Chapter 231: Representative Duel

"What?"

Duel Academy, High-Level Meeting Room.

Professor Kuronos slammed his fist on the table and stood up, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Why the hell do we have to change the representative, Nōne? The friendly duel between Duel Academy and the Northern Schools has always been represented by Kouten Ryō—why not keep it the same as last year?"

He pointed toward Kouten Ryō, who stood quietly beside the meeting room, listening.

"I strongly demand that Kouten Ryō represent us again this year—to maintain our campus's winning streak!"

Bald Principal Principal Jiaodao leaned back in his chair and said, "But the Northern Schools have clearly stated they'll send a first-year student this year. If we still send an upperclassman, it might look like bullying the younger ones."

"A first-year student!?" Professor Kuronos exclaimed.

"Yes." Principal Principal Jiaodao nodded. "For that reason, it would be more appropriate for us to send a first-year student as well."

He turned to look at Kouten Ryō.

"What do you think, Kouten?"

Kouten Ryō replied calmly, "I don't mind either way."

Principal Principal Jiaodao nodded. "Then the question is—who will be the new representative? Any suggestions or recommendations?"

The faculty exchanged glances, and for a moment, no one spoke.

"Yūjō Jūdai." Kouten Ryō broke the silence first.

"Huh!?"

Professor Kuronos's face immediately darkened.

Make an Osiris Red underachiever the representative?

"Oh?"

Principal Principal Jiaodao glanced at Kouten Ryō with mild surprise—he hadn't expected him to recommend Jūdai so readily.

Teacher Daidoji, as always, leaned back with a smile, stroking his beloved cat, Pharaoh: "This seems to be turning into something troublesome."

The other faculty members also wore strange expressions and began murmuring.

"Yūjō Jūdai? Are you serious?"

"That's not appropriate, is it?"

Jūdai's combat ability is undeniable—no teacher doubts his skill in actual duels.

But even if he's strong, he's still an Osiris Red student—no Osiris Red has ever represented the academy in competition before.

Worse still, Jūdai is notorious even among Osiris Red for being a slacker. He's failed nearly every class, sleeps through lectures, never submits assignments, and frequently skips. To all the teachers, he's a problem student with a terrible reputation.

So when the idea of sending him as representative came up, every teacher's first reaction was that it was inappropriate.

"I've duelled him." Kouten Ryō said. "I believe he can show us a truly interesting duel."

Get real.

Professor Kuronos, who always championed elitism, looked ready to explode.

Sending a failing Osiris Red student—who flunked every subject—as the academy's representative? Where's our elite school's dignity? This absurd proposal should be rejected immediately.

"Hmm, it's a good idea." Principal Principal Jiaodao smiled and nodded. "His strength is obvious to all. Having him compete is indeed a good choice."

What?

Professor Kuronos was stunned.

Wake up, Principal! Where's the good in this?

How can a failing student become the representative?

Principal Principal Jiaodao: "Then, if there are no other candidates—"

Kuronos snapped back to reality.

Right—the representative hasn't been decided yet. If someone can challenge Yūjō Jūdai—

"Then I nominate Wang Fujiki You Xuan!" Kuronos said hastily.

"Oh? A student from the Yellow Dorm this time?" Principal Principal Jiaodao gave an approving nod. "He's indeed a unique and powerful student."

Still, it was unexpected that the two most anticipated newcomers this year were from Osiris Red and Yellow Dorm—traditionally, the top freshman always came from Obelisk Blue.

"Perfect. Let them duel—winner represents the academy. What do you think, Principal?" Professor Kuronos was visibly excited.

"Huh? Oh, I—"

Principal Principal Jiaodao turned to look at Kouten Ryō.

"What do you think, Ryō?"

Even the Principal consulted a student before making a decision—and no one present found it strange.

Not only because Kouten Ryō was the academy's Caesar, the strongest student representative, but also because everyone here knew his hidden identity—he was Principal Jiaodao 's last disciple.

Before joining Duel Academy, Principal Principal Jiaodao had been a master of the Electronic Style dojo, and the one who inherited his legacy—and whom he was most proud of—was none other than Kouten Ryō.

"Of course, I have no objections." Kouten Ryō smiled.

And so it was settled.

Teacher Daidoji announced the school's decision during his Alchemy class for the first time: Wang Fujiki You Xuan and Jūdai would duel to determine the representative. The match was scheduled for this weekend.

Both parties had already been informed in advance, so neither was surprised. Still, Jūdai was thrilled—he'd clearly been anticipating this duel since enrollment.

Wang Fujiki You Xuan remained calm, continuing his usual routine this week.

His lab had expanded continuously, adding more staff and even faculty from the Research Institute. Departments were now divided, with multiple teams developing projects based on his directions.

Some new results had emerged recently.

Primarily, the two cards acquired from Kaiba Corporation. One was the "Death Deck Destruction Virus" once used by the CEO.

Frankly, Wang Fujiki You Xuan wasn't comfortable with the anime-original version of Death Virus—it looked flashy, destroying all opponent monsters with 1500+ ATK, but required battle destruction to trigger and risked helping the opponent's graveyard.

He preferred the older, card-actualized version of Death Virus.

【Trap Card, Death Deck Destruction Virus

Effect: Tribute 1 DARK monster with 1000 or less ATK on your field. Destroy all monsters with 1500 or more ATK in your opponent's hand, on their field, and drawn during the next three turns.】

This version was a perennial banned card until its text was weakened and released in 2015.

Even before its ban, Death Virus had been used in specialized top-tier decks and once had significant metagame impact. Wang Fujiki You Xuan was already building around it.

The other card, also obtained from CEO Kaiba, was even more interesting.

Its original version was the card CEO Kaiba used in his famous duel against Yugi in the Sky Arena.

Spell Card—Obedience of the Heavenly Voice.

Anime effect: Pay 1000 LP, declare the name of a Level 8 or higher monster. If the opponent's deck contains that monster, add it to your hand.

The card-actualized version was even stronger: Pay 2000 LP, declare the name of any monster regardless of level. If the opponent's deck contains the declared monster, you may either add it to your hand, or summon it directly to your field in attack position, ignoring summoning conditions.

Pulling a powerful monster straight from the opponent's deck was an extremely rare effect. If successfully developed, it would be a devastating psychological weapon—especially when the opponent's deck is known.

In the midst of classes, research, and daily dueling practice, the week passed quickly.

The day of the representative duel with Jūdai finally arrived.

Long Duel Warning

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(End of Chapter)