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

“Although I am just a phantom in your mind, in your memory, Yu Xi, the concept of the Millennium Puzzle is basically bound to me. So when you completed the Millennium Puzzle, I was temporarily manifested by the power of the Millennium Puzzle.”

"I see."

You Xi roughly understood what Wang Yang meant.

That's the gist of it. He believed that the soul of the king resided in the Millennium Puzzle, which was used to provide him with a powerful spiritual support. As a result, the Millennium Puzzle actually materialized into the likeness of a king for him.

"So, does that mean Mr. Atum, you can also possess me to act in the outside world and fight in my place?"

"It is indeed possible, but I don't think it's necessary."

Wang Yang said in a deep and serious voice, "You and Aibo are different. Aibo is gentle and introverted by nature and does not want to have conflicts or fights with others, which is why he needed my help at the beginning. Although you also have a gentle side to your personality, you are not without strength and fighting spirit. Your dueling skills are also excellent, so I don't need to make up for your shortcomings in this aspect."

“You alone can do things that would normally require both Aibo and me to work together.”

"Mr. Atum speaks of me so highly?"

"Your performance along the way has proven this, Youxi. I believe your future will be incredibly bright."

Atum's tone was matter-of-fact, and he showed no lack of appreciation for Youxi.

He then changed the subject.

"However, I don't need to substitute for you. But if you need a sparring partner, Yu Xi, I'd be happy to help. With the Millennium Puzzle around, I can come out and fight you anytime."

"If Mr. Atum is willing, that would be a great help!"

You Xi said with a happy expression.

What could be more exciting for a card player than being able to meet and play cards with his idol every day?

He had been longing for this duel ever since his last one with King Yu, and now he could finally fulfill his wish once again. Furthermore, constantly battling strong opponents would allow his strength to continue to grow, rather than stagnating at his current level.

Upon seeing Amagi Naruto, Yuki realized that it would be difficult for him to defeat the opponent at his current level, and he could not be satisfied with his current achievements.

The arrival of Yugi as a sparring partner was like a godsend, allowing him to further deepen his understanding of the Yugi deck.

but……

"Is this the power of the Millennium Puzzle?"

Yu Xi held his Millennium Puzzle in both hands, and after assembling it, a pendant identical to Atum's appeared on his chest.

"I remember making a wish when I finished assembling the Millennium Puzzle. Will that wish really come true?"

"Of course."

Atum assured, "Don't worry, Yuxi, the Millennium Puzzle can grant your wish. Fate will bring you to the best stage, giving you the possibility of achieving your goal. However, you still need to work hard yourself. Otherwise, when the opportunity comes, you won't be able to seize it."

“I know, Mr. Atum.”

Yu Xi understood Wang Yang's point of view, and he said seriously, "I never thought that as long as I made a wish, I could just wait for a pie to fall from the sky."

"As long as you know it in your heart."

Atem nodded and continued, "Besides, the Millennium Puzzle can offer you more than just that. As the symbol of the king among the Millennium Items, the Millennium Puzzle also represents power. With it, you can directly control any Duel Monster. Use this power to pave your way forward."

"Can I control any Duel Monster? Does that mean with this, I can ignore the requirements and use any card? Even a card like 'Earthbound God'?"

"That's right. Gods and demons alike will become your subjects, offering their power to you."

Atum suddenly smiled mysteriously and said, "By the way, Yuxi, your performance against the powerful enemies on Duel Island was outstanding, and you also won the approval of a certain guy."

"Someone's approval? Mr. Atum, you mean..."

"Of course I mean this."

Following Atum's gaze, Youxi noticed that the second of the three stone slabs engraved on the wall of the main hall was now emitting a faint blue light.

The stone slab is engraved with a giant standing tall between heaven and earth.

A powerful divine aura emanated from the stone slabs, causing all the elves in the temple to retreat back into their own slabs.

After its initial spread, the blue light coalesced again, transforming into a small card that fell into Youxi's hands.

The top row of the card contains a line of text describing this world.

—"Obelisk the Titan".

"I guarantee that this guy's strength will be no less than that of any monster."

Atum concluded with a smile.

Chapter 245 The Star Cup Reopens

time flies.

Just as Kaiba Sojin predicted, the Star Cup was suspended for about a week starting from the Duel Island incident.

During this period, because they needed to recuperate and avoid paparazzi, the trio of Yuuki and Yuuki stayed in their room. Except for the two days when Yuuki needed to concentrate on assembling the Millennium Puzzle, they spent their time playing games or watching TV together. Akabane Ryo, Kaiba Mashiro, and others would occasionally come over to visit, and they lived a rather decadent life for a while.

However, after the investigation and other matters were completed, the D Alliance announced the resumption of the Star Cup, and all the school teams, including the Qingcheng team, were finally able to escape the situation where they were so idle that they felt like their bodies were rusting.

With the announcement of the reopening of the Star Cup, the new competition rules were also distributed to all school teams.

"Ah—so you're not planning to come to Duel City again after all."

After swiping her finger across the phone screen and skimming through the rules, Xing Yewu said with some regret, "What a pity, it's actually quite fun."

"There's no other way; the D Alliance has to consider the feelings of the participants and others. It's reasonable for them to do this, and it's also beneficial for us."

By this time, Izayoi Yuki and Yuki had almost finished reading the new competition rules.

After several days of intense discussion and negotiation, the official policy decided that teams with at least one member who obtained ten puzzle cards in the previous Duel City competition would advance to the next round as a whole. The remaining teams would then compete in a qualifying tournament until 32 teams were selected.

As the team of the "heroes" who thwarted the "Doomsday Bell" conspiracy, the Qingcheng team was automatically included in the top four. The other school teams that participated in the attack on the cultists' stronghold were also counted as officially advancing teams.

The tournament has changed from a single-player qualifying round of 32 to a team-based round of 32, and the rewards and punishments are also quite fair and clear.

Originally, many school teams in Duel City would have been eliminated without any hope of advancing, but now the organizers have given them another chance. Those team members who were already in contention will benefit their entire teams, and those who bravely challenged and assisted Yuki in resolving the incident deserve recognition. Overall, the final outcome has been satisfactory to everyone.

Of course, no one was without dissatisfaction and complaints after this outcome, and reasonable demands received a swift response from the D Alliance. However, excessive greed could lead to unpleasant consequences.

"Then, the top four matches will revert to an individual format."

You Xi pondered, "Each team sends two players, for a total of eight, divided into two groups for a single-elimination tournament. The winner of each group will then compete in the finals... It's still strange. It was all team battles before, but it turned into individual battles in the end."

"Because only in this way can the true strongmen be determined."

The blonde girl lying on the sofa speculated, "In previous team competitions, there were many cases where strong duelists were dragged down by their teammates. The Star Cup is not just for the school, but also to select the strongest duelists among the younger generation. So it will definitely be most effective to switch to singles mode at the end. But let's not talk about that now, let's decide on the players for the semifinals and beyond."

"I think it would be better if Xiaoxi and Xiaoxue participated in the later competitions. I personally have no interest in the later competitions, so I won't join in the fun."

Xingyewu was the first to make the suggestion.

Upon hearing this, Izayoi Yuki frowned slightly and denied it, saying, "No, it would be best if you and Yuki fought. Have you forgotten, Mai? I'm not suited for fighting right now."

Following the events of the Duel Island incident, as one of the most central figures in the incident and even once the vessel for the descent of the evil god, Izayoi Yuki was naturally taken to the hospital for examination.

The examination revealed that the evil god known as "Crimson Lotus" had not been destroyed, but merely defeated and put into a slumber by Yuki. If Izayoi Yuki overuses the power of "Crimson Lotus Demon" during the duel, it is possible that she could awaken Crimson Lotus again.

Izayoi Yuki wasn't naive enough to think she could defeat the strong contenders who had entered the semi-final battleground using only "Black Rose Dragon".

However, after hearing Izayoi Yuki's reasons, Hoshino Mai didn't take them seriously.

"That refers to Xiaoxue's excessive use of the 'Crimson Lotus Demon's' power. Note the word 'excessive.' This doesn't mean you absolutely cannot use the 'Crimson Lotus Demon,' but rather that you must use it within safe limits. In other words, you can use any form of the 'Crimson Lotus Demon' that you can control."

"Uh, isn't this just nitpicking?"

"of course not."

Xingye Wu wagged her finger at Yu Xi and said, "This is a conclusion I reached after rational analysis, Yu Xi. After all, Xiao Xue can't possibly never use 'Crimson Lotus Demon,' right? Doing so would be putting the cart before the horse. To completely eliminate the threat of Crimson Lotus, we need to find a way to get Xiao Xue to fully control the power of 'Crimson Lotus Demon.' And to achieve this, we can't do without duels. And what kind of duel can provide more experience points than a full-force battle against a powerful opponent?"

"Besides, don't you still have Xiaoxi? Didn't you say you gained a strong new power from the Millennium Puzzle? If Xiaoxue goes berserk again, you should be able to suppress her again, right? And unlike on Duel Island, there are many top duelists here. They certainly won't stand by and watch things get out of control."

"That's true..."

Hoshino Ye's "twisted logic" barely convinced Yuki, and the main problem was that it wasn't right for Izayoi Yuki to always carry a landmine around.

"I think as long as we don't directly summon the 'Crimson Nova Dragon,' there shouldn't be any problems. Trying it little by little doesn't seem like a bad idea. Shall we give it a try first, Yuki? If it still doesn't work after we've tried, then we can give up."

"Since you've said that, Youxi..."

Izayoi Yuki sighed.

"Okay, let's give it a try."

Ultimately, she was indeed somewhat unwilling. The "Crimson Dragon" was her most important partner, and even if Crimson said it was a product of His sealing, she simply couldn't give it up.

"Great! Let's hurry to the dueling arena to verify it!"

Xingye Wu jumped up from the sofa and excitedly pulled the boy and the white-haired girl toward the dueling arena built into the Magic Chef Inn.

The results of the verification were quite encouraging. After recovering her health, Izayoi Yuki summoned "Crimson Dragon," "Crimson Demon: Abyss," and "Crimson Demon: Burial" in succession during the duel without showing any signs of losing control. Clearly, as Hoshino Mai said, as long as "True Crimson Nova Dragon" is not summoned, it will not cause excessive stimulation to the sleeping Crimson.

So for Izayoi Yuki, the impact isn't significant. She was never able to summon "True Crimson Nova Dragon" anyway, so she's simply back to her pre-Star Cup state. Plus, she's gained a lot more support cards related to "Crimson Dragon" and the "Resonator" series, so it's fair to say she's actually benefited.

Thus, the roster for the competition was finalized. The selection process was in full swing, and within a few days, the stage for the final four teams to battle it out was reached.

And Yu Xi also met her first opponent.

Chapter 246 VS Wendy, the Emperor's Rampage!

Today is a very nice day, with not a cloud in the sky.

Under the azure sky, the unobstructed sunlight blazed down fiercely, relentlessly pouring out its heat.

However, this enthusiasm couldn't compare to the passion of the crowd.

The Blue-Eyes Dome Duel Arena, another landmark building funded by Kaima Corporation, has its roof, modeled after the head of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, already open, and the place is bustling with noise.

The stadium, which could hold 100,000 people, was packed to capacity, and the air was filled with noisy chatter.

The host, Marie Korsey, had his voice amplified through a loudspeaker.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Blue-Eyes Dome Duel Arena!"

"I'm sure everyone has come here for one purpose: after unexpected twists and turns and several days of fierce battles, the Star Cup has finally arrived. Next up is the quarterfinals of the individual tournament. Who will be the strongest in this year's Star Cup, the brightest star in the sky? Let's wait and see!"

"Well then, without further ado, let's immediately welcome the duelists for the first match of Group A. First up is Wendy Dark, an elite from Star Edge Duel Academy and a genius girl who also made outstanding contributions in the battle against [Doomsday Bell]!"

"And then comes our 'hero,' Izumi Yuuki, who defeated the evil god, commanded the dragons of gods and stardust, and wielded supreme magical power—!!"

"Oooo!!!"