Tongcheng First High School School.
Inside the office—
The room was utterly silent.
Zhong Jianguo, Jin Xueyang, and the others waited anxiously for Zhao Xuan's return.
Tick, tick, tick.
Time passed, second by second.
Suddenly—
A mysterious wave of energy spread out before their eyes.
The air rippled.
A rift tore open in space.
Before everyone's watchful gaze, Zhao Xuan emerged from the crack, his face glowing with excitement.
Seeing Zhao Xuan's joyful expression, Zhong Jianguo and the others exchanged glances—and their faces lit up with elation.
"Zhao—!!!"
Jin Xueyang stepped forward with a grin, just about to speak—
when his voice abruptly cut off.
His eyes widened.
His face froze in disbelief.
"Th-this… this… this is!!!"
He stared fixedly at Zhao Xuan's slightly darkened right fist, shock and astonishment written all over his face.
"Armament… Haki!?"
"How is that possible!?"
"Armament Haki is an ability that can only awaken once your physique surpasses 100 points!"
Everyone gasped in disbelief.
The next moment—
Zhao Xuan saw his homeroom teacher, Zhong Jianguo, and Principal Jin Xueyang, along with several other school administrators, all rubbing their eyes before looking again.
"We're not seeing things!!!"
"What in the world is going on!?"
Jin Xueyang and the others were utterly dumbfounded.
They stood frozen for a long while before finally snapping out of it.
"Zhao… Zhao Xuan… Student Zhao Xuan! What on earth happened in the Demon Space?"
The usually composed principal of Tongcheng First High School, Jin Xueyang, was now stammering—
a clear sign of just how much the scene had shaken him.
"Principal, here's what happened."
Zhao Xuan didn't hide the fact that he hadn't chosen a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability.
After all—
the truth would come out sooner or later.
He honestly recounted everything that had taken place inside the Demon Space.
"So that's how it was…"
After hearing Zhao Xuan's explanation, Jin Xueyang and the others finally understood.
But their expressions grew somber.
The office once again fell silent.
After a long while, Jin Xueyang sighed.
"Zhao Xuan, you really were too impulsive this time."
He shook his head and continued,
"You probably haven't met a Logia-type ability user before, so you don't understand how powerful they are. Logia Devil Fruits have a broken ability called elementalization—once they turn into their element, they can completely ignore all physical attacks…"
He paused, then sighed again.
"Forget it. It's too late to talk about that now. Besides, your choice—the Zoan-type Fish-Fish Fruit—doesn't seem bad at all. It even pushed your physique past the 100 mark and awakened Armament Haki. That's quite the blessing in disguise!"
"Zhao Xuan, for the next few days, don't dwell on this matter anymore. What's done is done. Even if you didn't get a Logia ability and lost your chance at an elite school recommendation, with your current physique and Armament Haki, you can still get into a top university through the Martial Exam!"
"Xiao Zhong, take Zhao Xuan back to class. There are only a few days left before the College Entrance Exam—you can't waste any time!"
"Yes, Principal."
And with that, Zhao Xuan followed Zhong Jianguo out of the office.
On the way back to the classroom, seeing that Zhao Xuan was silent the whole time, Zhong Jianguo feared he might be depressed over not choosing a Logia fruit. He finally spoke up:
"Zhao Xuan, don't overthink it. The principal's right—you might not have become a Logia user, but awakening Haki ahead of time is still a huge advantage. You can focus on developing your Haki from here on."
"If you specialize in Haki, it'll actually complement your Zoan-type fruit perfectly!"
"After all, most Zoan fruits greatly enhance the user's physical strength."
"Nowadays, about one-third of all Haki masters are Zoan-type ability users."
Hearing his teacher's comforting words, Zhao Xuan felt a warmth rise in his heart.
He smiled.
"Don't worry, Mr. Zhong. I'm fine—really. I don't regret my choice. I may have gotten a Zoan fruit, but I don't think it's any weaker than a Logia."
"That's good, that's good. As long as you think that way."
Zhong Jianguo finally let out a sigh of relief.
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