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

"Yu Xi! Yu Xi! Yu Xi!"

"Yu Xi! Yu Xi! Yu Xi!"

As the host spoke, a tsunami-like roar of cheers erupted in unison, almost overwhelming everyone.

"Isn't this too exaggerated?"

Even with plenty of experience and mental preparation, Yuki was still startled when she came up from the elevator at the bottom of the dueling arena.

"It's alright, after all, you thwarted the evil god's plot to resurrect. The D Alliance and the Seahorse Company will definitely do everything they can to make you a living advertisement, and everyone likes stories of young heroes."

Wendy, on the other side, wasn't surprised at all.

As always, she had a lollipop in her mouth as a snack, and said slowly to You Xi, "I watched your duel video afterwards, and I have to say it was really exciting. A knight who was not afraid of death to save the princess, I wouldn't dislike that either. Besides, you look great, it would be strange if you weren't popular."

"Stop talking, stop talking."

Even though it was indeed something she had done, hearing an acquaintance say it still made Yu Xi feel embarrassed.

Especially considering that the conversations taking place in this duel arena will be broadcast by countless cameras.

He quickly interrupted the conversation: "Enough of the small talk, Wendy, let's start the duel now."

The school teams that made it to the top four were mostly familiar faces to Youxi. Apart from Qingcheng, they were Xingfeng and Fenghuo, which was to be expected given their past records. The last team to reach the top four was Bingyang, which had been defeated once by the alliance of Qingcheng and Xingfeng.

To be honest, Youxi didn't expect to run into Wendy in the first match, but it's good, ever since they teamed up, he's wanted to have a proper match with Wendy.

"They're really in a hurry."

Seeing Youxi urging her, Wendy shrugged but did not refuse.

But before that, she looked curiously at You Xi's chest: "Speaking of which, what is that?"

A triangular ornament hung from Youxi's chest, secured to the boy's neck by a chain threaded through a ring at the top. An eye-shaped pattern was engraved on the front. It shimmered and sparkled in the bright sunlight, radiating a mysterious glow.

Wendy remembered that when they met on Duel Island, Yuki didn't have this on him.

"Oh, you mean the Millennium Puzzle? It's a gift I recently received."

You Xi held the Millennium Puzzle in her palm and chuckled softly, "For me, it's quite meaningful in every way."

"Oh, I see. I thought you were just trying to look cool, a belated episode of your teenage angst." Wendy nodded knowingly. "But are you sure it's okay? That thing looks pretty heavy. Aren't you afraid of getting cervical spondylosis and stunting your growth by wearing it around your neck like that?"

"Uh, that kind of thing won't happen."

The green-haired girl pinpointed the crux of the problem, and Yu Xi explained with a wry smile, "As long as the pressure can be shared with Feel, this weight is not a problem."

"I see."

With her curiosity satisfied, Wendy finally stopped rambling and instead placed her deck into the Duel Disk, saying, "Let's begin the duel, Yuuki. We can't keep the audience waiting too long."

"It should have been done a long time ago."

Yu Xi was speechless and instinctively activated her own Duel Disk.

"Duel!" x2

【Yu Xi LP: 8000】

Wendy LP: 8000

"It's my side that's attacking first."

The moment the duel declaration was uttered, a panel displaying the Life Points appeared above both players' heads. The light on the Duel Disk illuminated on Wendy's side, signifying that she had gained the first turn.

Wendy, who had drawn 5 cards from her deck, glanced at them briefly before inserting one card into the Spell & Trap slot.

"Activate the Spell Card: 'Pantheon Emperor', discard 1 'Emperor' Spell/Trap Card, draw 2 cards from your Deck. Then banish 'Pantheon' from your Graveyard and use its ② effect. Reveal 3 'Emperor' Spell/Trap Cards in your Deck, and your opponent adds 1 of them to your hand."

As Wendy spoke and moved, three emerald green cards appeared in front of the girl. But it made no difference which card Yuuki chose, because they were all exactly the same.

"Right in the middle."

"Then I will add the Spell Card 'The Emperor's Deep Grudge' to my hand and activate it. By revealing a monster in my hand with 2800 ATK and 1000 DEF, I will search my Deck for 'The Emperor's Rockbreaker'. Then I will discard 1 card from my hand to Special Summon 'Belinis, the Fiery Emperor's retainer' from my hand."

"Belinis, retainer of Emperor Yan, Level 3/Fire/Fire" "ATK: 800/DEF: 1000"

The card was snapped down, and right in the center of the rising flames, a warrior in crimson armor appeared, controlling the flames.

Beside it, the Trap Card glowed.

"Then, banish 'The Emperor's Deep Resentment' from the Graveyard, and Special Summon 'The Emperor of True Essence' as a monster from the Graveyard. Then activate the Continuous Spell Cards 'The Emperor's Rockbreaker' and 'The Talisman of the Underworld,' Tribute 'The Flame Emperor's Retainers' and 'The Emperor of True Essence' to Tribute Summon 'Explosive Flame Emperor Testaros'!"

"Explosive Flame Emperor Testaros, Level 8 / Flame / Flame" "ATK: 2800 / DEF: 1000"

Flames even more intense than those when the "Emperor Yan's retainers" appeared rose up, weaving the flames into a cloak, and a three-meter-tall giant stood up behind Wendy.

Its armor is similar to that of the "Yan Emperor's retainers," but it possesses far greater majesty and power.

"If a Superior Summon is successful, the effects of C1 'Exploding Flame Emperor', C2 'Treasure of the Underworld', C3 'Emperor's Rock Splitter', and C4 'Flame Emperor's Retainer' will activate."

Holding up four fingers, Wendy bent her pinky towards Yuki and said, "When 'Emperor's Retainer' is used as a Tribute Summon and sent to the Graveyard, you can examine your opponent's hand and banish 1 card from it until the end of the turn. Then there's the effect of 'Emperor's Rockbreaker.'"

【The Emperor's Rock Splitting (Perpetual Magic)】

①: As long as this card is in the Spell & Trap Zone, you cannot Special Summon monsters from your Extra Deck. ②: When you successfully Tribute Summon a monster face-up, you can activate 1 of the following effects.

● Add 1 monster with 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF, different from the name of that monster, from your Deck to your hand.

● Add 1 monster with 2800 ATK and 1000 DEF (different from the monster in question) from your Deck to your hand.

"I added 'Ether the Celestial Emperor' to my hand, and because I used two monsters to Tribute Summon it, I drew 2 cards from the effect of 'Fragment of the Underworld'. Finally, I used the effect of 'Testaros the Explosive Flame Emperor' to check my opponent's hand and discard one of them."

With four chains in one go, Wendy's opening move was incredibly aggressive, and she started with an extremely vicious hand-cutting tactic.

The flames erupting from the "Blazing Emperor's" palm flew towards Yuki, entangling his hand card and revealing all its contents.

"The Magician's Wand", "The Treasure Card from Heaven", "The Sealed Golden Chest", "Two Sides of the Same Thread", "Ace Straight".

"That's a really strong hand."

Wendy pointed to the card that posed the greatest threat.

"Temporarily banish 'Ace Straight,' then discard 'Heavenly Treasure Card.' After that, because a Fire-attribute monster was used as a tribute, inflict 1000 damage on you, Yuuki."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rising flames devoured the strongest extraction card in Youxi's hand, and also burned his palm.

His maximum health points suddenly dropped to 7000.

"Now you can't immediately replenish your hand with 'Heavenly Descent,' Yuuki. I'll set two more cards, end of turn."

"My turn, draw a card!"

As the flames subsided, Yuki, now with four cards in her hand, drew cards from her deck.

His hand was completely exposed right from the start, which was quite disadvantageous, but he wasn't without a solution.

"I activate the Spell Card: 'Sealed Golden Chest'!"

A box engraved with the Eye of Horus materialized in front of Yuxi, opened its lid, and swallowed a card that Yuxi had specially chosen.

"Based on this card's effect, banish 'Dark Knight' from my deck and return it to my hand during the second Standby Phase. Then, if 'Dark Knight' is banished, add 1 Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand. I choose 'Chaos Illusion Magician' and immediately activate its effect."

"Add 'Magician's Twin Souls' from your Deck to your hand, then return 1 card from your hand to the top of your Deck. Activate the effect of 'Magician's Twin Souls,' sending 'Dark Magician' from your Deck to the Graveyard, and Special Summon this card from your hand. Then Normal Summon 'Magician's Wand,' using its effect to search for 'Magician's Rescue' in your Deck. Activate the Field Spell: 'Magician's Rescue,' and Set 'Eternal Soul' from your Deck to the back row."

In the blink of an eye, Yu Xi had also laid out 4 cards on the field.

2 forwards, 2 defenders.

In terms of team strength, it is far inferior to Wendy. But Yuxi did not intend to compare with Wendy; the important thing is the ability to extract "Dual Souls".

Since the card information has been leaked, it is easy to make the information outdated by simply speeding up the filtering process. And with the power of "dual souls", it is not difficult to do this.

However, the moment "Eternal Soul" was placed under Yuki's feet, Wendy also moved.

"Trying to draw cards? That's a naive approach, Yuuki. Activate the effect of 'Emperor Ether'!"

Wendy reveals the "Emperor" she retrieved in the previous round and places it on her Duel Disk.

Suddenly, the light of day descended.

"Ban 1 'Emperor' Spell/Trap Card from your Graveyard, then Tribute Summon this card during your opponent's Main Phase. Furthermore, a Level 8 'Emperor' can Tribute only 1 Tribute Summoned monster. Tribute 'Blazing Emperor', come forth, 'Emperor of Heaven'!"

"Emperor Aether, Level 8/Light/Angel" "ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000"

The "Blazing Emperor" was enveloped in pure white light, which transformed into countless particles of light that reconstructed a massive throne. The silver-white empress sat upon the throne, proclaiming her royal will to the world.

"The effect of 'Emperor's Rockbreaker' searches for 'Thunder Emperor Zaborgh.' Then, if 'Emperor Aether' is successfully Tribute Summoned, its effect activates: Send 2 'Emperor' Spell/Trap Cards from your Deck to the Graveyard, and Special Summon 1 monster from your Deck with 2400 or 2800 ATK and 1000 DEF."

"Should we summon 'Light Emperor Chris'?"

You Xi guessed.

"Heavenly Emperor," with its fast speed and ability to summon and pull monsters, is a perfect match for "Light Emperor." The latter is a rare "Emperor" who can exert its power even without a Triple Summon. Moreover, it can destroy up to two cards upon entering the field.

Even if you Special Summon "Light Emperor", Yuki can still get at least one more card into her hand, so it's not too bad.

"No, there are better options than the 'Emperor of Light'."

Wendy calmly refuted Yu Xi's speculation. A soft moonlight, guided by "Heavenly Emperor," burst forth from her deck, accompanied by a gentle dragon's roar.

"—Special Summon 'Moonlight Dragon Seregrel'!"

"Selegrell the Moon Dragon, Level 6/Light/Dragon" "ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000"

"Dazzling Moon Dragon" is not an "Emperor" card, but with its offensive and defensive capabilities, it is undoubtedly a card from the "Emperor" family.

Upon its appearance, "Dazzling Moon Dragon" lightly flapped its wings, casting a beam of light towards Yu Xi.

"The effect of 'Moonlight Dragon' has activated!"

[During your or your opponent's Main Phase, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls with an ATK equal to or less than this card's ATK. This card returns to its owner's hand, and the targeted monster gains control of that monster until the End Phase.]

"Targeting 'Magician's Twin Souls' with 0 attack, 'Moon Dragon' returns to the hand, gaining control of 'Twin Souls'."