Next, Zhongli continued:
"I Set a monster in Defense Position."
"Turn end."
His moves were smooth and decisive.
Three Set cards, one Set monster, and his turn ended.
The spectators were stunned:
"Does Mr. Zhongli not even need to think?!"
"He decided so quickly!"
"As expected of a professional Duelist!!!"
"Amazing..."
"Hahaha, three sets on the opening... Hall Master Hu is in trouble now!"
"But Hall Master Hu looks pretty happy—maybe she's got a way to deal with it."
As Zhongli ended his turn, Hu Tao's lips curled into a wild grin.
Zhongli, meanwhile, remained calm and unreadable.
Hu Tao didn't care.
"My turn! Draw—"
She picked up her card and looked at it.
It depicted the barren surface of the moon, being reshaped by a pale blue glow.
[Terraforming]
Hu Tao's heart leapt when she saw it.
Since her [Gravekeeper's] Deck wasn't complete yet, she was still using her proud original build: Wangsheng Funeral Parlor + Zombies.
However, unlike before, this Deck now contained many new cards.
That was why Hu Tao loved opening packs—the more packs, the more cards, the closer to the Deck she wanted.
"Heavens themselves want me to win~"
The very first card she drew was the Spell [Terraforming].
This time, unlike her duel with Luya, where she stuffed in three copies of Terraforming and bricked her hand… Her Deck contained just one.
And she pulled it right at the start.
That made this Terraforming look a lot nicer now.
Despite that, Hu Tao had an even bigger surprise prepared—for Zhongli and the crowd.
Even Xingqiu, busy opening packs, looked up to watch.
From what his men told him yesterday, He knew these duels involved Spells and Traps with mysterious effects.
Zhongli, starting with three Sets, put heavy pressure on Hu Tao.
As her poetry friend, Xingqiu paused his pack opening, eager to see how she'd respond; And also curious what cards they both had.
"If I can't beat her in poetry, then..."
"I'll defeat her in a duel—and thrash Chongyun too!"
"To become Liyue Harbor's strongest Duelist, dueling everyone I meet... just the thought excites me beyond words..."
On the surface, Xingqiu stayed calm as ever, but inside he was ablaze with anticipation for his dueling journey.
On the Duel Stage, Hu Tao didn't activate Terraforming right away.
Having been burned in her duel with Luya, she feared Zhongli's face-downs might destroy it.
After all, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was a key card in her Deck—the sooner she could fetch it, the better.
With the whole crowd watching, Hu Tao twirled her fingers dramatically, feigning hesitation.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe—who gets to eat today~"
Word by word, her hand finally "landed" on [Harpie's Feather Duster].
Her act of hesitation made Xingqiu worry, thinking she was really out of options...
Then her expression hardened instantly.
"Hehe~"
"I activate a Spell!"
"[Harpie's Feather Duster]!"
"As the present Hall Master of Wangsheng, I banish all evil spirits!"
In a blaze of white light, a green feather duster appeared in Hu Tao's hand, glowing with a magical aura.
At its base was a golden magic ring, completing its power.
Hu Tao slid her thumb into the ring and gripped the duster with both hands. Smiling at Zhongli, she declared its effect:
"[Harpie's Feather Duster] destroys all Spell and Trap Cards your opponent controls!"
As soon as she finished, the crowd erupted:
"Whoa!"
"This card is insane!?"
"One sweep and everything's gone!!!"
"Hahaha, Hall Master Hu learned from her duel with the shopkeeper—right off the bat, she wipes the backrow clean."
"As expected of Hall Master Hu!"
"Now Mr. Zhongli's the one in trouble, hahaha!"
"Good thing I bet 500,000 Mora on her—I'm about to win 25 packs for free!"
"If she pulls this off, Zhongli will only have one monster and one card in hand."
"Hu Tao still has five!"
It was Xingqiu's first time watching a live duel, and he was thrilled—just spectating had him itching to jump onto the stage himself.
Some of the customers who had watched Luya's duel with Hu Tao yesterday were already familiar with the rules and began analyzing the game.
"As expected, dueling is full of the unexpected..."
Just a moment ago, it looked even. But with one Feather Duster...
"Hall Master Hu is about to take the lead!"
Those who had bet on Zhongli were starting to panic...
They called out to him:
"Mr. Zhongli, hang in there!"
"I put 1 million Mora on you to win!"
"Yeah, come on!"
...
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