"So this… is the legendary Demon Realm?"
Zhao Xuan muttered to himself, eyes full of curiosity as he looked around.
The true appearance of the Demon Realm was far from what he had imagined.
In his mind, such a mysterious place should've been dark and foreboding, perhaps filled with strange fog and eerie whispers.
But in reality—
It was the complete opposite.
The Demon Realm was bright and radiant.
Blue skies. White clouds. Warm sunlight spilled across the land.
Even the air felt crisp and pure, carrying a faint floral freshness.
It was the kind of warmth one felt basking in gentle sunlight on a winter afternoon—
relaxing and soothing to the soul.
It made Zhao Xuan almost want to stretch lazily and take a nap.
The Demon Realm was vast, resembling a floating island suspended in an endless sky.
But aside from a single colossal tree that towered high enough to pierce the heavens, there was nothing else—just an endless green meadow stretching to the horizon.
No other plants. No rivers. No creatures.
Just silence and sunlight.
After observing for a while, Zhao Xuan finally began walking toward the enormous Demon Tree in the center.
When he arrived, he found five others already gathered beneath it.
Like him, they were all eighteen years old—newly recognized adults whose spiritual power had met the standard required to enter this place.
Each of them hailed from different provinces across the Divine Nation.
"Ah, there he is—the last one finally arrived!"
"Now the whole batch is here!"
"Good! We can finally start!"
The five looked visibly excited as Zhao Xuan approached.
This was how it worked:
the selection of Devil Fruits could only begin after all participants from the same batch had arrived.
"Hey, brother! Nice to meet you! The name's Zhu Qingtian!"
The moment Zhao Xuan stood under the tree, a chubby man greeted him warmly with a broad smile.
"Hello, Brother Zhu. I'm Zhao Xuan."
"Zhao Xuan? Good name! Excellent name!" Zhu Qingtian said, grinning from ear to ear.
Zhao Xuan's lips twitched slightly. He almost wanted to ask what's so good about it, but decided against it and smiled politely instead.
"Brother Zhao, since you arrived last, let me give you a quick rundown of everyone here!" Zhu Qingtian continued enthusiastically.
He first pointed to a muscular man wearing glasses, whose body looked as if it had been sculpted from stone.
"This here is Qiu Ji, from Nanyun Province—spiritual power 36 points. Most likely the strongest among us!"
Zhao Xuan couldn't help but glance at him in mild surprise.
Qiu Ji's lips curled slightly into a proud smirk.
Thirty-six points—
that meant he was practically guaranteed to receive a Logia-type Devil Fruit.
Next, Zhu pointed to a slender young man.
"This is Shen Han, from Sichuan Province—spiritual power 28 points."
Shen Han nodded politely. "Nice to meet you, Brother Zhao."
Zhu continued his introductions one by one.
"This lady is Jiang Yiran from Nanhe Province—spiritual power 23 points."
"This guy here is Xiao Yan from the Imperial Capital—spiritual power 21 points."
"And lastly, me—Zhu Qingtian, from the Magic City. Spiritual power 31 points."
He finished his enthusiastic introductions, and Zhao Xuan greeted each of them in turn.
Then Zhu Qingtian, still smiling, asked curiously,
"Brother Zhao, what about your spiritual power?"
The moment he asked—
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Xuan.
"Oh, me? I—"
Before Zhao Xuan could finish his sentence, a beam of white light descended from the Demon Tree, enveloping Xiao Yan.
Instantly, everyone's attention shifted toward him.
"So it's starting already…" Zhao Xuan thought to himself, turning his gaze toward the spectacle.
Under the white light, twenty fruits of various colors and shapes floated down from the branches, circling in front of Xiao Yan.
He hesitated for only a few seconds before reaching toward one.
The moment he chose, the rest of the fruits vanished instantly, and the one he picked merged into his body, disappearing in a flash.
As the light faded, Zhu Qingtian quickly asked,
"So, Brother Xiao—what fruit did you get?"
Expression calm, Xiao Yan replied,
"Just a basic Zoan-type. The Horse-Horse Fruit."
Zhu was about to respond when the white light struck again—
this time upon Jiang Yiran, the only girl among them.
Her luck wasn't great either—she also ended up with a Zoan-type fruit.
Next came Shen Han's turn.
With a spiritual power of 28, he theoretically had a one-in-three chance of drawing a Logia fruit.
But fate had other plans.
He too drew a common Zoan fruit—perhaps the unluckiest pick imaginable.
His face turned pale as the realization hit.
Then the white light fell upon Zhu Qingtian.
He blinked in surprise—he had expected Zhao Xuan to go before him, assuming Zhao's spiritual power was lower.
Clearly, that wasn't the case.
Still, Zhu's fortune wasn't bad—
though he didn't get a Logia fruit, he obtained a rare Paramecia: Float-Float Fruit.
His face lit up with satisfaction.
Finally, everyone turned their gaze to Zhao Xuan—
but to everyone's shock, the next light descended not on him—
but on Qiu Ji.
For a brief moment, all six of them froze, stunned.
Even Qiu Ji looked bewildered—before a smug grin crept onto his face.
"Brother Zhao," Zhu Qingtian chuckled awkwardly, "looks like you were hiding your true power all along!"
Zhao Xuan only gave a small, sheepish smile.
Under the glow of the light, five fruits floated before Qiu Ji.
Then, suddenly, his eyes widened in delight.
Without hesitation, he reached for one at the edge.
As the light faded, he turned proudly toward Zhao Xuan and announced—
"Logia-type — Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
The others gasped in unison.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
One of the most powerful Devil Fruits in existence.
Envy and awe filled everyone's faces as Qiu Ji stood there basking in their admiration, his grin widening with smug satisfaction.
Zhao Xuan immediately understood the look in his eyes—
the man was showing off.
"How childish," Zhao Xuan thought with a faint smirk.
Then—
The world went silent again.
The Demon Tree shimmered once more—
And this time—
the white light descended upon Zhao Xuan.
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