Chapter 143: This Man Is Intentional

Indeed.

When he heard that Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing wanted to meet him, Fujiki You Xuan had already suspected—there must be a card involved.

He was just an unknown rookie at the Duel Academy, a first-year student; perhaps slightly known within the academy, but surely not someone worthy of Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing's attention.

Since Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing wanted to see him, the most direct reason Fujiki You Xuan could think of was that he had brutally beaten one of his underlings—the card professor—using cruel methods.

Or perhaps he'd heard that You Xuan had once caught the eye of AI, and rumors had since spread that he was "the man who caught the attention of the legendary Sea Horse CEO."

Regardless of the reason, the only possible motive behind their interest in him was card dueling.

To be honest, Fujiki You Xuan had suspected this before arriving, so he was mentally prepared for a duel; according to the academy's card-drawing curriculum, dueling stronger duelists benefits one's growth. The stronger the "pressure" one faces, the better one's own power is honed.

Of course, he also considered that this duel couldn't be free.

But before Fujiki You Xuan could speak, Guiping spoke up first: "That's not impossible, but wouldn't a simple duel be a bit dull?"

Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing said calmly: "Then what is your suggestion?"

"I recall that last year's Illusion Society competition awarded a replica of Pegasus's 'Thousand-Eyed Ritual Demon' used in the Duel Kingdom. If I'm not mistaken, there should still be a few left from that batch?"

Fujiki You Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Damn, he hadn't even spoken yet, and Guiping already seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

What do you call that?

"I understand." Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing smiled. "Indeed, there are exactly two replicas left. If you're interested, you may take one."

Guiping smiled too, exchanging a glance with Fujiki You Xuan.

"So? Interested in a test?"

To be honest, he also wanted to see Fujiki You Xuan duel.

He always felt this man's duels were unique.

"Then I shall not refuse your kind offer." Fujiki You Xuan smiled, standing up. "Please, Master Master Tianma, guide me."

Both rose and followed Tiamen Yexing out of the dining hall to the dueling arena.

"Duel!" x2

【Fujiki You Xuan, LP 4000】

【Tiamen Yexing, LP 4000】

"I'll go first. Draw."

Tiamen Yexing laid down a monster card.

"I summon 'Chief Turtle' in defense position!"

【Chief Turtle, DEF 1200】

"When Chief Turtle is summoned, I may special summon any number of 'Chief Turtle' from my hand."

Tiamen Yexing drew two more cards.

"I special summon two more 'Chief Turtle'!"

【Chief Turtle, DEF 1200】x2

"I activate the continuous spell—'Scroll of the Underworld.' While this card is on the field, if I tribute two or more monsters for an upper-level summon, I draw two cards."

Tiamen Yexing waved his hand, and another card appeared as an image on the back row.

"I set one card face-down. End of my turn."

"My turn."

Fujiki You Xuan drew.

Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing, though once controlled by a demon god and not at his true strength, was still undoubtedly a "legendary duelist."

Legends have tiers; theoretically, Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing was stronger than creatures like Dinosaur Long Qi or the Maze Brothers.

So this time, he went straight for his updated main deck.

"I normal summon 'Nephthys Guardian'."

A gift from Xie Er of the New Domar Three Swordsmen, the summoned figure was a maiden with long silver hair and golden armor, her crimson cloak blazing like fire.

【Nephthys Guardian, ATK 1400】

"Guardian's effect: Destroy one card in my hand, then special summon one Nephthys monster with 4 stars or less from my hand."

The Guardian swung her great sword; flames swept across, burning one of his hand cards to ash.

"I special summon 'Nephthys Guide'!"

【Nephthys Guide, ATK 600】

Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing pondered: "Nephthys Phoenix's deck."

He remembered it was also a rare deck.

"The card I just destroyed was the quick-play spell 'Silent Magic Burst'."

Fujiki You Xuan pulled out the spell card from his graveyard.

"I exile this card from the graveyard to add one 'True Silent Magician' from my deck to my hand."

Fujiki You Xuan drew the card retrieved from his deck; the deck automatically shuffled in the dueling field.

"True Silent Magician cannot be normal summoned, but can be special summoned by tributing a magician-type monster on the field."

"So I tribute the magician-type 'Nephthys Guardian' on the field."

"Wings of silent hope, the magician of light, appear now—"

"—True Silent Magician, summon!"

The flame-wielding maiden vanished within a white halo, replaced by a silver-haired mage who floated gently onto the field, surrounded by nearly transparent white radiance.

【True Silent Magician, ATK 1000】

"So, Nephthys followers are all magician-type, usable as tributes for Silent Magician. And their hand-destroying cost sends Silent Magic Burst to the graveyard, which perfectly serves as the retrieval condition for Silent."

Tiamen Yexing smiled.

"An unexpectedly compatible synergy."

Both True Silent and Nephthys were extremely rare cards in this world; thus, combining them was likely unprecedented.

"I can special summon 'Candy Joker' from my hand in attack position, so I special summon 'Candy Joker'."

【Candy Joker, ATK 0】

"Next, Nephthys Guide's effect," Fujiki You Xuan said. "Guide can be tributed along with another monster on the field to special summon 'Nephthys Phoenix' from hand or deck."

"I tribute 'Candy Joker' and 'Nephthys Guide'!"

"Descend from the ancient phoenix fire, guided by flame—"

"—Nephthys Phoenix, summon!"

A towering blaze took the shape of wings, revealing a golden, radiant divine bird amid the phoenix flames!

【Nephthys Phoenix, ATK 2400】

Behind them, the card professors could not hide their startled expressions.

"Two trump card-level monsters summoned in the first turn."

Both Silent Magician and Phoenix were ultra-rare monsters capable of carrying any deck as its ace.

Especially Karick Dickson, who had just been beaten, now stared wide-eyed with a strange expression.

So you weren't just relying on those damn Three Brothers?

To set up such a formation right away was already considered extremely strong in his view.

Then why the hell were you messing with me earlier using those annoying tricks?

Just to mess with my head?

Karick's face darkened, and he sank further into himself.

(End of Chapter)