Forge a path to success.

Chapter 304 Enjoying It (7)

"This is impossible!" The stubborn demon finally lost control of his emotions. "Only martial artists of level 3 or higher can use the 'One Qi Through a Thousand Autumns' technique. This secret technique exists in reality—"

"Unfortunately, in reality, there are martial artists with a particle level of 1 who can control the Qi of a thousand autumns~" Ji Huaisu added with a smile.

The tenacious demon stubbornly retorted: "Even so, it's impossible to reach 13 times!!"

“Little thing, you’re really ignorant. It’s actually possible.” Vande said calmly. “I told you these country bumpkins don’t understand what Dragon Township Martial Arts Cultivation is.”

The stubborn demon's expression was as if it had swallowed a fly, but its ghostly senses confirmed what it had said. That "One Qi Through a Thousand Autumns" technique achieved its altered effect through the infusion of experience within the rules. This meant…

That person really learned the One Qi Through the Ages during the first stage of the materialization process.

That man really did unleash a power burst of up to 13 times the normal amount!

The moment this realization dawned on the tenacious demon, it finally understood the kind of opponent it was playing against. Panic gripped it, its hand trembling as it held the cards. This was a true duel of darkness; if it were to be hit by that 19500-point attack…!
"Don't even think about it!" the tenacious demon roared, losing his composure. "I activate my strategic spell, Demonic Possession! It will take one of the opponent's Fighter cards—"

“Invalid,” Chu Hengkong said.

The colorless aura instantly pierced the overlay card, shattering the stubborn demon's spell. It was utterly dumbfounded: "How is this possible?!"

Vande pulled out the Leopard-Gazing Tube early and read out the card effect of One Qi Through the Ages: "...When the opponent does not have a fighter with higher attack power on the field, fighter cards that use this card to increase attack power will not be affected by the effects of other cards."

"The duel among Ascended Ones is a duel of 'strength.' Without the support of 'strength,' even the strongest mechanisms and effects are meaningless." Chu Hengkong pointed with one finger, "Chenjun Swordsman attacks the Dreamer. Heavenly Spear!"

Swordsman Chen Jun tossed his longsword into the air and unleashed a punch as sharp as a spear. The lightning-fast strike pierced the arena, shattering both the demon card and the warrior who controlled it!

“Ua ...

The tenacious demon's life points instantly dropped to zero. Its form blurred and dissipated in the wind of willpower, transforming into a card bearing a demon's image. That card automatically returned to Chu Hengkong's hand.

“You can announce it now,” the assassin said, looking at Gutaf. “Announcing my victory!”

Gutaf's fat face turned ashen, and he unconsciously plucked out a whisker.

"...The first duel is over." He said reluctantly, "The victor is Chu Hengkong of Huilong City!"

Instantly, thunderous applause erupted from the arena! The general audience, witnessing an attack power thirteen times stronger than before, spontaneously rose to their feet, clapping with awe and excitement! "Amazing!" "The Dragon Village Martial Artist is too strong!" "I need to learn the Dragon Village Fist Technique!!" "Demon decks are simply no good!"

Gutaf's supporters screamed in protest. "This isn't what we wanted to see!" "This is awful!" "I spent 400 Green Branches on the Demon Card!" "Are you idiots?!" "CMN, give us our money back!"

Before just one duel, the crowd was overwhelmingly in favor of the demon's supporters. But now the situation has completely reversed, because those engrossed in entertainment have no concept of "stance." They chase victory, a sense of superiority, and uniqueness—the pleasure derived from entertainment, embellished with various words. This fragile pleasure can be easily reversed with just one win or loss, something Gutaff himself knows all too well.

Gutafgaba crushed the microphone in his hand, but the Demon of Indulgence remained calm. It picked up the microphone, ready to regain control with a rap. But then the spotlight shifted from the two demons to the gray rabbit and dragon dolls that had somehow appeared on stage.

Mr. Grey sang in an extremely irritating tone: "The capitalists over there are really angry. Their henchmen are beating people up too stupidly."

His calculated card manipulation was no match for the martial arts master's spirit. He wanted to go on stage himself, but dared not face the murderous aura directly!

Mr. Lan chuckled and replied, "Why not leave now? Otherwise you'll end up as a card."

Know that the world is ever-changing. If you lack ability, get out of the world of fame and fortune!

The two small animals hopped aside, and the spotlight shone directly on Chu Hengkong's head. He leisurely arranged his deck and chuckled, "What, scared to play?"

"What a sharp-tongued martial arts cultivator! Then we'll personally be your opponents!"

Gutaf leaped into the arena, his heavy weight causing it to tilt slightly. At the same time, the Demon of Obsession jumped to his side.

"The format has changed! There will be no third round; this round will decide the winner. The second match will be a two-player duel!" Gutaf grinned maliciously. "Furthermore, when someone's life points reach 0, they will turn into a card!"

Knowing that the martial arts practitioner was stronger, they planned to rely on the demons' cooperation to overpower him—this was blatant cheating. However, this competition was organized by the demons, and they could change the rules at any time.

"It's become a two-person duel," Kanin said excitedly. "Who's going to step up this time?"

Ji Huaisu had already jumped out of the audience and stood on the stage next to Chu Hengkong.

"It's rare for the two of us to perform together, partners."

"I've already learned this game. You haven't forgotten how to fight demons, have you?" Chu Hengkong raised an eyebrow.

"You laughed. But you should be careful not to crash again."

"Don't cry after you get turned into a card."

Ji Huaisu slapped him: "I'll say the same to you!" The two duelists chatted and laughed, completely disregarding the demons. Gutaf's face grew even more grim. "Laugh now while you can, you'll be crying later." The four duelists faced each other, their decks simultaneously inserted into the duel disk. "Duel!"

The final match of the underground duel begins!
"I'll go first!" Gutaf declared, seizing the initiative with his booming voice. "I activate Demon Sacrifice, sending a Demon card to the Graveyard and Special Summoning a Demon Fighter from my hand. I send Bottle Man to the Graveyard and Special Summon Contractor. At the same time, I activate Bottle Man's effect to Special Summon it."

"Bottleholder and Contractor can both be Special Summoned by sending three cards to the Graveyard, so I'll send six..." Gutaff sent six cards to the Graveyard without even looking, including four Fighters and two Spell Cards. "Then I'll send the two Entertainment Demons - Mutants and two Entertainment Demons - Lost Ones sent to the Graveyard, along with Bottleholder and Contractor on the field, into my Deck for a three-stage Upgrade Summon!"

Three summoning circles appeared simultaneously in Gutaf's arena... and then, three high-level demon warriors emerged from the circles!

The first one is a mermaid in a blue leather coat. Level 4, attack power 3200 points, a daydreamer summoned by the tenacious demon.

The second one is a scantily clad blue-haired man. Level 5, Attack Power 3700, Entertainment Demon - Madman.

And a terrifying behemoth whose head has completely transformed into a soft-bodied creature. Level 6, Attack Power 4000, Entertainment Demon - Mad Fusionist!
"When Mutants are used as upgrade materials, they can be used as two cards," Gutaff sneered. "You don't have any cards on the field, so you don't need to use the effect of the Addict to flick your hand... But I can kindly introduce the effects of the other two cards to you. The Madmaniac can prevent all its warriors from being destroyed by battle when there are two different high-level demon warriors on the field. And the Madmaniac Fusion, under the same conditions, can grant all its demon cards the ability to negate and destroy the activation of the opponent's warrior effects or spell effects once per turn!"

Gulibo's expression turned serious: "Oh no, it's Kangbo!"

Vande also asked solemnly, "What is Kangbo?"

"It refers to cards that can negate and destroy the effects of 'Fighter's Effects/Spell Cards'," Mr. Gray explained. "For example, in the last match, Detective Chu made a comeback by using the effect of 'One Thousand Autumns'. But if the Tenacious Demon has a counter-attack card on the field, it can negate and destroy the activation of 'One Thousand Autumns'... leaving him with no way to counterattack."

"Damn, they came at us with three Kang right off the bat!"

“Generally speaking, there are relatively strict conditions for the appearance of Kang, or a corresponding price to pay,” Gulibo said angrily. “An opening move that can easily produce three Kang is completely unbalanced. Using such cards in a duel is too despicable!”

Gutaf patted his belly triumphantly, but the spell wasn't over yet. He activated a new spell: "And then this one, Called by the Deep! I declare a card and banish it from my opponent's hand and deck if possible. And what I declare, of course, is, A Thousand Years of Qi!"

A phantom longsword spun around in the arena, pointing at Chu Hengkong. Then… three cards vanished from Chu Hengkong's hand!

Gutaf broke out in a sweat on the spot, and even the Demon of Indulgence couldn't hold back: "You... you got three copies of One Qi A Thousand Autumns right from the start?!"

"I always start with this in a fight," the assassin shook his head regretfully. "What a pity..."

How on earth is he planning to draw three of these in the first round? What method is he going to use to reduce his health to below 500 at the start? Seriously, he's not really planning to put three copies of "One Qi Forever" on a single fighter card, is he?!
A chilling aura ran through all the onlookers, including the two demon duelists. Gutaff took a deep breath and played three face-down cards in quick succession.

"Cover three cards, end turn."

"Calm down." The Demon of Addiction cast a steady gaze. "No matter what, we have the advantage in experience and cards."

"Ah, I know," Gutaf scratched his head anxiously. "It's just that I'm annoyed. Annoyed!"

It has ample reason to be anxious. The demon cards, the "no war" shield established by exploiting the rules of the Fifth Order, and the blatant provocations in the lower city are all bait to lure Fifth Order Captain Harley Roa into a trap.

The intelligence gathering was thorough; Halillow was the strongest duelist. Even if the other captains of the Divine Guard came, they would be utterly unable to win the duel without her personal intervention. And as long as Halillow participated in the duel, the plan would be a success. However, the carefully prepared stage encountered an unexpected obstacle: the very people of Dragon City who had fallen into the trap…

Damn ambition. He glared at ambition with resentment, while ambition elegantly raised its glass in insistence. The demon of indulgence was now directed at Ji Huaisu.

"According to the order of standing, you're next."

Of course, they wouldn't let that troublesome martial arts practitioner from Longxiang attack first. They would eliminate their hand during Ji Huaisu's turn, then launch a full-scale attack in the next turn, securing victory without giving Chu Hengkong a chance to make a move!
"Hehe, I didn't expect to be here first~"

...But why does this woman look so happy even though she was clearly tricked?

Ji Huaisu happily drew a card, grinning mischievously, "Your setup is quite organized, but unfortunately your combat strength is still a bit weak. Let me give you a powerful card!"

She slowly turned the card around. It had the gold border typical of legendary cards, and depicted a round, plump seal. Its level was 5, and its attack power was… 0!

"What?" Gutaf exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be...!"

"This card can be Upgraded and Summoned on your opponent's field using your fighters as materials." Ji Huaisu slammed down the card. "Upgrade and Summon using your three Demon Fighters as materials. Come forth, Legendary Fighter - Fat Seal!"

"No no no no no no no no no no no—!"

Gutaff cried out in terror, but it was too late to stop it. His Conan ability could prevent the effects from activating, but it couldn't stop his own fighter from being used as summoning material!

A huge shadow loomed over the dueling arena as an enormous seal descended from the sky and crashed onto its ground, instantly flattening the three powerful demon warriors into three paper-thin sheets!
"The chubby seal will deal 1000 damage to you every round~" Ji Huaisu snapped his fingers, "Go, Seal Strike!"

The seal shop owner, now magnified almost ten times, turned around with a goofy grin and let out a powerful burp.

"Mum~"

The screams of two demons echoed through the arena: "Don't come any closer!!!"

Entertainment Demon's HP: 4000 - 1000 = 3000
The Demon's health points: 4000 - 1000 = 3000
(End of this chapter)