Chapter 217: You Regret My School

In the principal's office, watching the duel end, Cronos excitedly leapt onto the desk, stomped on it, and danced a bizarre dance, punching the air nonstop, utterly ecstatic.

"Good!!!!!!"

"No wonder it's Tenjo!"

"Amazing!"

"Super mama mia! Hahaha!"

Only when he realized where he was and what he was doing did he quickly cough twice, jump down from the desk, hide one hand behind his back, feigning a master, then sneakily use his left hand to tidy the desk.

But at this moment, Napoleon Headmaster wouldn't scold him or remind him to mind his manners, because Napoleon Headmaster himself sat slumped in his chair, pale and dazed, looking profoundly disappointed.

As the duel ended, the virtual image slowly faded. Tenjo Hikari gathered his cards from the deck, tucked them away, rubbed them slightly, used the duel disk's auto-organize function to sort his deck, then pulled out the deck and automatically retracted the duel disk.

Then he extended both hands, waved to the students on either side, and smiled in thanks.

"So awesome, Master!!" Serena flashed a bright smile, enthusiastically waving back at Tenjo Hikari, "You fought so powerfully!"

She had only ever watched recorded broadcasts or live streams before; though she'd been excited watching Tenjo Hikari's duels then, it wasn't the same as being there in person.

Now, in the Duel Academy dueling arena, sitting in the front row, watching the physical monster projections collide, seeing the towering rock Fallen Angel attack his opponent—this surge of Rexue truly made her want to find someone right then and there to duel and release this passion!

So cool!

Fusion!

Several older siblings watched her fiery enthusiasm and smiled gently.

At first, Serena showed almost no emotional fluctuation—she didn't seem like a normal girl at all. Perhaps it was truly because Professor Professor Chi Ma had raised her to be heartless; back then, they thought Serena was hard to approach.

But Serena took dueling very seriously and had a good attitude, so everyone liked her. As they spent more time together, they realized she simply lacked common sense, not emotion—and thus became even more willing to help her.

Precisely because of her, they could somewhat understand Marufuji Ryo's feelings toward helping juniors.

On the other side, after finishing his duel and bowing, Tenjo Hikari turned directly away. On that side, Loxx, who had just knelt half-fallen from defeat, finally snapped back to awareness. He stood up, trying to stop Tenjo Hikari again: "Wait—wait, Tenjo Hikari, I have something to say!"

Tenjo Hikari paused his steps and glanced back at him.

"You're indeed very strong, but this world, this universe—no, countless worlds—have beings stronger than you. If you can't..."

Yet, while he was still speaking, Tenjo Hikari had already completely ignored him, walking straight ahead toward the resting area.

He still had to wait for Professor Cronos.

Over there, Loxx kept talking, finally realizing Tenjo Hikari had utterly disregarded him. He let go of his last hope, staring blankly as Tenjo Hikari left.

His words during the duel weren't lies. Tenjo Hikari never sought to gain students' trust by showcasing powerful fusion strength.

He simply came to duel.

The greatest contempt in the world isn't words or glances—it's two words.

Silence.

Tenjo Hikari had already shown him, through action, that he had zero interest in his theories!

Could there really be someone so pure in this world?

Just... simply fond of fusion...?

Tenjo Hikari reached the resting area, rubbing his head. Beside him, Ye La—who during normal duels rarely spoke, always lost in admiring her creations and marveling at how artistic a god she was—finally found the mood to chat with Tenjo Hikari about something else: "Tenjo Hikari, that human just now—based on my perception—he genuinely believed what he said and truly wanted to help you become the Academy Emperor."

"In other words, though he's under Professor Chi Ma's command, his intentions aren't aligned with Professor Chi Ma's."

She tilted her head, one hand resting on her chin, telling Tenjo Hikari this.

Tenjo Hikari nodded.

To her, Loxx seemed abstract.

But to Tenjo Hikari...

What's that got to do with anything?

He's just a slightly eccentric teacher.

In the original story, such teachers were common throughout Duel Academy.

Duel Academy has always been full of talent.

In the original story, nearly every teacher had their own specialty.

Things like the curry weirdo or the poison-nurse doctor were still within "normal range." Cronos, though a good teacher, was also a true noble in every sense.

Beyond that, the official head of the academy, Principal Principal Jiaodao, wasn't just a Duel Academy teacher—he was also the master of the "Digital Stream," the world's leading authority and head of the entire Digital Stream school.

And these were just the openly known teachers.

Master Professor Dadesi, a seemingly frail, timid cat lover, was secretly the world's strongest alchemist—capable of creating artificial life and manufacturing the Philosopher's Stone. Beyond him, Duel Academy's main campus and branches were filled with teachers possessing extraordinary skills. For example, the Cobra Professor at the academy's western branch could make the nearly complete-form Judai dizzy with duels; his immune-to-all special victory monster was legendary among legends.

If you count the manga universe, Duel Academy's bizarre teachers multiplied even further.

Perhaps for this reason, even a professor like Professor Chi Ma Professor Chi Ma Ling Wang—who seemed obviously abnormal at a glance—could work as a teacher at Duel Academy without raising eyebrows.

After all, Duel Academy didn't lack even one teacher with a messed-up head.

Meanwhile, as Tenjo Hikari waited...

The principal's office door slammed open. Napoleon Headmaster flung it violently shut, then shouted inside: "You'll regret this, Cronos!"

"I'm the principal, Napoleon Headmaster!" Professor Cronos puffed out his chest, straightened his suit, looking utterly refreshed—completely free of the tension he'd shown earlier under Napoleon Headmaster's pressure.

"Acting principal!" Napoleon Headmaster retorted irritably.

But at this moment, even Professor Cronos, who despised the word "temporary," paid it no mind.

The loser's rage sounded to him like the most beautiful music~

Napoleon Headmaster snorted again, noticed Tenjo Hikari, quickly adjusted his expression, and smiled at him: "Student Tenjo, your duel performance was outstanding. You will be promoted to Blue Academy."

"Thank you, Napoleon Headmaster."

Napoleon Headmaster had no complaints about Tenjo Hikari. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he shot one last furious glare at Professor Cronos, then left.

Cronos watched him depart like a beaten dog, chuckling for a long time. Then, noticing the time, he quickly coughed twice and said: "Student Tenjo, your performance was truly exceptional! No wonder you're the academy's glory!"

"You flatter me, Professor," Tenjo Hikari replied, following Cronos into the principal's office. He asked curiously, "Did you call me for something else?"

He'd expected to just go about his business after the duel, but Cronos had something else to discuss with him.

Chapter One, skimmed through the Sage's new card. Really good, really good. Not even mentioning Ale's lower-tier cards—still as fusion-friendly as ever, even usable as Ale's fusion material. This new Sorayya card not only has a counter, but its fusion materials are Sage + extra monster. Another excellent super-fusion product. More importantly, it lacks the self-restriction "this card cannot be used as fusion material." Really good, really good.

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(End of Chapter)