Chapter 148

Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing took a deep breath.

With 500 Life Points remaining, his field was almost blank. Yet on the opponent's field stood the legendary warrior Envoy of the Beginning, renowned in the Duel Monster Realm, which could almost be called a desperate disadvantage.

But why?

Why couldn't he stop trembling?

That's right, this is the feeling.

Facing the top-tier opponent, burning out everything as a duelist, the stimulation brought by that kind of all-out battle.

Mokuba was right. Back then, the battle with Yugi Mutou helped him get rid of the mental control of the Three Wicked Gods, but after that, he immediately felt his own bottleneck.

For many years, he had felt unable to make a breakthrough, as if he had touched his own upper limit. But precisely because of this, he longed for strong opponents even more.

Only battles with the strong could stimulate him to break through his limits and move toward a higher realm.

And now, in such a first-year freshman at the Duel Academy, he had unexpectedly found that feeling.

Without a doubt, this was a true opponent worthy of him bursting out with everything he had to try to break through!

Although he was the one wearing the title of "Legendary Duelist" and the other party was just a student, Tiamen Yexing had already naturally placed himself in the position of a challenger.

He wanted to achieve self-breakthrough by crossing this chasm!

"My turn, draw card!" Tiamen Yexing said. "Activate Spell Card 'Pot of Greed', draw two cards from the deck!"

After drawing the card, Tiamen Yexing squinted his eyes, and the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily.

It seemed he had drawn a move to reverse this desperate situation.

"First, activate Spell Card 'Level Adjustment'!" Tiamen Yexing said. "Select one monster on my field, and I can change that monster to any level from 1 to 8!" (Original card)

This was also a card Tiamen Yexing used when facing Yugi in the manga.

"I choose 'Thorned Dragon of the Otherworld' on the field to rise to Level 8!"

【Thorned Dragon of the Otherworld, LV5 → LV8】

Mokuba raised his eyebrows: "A level adjustment card?"

"That's right, it's the final paving for the arrival of my new power!"

As Tiamen Yexing said this, he slowly drew a card from his hand.

"This is the first time I've used it in front of people since I gained this new power. I didn't expect it to be in such a situation..."

Fujiki You Xuan frowned slightly.

What's with this posture that looks like he's about to print a card?

"But you are indeed an opponent worthy of me using my full strength, so watch closely, the evolved form of the King of Beast Gods!

I tribute the Level 8 'Thorned Dragon of the Otherworld' on the field and Special Summon from my hand..."

He held the monster card in his hand high above his head, and even before summoning, it seemed as if a storm had already rolled up.

"The heartbeat of the Beast God shakes the earth, descending across the torrent of time—

—Beast God King - Barbaros, summon!!!"

The earth shook, and the Beast God appeared from the storm. Its golden fur shimmered under the radiance, as if cloaked in a layer of holy halo. Its eyes flashed with sharp light, like sharp blades. The lion-headed giant beast's claws slapped the ground, and dust and sand formed a swirling storm.

Beast God King - Barbaros, summon!

Fujiki You Xuan glanced at Barbaros's new armor.

Tiamen Yexing really hadn't been idle all these years, printing a new armor for his trump card.

【Beast God King - Barbaros, ATK 3000】

"Although this card is Level 8, it does not need to be Normal Summoned with two offerings; it only needs to tribute monsters on my field with a total level of 8 or higher to be Special Summoned!"

Tiamen Yexing shouted.

"And, 'Beast God King - Barbaros' can, once per turn, banish 'Barbaros' monsters from my Graveyard or field from play to destroy up to two cards on the opponent's field!"

Mokuba was shocked: "Such a strong ability!"

"Not bad, this is the evolved form of the Beast God King. If you can defeat my final trump card, then come and try!" Tiamen Yexing said. "I banish 'Beast God King - Barbaros' from my Graveyard from play to destroy 'Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning' and your face-down card on the left of your back row!"

Fujiki You Xuan also immediately responded: "Then Counter Trap - Divine Punishment! By discarding one card from my hand, negate the activation of an Effect Monster's effect and destroy it!"

Tiamen Yexing was shocked.

Did he still hide such a trap in this situation?

His resources were exhausted, and the Beast God King was his trump card and also his final move. If the Beast God King was countered here, he would be completely powerless to save the situation.

That won't do!

"Counter Trap - Destruction Interference!" Tiamen Yexing's back row also chained. "Discard one card from my hand to negate the activation of a card that has the effect of 'destroying monsters on the field' and destroy it!"

The fierce thunder of Divine Punishment crashed down, but it only struck a layer of transparent destruction shield. Transparent ripples spread along the surface of the shield, and the backlash of the thunder shattered the Divine Punishment trap itself.

Counter successful!

"The effect of the Beast God King continues to resolve!" Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing shouted. "Destroy Black Luster Soldier and that other face-down card!"

The thunder of the Beast God King swept across the field, instantly clearing Fujiki You Xuan's side of the field. Black Luster Soldier exploded under the thunder, and the face-down card in the back row also flipped over and shattered; it was a "Magic Cylinder".

"And, the card I discarded was the Spell Card 'Compensation Treasure', which allows me to draw two more cards from my deck when it is sent to the Graveyard from my hand!" (Original card)

"Besides Divine Punishment, there was also a Magic Cylinder; what an iron-wall formation." Tiamen Yexing said. "But with this, all your defensive lines are cleared!"

The onlookers, the card professors, also seemed to feel that the outcome was finally decided at this point.

"However, to be able to push Lord Master Tianma to this point..." Tiramuck commented. "And he's just a student; what a terrifying kid."

This child's future will surely be limitless.

But Tiamen Yexing did not relax because of this.

Is it over?

No, as long as there are Life Points left, one must never let their guard down.

And he could feel that this opponent was not ordinary.

What he dismantled was only the defensive line on the surface; the opponent might not really be out of countermeasures.

"Activate Spell Card 'Hand Exchange'!" Tiamen Yexing said. "Both players reveal each other's hands, and must each choose one of the opponent's cards to add to their own hand!"

The card professors were stunned.

Isn't it already won in this situation?

Why deliberately exchange hands?

"Ugh, what a terrifying intuition."

Fujiki You Xuan revealed his hand.

Tiamen Yexing squinted his eyes.

Sure enough, his intuition was correct.

Kiteroid!

A trump card that can block direct attack damage by discarding it from the hand.

A card professor was shocked: "He still has a countermeasure hidden in his hand!"

"Lord Master Tianma even calculated this..."

Tiamen Yexing: "Then I will obtain 'Kiteroid' from your hand!"

Fujiki You Xuan: "Then I'll take 'Warrior of the Beast God - Gebu'."

This was also a card Tiamen Yexing used in the manga, a Level 6 Demon-type with 2200 ATK. However, it was actually useless; the reason he took this was because there was no choice, Tiamen Yexing only had this in his hand...

"Even the defense in his hand was dismantled; this guy really has something." Mokuba muttered.

Then he looked at Fujiki You Xuan again.

This guy... is this the end?

Well, but to be able to fight Master Tianma Tiamen Yexing to this point, he is indeed already quite impressive.

"Direct attack from Beast God King - Barbaros Ur!"

Tiamen Yexing raised his hand and shouted.

The decisive strike, and also his final offensive!

But he had a strange premonition.

Even if he reached this point, such an attack... perhaps it was still a move short.

Sure enough, just as the strike from the Beast God King was about to hit, a burst of electric light suddenly erupted on Fujiki You Xuan's side of the field. Like some kind of transparent shield, magnetic repulsion, it forcibly bounced away the lion-headed Beast God King.

"The effect of 'Electromagnetic Turtle' in the Graveyard, only one chance, banish this card from play during the opponent's Battle Phase, and that Battle Phase is forcibly ended."

Tiamen Yexing let out a long breath.

For some reason, although he was a little regretful that the attack didn't go through, he didn't feel surprised.

"When was it sent to the Graveyard?" Tiamen Yexing asked.

Fujiki You Xuan: "'Morphing Jar'."

"I see." Tiamen Yexing pondered. "So you had already laid out such a deep defensive line so long ago."

He smiled and shook his head.

"Then my turn is over."

(End of this chapter)