Chapter 124
By the time the finals arrived, the duel arena was surrounded by even more spectators eager for the show.
“That Wan Zhangmu is facing You Xuan, both are this year’s most talked-about newcomers.”
“Haven’t you heard? This is a personal grudge match—they’ve fought before.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Before enrollment, at the Yuehua Cup. Wan Zhangmu got knocked out in the quarterfinals.”
“.”
At that moment, the senior girl sat on the high spectator stand and analyzed: “But during my time observing him since joining the Duel Club, Wan Zhangmu has changed a great deal from how he was at first.”
Her companion asked curiously: “How exactly?”
“From his deck to his tactics, there are many aspects I can’t even describe properly—it’s a complete transformation. But how much stronger he’s become, I can’t say for sure.”
“Still, since this is a grudge match, Wan Zhangmu must really not want to lose, right?”
As the senior girl spoke, a look of anticipation appeared on her face.
“Let’s see how this duel unfolds.”
At this moment, both duelists had arrived at the finals arena.
“Thanks to you, after last match I had a rough time facing my two older brothers,” Wan Zhangmu said grimly. “But this time will be different.”
“Funny—I thought the same. Today is nothing like last time.”
You Xuan smiled and laid out his duel disk.
Wan Zhangmu snorted: “Your calmness ends here. Since enrollment, I’ve undergone a transformation. Let me show you—my elite among elites duel style, beyond my former self!”
“Duel!” x2
【You Xuan, LP 4000】
【Wan Zhangmu, LP 4000】
“I’ll take the first turn. Draw!” Wan Zhangmu said. “Activate the spell card ‘Sealed Treasure’! Draw two cards. But during this turn, I cannot activate any other spell cards or set any cards face-down.” (Anime card)
He added the drawn cards to his hand, then drew another card from it.
“I summon ‘Dorudora’ in defense position!”
【Dorudora, DEF 1200】
“End of my turn.”
You Xuan: “My turn. Draw.”
He revealed two cards in his hand at once.
“The effect of ‘Mechanical Army: Fortress’ in my hand. This card can be special summoned from hand or graveyard by discarding machine-type monsters whose levels total eight or higher.”
“I discard ‘Mechanical Army: Fortress’ itself (level seven) and the machine-type ‘V-Jet Tiger’ (level four) to the graveyard.”
“Forged in endless war—a fortress unbreakable—”
“—Mechanical Army: Fortress, summon!”
Heavy treads crushed the field; massive cannon barrels locked onto their target as the heavy fortress loomed before You Xuan.
【Mechanical Army: Fortress, ATK 2500】
Wan Zhangmu frowned: “So your deck is a mechanical alliance?”
At this moment, Wan Zhangmu had no idea that the ‘V-Jet Tiger’ he’d just seen discarded was, in a sense, a card he himself had once held.
In a way, it was a cross-temporal NTR.
“‘Mechanical Army: Fortress,’ attack ‘Dorudora!’”
The mechanical army’s cannon fired; golden energy crackled with lightning. The dragon’s body was pierced and exploded into fragments.
You Xuan: “I’ll set two cards face-down. End of my turn.”
“At the end phase, ‘Dorudora’s’ effect activates!” Wan Zhangmu said. “When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon it with ATK and DEF both set to 1000. But this effect can only be used once per duel!”
"At this moment of the End Phase, the effect of 'Dorudora' activates!" Wanzhangmu said. "When this card is destroyed and sent from the field to the graveyard, it can be special summoned during the End Phase with its ATK and DEF both set to 1000."
This was a beloved “last words” monster in early real-card environments. It triggered its effect whether destroyed by battle or effect, making it hard to fully remove. And since its revival activated only at end phase, it was even harder to disrupt.
You Xuan studied the revived Dorudora on Wan Zhangmu’s field.
Another dragon. So he’s truly aligning with the manga version of Wan Zhangmu?
The manga's Wan Zhangmu was the true second male lead—far superior to the anime’s comic-relief version. Ever since obtaining his exclusive spirit, “Dragon of Light and Darkness,” even Jaden couldn’t defeat him. Even the final boss battle ended with Jaden and Wan Zhangmu teaming up 2-on-1, giving the second lead his rightful spotlight.
If he evolves toward that direction, it would be good for Wan Zhangmu.
In the manga, Wanzhangmu was the true second male lead—far superior to the comic-relief version in the anime. Ever since he obtained his exclusive spirit, “Dragon of Light and Darkness,” Jūdai could no longer defeat him in the manga. Even in the final boss battle, it was Jūdai and Wanzhangmu teaming up against a single opponent, granting Wanzhangmu full recognition as the second male lead.
Wan Zhangmu drew.
“First, quick-play spell ‘Windstorm’—destroy your left-side face-down card!”
A storm swept up a face-down card; black lightning struck, shattering the trap card.
A “Bottomless Trap Hole.”
You Xuan wasn’t surprised—only shrugged. After all, he was dueling him; Wan Zhangmu’s deck being full of wind effects wasn’t surprising.
“Next, activate spell card ‘Hand Destruction’! Both players discard all cards in hand, then draw the same number from their decks.”
You Xuan and Wan Zhangmu discarded and drew new hands as instructed.
“Then, activate spell card ‘Discount Shopping’! Discard an eight-star monster from hand, then draw two cards!” Wan Zhangmu said. “Discard ‘Tyrant Dragon’ (level eight) from hand.”
He sent a monster card from hand to the graveyard.
"Then I activate the spell card 'Discount Shopping'! Discard an 8-star monster from your hand, then draw two cards!" Wanzhangmu said. "I discard the Level 8 'Tyrant Dragon' from my hand."
He pulled hard, the motion stirring invisible winds that lifted the hem of his blue uniform like a cloak.
Catching sight of one of the drawn cards, Wan Zhangmu smirked.
He drew his card with force, stirring an invisible whirlwind that lifted the cloak-like hem of his blue uniform.
Wan Zhangmu declared.
“Since meeting you again in this academy, every day I’ve thought of nothing but that moment at the Yuehua Cup. Countless nights I’ve lain awake because of it.”
You Xuan feigned surprise: “You think about me every night?”
A vein throbbed on Wan Zhangmu’s forehead—he nearly exploded, but immediately suppressed his rage.
No, this was his usual trick. Losing composure was minor; losing the duel’s momentum was fatal. He wouldn’t fall for it.
“Today is the day I cross this threshold and move forward. Watch—my newly gained, ultimate power will utterly crush you and bury my shameful past!”
“The effect of ‘Hardshell Dragon’ in my hand! I can send one monster of level eight or higher from hand to the graveyard to special summon this card!”
“I send ‘Alien Universe Dragon’ (level eight) from hand to the graveyard, and special summon ‘Hardshell Dragon!’”
The effect of 'Hardshell Dragon' in my hand! This card allows me to send one monster of Level 8 or higher from my hand to the graveyard, then special summon this card from my hand!
You Xuan: “You’ve got quite a few high-level cards.”
But he recognized this card.
Hardshell Dragon: any monster summoned using it as tribute cannot be destroyed by card effects. In early Yu-Gi-Oh!, this provided strong protection for upper-level monsters—many common removal spells and traps failed against it, making it a formidable defense in its time.
Of course, in modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, even monsters with “immune to all effects” often struggle to hold their ground.
Clearly, Wan Zhangmu had put serious thought into counterplay. His deck wasn’t just full of wind effects—his monster effects all carried various forms of counter-resistance.
Wan Zhangmu raised a card in his hand; in that instant, dark currents seemed to coil and surge around his arms.
“Watch—this is my newly gained, ultimate power!”
“Sacrifice ‘Dorudora’ and ‘Hardshell Dragon’ on the field!”
“Endless darkness, final dragon—use your dark power to cleave all things, and bring victory to my hands—”
“—Dark End Dragon, summon!!!”
A towering vortex of darkness, as if darkness itself had taken physical form! Every scale shimmered with a cold, chilling light, as if condensed from the essence of night, forming an unbreakable black armor.
【Dark End Dragon, ATK 2600】
A towering vortex of darkness, as if the very essence of darkness had taken tangible, terrifying form! Every scale shimmered with a cold, You light, as if condensed from the essence of night, forming an unbreakable armor of pitch black.
He had to admit—he was slightly startled seeing it.
His first thought: Why can he use a Synchro monster?
Then he remembered—ah, right, Dark End Dragon was originally an effect monster in the source material.
In the GX manga, “Radiant End Dragon” and “Dark End Dragon” were like two masks of Wan Zhangmu’s Wangpai , “Dragon of Light and Darkness,” representing light and dark respectively—both were his cards, both level-eight upper monsters.
But in real-card form, they were retconned into Synchro monsters; You Xuan had almost forgotten.
“This is the embodiment of my current power—Dark End Dragon!”
Wan Zhangmu’s cloak billowed in the wind as he stood with arms crossed before Dark End Dragon.
“Today, I will break through this barrier and move forward!”
Wanzhangmu’s hem fluttered in the wind as he stood with arms crossed before the Dark End Dragon.
"Today, I will break through this barrier and move forward!"
After eighteen years in the Witcher world, David never imagined that even with abundant resources, he remained a waste, unable to activate his Frost Wolf bloodline.
Just as he married and planned to have children, his system suddenly awakened: he could grow stronger simply by constantly communicating with his wife.
Only then did David realize he’d never found the correct way to train.
PS: No grinding, mainstream farming and domination, with benefits
Only at this moment did David realize he had simply never found the correct way to begin his cultivation.
(End of Chapter)
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