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

Sister Martha smiled and responded to the children who gathered around her. It was clear that she was also happy for Yu Xi's victory. She then suggested, "It's such a rare occasion today, how about we celebrate tonight? I can ask Father Anderson for permission, and I'm sure he will agree."

"Great!"

"Thank you, Aunt Martha!"

"Great! We'll have something delicious tonight!"

Mother Martha's suggestion drew another round of cheers from the children. First, Yu Xi won the duel, and then there would be a big meal that night. These two joys combined made them even happier.

Amidst the noise, only one boy, who was wearing a hat and was older, did not join in.

He simply leaned against the wall, watching the spirited You Xi on television, a hint of longing in his eyes: "So strong, You Xi is really strong. One day, I will stand on that kind of stage and receive the highest glory!"

The boy secretly made up his mind; at this moment, he had a brand new goal he wanted to achieve.

……

"Waaah... I, I actually lost..."

The defeat of "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" and the loss of its LP to 0 were still etched in Mashiro Kaiba's eyes, leaving her unable to recover for a long time, or rather, unwilling to accept this fact.

But we can't refuse to accept it; the fact is the fact because it is independent of human will.

No matter how unwilling the bunny-eared loli may be, there is only one outcome to this duel.

Just like the countless battles with Yuki in DL, even though I had the upper hand many times, Yuki always managed to turn the tables in the end.

At this point, the host and referee, Maré Kossi, also spoke up.

"It's over! After several rounds of fierce battle, the winner of the Star Cup Grand Final has finally been decided! I hereby declare that the champion of this year's Star Cup is Izumi Yuuki, a first-year student from the Kiyosumi Duel Academy in Morning Light City!!!"

Maré Koch's voice was exceptionally excited, and he couldn't help but be excited.

Don't forget, this victory was achieved by Kiyosumi Duel Academy, represented by Yuki.

In the past, the Star Cup championship was basically dominated by Star Peak, so You Xi's victory at this time can be said to have broken this monopoly.

This marks a new chapter in the history of the Star Cup, symbolizing a fresh start.

Most of the people who came here didn't expect this outcome. Although when Yuuki stood against Kaiba Mashiro and fought her, they hadn't ruled out the possibility of Yuuki ultimately winning, but Hoshino's past record was truly too brilliant.

When the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and the Dragon God stood side by side, they thought Yu Xi was really beyond saving.

Who would have thought that such a trump card was hidden in the end...

After a moment of deathly silence, a boiling tsunami ensued.

"Yu Xi! Yu Xi! Yu Xi!"

From all directions, apart from the support group of Xingfeng School, even Xingfeng's card game fans couldn't help but shout out the champion's name in unison.

Bathed in this tsunami, two figures suddenly rushed out of the clear team rest room and ran towards the dueling arena.

"Xiao Xi—!"

"dance……"

Having just led the "Dark Paladin" to victory, Yu Xi, whose senses and physical strength were greatly depleted due to continuous summoning of gods and fierce duels, turned around to find a fragrant breeze wafting towards him, followed by a soft embrace.

The mountain peaks pressed against his chest, and golden hair brushed against his ear, making his heart itch. The girl's cheerful voice rang out from the closest distance.

"That's great! I knew you could do it, Xiaoxi! Congratulations, Xiaoxi! Now you're the strongest duelist of the younger generation!"

"It's too early to say he's the strongest. After all, there are always people better than you, like Amagi Naruto. It's inappropriate to call him the strongest before we've defeated him."

Izayoi Yuki, a step behind, corrected Hoshino Mai's slip of the tongue, a faint smile playing on her lips: "Well done, Yuuki. Thank you for helping me fulfill my long-held dream."

From a very long time ago, Izayoi Yuki had hoped to win the Star Cup, not only for her father, but also for the honor of being a duelist.

However, she also understood that relying solely on herself and the resources of Kiyosumi Academy, it might be difficult to achieve this goal even in three years.

However, everything changed after she met Youxi.

I wouldn't say all of them, but at least her fate was completely changed because of it.

She will never forget the day she met You Xi; everything they experienced together from that day on will be forever etched in her memory.

"No, you're wrong about that, Xue."

Upon hearing Izayoi Yuki's words, Yuki, who was still holding Hoshino Mai, shook her head and said earnestly, "This is not just your dream, it's the dream of all of us. I'm just the one ultimately responsible for making this dream come true. Success is inseparable from everyone's efforts."

"Wow, Xiao Xi, you're getting better and better at talking now."

Xing Yewu chuckled, releasing You Xi's neck with both hands, her pretty face flushed with a captivating blush.

She took a few steps back to calm her excited emotions, and smiled at You Xi, saying, "Well then, Xiao Xi, you must have had a lot of fun, right? Like Xiao Xue said, enjoy this duel."

"of course."

Yu Xi nodded, then turned to the "neglected" bunny-eared loli: "Sorry, Makoto. But it was a really exciting duel, let's play cards together again next time."

"Hmph! I have to admit you're stronger now, but just you wait, Yuki, I definitely won't lose to you next time!"

After making those harsh remarks, probably realizing that staying there would only make things awkward, Kaiba Mashiro jumped off the dueling arena and headed towards the Star Peak rest area.

Watching the bunny-eared loli's petite figure hurriedly leave, Xingye Wu tilted her head: "Little Zhenbai looks so disappointed. Will she cry later? If so, Xiaoxi, you have to go and comfort her."

"Oh, me?"

"Not really."

Yuki pointed to herself, while Izayoi Yuki shook her head and said, "Don't underestimate Kaiba Mashiro just because she's a child. She has a very strong personality, so don't worry about her. More importantly, let's respond to the cheers of the crowd now."

The cheers of the crowd, huh?

Yuki looked up, and the roar of the audience still hadn't stopped. With the appearance of Hoshinobu and Izayoi Yuki, and the guidance of Kiyosumi's support group, the shouts for Yuki gradually changed—

"Qingcheng! Qingcheng! Qingcheng!"

From today onwards, Yu Xi and Qingcheng Academy may become a new legend.

……

"Well, to be honest, it was a really bad loss, really bad."

The cheers outside were deafening, and could be faintly heard even in well-soundproofed rooms.

Seeing her teammates return in a disheveled state after their defeat, Wendy reached into her bag and pulled out a White Rabbit candy, handing it to the bunny-eared girl.

"Hey, want some candy? Let's use sweets to soothe our sadness. Sugar is very effective at relieving bad moods."

"Hmm, Wendy, all you do is eat all day long?"

While complaining about Wendy, Mashiro Kaiba obediently grabbed a candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

Feeling the sweetness spreading in his mouth, Kaiba Mashiro's complexion improved somewhat, but he still complained, "Seriously, you guys are too calm! I lost the duel!"

I thought I would see Wendy and Saki looking sad and resentful when I returned, and that I would even have to cheer them up. However, they were both calm and didn't need my help at all.

"no way."

Saki shrugged and revealed the truth behind the situation, causing Kaiba Mashiro's eyes to widen: "After all, you've never beaten Mr. Yuuki, so this result isn't surprising. We've just gotten used to it."

"That's right."

Wendy nodded: "Although I was too embarrassed to tell you before, after officially fighting Yuki, I felt that you probably couldn't beat Mashiro either. Now it has been proven that my premonition was right, so there's nothing to be surprised about."

"Wow! You guys are going too far!"

Losing to Yuuki was hard to accept, but what Kaiba Mashiro found even harder to accept was this incident.

It turns out that neither of his two teammates, who had fought alongside him to get here, had expected him to win the duel. This was incredibly discouraging.

Having long forgotten her resentment at losing to Yuki, what now fills the bunny-eared loli's heart is a simple dissatisfaction and anger towards Saki and Wendy, she's just short of punching them with her little pink fists.

But before that, the door on the other side of the lounge was opened again.

A gentle voice came from outside the door.

"You all seem to be in a good mood."

"Eh?"

The girls looked up at the sound and saw a handsome young man walking in, followed by their leader, Amagi Naruto.

It goes without saying who this person is who, given Amagi Naruto's status, would willingly follow behind.

"Sir Ao Ren."

"Brother! You've come!"

Saki, who was a maid, immediately bowed to the newcomer, while Mashiro Kaiba's eyes lit up and her face was full of joy.

"How did you come?"

"Of course I'm here to comfort my lovely little sister, but it seems I don't need to do that."

Kaiba Soujin caught Kaiba Mashiro as she was being held, and said with a light laugh.

"Well, you saw my duel just now, right?"

Kaiba Mashiro belatedly came to her senses and lowered her head, saying, "I'm so sorry, brother, I've disappointed you. I made you witness such a duel."

As she spoke, Mashiro the seahorse reached out her little hand to the back of her slender white neck, grabbed something, and pulled it up.

A photo album with cards attached by a thin string immediately popped out from her collar.

Kaiba Mashiro took the card album and handed it back to Kaiba Aoto: "You even lent me the amulet, but it's still like this."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Just like Yuki said, it was a great duel. Regardless of who wins or loses, I haven't seen a duelist as talented as Yuki in a long time."

Kaiba Sojin took the card album, opened it, and found the thousand-year-old jewelry, which had been transformed into cards, lying inside.

He closed the photo album again and put it away, then said to Kaiba Mashiro, "Losing the duel might not be a bad thing. As the saying goes, shame is the mother of courage. Xingfeng has been in a dominant position for too long. It's good to have a worthy opponent once in a while. As long as we work harder in the future, we can win back everything we've lost now."

Amagi Meito: "Did you hear that?!"

"Yes Yes!"

As the team leader and coach, even a simple sentence from Amagi Naruto brings a different kind of pressure to the girls.

Wendy and Saki, who were originally somewhat lazy, and even Mashiro Kaiba, couldn't help but straighten their backs and tremble under Amagi Naruto's gaze.

"Next year, we won't lose to Youxi and the others again!"

"It's not that we can't, it's that we absolutely must win."

Tiancheng Mingdou said, "Since Xingfeng's honor has been ruined by you, then you must take it back yourself. This situation must never be repeated next time."