In the resting area of Qianquegong, the veteran coach sat with furrowed brows, unable to make a decision.
This numbered citizen called 0748 had finished the duel in just three moves, completely unreadable.
The captain and ace, Qing Ji, said, “Let me go.
I’ll crush their momentum.”
“A three-move kill…
probably just a blind cat running into a dead rat.”
The blonde woman beside her chuckled and said, “Underestimating people can get you overturned.”
Her name was Juliette Angelica Margulies, a foreign player from Fanaria, with an extremely high appearance fee.
“His sanity rate hasn’t dropped below 80%.”
“Don’t be fooled by how deranged he looks during the duel.
In truth———”
She gave a faint, alluring smile: “He’s very calm.”
“That three-move kill was intentional.”
“He didn’t want to expose too much of his Deck’s information.
I’m guessing he’s aiming for———-”
“A.
Clean.
Sweep?”
As the girl’s cold voice fell, the atmosphere in the resting area turned sharply tense.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Qing Ji roared.
“A numbered citizen pulling off a clean sweep?!”
She couldn’t even bear the thought.
If that got out, would Qianquegong’s team even have the face to show themselves?
“I’m going in to take him down!”
“Yubel is probably a 0 ATK counter-damage Deck.
I just so happen to counter that.”
“I will win!”
Qing Ji made her victorious declaration.
Juliette chuckled softly, turning her head with a look of mild amusement as her gaze landed on Li Guanqi.
Since the captain and ace had spoken so decisively, the coach no longer hesitated.
He said in a low voice, “Go ahead.”
“Keep calm.”
“There’s no intel on the opponent’s Deck.
They might have tricks up their sleeve.”
“Watch me take him down.” Qing Ji stepped forward with confidence, striding onto the dueling platform.
On the red side, Li Guanqi, growing bored from the wait, took apart his Deck and began checking through it again.
A Deck that could be memorized at a glance made the corner of Li Guanqi’s eye twitch.
<Ultimate Pure Yubel>
A one-hundred-percent pure build, three copies of every card in the archetype.
Yes, including everyone’s “beloved” <Yubel – The Ultimate Nightmare>.
That thing.
Three copies!
Thanks.
Truly, very sad.
The Extra Deck contained only three <Yubel – The Loving Defender Forever>.
No <Phantom of Yubel>, no <Fiendsmith>, no <Unchained>, not even the staple <Knightmare Unicorn> or any Rank 10 Xyz monsters.
“How do you even play Yubel again?”
For a moment, Li Guanqi forgot how the Deck functioned.
So sad.
Just so sad.
Thankfully, the opponent wasn’t all that strong either.
In his view, Yu-Gi-Oh!
had four power tiers:
Axe King, Dragon Rulers, Terrortops, and Tearlaments.
The strength of a Level 4 League was probably somewhere between Axe King and Dragon Rulers.
Card games in this world must have a high cost barrier.
Otherwise, for a major event like this, you’d expect to see tons of <Marincess>, <Zoodiac>, <Orcust>, <Thunder Dragon>, and <Tearlaments>.
The cost of cards was clearly limiting the spread of meta Decks.
[Ding————]
The AI referee’s chime drew everyone’s attention.
[Next player for Qianquegong]
[Qing Ji]
“Woooooh————” The stands instantly erupted.
“Qing Ji has quite the fanbase.” Hong Mi remarked.
“Do your best, only one more win to go!”
Li Guanqi looked up slightly and saw that his opponent had already stepped onto the duel stage.
She wore a tight, form-fitting team uniform that accentuated her graceful figure.
A lifelike snake tattoo curled around her left arm.
Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her gaze was sharp as a blade, an aura both powerful and chilling.
Captain and ace of Qianquegong———– Qing Ji.
During the swap-in period, Qin Dongzhu had passed him intel: this woman ran a <Reptilianne> Deck.
The Extra Deck had Synchros, but no Links.
“Little brother~~” Qing Ji tilted her chin slightly, sending him a teasing look.
“Hope you’ll let Big Sis have her fun.”
“Don’t worry.” Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and raised a mocking smile.
“I’ll absolutely make sure you enjoy yourself to the fullest.”
Qing Ji giggled, “You’re naughty~~”
[Both duelists, please select Pain Level]
The AI referee’s cold prompt cut off their pre-duel flirting.
Qing Ji thought for a moment and said, “Level 6.”
Li Guanqi paused.
She looked flirty but was actually composed.
“Level 6.” he replied.
Neither of them knew the other’s Deck or had any vendetta.
They rationally chose a moderate pain setting.
Pain Levels 5 and 6 were standard in league matches.
Disregarding Ka intensity, it would only cause light injury and wouldn’t affect future matches.
This would be a pure duel.
[Please select first or second turn.]
Facing the prompt, Qing Ji smiled and said, “I’ll go second.”
Li Guanqi’s pupils constricted sharply.
Their eyes clashed in mid-air.
“Duel!” (x2)
[FIRST TURN: RED SIDE]
[DUEL START!]
Click————
Both duel disks loosened at the Deck slot and ejected five starting cards.
“My turn.” Li Guanqi swept over his hand, and his eyes lit up.
A pleasant surprise.
His Deck ran triple <Yubel – The Ultimate Nightmare>, <Geistgrinder Golem>, and over a dozen dead draws.
Yet somehow, for two games in a row, his starting hand had none?
“<Reptilianne>…”
Li Guanqi frowned slightly.
<Reptilianne> had a very obvious trait, many effects target “0 ATK monsters.”
He never imagined that one day, he’d be using <Yubel> and get hard-countered by <Reptilianne>.
A true Yubel Deck would never get countered.
Despite being labeled a <Yubel> Deck, the typical endboard usually featured <Desirae>, <Apollousa>, <Unchained Soul of Rage>, <Phantom of Yubel>, <Varudras>, a mashup of different cards.
But what he had in his hands…
was pure <Yubel>.
After some thought, Li Guanqi picked out a card and slammed it down: “Activate Continuous Spell———— <Mature Chronicle>.”
“Each time a <Yubel> monster or a monster whose name mentions <Yubel> is Special Summoned, place 1 Chronicle Counter on this card.”
“Chronicle Counter?” Qing Ji’s brows furrowed slightly, a cautious gleam in her eyes.
Li Guanqi hadn’t used this card in the previous match.
League rules allowed teams to scan card text for confirmation, but only three times per match.
Two had already been used.
She was saving the final one for checking his endboard.
“Activate Field Spell, <Nightmare Throne>.” Li Guanqi placed another card with practiced ease.
“I destroy <Spirit of Yubel> in the Deck.”
“When <Spirit of Yubel> is destroyed, I Special Summon <Yubel> from the Deck!”
A sinister laugh echoed through the air as <Yubel> floated slowly from the summoning circle, wearing its trademark cold smile.
Chronicle Counters: 0 -> 1
“Normal Summon <Samsara D Lotus>, tribute it to Special Summon <Spirit of Yubel> from the Deck!”
Chronicle Counters: 1 -> 2
“<Spirit of Yubel>’s effect activates upon being Special Summoned.”
“Set <Nightmare Pain> from Deck.”
“Activate Continuous Spell———–” Li Guanqi’s voice suddenly grew dark, “<Nightmare Pain>!”
Vines bristling with green thorns spread in all directions, writhing ominously.
“Counter damage…” Qing Ji’s eyes narrowed to slits.
Wang Gu once took 13,000 in backlash from this, it was a card burned into her memory.
The atmosphere dropped several degrees.
All 40,000 spectators shivered in unison, even Bianyuelong’s own team feeling a chill down their spines.