level.

    "Since Jade Cave Heaven is restricted by powerful prohibitions, only those below the Silver Moon Battle Sect can enter. Therefore, our Academy has set a rule that anyone who makes it into the top ten of the Azure Dragon List will be qualified to enter Jade Cave Heaven to compete for the Golden Crow Fruit. Hence, I hope you can secure that fruit this time. It will greatly aid your future cultivation," Leng Yanran said to Xu Nian, her eyes unexpectedly filled with hope.

    Xu Nian was taken aback for a moment, then nodded his head.

    Although he did not know why Leng Yanran suddenly had such high hopes for him, he chose to accept.

    Even for his own sake, he had to obtain the Golden Crow Fruit!