"Perfect timing—next period is Homeroom Teacher's Meditation Class. I can ask him to help me recheck my spiritual power!"
Time slipped by quickly as Zhao Xuan waited in restless anticipation.
Soon enough—
The class bell rang. The chatter in the room instantly faded as silence fell across the classroom.
The homeroom teacher of Class 13, Zhong Jianguo, strode in with his usual firm steps.
"Meditation class again, huh?" he said in his deep voice. "At this point, I've already taught you everything I can. What's left now depends on yourselves. Spend this session meditating and tempering your spiritual power. If you run into problems, just raise your hand."
The moment he finished speaking, Zhao Xuan's hand shot up with a whoosh!
"Zhao Xuan?" Zhong Jianguo's brows lifted slightly. "What is it?"
"Teacher," Zhao Xuan stood up and said, "my eighteenth birthday is in two days. I'd like to test my spiritual power one last time—to see if I've finally reached the threshold!"
"Hmm. That's fine," Zhong Jianguo nodded. His gaze then swept over the classroom. "Anyone else want to check their spiritual power?"
"Teacher! I do!" a bespectacled boy sitting in the front row raised his hand eagerly. "I'll be turning eighteen next week."
"Anyone else?"
The teacher's eyes scanned the room again. When no one else responded, he continued, "Alright then. The rest of you—keep meditating here. Zhao Xuan and Li Jiangchang, you two follow me."
The pair quickly stood up and followed him out.
Before long, they arrived at the School's Spiritual Power Testing Center.
"Alright," said Zhong Jianguo, turning toward them, "one at a time. Who wants to go first?"
"I'll go first, teacher!" said the bespectacled Li Jiangchang without hesitation.
"Good. Go ahead."
Under Zhao Xuan's watchful eyes, Li Jiangchang stepped up to the testing machine and placed a helmet—covered with a web of intricate wires—onto his head.
With a click, Zhong Jianguo pressed the activation button.
The digital screen lit up, and the numbers began to climb.
1… 2… 3… 4…
Finally—
It stopped at 21.
"Teacher! What did I do? Did I meet the standard?" Li Jiangchang asked eagerly as he removed the helmet.
"Twenty-one points," Zhong Jianguo said with clear satisfaction. "You passed."
He gave the boy a proud look. "If I remember correctly, during last year's major test you only had seventeen, didn't you? You've gained four points in a year. Did your family buy you some spiritual supplements?"
"Hehe…"
Li Jiangchang scratched his head and grinned sheepishly, the answer obvious from his face.
"You've done well, kid," Zhong Jianguo said with a chuckle. "But make sure you rest these next few days. Don't overexert yourself or get too excited—fatigue can cause temporary drops in spiritual power."
"Understood, Teacher. I'll take it easy."
Still glowing with pride, Li Jiangchang walked over to Zhao Xuan, handed him the helmet, and said with a grin, "Your turn, Zhao Xuan."
"Alright, Zhao Xuan—step up," Zhong Jianguo instructed.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Xuan stepped forward and placed the helmet on his head.
"You ready?" asked Zhong Jianguo.
"Ready," Zhao Xuan replied firmly.
"Good. Let's begin."
Zhong Jianguo pressed the button again.
The digital screen flickered, and the numbers began to climb once more.
1… 2… 3… 4…
In the blink of an eye—
The display had already surpassed 20.
And the count didn't slow down!
21… 22… 23… 24…
Before anyone could react, the number had already shot past 30.
But it still kept going!
31! 32! 33! 34! 35!
It finally stopped—at 37.
"Th-th-th-thirty… seven!?"
Zhong Jianguo stared at the screen, completely dumbfounded. His mouth hung open as if he'd seen a ghost.
Beside him, Li Jiangchang looked equally stupefied, his eyes wide as saucers, fixed on the glowing number.
Spiritual Power—37.
What kind of concept was that?
It was… explosive.
As mentioned before—
On one's eighteenth birthday, reaching 20 points of spiritual power granted entry into the Devil Space, the realm where one could obtain a Devil Fruit ability.
Each time, the Tree of Devils inside would randomly generate a variety of Devil Fruits, each carrying different powers.
According to official data:
Those with 20–25 points usually encountered common Animal-type or Paramecia-type fruits, with only a minuscule chance of seeing a Logia.
Those with 26–30 points had roughly a one-third chance of encountering a Logia.
Those with 31–35 points had a fifty percent chance.
And those with above 35 points—were guaranteed to draw a Logia-type Devil Fruit.
In this world, anyone who obtained a Logia-type power and didn't die young was almost guaranteed to become a Tier-7 Sovereign.
And a Tier-7 Sovereign—what did that mean?
The Governor of the Nanjiang Province, where Zhao Xuan lived, was a Tier-7 Sovereign.
Under Nanjiang's jurisdiction were over thirty cities, with a combined population of hundreds of millions.
That was the level of power a Sovereign represented.
Which explained perfectly why both Zhong Jianguo and Li Jiangchang were so utterly shocked.
Zhao Xuan, not hearing any response from his teacher, began to feel uneasy.
Taking off the helmet, he turned toward Zhong Jianguo and asked, "Teacher… how was it?"
Only to see both Zhong Jianguo and Li Jiangchang frozen in place—staring blankly at the screen.
Zhong Jianguo was still in shock, unable to even form words.
Seeing that, Zhao Xuan felt a sudden suspicion rising in his heart.
He quickly turned around—
And saw the glowing number on the screen.
"Thirty-seven!!!"
The moment he saw it, pure exhilaration surged through him.
Zhao Xuan's heart pounded wildly.