"Just work hard, and I'll become stronger?"
Zhao Xuan murmured softly, closing his eyes once more.
He steadied his breathing, calmed his thoughts, and entered meditation.
Ten minutes later—
As the bell signaling the end of class rang, Zhao Xuan slowly opened his eyes, withdrawing from his meditative state.
Right then, the system's crisp tone echoed in his mind:
"Ding-dong! You meditated earnestly for a short period and gained some insight.
Spiritual Power +0.01!"
"Not bad," Zhao Xuan smiled.
He wasn't disappointed by the small increase—far from it.
After all—
a 0.01 boost in just ten minutes was already remarkable.
At that rate, an hour would yield +0.06, and a full day—1.44 points of spiritual power.
That… was an explosive growth rate.
If anyone else heard of such progress, their jaws would drop in disbelief.
And even more astonishing—
according to the system, the longer one trained continuously, the greater the rewards.
As soon as class ended,
swish, swish, swish—
Almost the entire class crowded around Zhao Xuan's desk.
Even though they had already guessed from the teachers' and principal's reactions that Zhao Xuan's spiritual power had truly surpassed the standard, they still couldn't believe it without hearing it from him directly.
"Zhao Xuan! Is it true? You really hit thirty-seven points of spiritual power?"
"Did your spiritual power mutate or something?"
"Zhao Xuan! Tell us!"
During the ten-minute break, Zhao Xuan's ears were filled with nonstop questions.
Meanwhile, news of his 37-point test result spread rapidly throughout the entire school.
In no time at all—
The whole of Tongcheng No.1 High School was in an uproar.
By the next morning, even students from Fengming High School across town had heard of it.
No—
not just Fengming.
Half of Tongcheng City was talking about Zhao Xuan.
And that was no surprise.
With 37 spiritual points, Zhao Xuan was virtually guaranteed to obtain a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability.
As stated before, every Logia user, so long as they survived, would eventually reach the rank of a Seventh-Tier Sovereign—a being powerful enough to govern entire regions.
A Sovereign was a territorial-level powerhouse—a living legend.
So it was no wonder that Zhao Xuan's name had shaken the city.
But Zhao Xuan himself paid little attention to the commotion.
His focus was fixed entirely on one thing—
The Heaven Rewards Diligence System.
After two days of continuous training, supported by the ten Spirit-Nurturing Fruits gifted by Principal Jin Xueyang, Zhao Xuan's spiritual power had steadily climbed toward the 40-point threshold.
Early morning.
Before dawn had even broken, Zhao Xuan was already awake.
After washing up and having breakfast, he made his way to the private office that the school had cleared out specifically for his use.
Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes and began his morning meditation.
Time flowed quietly.
Two hours later—
"Ding-dong! You meditated diligently for an extended period and made notable progress.
Spiritual Power +0.2!"
Upon hearing the familiar tone, Zhao Xuan immediately opened his system interface.
[Heaven Rewards Diligence System]
Name: Zhao Xuan
Age: 18
Spirit: 30.08 / 40.17
Constitution: 19.84 / 19.84
Abilities: Shave, Iron Body, Paper Art, Moon Step, Tempest Kick, Finger Gun, Swordsmanship
Long hours of meditation, however, carried side effects.
Extended mental exertion led to fatigue—temporarily weakening spiritual power.
It was unavoidable.
And the Spirit-Nurturing Fruit, while useful, wasn't a high-grade elixir.
Its effects were most potent below 20 spirit points, less so above 30.
That explained why—even with both the system's assistance and the fruits' support—Zhao Xuan still needed two full days to finally surpass 40 spirit points.
"Finally… over forty."
Zhao Xuan exhaled deeply, a faint smile curving on his lips.
"Two hours left until the Demon Realm opens. Perfect timing. I've got one Spirit-Nurturing Fruit left—it should be enough to fully restore my strength."
He casually tossed the jade-green fruit into his mouth, then closed his eyes once more, clearing his thoughts entirely as he let his mind drift into calm restoration.
A short while later—
Homeroom Teacher Zhong Jianguo, Principal Jin Xueyang, and several other school leaders arrived at the office.
Seeing Zhao Xuan in deep meditation, none dared to disturb him.
They quietly stood aside, watching with barely restrained excitement.
Time ticked by.
Then, at exactly noon—
Before their eyes, the air around Zhao Xuan began to ripple like disturbed water.
A heartbeat later—
Crack!
A dimensional rift split open beside him, and in the blink of an eye—
Zhao Xuan was swallowed whole.
"It's starting!"
"He's entered the Demon Realm!"
"I wonder which Logia-type fruit he'll obtain?"
"No matter which one—it'll be extraordinary! There's no such thing as a weak Logia!"
As Zhao Xuan vanished from sight, Zhong Jianguo and the others could no longer contain their excitement.
They exchanged thrilled glances, voices trembling with awe—
Because they knew—
At that very moment, a future Sovereign was being born.
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