Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

You Xi slowly opened her mouth, about to answer Xing Yewu's question, when a tenor voice rang out first.

The undisguised hostility in the voice pierced this direction, drawing You Xi's attention.

The one who spoke was one of Satomi Sho's underlings, and the other three were staring at him unhappily.

Unbeknownst to them, their confrontation with Izayoi Yukina seemed to have come to an end... no, they were drawn over by his whispered conversation with Hoshino Mai.

"This guy looks a bit unfamiliar."

Satomi Sho narrowed his eyes, sizing up Yuki, and asked Hoshino Mai next to him, "Mai-chan, it seems you two get along well with him? Can I get to know this new friend too?"

"This has nothing to do with you."

Izayoi Yuki stepped forward, blocking Satomi Sho's view.

"If there's nothing else, just get out of here right now."

"How can you say it's unrelated? I'm a member of the Duel Club, after all. It's my duty to care about what's going on in the club, isn't it?"

Ignoring Izayoi Yuki's ruthless order to leave, Satomi Sho tilted his head, using his height advantage to ignore the small obstacle, and looked at Yuki behind him.

"You agree, classmate."

"You're right, we should get to know each other better."

Xingye Wu glanced sideways at the black-haired, black-eyed boy: "You Xi-jun..."

Yuki didn't look at her, but instead strode past the snow of Izayoi and stood alone in front of Satomi Sho.

His height was similar to that of Izayoi Yuki, so when they got close, he was looking down at her while slightly looking up at her.

Their gazes, each carrying its own meaning, met.

"Hello, Satomi-senpai. I'm a new member who just joined the Duel Club today, and also... I'll be a regular member of the Star Cup team with Captain Izayoi and the others. Please forgive me if I've offended you in any way."

Chapter 22 Conflict

"What did you say, a regular player?"

"Izumi-san?"

Like a pebble thrown into a pond, You Xi's words instantly created ripples in the lounge.

Izayoi Yuki and Satomi Sho both looked surprised and were momentarily stunned.

The former was surprised that You Xi would say it so directly, while the latter was surprised that You Xi would give such a self-introduction.

"You little rascal, you've got some nerve!"

The moment of silence was very brief and was quickly broken.

The one who spoke up was one of Satomi Sho's henchmen.

With messy red hair, he watched as a boy who looked like a delinquent cursed and reached out to grab Youxi's chest.

Then, caught off guard, they were met with a counterattack.

Yu Xi grabbed the delinquent's hand without flinching, and as the delinquent uttered a questioning "Huh?", she twisted his hand in a swift motion.

"Aaaaaaah! It hurts so much!!"

Before the delinquents could do anything, Yuki took away their fighting ability.

"Wow~"

Seeing Yu Xi subdue his opponent so decisively, Xing Yewu couldn't help but brighten up and exclaimed, "Yu Xi-kun's skills are quite good."

"Yes, I've learned some skills from my brother. Although it's just the basics, it's enough to protect myself most of the time."

"That's a bit much, classmate."

However, the other person was not very happy to see this situation.

Satomi Sho rebuked Yuki with dissatisfaction, "Riku just wanted to say hello to you, isn't your reaction a bit too much?"

"You call this a greeting?"

Izayoi Yuki questioned, "Who would grab someone's clothes when greeting them normally?"

If Yuki hadn't been faster and taken care of that delinquent named Riku beforehand, she would have stepped in to help.

Now, by using their positions, they have blocked the yellow-haired, unruly boy's path.

If Satomi Sho and his crew want to do anything, they'll have to get past her first.

"So, it's because you're ignorant, Xue-chan."

Faced with Izayoi Yuki's cold questioning, Satomi Sho replied, "That's how Riku and Lake greet each other in their hometown. It looks intimidating, but it's actually a very friendly and polite way of greeting people. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah."

"We just wanted to become good friends with that classmate named Yu Xi, to get to know him better. We didn't mean to do anything strange. You're making a big fuss over nothing, so let go of Riku right now!"

Xingye Wu clapped her hands in sudden realization and said, "Ah, are you guys joking? If you really are, hehe, then it is indeed quite funny."

Satomi Sho's words are clearly nonsense and sophistry; it would be a miracle if anyone believed them.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room became tense due to the red-haired man's impulsive and reckless actions; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that a powder keg could be ignited at any moment.

Surprisingly, it was at this moment that the opponent chose to take a step back first.

"Okay, then I'll apologize."

Satomi Sho spoke up, looking helpless, and said to Yuki, "From what Yuki and the others said earlier, you must be Yuki, right? I'm really sorry, my two younger brothers are from the countryside, they don't think things through and they don't really understand the etiquette of big city people. I hope you can forgive their rudeness and not take it too seriously."

"It's alright, of course I won't stoop to someone like that. After all, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog."

Yuki stared at Satomi Sho's face, still holding onto Riku's arm, and reminded him, "However, I personally don't really like this kind of etiquette. I hope Satomi-kun will keep an eye on them and prevent the same thing from happening again."

"Of course, of course, I promise it won't happen again."

"Well."

Having received Satomi Sho's assurance, Yuki immediately let go of his hand.

The red-haired delinquent grunted, turned around and glared fiercely at Yuki, but ultimately didn't dare to do anything more, and reluctantly returned to Satomi Sho's side.

"Huh? You Xijun, you just let them go like that?"

Xingyewu leaned close to Youxi's ear and asked in a low voice, full of doubt.

"Because this kind of person can't threaten that guy, so controlling him is useless."

You Xi understands this point very clearly.

Satomi Sho could have as many of these worthless lackeys as he wanted. Don't be fooled by his earlier words of support; his true intention was to undermine his own side's morale.

If things are beyond our control, we decide to stop while we're ahead, that's all.

This withdrawal does not mean that the other party is prepared to back down.

"Thank you, You Xi, for being so understanding."

As he took in the close interaction between Hoshino and Yuuki, a dark look crossed Satomi Sho's face.

"But I can't pretend I didn't hear what you said before—Yuki-chan, is what he said true?"

"Don't call me Xuejiang."

Izayoi Yuki once again corrected Satomi Sho's address with disgust and sternness, but still managed to answer directly, "You heard me right, Izumi-san is the third person I chose."

"You really aren't lying to me..."

Satomi Sho carefully observed Yuki again, then raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but Xue-chan, aren't you guys just grasping at straws? You actually chose someone who joined on the first day as a regular member? And someone like that at that."

"What's not allowed?"

This time, it wasn't Izayoi Yuki who made the sharp rebuttal, but the blonde girl next to Yuki: "I think Yuki-kun is pretty okay, anyway, he's way better than someone like you."

"You can't say that. I'm the son of the chairman of the Morning Light Duel Academy. Do you know what that means, Mai-chan?"

Satomi Sho's face once again displayed that frivolous, smug, and annoying smile.

"In terms of seniority and background, I am the senior of the Duel Club. In terms of dueling skills, I am definitely stronger because I have received elite education since childhood. Choosing him instead of me is, I must say, a huge mistake."

"That's it!"

Satomi Sho's henchmen chimed in once again, saying, "Satomi-nii is the most suitable third-choice player. What's so great about that pretty boy? He's not even as good as Satomi-nii!"

However, no one present paid any attention to these two minor characters.

"Is that so, Miss Hoshino?" Yu Xi turned and asked, "Is he very strong?"

"No, no, no, that's not true."

Xingye Wu waved her hands left and right, exposing Satomi Sho's self-praise in less than a second.

"That guy's strength is just so-so. He's only mediocre in the club. He's never beaten me or Xiaoxue in club activities before. I heard he even trained at the Electronic Flow Dojo, but he didn't achieve anything special. He's called an elite, but he's really just a mediocre person."

"In short, she's weaker than Ms. Hoshino and Izayoi, right?"

Even if you're weak, you're still no match for you.

The back-and-forth between Xingye Wu and Youxi, especially the girl's merciless sarcasm, successfully darkened Satomi Sho's face, tearing away the hypocritical facade.

He said, somewhat angrily, "No matter what, I am a true duelist with Feel and a bright future. I am not someone like you, who doesn't even have Feel, to be compared to."

Why does everyone I meet say I have no feeling?

Could it be that this thing, like the ki energy in Dragon Ball, can be sensed by the holder of that power?

"Shall we have a competition?"

As this slightly off-topic thought surfaced in his mind, Yuki simultaneously uttered a familiar statement that Izayoi Yuki had heard just recently.