On the contrary—
The Demon Space wasn't gloomy at all.
It was bright.
Blue skies, white clouds, warm sunlight.
Even the air was impossibly clean and crisp, carrying a faint sweetness that refreshed the lungs.
It felt… comfortable—
like stepping into the sunlight on a winter afternoon, feeling the warmth seep into your skin until you couldn't help but stretch lazily in contentment.
The Demon Space was vast—like an island floating alone in the void.
But aside from the enormous, sky-covering tree that stood proudly in the center, there was nothing else on the island—just endless fields of soft, green grass.
No other plants. No animals. No wind.
Just silence, light, and that single colossal Demon Tree dominating the world.
After surveying his surroundings curiously for a while, Zhao Xuan began walking toward the tree at the center.
By the time he arrived, there were already five others gathered beneath it.
Like him, they were all eighteen today—qualified by their spiritual power to enter the Demon Space.
They came from different provinces across the nation—each a prospective Devil Fruit user.
"Ah, finally! He's here!"
"That should make six of us, right? The last one has arrived!"
"Finally, we can begin!"
The others visibly relaxed the moment Zhao Xuan appeared, excitement flashing in their eyes.
That was how the rules of the Demon Space worked—
The selection process would only begin once every member of the batch had arrived beneath the Demon Tree.
"Hey there, friend! Greetings! The name's Zhu Qingtian."
A chubby young man with a wide grin waved at Zhao Xuan the moment he approached.
"Nice to meet you, Brother Zhu. I'm Zhao Xuan," he replied politely.
"Zhao Xuan, huh? Excellent name! Very strong-sounding!"
Zhu Qingtian chuckled good-naturedly.
Zhao Xuan's lips twitched slightly. He almost wanted to ask, "What's so good about it?"—
but decided to let it go.
"Brother Zhao, since you came a little later, let me introduce everyone for you!"
Zhu Qingtian was all warmth and enthusiasm as he began gesturing around.
First, he pointed to a muscular young man with glasses standing at the edge.
"This is Qiu Ji from Nanyun Province. Spiritual Power: thirty-six points. Probably the highest among us six!"
Zhao Xuan glanced at the man in surprise.
Qiu Ji straightened his back slightly, pride flickering in his eyes.
Thirty-six points of spiritual power—
That was no small thing.
It practically guaranteed he would obtain a Logia-type Devil Fruit.
"This one here," Zhu continued, pointing to another young man, "is Shen Han from the Chuanshu Province. Spiritual Power: twenty-eight points."
"A pleasure, Brother Zhao," Shen Han nodded politely.
"And this young lady," Zhu said, turning next, "is Jiang Yiran from the Nanhe Province—Spiritual Power: twenty-three points."
"Next, from the Imperial Capital, we have Xiao Yan—Spiritual Power: twenty-one points."
"And lastly, yours truly—Zhu Qingtian, from the Magic City, thirty-one points of spiritual power!"
He introduced them one by one, and Zhao Xuan greeted each person in turn with a small nod.
Then—
"By the way," Zhu Qingtian asked curiously, "Brother Zhao, how much spiritual power do you have?"
Instantly—
Shua shua shua!
All five pairs of eyes turned toward Zhao Xuan.
"Me? Well, I—"
Before he could finish, a brilliant white light descended from the Demon Tree, enveloping Xiao Yan.
Shua shua shua!
Everyone's attention shifted to Xiao Yan at once.
"So it begins already?" Zhao Xuan muttered under his breath, turning to watch.
The light surrounding Xiao Yan shimmered—and then, twenty fruits of various shapes and colors detached from the branches and floated before him.
Twenty choices.
He hesitated only a few seconds before reaching out and choosing one.
Immediately, the remaining fruits vanished, and the one he selected melted into his body, fusing with him completely.
The white light around him faded.
"Brother Xiao, how is it? Which fruit did you get?" Zhu Qingtian asked eagerly.
Xiao Yan's expression was unreadable as he replied flatly:
"Just a basic Zoan-type—Horse-Horse Fruit."
Zhu Qingtian opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, another column of light descended—this time surrounding the only girl, Jiang Yiran.
Her luck wasn't any better; the fruit she obtained was another standard Zoan.
Then the light shifted again—this time to Shen Han, whose twenty-eight points of spiritual power theoretically gave him a one-in-three chance of drawing a Logia.
Unfortunately—
He wasn't that lucky.
Not only did no Logia fruit appear, he even ended up selecting one of the most ordinary Zoan fruits possible.
When the light faded, his face had gone pale.
Next—
Under everyone's gaze, the light enveloped Zhu Qingtian.
He blinked in surprise.
The order of selection went from weakest to strongest spiritual power, so he'd assumed Zhao Xuan's score must've been lower than his.
He hadn't expected this—
Zhao Xuan's turn still hadn't come, which meant his spiritual power must've been higher.
Still, Zhu Qingtian's luck was quite decent.
Although he didn't draw a Logia-type, he obtained a very rare Paramecia Fruit—the Float-Float Fruit.
Judging by his radiant smile, he was more than satisfied.
Then—
Just as everyone turned toward Zhao Xuan, expecting the next light to descend upon him—
It didn't.
Instead, the white light fell on Qiu Ji.
For a brief, stunned moment, everyone—including Qiu Ji himself—froze in disbelief.
Then Zhu Qingtian turned to Zhao Xuan with a complicated smile.
"Brother Zhao… didn't expect you to be the hidden big shot among us."
Zhao Xuan gave a sheepish grin, scratching his cheek without a word.
Within the white glow, five fruits floated down in front of Qiu Ji.
He stared at them—then suddenly, his expression changed.
Eyes wide with excitement, he stepped forward without hesitation and chose the fruit on the far edge.