"So… this is the legendary Demon Space?"
Zhao Xuan gazed at the scene before him, eyes filled with curiosity.
The true appearance of the Demon Space was nothing like what he had imagined.
He had always pictured it as a gloomy, oppressive realm—dark clouds, eerie winds, an atmosphere of dread.
But instead—
It was bright. Brilliantly so.
Blue skies, drifting white clouds, sunlight pouring down in golden warmth.
Even the air itself was fresh and clean, so clear it felt like he could drink it.
The feeling was… comforting. Like stepping into a patch of winter sunlight, warmth spreading through his whole body—so pleasant he almost wanted to stretch lazily and bask in it.
The Demon Space was vast—an island-like world.
Yet aside from the massive tree that stood towering at the island's center, its canopy blotting out the sun, there was nothing but a field of lush green grass. Not a single other plant could be seen.
After a moment of quiet observation, Zhao Xuan began walking toward the Tree of Demons at the center.
When he arrived, five other figures were already gathered beneath the enormous tree.
They, like him, were all newly eighteen—each possessing sufficient Spiritual Power to qualify for entry—selected from across the entire Divine Continent as prospective Devil Fruit users.
"He's here! Finally!"
"Must be the last one of our batch!"
"Good, then it can start!"
Excited chatter erupted the moment Zhao Xuan appeared.
It was the rule of the Demon Space—only when every member of the batch had arrived beneath the tree could the selection process begin.
"This way, friend! Hello, hello! The name's Zhu Qingtian."
As Zhao Xuan steadied himself under the tree, a plump young man greeted him with a wide grin.
"Brother Zhu, nice to meet you. I'm Zhao Xuan."
"Ah! Zhao Xuan—good name, good name indeed!" Zhu Qingtian chuckled cheerfully.
Zhao Xuan's mouth twitched; he almost replied with "What's so good about it?"—but decided against it.
"Brother Zhao, since you arrived last, let me introduce everyone!" Zhu Qingtian said warmly, gesturing as he spoke.
He first pointed to a muscular boy wearing glasses. "This here is Qiu Ji, from the Nanyun Province—Spiritual Power, 36 points. Probably the highest among us six!"
Zhao Xuan raised an eyebrow, glancing at Qiu Ji with surprise.
The muscular youth smirked faintly, pride flashing in his eyes.
Thirty-six points—an extraordinary number.
That meant he was almost guaranteed to become a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
"This next one," Zhu Qingtian continued, "is Shen Han, from Chuanshu Province—Spiritual Power, 28 points."
"Nice to meet you, Brother Zhao," Shen Han nodded politely.
"And this young lady is Jiang Yiran from Nanhe Province, Spiritual Power 23."
"Over here we have Xiao Yan, from the Imperial Capital, Spiritual Power 21."
"And finally, myself—Zhu Qingtian from the Magic City, Spiritual Power 31."
After Zhu Qingtian's round of introductions, Zhao Xuan nodded and greeted each one in turn.
Then—
Zhu Qingtian smiled and asked, "Brother Zhao, if I may—what's your Spiritual Power score?"
At once—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Everyone's eyes turned toward Zhao Xuan.
"Me? I…"
Before Zhao Xuan could finish, a flash of white light descended from the Tree of Demons—landing on Xiao Yan.
Instantly, all eyes shifted from Zhao Xuan to him.
"So it begins," Zhao Xuan murmured inwardly, turning to watch.
As the white light enveloped Xiao Yan, twenty differently shaped fruits detached from the branches above, floating gently before him.
Twenty choices—one chance.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Xiao Yan selected one.
The remaining fruits vanished instantly, and the chosen one dissolved into pure light, merging into his body.
The white glow faded away.
"How is it, Brother Xiao?" Zhu Qingtian asked eagerly.
Xiao Yan's expression was calm and emotionless. "Just a common Beast-type—Horse-Horse Fruit."
Zhu Qingtian was about to respond when another white beam descended—this time upon Jiang Yiran, the only girl among them.
Her luck wasn't much better; her chosen fruit turned out to be another Beast-type.
Next, the light enveloped Shen Han.
His luck was even worse.
With 28 Spiritual Power, he should have had a one-third chance of drawing a Logia-type fruit. But fate wasn't kind. Not only did no Logia-type appear, he ended up with one of the most ordinary Beast-type fruits known.
When it was over, Zhao Xuan noticed Shen Han's face had gone pale.
Then—
Under Zhu Qingtian's astonished gaze, the white light fell upon him.
In the selection sequence, the weaker one's Spiritual Power, the earlier their turn.
Zhu Qingtian had thought for sure Zhao Xuan's Spiritual Power was lower than his, so when the light came to him next, he was genuinely surprised.
Still, his luck turned out to be quite decent.
Though he didn't get a Logia-type, he obtained an exceptionally rare Float-Float Fruit from the Superhuman-type category.
Judging from his bright grin, he was clearly very pleased.
Then—
All eyes turned expectantly to Zhao Xuan, waiting for his selection to begin.
But unexpectedly, the next beam of light fell upon Qiu Ji instead.
For a moment, everyone froze. Even Qiu Ji looked stunned.
Then Zhu Qingtian gave Zhao Xuan a complicated smile. "Brother Zhao, so you've been hiding your true strength all along, huh?"
Zhao Xuan just scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
Within the light surrounding Qiu Ji, five fruits slowly floated down before him.
And then—
Qiu Ji's expression shifted to one of unrestrained joy. Without hesitation, he reached for a fruit on the far left.
As the white light faded, he turned toward Zhao Xuan and declared proudly,
"Logia-type – Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
The words struck like thunder.
Zhu Qingtian and the others stared in open envy.
After all—
That was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
The ultimate power of lightning itself.
Under their admiring gazes, Qiu Ji's pride swelled; his face radiated smug satisfaction.
Zhao Xuan couldn't help rolling his eyes inwardly. So childish.
And then—
As his thought ended, the next beam of divine white light descended.
This time—
It was his turn.
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