Chapter 447: Duel King

Duel Academy.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the boundless sea, the sparkling waves tracing a magnificent scroll between azure and golden-red. A helicopter slowly traversed this brilliant skyline, approaching the meticulously paved helipad by the coast.

The helicopter landed. Principal Jiaodao stepped off, the sunset reflecting a dazzling radiance off his polished, mirror-like head, his uniform's hem fluttering wildly in the storm stirred up by the rotors.

Just as he stepped off, he was met by a sweaty, greedy face rushing toward him in a panic.

"Principal! Principal, something big has happened, none!"

Professor Chronos rushed before him, hands on his knees, gasping for air; it was clear he had sprinted all the way back to greet the Principal.

It was common knowledge that Principal Jiaodao was a man who was always away on business; whenever trouble struck the Academy in the anime, he was never around. This time, he had also just returned from important business, only to be intercepted by Chronos the moment he stepped off the plane.

"Rushing about like this doesn't befit a professor's demeanor, Professor Chronos."

Principal Jiaodao smiled, calm and composed, possessing quite the air of a grandmaster.

"What has happened?"

"It's... it's Battle City! The Battle City finals are today, none!" Chronos was out of breath.

"Oh, the finals are today." Jiaodao pondered for a moment. "That reminds me, I let Ryo enter the competition as well. I wonder how the results turned out..."

"Student Ryo?" Chronos was taken aback. "Come to think of it, he did make it into the top eight, none..."

"Oh, oh, top eight, is it?" Principal Jiaodao's eyes lit up, and he nodded approvingly. "Not bad, not bad. That fellow Ryo is doing quite well for himself."

Jiaodao had a good grasp of his students' levels. Although Marufuji Ryo was known as the invincible Kaiser at the Academy, he was, in the end, just a king among students. To be able to charge into the top eight while fighting in the talent-packed Battle City was already extremely rare.

As his mentor, he was already quite satisfied with the performance of his successor.

Moreover, Marufuji Ryo had not yet graduated and had not officially gone into the professional world to hone his skills; there was still significant room for growth. His future was boundless.

Principal Jiaodao was filled with joy, deciding that upon his return, he would properly reward his last disciple.

"Yes, Student Marufuji is performing quite well, but that's not the point." Chronos shook his head and hurriedly said, "Compared to that, the champion! The Duel King, none! A Duel King currently enrolled in the Academy, none! Mamma mia, it's simply unprecedented..."

The Professor's incoherence left the Principal completely confused. "Speak slowly. What's the situation? What King?"

"The Duel King! Seto Kaiba personally participated in this year's Battle City, saying he would wager the title of Duel King once again this year.

And our student won!"

Chronos shouted.

"Fujiki You Xuan... Student You Xuan won, none!"

Jiaodao blinked, as if he hadn't quite understood.

"You said You Xuan did what? He beat Seto Kaiba?"

"More than that, he took the championship, none!" Chronos yelled. "Student You Xuan is now... already the Duel King, none!"

Jiaodao's eyes widened, his expression frozen for several seconds, followed by his mouth uncontrollably widening as well, even giving rise to an impulse to shout along with the greedy professor—

—Mamma mia!

Our Academy actually... produced an enrolled Duel King?

At this moment, the former Silent Dojo was also in complete chaos.

Dojo Master Takeuchi and his apprentices had watched the entire final from start to finish, and during the process, he had nearly had to use his emergency heart medication several times.

And when the dust finally settled, and the invincible The Wicked Avatar was swallowed in one gulp by Lava Golem to seal the victory, Dojo Master Takeuchi nearly fainted.

Half a year ago, he had felt this child was extraordinary, and that after going to Duel Academy, he would at least be a rising star. But at that time, what he had imagined was at most mixing into the professional circle after graduation to make a name for himself, or at best becoming a star rookie, bringing some fame to their dojo.

As a result, who could have imagined this?

The Duel King!

A symbol representing the strongest strength in the current dueling world, which in the past only Yugi Wu Teng had ever obtained.

In this world where the importance of card games was gradually increasing and cards were held in high esteem, it clearly also meant that his fame, profit, and status had reached the pinnacle of the world.

He would become the person admired by ten thousand, reigning at the pinnacle of all things.

After the initial stupor, the disciples in the dojo soon fell into a frenzy.

Especially a certain Student Sato Koji, who was already holding his head high, looking as if he himself had been reborn.

He couldn't wait to tell everyone he met, "I've been beaten by the Duel King!"

Rounding that up, wouldn't he also be a legendary duelist?

As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. You Xuan had walked out from here, and seeing their colleague reach the top, they all felt a sense of pride, not to mention that almost every one of them could now proudly claim to have "been beaten by the Duel King."

Only, some had complicated feelings in their hearts.

Back then, You Xuan's Hand Destruction had made the entire dojo doubt their lives. At the time, they all felt this was a crooked path, just like a shortcut to evil arts; although it looked powerful for a moment, its achievements were ultimately limited, and it wouldn't work when encountering a master.

And then they watched with their own eyes as You Xuan relied on this "crooked path" to charge all the way into Duel Academy, thrashing professionals and beating legends, until now, reaching the pinnacle and achieving the new generation of Duel King...

Suddenly, they felt the future of the dueling world was shrouded in dark clouds again.

"Congratulations."

Mokuba jumped onto the stage and patted You Xuan on the shoulder.

"With this, you're the new Duel King, for now at least." He said with a chuckle. "However, although you won this time, my brother won't give up just like that..."

"Mokuba." Kaiba spoke up, interrupting him.

Mokuba stuck out his tongue and said no more.

"Alright. But in all seriousness, you should also be careful."

He turned to You Xuan and said.

"The Duel King certainly represents the highest honor, but what comes with it is not just status and opportunity, but also challenges." Mokuba said. "It's been so many years since Yugi that no new Duel King has appeared; it will inevitably attract widespread attention.

Even Yugi back then faced quite a few challenges after becoming Duel King. He also fought his way through all of that..."

You Xuan nodded. "I understand."

Ever since Yugi became Duel King, almost every day there were people who wanted to win the title from him. Both the theatrical version and the side stories showed this; every few days, a large group of people would go to the school or Yugi's family card shop to block him, wanting to duel him and win the title of King.

Although everyone knew Yugi Wu Teng was the best in the world, there were always some people with mysterious confidence, feeling their own level wasn't much worse than that of Yugi or Kaiba.

After winning the championship, Yugi also engaged in long-term battles with various masters from all over the world, eventually successfully defending his title as Duel King, and now, the whole world was convinced.

And now, You Xuan winning the championship was merely taking the first step that Yugi had taken back then.

From now on, there were even more challenges waiting ahead.

"Hmm, I know."

You Xuan only nodded.

Then he revealed his signature, sunny smile.

"... Let them come."

Seeing this warm smile, Mokuba suddenly didn't know why.

He began to feel a little sympathy for those future challengers he had never met...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 448 =====