"Is that all?"
"To dare blaspheme the Fire King's god is an unforgivable sin!"
"Open my face-down card—[Fire King's Onslaught]!"
"Special Summon up to 1 FIRE Attribute Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged Beast monster each from your hand, Deck, and Graveyard, but only 1 of each Type!"
"The effects of the monsters Special Summoned by this effect are negated, and they are destroyed during the End Phase!"
"This duel ends here!!"
The white light in Chen Mo's eyes continued to flicker, and the smile on his face became increasingly twisted.
"If you stay silent for even a moment longer…"
"Will the other side trigger a Dark Duel?"
As You Chen observed Chen Mo's current state, the sense of wrongness grew stronger.
At this moment, the True Silent Magician slowly floated out.
She frowned slightly, hovering in midair, her gaze fixed carefully on Chen Mo.
After a brief pause, she spoke calmly:
"It does not appear to be a Dark Duel."
"It resembles something closer to a 'spirit behind' phenomenon."
"As for what that spirit is…"
"It is uncertain."
"It could be an elemental spirit."
"Or it could be consciousness from another dimension."
The words of the True Silent Magician were like a stabilizing anchor for You Chen.
As long as it wasn't a Dark Duel, everything was manageable.
After all, this was still a card game.
No one would risk their life over cards.
However, the revelation that Chen Mo possessed a spirit behind him was unexpected.
"Then, according to the effect of [Fire King's Onslaught]—"
"I Special Summon [True Fire King Phoenix Phoenix] from my hand!"
"[Fire King High Avatar Kirin] from my Deck!"
"And [Phoenix of Nephthys] from my Graveyard!"
Chen Mo roared almost instantly as the effect resolved.
In a flash—
Unicorns, phoenixes, and divine birds filled the field!
The spectacle was overwhelming!
And towering among them all—
The most eye-catching presence was still [Lava Golem]!
A single card filled the entire field.
This was the terrifying explosive mobility of the Fire King Deck.
You Chen raised his eyes and paused briefly.
"…Ah."
"I almost feel sorry for you when you look like this."
"I'll admit—if this board survives to the next turn, it will definitely explode again."
"But that doesn't matter."
"You don't have a next turn."
"Open my face-down card!"
"Activate the Trap Card [Just Desserts]!"
"Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the number of monsters they control × 500!"
"You control four monsters—"
"So you take 2000 Life Point damage!"
How could You Chen fail to understand Chen Mo's plan?
He wanted to use [Fire King's Onslaught] to force an overwhelming board.
But You Chen understood the situation even better.
—
2000 LP!
What was the true value of a twenty-card burn core?
This was the Red Pit Minotaur philosophy.
Yes, it was complex.
Yes, many cards were substitutes.
But substitutes often achieved miracles.
"Ahhh—!!!"
Even with the spirit behind him, Chen Mo was undeniably powerful.
But power meant nothing if it wasn't his turn.
He had assumed that even if You Chen activated Traps, he could endure the damage, rebuild, and explode again next turn.
But You Chen's solution was brutally simple.
Don't interrupt.
Don't negate.
Don't let the chain continue.
Just burn.
Even if Chen Mo had dealt four thousand damage earlier—
It didn't matter.
Chen Mo's Life Points dropped to zero.
The duel was over.
The white light in his eyes faded completely as he collapsed back to normal.
His mind was utterly empty.
"I know."
"You wanted to kill me just now."
"Did you think I couldn't tell?"
You Chen left these words behind as he turned and walked away.
This victory once again demonstrated his upper limit—
And it was clear he still hadn't reached it.
"Terrifying."
After witnessing the duel, the commentators spoke these words almost simultaneously.
"But at the same time…"
"It was incredible."
"This truly was a final-level duel."
At that moment—
The entire audience finally reacted, erupting into discussion.
"My god, even the Fire King lost?!"
"That was insane!"
"You Chen developed another new Deck!"
"If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it!"
"The road has turned pink again!"
…
You Chen returned to the preparation room.
There was only one duel left.
The championship was within reach.
And the final opponent—
Xia Sheng?
Or Mu Qingyu?
None of that mattered.
The final duel would take place that very afternoon.
There was more than enough time.
"You're terrifying."
"Did another development succeed again?"
Hua Ningning sat beside him.
Her gaze toward You Chen was now completely different.
If the previous duel was understandable—
Then this one defied reason.
Defeating a fully developed Fire King Deck with a newly constructed strategy—
It was horrifying.
She couldn't even imagine herself in that duel.
Every time she tried, her blood pressure spiked.
This was undoubtedly the most blood-pressure-inducing Deck You Chen had used so far.
At least for now.
She genuinely wanted to know—
Just how large was You Chen's brain?
How could he continuously develop so many novel Decks in such a short time?
You Chen didn't respond.
Instead, he communicated silently with the True Silent Magician.
After this duel, he had many questions.
From her concise explanations, You Chen gradually understood.
In this world—
Other people also possessed spirits behind them.
Those spirits could be elemental beings.
Or consciousness from other dimensions.
You Chen already understood elemental spirits.
But dimensional consciousness?
What would happen if a dimension truly invaded?
According to the True Silent Magician—
Most of what manifested now were only fragments of consciousness.
But even fragments were enough to greatly enhance a duelist.
From this alone—
One could imagine how terrifying a true dimensional invasion would be.
"…What a shame."
"I didn't manage to get ten monsters on the field."
"My long-held wish still wasn't fulfilled."
"Looks like I'll have to leave it for the next lucky person."
You Chen sighed lightly.
Simple in theory.
Extremely difficult in practice.
Controlling ten monsters simultaneously was no easy feat.
"It's out!"
"The finalist is Ninth High School!!"
"What?!"
"We're actually competing for the championship?!"
Hua Ningning's excited voice rang out beside him.
You Chen looked up.
"Mu Qingyu won?"
"So fast?"
"No suspense at all?"
You Chen blinked in surprise.
He had expected a powerhouse from another school.
But instead—
It was an internal showdown.
Mu Qingyu's strength—
Was terrifying.
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