Chapter 127: Someone

Wan Zhangmu sat slumped on the ground, disheveled and unsteady, eyes vacant, expression blank.

Lost again.

He had prepared thoroughly, gained new power, and even felt confident before coming today.

But in outcome, it seemed no different from before.

If losing to him at the Moonlight Cup could be excused as underestimation or bad luck, this time he had no excuse left even for himself.

You Xuan, standing across the arena as he packed away his dueling board, still looked utterly casual to Wan Zhangmu’s eyes. Throughout the entire match, he had sensed no sharp fighting spirit, not even a trace of tension.

It stirred in Wan Zhangmu’s heart once more the feeling that he was just a nobody.

His fist clenched involuntarily again.

“.”

“Congratulations, You Xuan, on winning this year’s Newcomer Cup,” the senior sister smiled as she stepped forward to congratulate him. “As this year’s departmental Newcomer of the Year, is there anything you’d like to say to everyone in the department?”

You Xuan thought for a moment, then said casually: “I’m not good with words. So… I hope we can all keep dueling happily in the future.”

At these words, the students who had previously faced him instantly shuddered, as if triggering an instinctive stress response.

Somehow, the new members of the department had already reached a consensus.

This guy’s duels were fun to watch—but not for themselves. The joy of dueling clearly required someone else’s suffering.

Actually, You Xuan had wanted to offer a few words of comfort to Wan Zhangmu after the match; Wan Zhangmu’s performance had felt decent enough, but afterward he looked like he was about to shut himself down completely.

But by the time he turned around, the crowd had vanished.

So You Xuan let the idea go.

I hope Wan Zhangmu is okay.

Beating Wan Zhangmu with VWXYZ felt oddly surreal—like the villain had just committed a crime, and the victim was still clueless and bewildered.

But judging by the current trajectory, he sensed Wan Zhangmu’s evolution had only just begun.

This duel featured the Radiant End Dragon and the Dark End Dragon, but not the famed Panda Dragon—the one nicknamed by card players for its half-black, half-white design.

In the original story, the Panda Dragon also had a spirit, and a powerful one at that—Wan Zhangmu’s ace.

Of course, in the anime timeline, Wan Zhangmu’s signature spirits were the Disturbance Trio, instantly turning the tone absurd.

Wan Zhangmu’s first encounter with Disturbance Yellow occurred after he suffered a crushing blow and decided to leave the Dueling Academy. He was shipwrecked at sea, and then the principal of the academy’s northern branch gave him the card “Disturbance Yellow.”

Now, though the worldline has changed and the path is different, Wan Zhangmu still seems to be heading toward self-isolation. His current state makes it plausible he might soon vanish from the academy entirely.

Of course, for him personally, it might not be a bad thing. Without enduring those trials, he might never have progressed further.

That’s none of You Xuan’s concern now. He had claimed his duel department’s competition credit reward and, under the senior sister’s guidance, arrived at the department’s card storage.

Which one should he pick?

There weren’t many cards on his wishlist, but usable ones weren’t absent—just mostly generic cards.

For example, one he spotted immediately:

【Magic Negator, Level 5, ATK 1800】

Effect: While this card is face-up on the field, spell cards cannot be activated, and all spell card effects on the field are nullified.

A monster used by Arumelda, one of the three Dark Magician Swordsmen in the DM anime. This card instantly reminded You Xuan of an ancient top-tier deck: Disturbance Negator.

The name alone reveals the deck’s core: “Disturbance” and “Magic Negator.”

Disturbance was already known for locking down the opponent’s field; adding Magic Negator targeted the rampant overpowered spell cards of the era—like Pot of Greed, Hand Destruction, Black Hole, and Thunderstorm. Before Magic Negator, all were equal.

Back then, countless banned spell cards were staples in every mainstream deck. Facing Magic Negator often meant being stuck with a hand full of banned cards you couldn’t play.

Of course, Magic Negator’s main weakness was its low ATK of 1800, making it easy to destroy. But “Disturbance” perfectly compensated for that weakness.

Use “Disturbance Trio” to remove the opponent’s monster slots and prevent summoning, or deploy backrow like “Super Gravity Net” to lock them down. The opponent couldn’t attack or clear spells—and could only stare helplessly as they waited to die.

Clearly, this was an ancient, purely self-isolating deck designed to retaliate against society, pioneering a new path for countless future “reporters” in the dueling world.

Filled with respect for these great pioneers, You Xuan decisively selected several components of the “Disturbance Negator” deck.

Overall, this deck was inexpensive; most of it, including Disturbance, used cheap cards from this world. Only cards like Arumelda’s “Magic Negator” were rare, but the duel department’s storage happened to have one he could claim for free, along with two other rare traps.

So You Xuan acquired a new early-tier top-tier deck for almost no cost—and one that suited his style well.

Especially in the anime timeline, the Disturbance Trio seemed to come with built-in taunt—its attack animation even involved jumping up and smashing opponents with its butt. He could already picture how delighted duelists would be when they faced this ancient reporter deck.

“Alright, these are the ones.”

You Xuan happily took the selected cards.

The tall senior sister counted them, a question mark visibly forming on her forehead.

“You’re sure you want just these?”

“Yep,” You Xuan grinned.

The senior sister looked perplexed.

She thought the department’s storage had plenty of appealing high-tier monsters—rare cards, all of them.

In the past, when members earned the chance to pick a rare card from storage, they always chose the expensive, powerful high-level monsters.

But You Xuan had scanned everything and selected only one monster above Level 4: “Magic Negator,” Level 5 with only 1800 ATK. While its spell suppression effect was solid, most people considered 1800 ATK at Level 5 unacceptable.

Moreover, You Xuan’s Disturbance system was something he’d bought himself at the academy, so the cards he picked here were unrelated fragments—making his choices even more baffling.

But the senior sister knew this junior always had unconventional ideas, so she didn’t stop him.

Still, as she packed his chosen cards into a card box and handed it to him, she couldn’t help asking: “Junior, may I ask—are you developing a new strategy with these cards?”

“You have sharp instincts, Senior Sister,” You Xuan grinned.

“Can you at least hint what it is?”

The senior sister could no longer contain her curiosity.

You Xuan studied her for a moment, smiling.

“Want to know?”

“Yes!” she nodded eagerly.

Desperately.

“Then be sure to watch next week’s team duel.”

You Xuan tucked the card box under his arm and smiled.

“You’ll see then.”

With that, he waved and walked away.

The senior sister stamped her foot in frustration, shaking with irritation.

Again, he won’t tell and insists on being mysterious.

It made her itch even more.

But next week’s team duel…

She suddenly had a hunch.

Someone’s going to get wrecked again.

(End of Chapter)