Chapter 21: School Inheritance

The next day, when Fujiki You Xuan returned to the Dueling Dojo, the whole feeling was different.

It wasn't just about the changes to himself. Of course, after returning as a champion, he could clearly feel that everyone's eyes on him were different. As soon as he entered the door, someone took the lead and shouted, and then everyone swarmed up to worship the big shot...

It wasn't just this aspect.

When he came to the battle arena and looked, Fujiki You Xuan immediately found that the style here was completely different from when he first came in.

When he came for the first time, the feeling of dueling here was roughly stuck in the environment of axe-wielding mutual hacking in the early years. Not to say it was completely "you play one, I play one," but the main offense and defense were basically both sides trying their best to summon stronger monsters to suppress the opponent.

But looking at the door today...

Apprentice A: "I go first, draw! I set four cards, turn end!"

Apprentice B: "Nani! Actually starting with four sets! But don't be proud too early! Look at my turn, draw! I set five cards, turn end!"

"..."

Similar scenes appeared on several different battle arenas.

Just a week ago, when Fujiki You Xuan first came, if you didn't play a monster on the first turn in the dojo, you would be mocked for having the wrong deck configuration.

Suddenly, it seemed to have become the norm.

The style of dueling now had become strange. Often, one side would set three cards in the back row and pass, and then the other side would return the favor with three or four sets and pass with an empty field.

Then both sides would start staring at each other, often only occasionally playing a monster after a few turns, and then naturally landing in the box and being trapped by the back row, and then both sides would continue to stare at each other...

It could simply be called a mutual prison game. The philosophy is that anyway, I'm not playing this game today, but you damn well don't want to play either.

Fujiki You Xuan: "..."

These good brothers obviously fell into some strange misunderstandings.

Trap Beat is indeed a classic construction idea that has stood firm in Yu-Gi-Oh deck construction for many years, but so-called Trap Beat doesn't mean just traps.

In the essence of this construction, the so-called "trap" is actually resistance, investing a large number of cards that can interrupt the opponent's operation and stop their operation, but that is only a defensive strategy. On the basis of defense, it is more necessary to rely on monster attacks (Beatdown) to guide victory into one's own hands.

In layman's terms, it is to be both offensive and defensive.

Therefore, this construction idea actually requires the monster main axis to be compact, and while having both strong attack, endurance, and stability, it must also be able to free up a large number of card slots. Only in this way is there space to invest more traps to interrupt enemy actions.

Even if it is heavy traps, its essence is still resource exchange to create advantages for oneself. Decks that are just for the sake of traps are just messing with people's mentality, and they don't have rationality or combat power.

This is also why everyone knows traps are awesome, but not all decks in the competition are full of underworld stuff. Many decks have poor compatibility with traps, and many decks have main axis systems that don't allow them to free up so many card slots unrelated to the system.

Deck construction is still quite knowledgeable. Although early decks are destined to be eliminated, many competitive ideas are indeed eternal. Many construction principles are equally applicable even in the extremely high-speed today.

Of course, it is obvious that the dojo brothers didn't seem to realize the impropriety. They only saw Fujiki You Xuan trapping people to death, and then he won the championship, so red traps are awesome.

In just one week, the originally sunny atmosphere in the entire dojo seemed to have become gloomy and tax-evading.

Fujiki You Xuan self-reflected.

Could it really be his fault?

"By the way, Fujiki You Xuan!"

An apprentice remembered something and reminded him.

"Master said if you come, go find him."

"Okay, got it."

Fujiki You Xuan responded, while muttering in his heart. Why does this format sound like a primary school teacher saying "come to my office after school"?

Could it be that the old man is dissatisfied with the gloomy and vengeful atmosphere that has spread overnight in the dojo?

But he thought that wasn't what he taught...

Well, at least not directly.

With doubts, he passed through the main hall and came to the back. He saw Dojo Master Takeuchi already sitting cross-legged, eyes closed as if meditating. Only when he heard his movement did he open his eyes slightly, revealing a relieved smile.

"You're here."

"I'm here."

Seeing that the dojo master seemed to be in a good mood, it should be a good thing. Fujiki You Xuan felt relieved, walked up, and sat down.

"Congratulations on winning the championship," Dojo Master Takeuchi said.

"Master's cultivation is good," Fujiki You Xuan said politely at the right time.

But Dojo Master Takeuchi shook his head with a smile: "Ha, kid is quite polite. But you and I both know, where can I teach your current level?"

After a pause, he raised his eyelids and looked at Fujiki You Xuan carefully.

"You are different, I can feel it," he said slowly. "I don't know what kind of encounter you had, but I know you are already different from us ordinary duelists."

"This is very subtle, but sometimes you just have that feeling. When you see a duelist, see him standing on the field, his temperament, his dueling posture... you naturally know that he is different from us."

This statement made Fujiki You Xuan feel a bit novel.

He had heard that warriors and killers could recognize the difference even if they saw their own kind in a crowd, maybe there was something like murderous intent... but can card players also have it?

What should that be called? Card spirit?

But he thought he was just a time-traveler, and in his previous life, he was at most an amateur enthusiast, not a professional. In this world where cheats are everywhere, he had no cheats and no back-spirit, could he still see that the temperament was different?

"Actually, I am not the first-generation master of the dojo," the dojo master opened the memory mode. "The master before me was the truly powerful duelist."

"He devoted his whole life to carrying forward the philosophy of the dojo, cultivating excellent duelists among the younger generation, and looking for someone worthy of entrusting the inheritance of the school."

"But..."

He sighed.

"Once, in a duel... I don't know who the opponent was, and the master didn't want to mention it to anyone. I only know that he seemed to have lost that battle."

"And it was after that that he fell ill and was hospitalized. But all the doctors couldn't find out where the crux was, only knowing that his body was getting worse day by day..."

"Until later, he fell into a complete coma, and until today, he has never woken up."

Fujiki You Xuan couldn't help but frown slightly when he heard this.

This feels a bit like a legendary dark duel.

At this time, you might ask, can people die just by playing cards?

Then we have to mention the characteristics of the Yu-Gi-Oh world. Dark duels are almost omnipotent. Playing cards can not only kill people but also capture souls, manipulate minds, and make the loser a puppet, which is no problem at all.

This is also why it is said that even in the supernatural world, superb card skills are the absolute king.

It's just that if it was really a dark duel, listening to this description, after losing the cards, he actually seemed to have survived for a long time before falling into a coma. The opponent, this dark duelist, sounds like his level in the original anime is even a bit pull...

"Before the master fell into a coma, he passed the position of dojo master to me, along with the rare cards that represent our school and serve as symbols of inheritance."

"But I know clearly that I don't have that talent, nor do I have the qualifications to inherit that power. So I sealed this deck, just like the previous master did, and went to look for young people who are qualified to inherit it..."

Dojo Master Takeuchi sighed long and slowly turned to look at Fujiki You Xuan.

"... Until today."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 22 =====