Chapter 533: Fill the Schedule (6K Requesting Monthly Votes)

Compared to Judai, Wan Wan Zhangmu's deck showed no significant difference from the GX Tournament era.

Although his opponent consisted of two people, Wan Wan Zhangmu won with stunning elegance—admittedly, when it came to resource competition using his disruption system, he wasn't nearly as intimidated; even facing two opponents at once, with superior stamina, technique, and draw ability, he hardly stood a chance of losing to his two brothers.

After securing victory, Wan Wan Zhangmu's two older brothers knelt halfway to the ground; the eldest sighed, "My little brother who held us back—has he finally reached this day?" The second brother muttered under his breath, "Damn it, am I really the last one now, starting today?"

In the original story, the three Wan Wan Zhangmu brothers carried a sense of the "Disruptor Brothers," though not directly mirrored; during his first duel with his eldest brother, Wan Wan Zhangmu first obtained the Disruptor Brothers.

Though the two older brothers usually looked down on Lightning and often called him a bottom-dweller, they were still his real brothers—especially after personally participating in the interdimensional journey and witnessing the true dangers duelists faced in the other dimension, they no longer believed Wan Wan Zhangmu merely exploited his family for fame without real return.

Thus, after losing to Wan Wan Zhangmu, they accepted it gracefully.

After all, Wan Wan Zhangmu's victory didn't mean their "status" was truly gone.

Previously, the eldest brother represented business, the second brother represented politics, and Wan Wan Zhangmu Lightning represented the Duel Monster World; each developed along different paths, and Lightning, serving his elder brother, often participated in commercial tournaments since childhood.

But from now on.

From this day forward, the Wan Wan Zhangmu Group's center of gravity will shift entirely to the "Duel Monster World" represented by Wan Wan Zhangmu Jun, and all group resources will tilt toward this direction.

With the new strategic goal confirmed and Wan Wan Zhangmu Lightning victorious, the next natural step was the "banquet."

After all, Lightning couldn't just win the duel and then truly become a hands-off boss; at least today, he still needed to meet key members of the group and other partners.

Naturally, Tenjo Hikari and the others were free to wander around the "luxurious high-society banquet."

But none of Tenjo Hikari's group had any interest in that, so they simply found the foods they liked and ate, and what excited Judai was that Wan Wan Zhangmu had specifically instructed the chefs to prepare extra tempura and serve it to Judai anytime—he could now feast on fried shrimp here.

Tenjo Hikari wandered aimlessly through the banquet; whenever he spotted something novel, Tierra would have him bring it over to try.

She was usually bored, and having this tasting task made her delightfully eager to sample everything.

Though the group was merely eating and drinking, Serena and Liu Li were even playing mutual feeding games, yet no one bothered them.

On one hand, this place rarely had people who looked down on commoners or picked fights with those just eating; on the other hand, Tenjo Hikari was quite famous—most people here would mention "GX Champion" upon seeing him. Moreover, even Judai or Chui Xue were known duelists, so everyone had seen them before and wouldn't forget.

Thus, everyone felt the banquet went very well.

The only slightly uncomfortable one was Judai—he kept feeling someone occasionally Toukan him while he ate fried shrimp, thinking it might be a fan or someone trying to steal his shrimp, but every time he looked up, the gaze vanished.

It was strange.

But he didn't dwell on it long.

His mood today was excellent.

During the time Tenjo Hikari was in the S Dimension, Judai duelled his other self—the "Overlord"—almost every day.

Though he only dueled once daily, he gradually grew "familiar" with the other.

Of course, saying that wasn't quite right; after interacting, he felt the other and himself might never have been "two" at all.

But it didn't matter—what mattered was that they could talk.

Previously, he had zero interest in the Overlord's words and was furious, refusing to acknowledge him at all.

But after losing so many duels, he had to seriously reflect and think.

After all, he was the one who lost—stubbornly clinging was just embarrassing.

So during duels, he began reflecting and exploring: what were the differences between his thoughts and the other's, between their decks?

First and foremost, without doubt, was "Super Fusion."

Quick-Play Spell Card: Super Fusion. Discard one card from hand to activate. Use one monster on your field and another card on the field as Fusion Materials to Special Summon that monster from the Fusion Deck. You cannot activate the effects of Spell/Trap/Monster cards in response to this card's activation.

Moreover, this card could ignore certain Fusion restrictions, allowing monsters that required specific Fusion Cards to fuse successfully.

Undoubtedly, this card was the greatest gap between him and the Overlord.

Every time he thought he could turn things around, the Overlord's Super Fusion would make him grimace in agony.

Both used Hero decks, both employed Fusion strategies—but the opponent could directly fuse his own Heroes into other monsters, while Judai had to painstakingly eliminate the opponent's monsters; one card from the other solved everything.

The key was that Heroes could fuse with any attribute to produce monsters matching that attribute, giving Judai endless trouble.

But as their relationship gradually softened, he managed to convince the Overlord, before one duel, to refrain from using that card and duel purely with Heroes.

But he never expected…

He still lost.

"It's simple: we use the same deck, the same strategy, the same mindset—even you and I have no essential difference, no real gap. But…"

"You're not pure enough."

Not as pure as me.

Whether relying on instinct, intellect, practicing Heroic deeds, or simply wanting to be passionate—it doesn't matter. Dueling is a pure thing.

To go further on the path of dueling, you must have "conviction," you must be "resolute."

Like your friend, Tenjo Hikari—with his pure Fusion.

"Stop searching your heart. It's better for you," the Overlord finally said.

Then, that day, he was expelled from the mental world; afterward, when he tried using the mirror Tenjo Hikari gave him, he could no longer see the "Overlord" at all.

Perhaps he had grown tired.

Or… he had already said everything he needed to say.

After all, in their final duel—the "Super Fusion–free duel"—the Overlord unusually spoke so much.

Judai thought about it for many days.

Through duels with the Overlord, he obtained many ultra-powerful Hero cards unavailable on the market.

But these cards were actually secondary.

He didn't know what aspect of himself was still "not pure enough" until today, when he teamed up with Guang for a Tag Duel and recalled that earlier duel in the Warrior Realm.

Unconsciously, he had come to feel dueling wasn't that "fun" anymore.

Yet he dueled others precisely because he found dueling fun.

So today, he was very happy and not overly focused; even though someone secretly watched him, he didn't care much.

On the other side, Tierra took a bite of pastry; the person beside Tenjo Hikari watched in horror as the pastry slowly vanished in midair, then rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Tenjo Hikari coughed twice and explained to the man, who then understood.

So it was a "Spirit," then?

Tierra didn't care about this human's intrusion; she had no interest in passing humans and felt no anger—her full attention was on the food, and after each bite, she'd evaluate it; if she found something truly interesting, she'd keep it aside for future boredom.

Though this was a Wan Wan Zhangmu Group banquet, Tierra's evaluations were sharp—most food was merely "edible"; only a tiny fraction earned her approval, with a comment like, "barely comparable to the cup noodles made by Fengguang."

But compared to "Mystic Scientist's original Simple Fusion," it was impossible.

It seems Guang's imitation of Simple Fusion was indeed impressive.

At the banquet's main entrance, a man slowly left the hall.

He was a man in his mid-twenties, dressed in a suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking like a promising young professional.

But…

His "interior" had long been replaced by another presence.

Yu Beier!

The 【Strongest】 Spirit of this world, this era.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it—my Judai, my Judai—the interdimensional god—is too close, too close!"

Though Tierra wasn't focusing, she was always beside Tenjo Hikari, leaving Yu Beier no chance to approach Judai or the others.

Though she'd used her power to conceal her presence, she dared not get any closer—she'd be discovered immediately.

She wasn't fully resurrected, and that interdimensional god was nearly a "living" being.

Alone, her Spirit power was no match for the current Tierra.

Earlier, she watched Judai and Tenjo Hikari's duel in full, enduring over a decade, finally seeing Judai again—she wanted to torture and kill those near him to prove her love, only to watch Judai and Tenjo Hikari win perfectly together.

And then there was that "Beloved Contact," that "Flashfire Winged Human" fusing with "Neo-Spacian" to create "Flash Neo-Spacian"!?

Bastard!

Two bastards!

No—three? More?

In her fury, she couldn't even tell how many Spirits were inside that fused monster.

But it didn't matter!

Yu Beier's teeth clenched.

She'd watched from afar again just now, but dared not approach.

She took a deep breath.

As the strongest Spirit, wisest advisor, most skilled general, Yu Beier was cold, ruthless, intelligent—she knew she must not act impulsively now.

If not for the interdimensional god's distraction, she wouldn't even have been able to glimpse Judai here—she was certain the interdimensional god still "remembered" her, after all, they'd met before at the Critical Point.

She took several deep breaths.

She must accelerate her resurrection process!

After emerging from the Critical Point, she absorbed the life force of "Dark World's War God Silva," then carefully hid, possessing the body of a Duel Academy teacher; using her abilities, she secured a contract with that human, making him supply Duel energy to revive her. Though it was summer vacation, due to the interdimensional development project, she'd regained some strength.

But it wasn't enough.

Far from enough!

Her soul felt torn, writhing, cursing, wailing, screaming—and rejoicing—finally, finally, she saw Judai again!

Is Tenjo Hikari Judai's best friend now?

Good good good good good—

She must make him understand Judai belongs only to her!

She plotted fiercely.

Soon, she devised a series of schemes.

Hmm…

After the summer vacation ends, all branch dueling academies around the world will send representatives to the main academy for exchange and study.

By then—she won't let Judai down! She'll make Judai surprised! Let him feel her love!

Tenjo Hikari sipped an unknown juice, chatting leisurely with the Labyrinth Brothers.

They were hired duelists; anyone who could contact them—among those who could contact them, in fact, was Professor Kuranos.

Yes.

Though unmentioned, Professor Kuranos actually had a good relationship with the two brothers, which was precisely why he could summon them to duel against Judai and Xiang in the academy dorm duel.

After all, these two were "legendary duelists," and they weren't like Insect Yuge or Dinosaur Long Qi, who vanished from public view for a while—they were famous tag duelists, so not just anyone could hire them.

During duels, they were hired duelists; after duels, they still held great affection for Tenjo Hikari, Kuranos's disciple.

"Have you heard of 'Fusion Birth'?" Mi suddenly asked Tenjo Hikari.

"Huh?" Tenjo Hikari paused, then recalled, "Ah, that card—send five cards from your deck to the graveyard; if any of those five are valid fusion materials, you can perform fusion."

Tenjo Hikari remembered—it was Judai's card from the manga.

Mi nodded.

"That's right—and it's your own fault."

"Mine?" Tenjo Hikari asked, puzzled.

The Labyrinth Brothers burst into laughter.

Because Tenjo Hikari rose to fame too quickly, his slogan was too blunt, and he'd even used "Dark Magician," so cards related to him skyrocketed in price.

Especially the "Future Fusion" card, which performed extraordinarily—even absurdly—in the GX Tournament, was hyped to the heavens—both Tenjo Hikari and Kai Sa's use of it were astonishing.

Everyone wasn't stupid; they naturally recognized Future Fusion's value.

Professor Kuranos had planned to help Tenjo Hikari acquire a second Future Fusion, but because of this, the plan died in the womb—completely vanished.

Meanwhile, other fusion cards, especially the most famous and powerful ones, were fiercely contested everywhere.

"Fusion Birth," due to its heavy "cost" of sending the top five cards of the deck to the graveyard, and because the resulting fusion monster wasn't as stable as Future Fusion, hadn't been inflated to high prices—but due to scarcity, none were available on the market.

No way—

There's such a thing?

Of course, more importantly, the production volume of these cards was low. So Tenjo Hikari had never heard of it before.

The Labyrinth Brothers only noticed this card because sending the Demon Lords to the graveyard allowed direct banishment to fuse "Gate Guardian."

"It's said Mr. Pegasus obtained another one after returning from a dimensional journey, but ordinary people probably don't know—don't you have a holographic card he gave you? That's a great opportunity."

"Exactly. As a fusion duelist pursuing ultimate fusion, you'd surely want this card, right?"

"Thank you so much, Senior Brothers!" Tenjo Hikari nearly bowed to them.

He did have contact information for members of International Illusion, two of them—but without the Labyrinth Brothers telling him, he wouldn't have known such a thing existed, let alone thought to contact them.

"Is there anything we can help you with, Senior Brothers?"

"Hahaha—"

"No need for that."

"We greatly admire you as an outstanding junior."

"But… since you mentioned it, we do have an idea."

Tenjo Hikari's eyes lit up: "Please, go ahead."

"We once guarded the gate of Pegasus's labyrinth."

"But that's not the point."

The two exchanged glances and chuckled.

"The point is—"

They spoke in unison: "Mr. Pegasus is also a 【Legendary Duelist】."

Not like us, who fought against Ryo Fujiki or Jounouchi and became "legendary" because of the Duel King legend.

Pegasus, the Father of Duel Monsters, *is* the 【Legend】.

Tenjo Hikari's pupils contracted slightly, then he understood.

So that's it—

"I understand. I'll find a way to challenge Mr. Pegasus."

The two brothers burst into laughter.

A duel, especially one involving their "former boss," was far more interesting to them than money.

Thus, another item was added to Tenjo Hikari's summer schedule.

The good news was, the Labyrinth Brothers were the kind of duelists who could make things happen, so Tenjo Hikari didn't need to worry about "how to get through the gates of International Illusion"—he just needed to contact them when he wanted to challenge.

"Looks like you've got a lot planned this summer," Ye La said casually as Tenjo Hikari sat on the chair, pulling out his phone to note something down after finishing his talk with the Labyrinth Brothers.

Dinosaur Long Qi had mustered the courage to approach Jounouchi to secure this meeting with "Ryo Fujiki"—he absolutely couldn't flake. He had to show up on time.

After all, this wasn't just his matter. From Long Qi's expression, Tenjo Hikari sensed this might be a rare chance for Jounouchi and Long Qi to reconcile. Whether for personal growth or helping a senior, he couldn't miss it—he had to be there.

The Labyrinth Brothers' recommendation likely wasn't spontaneous. Considering they were once Pegasus's subordinates, perhaps Pegasus himself wanted to duel him—or test whether he'd shamed "Dragon Magician's Guardian"—and deliberately sent him this opportunity.

The timing was essentially fixed.

After meeting Old Fujiki, visit other legendary duelists, duel them, then rush to catch a flight to International Illusion…

Before that, Tenjo Hikari had to go to Witchcraft Alley, because according to the witches there, the "Witchcraft Master" would only stay one day if she was being serious—she wouldn't wait for Tenjo Hikari forever.

If he missed her, he'd have to wait an unknown length of time.

And after finishing his Witchcraft Alley journey, Tenjo Hikari…

…had to go to the 【Magician's Realm】.

He had to find Master Professor Dadesi and Summoner Alistair, fulfilling last year's promise.

"Looks like your schedule is packed tight," Ye La said, eating another small cake and frowning as she drew a blue X in the air.

Tenjo Hikari took a deep breath and nodded.

"It's even more than that—I need to assist Professor Kuranos," he continued, "He's been preparing for next year's enrollment due to the Fusion Army issue. He must consider whether next year's student intake will plummet. As champion, I have to help him…"

In fact, days ago, Tenjo Hikari had already met many academy partners, even encountered fans from their families—some girls played "coincidental encounters," unaware Ye La had warned him long ago.

He sighed deeply.

Though it wasted time and drained him, he couldn't truly ignore it.

After all, Professor Kuranos had helped him greatly; in several duels, without Kuranos's cards, he might have lost. He couldn't just enjoy benefits without accepting responsibility.

So he had to help when needed.

But unexpectedly—

Just days after returning to the academy, Kuranos immediately halted all partner invitations and drove away every fan who came to see Tenjo Hikari.

It wasn't a shift in academy strategy.

It was Tenjo Hikari's sudden "explosion"—no, more accurately, fire added to fire!

Because in these two days, Kaiba Corp suddenly released footage of Tenjo Hikari's duel against Ma Chima Chima Lingwang in the S Dimension. Though heavily edited, Tenjo Hikari's victory over Ma Chima Chima Lingwang—and his use of "Pendulum"—ignited passion among nearly everyone who knew.

After all, Tenjo Hikari was already GX champion, and now these two revelations followed.

What did that prove?

It proved Tenjo Hikari's 【Fusion】 was more fused than the Fusion Army's fusion!

It proved Tenjo Hikari, who defeated Ma Chima Chima Lingwang, was a genuine, pure Fusionist!

It proved—Tenjo Hikari's commercial value skyrocketed!

Academy partners, news companies, dueling-related enterprises all rushed into the academy like they'd smelled blood. The academy's airstrip nearly overflowed with private jets; ships from every nation and company filled the island's harbor.

This pushed Professor Kuranos to desperation.

Kuranos wanted the academy to become famous, but too much fame was also a problem—he wanted Tenjo Hikari to rise, but if he became *too* famous, fans and reporters would block his every step. How could he study? How could he duel?

Under these circumstances, Kuranos reversed his previous strategy and told Tenjo Hikari to hide immediately.

Fortunately—

The time had come.

Tenjo Hikari landed in an ancient alley. The sun shone warmly on the ground, not scorching, making him feel pleasantly drowsy.

Around him, countless spirits of all kinds bustled about—magicians, warriors, members of Witchcraft Alley hawking and introducing their latest creations.

Tenjo Hikari stretched.

Finally here!

Witchcraft Alley!

6k6k, Super Fusion Super Fusion, please vote for monthly tickets~

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(End of Chapter)