Alright, Minister Luo, go ahead and finish your search. I can't wait to negate whatever comes next, You Ye said cheerfully, eyes glinting with expectation.
"…" Luo Hao was speechless. He'd been stuck in awkward duels before, but this was torture.
Ever since reaching the Earth-tier, he hadn't felt this powerless—not even when he'd been locked down by Mu Ning's endless Runick control decks. But still, he carried on, silently choosing the monster to add to his hand: Cyber Dragon Nachster.
"I activate the effect of Cyber Dragon Nachster! I send Cyberdark Chimera from my hand to—"
"Effect's too long. Don't wanna read it." You Ye interrupted lazily.
"Chain 2 — Herald of Ultimateness! I discard Extraterrestrial Lifeform, negate and destroy."
Chain 2 resolves: Herald of Ultimateness successfully negates and destroys.
Chain 1 fails: Cyber Dragon Nachster's effect is negated and destroyed.
Luo Hao's grin spread wide. "Hah! Senior, you fell for it! Next turn, if you don't draw another Fairy, you're finished! My next—"
He froze mid-sentence.
Because at that exact moment, You Ye activated the effect of the very monster he'd just discarded.
Behind him, Mu Ning and Chang Xingge went silent again.
"Extraterrestrial Lifeform's effect — once per turn: I banish two Fairies from the GY to add two different Fairy monsters from my Deck to my hand."
"I banish Benten and Herald of Orange Light to add Diviner of the Herald and Herald of Orange Light back to hand."
As the eerie silence hung over the room, You Ye added casually,
"Oh, right—your Cyberdark Chimera can chain to this, right? Go ahead, I can't negate that.
Also, what was it you were saying earlier? I didn't catch it while activating my effect."
Luo Hao: (TT)
He wanted to cry.
What was even the point anymore?
With Diviner of the Herald as his engine, You Ye didn't even need to combo off. Even if he just dumped another Extraterrestrial Lifeform into the GY and searched two more Fairies, how could Luo Hao possibly play through that?
He can't move. No — he doesn't dare to move!
"I end my turn!" Luo Hao declared firmly, recovering his composure. As expected of the Duel Association's branch minister, he accepted defeat with grace.
When You Ye drew for his turn, he didn't even bother asking whether Luo Hao wanted to respond.
He drew another Drytron Alpha Thuban, used it together with Diviner of the Herald and Herald of Orange Light, and casually demonstrated to Chang Xingge how to summon a 5000-ATK boss.
The combined damage was clean — an instant knockout.
(The author trimmed this duel for pacing. It was basically filler.)
After the victory, You Ye turned to Chang Xingge. "So? Satisfied with Drytron's power level?"
"Satisfied—more than satisfied!" Chang Xingge's eyes sparkled. With a deck that strong, she could breeze through her Earth-tier exam!
But then her excitement faltered. Her expression darkened.
There was only one month left before her Earth-tier certification.
And collecting all the non-Drytron cards for this build would take her at least six months.
"You look upset," You Ye noted. "What's wrong? You didn't like that I didn't use much of the Drytron core for the Herald setup? Don't worry. I'll publish the combo lines for you later. Just follow them until you get used to it.
Or…" He smirked. "Want me to do a full combo demo right now? I can hop into a Master Duel match and find someone to 'volunteer.'"
"It's not that, Senior. It's me." Chang Xingge sighed bitterly.
"With all those off-engine cards you mentioned, I can't possibly collect everything in just one month. By the time I do, the exam will be over."
She handed back her cards — Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, and Sword Saint Kenshinkan, both origin cards — to You Ye.
"I see." You Ye nodded, taking them without comment. Whether she could solve her deck-building problem wasn't his concern.
Luo Hao, still salty from his loss, was even more frustrated.
Chang Xingge was the second-in-command of their Hangzhou Duel Association branch, and if she couldn't pass her Earth-tier exam, it would reflect poorly on them all.
But when it came to contracting Duel Spirits for rare cards, there was nothing he could do to help.
If he could, he'd have already helped her get Double Arc Parshath for her Noble Knight Paladin deck.
With that in mind, he turned respectfully to You Ye.
"Senior You Ye, could you help modify the Noble Knight Paladin build for us?"
"Sure," You Ye said with a smile. "But there'll be an extra fee."
Hearing that, Chang Xingge's brief excitement vanished.
Those three cards she'd received earlier had been pure luck — she didn't have any more of the cards You Ye wanted.
Luo Hao also hesitated. He did have two of the cards You Ye needed, but those were supposed to be his payment for later when You Ye helped rework his own deck.
Chang Xingge might be important to the Association, but not to him.
Sacrificing himself for someone else's progress? No way.
Seeing their silence, Wang Cheng quickly understood what was happening:
Luo Hao wasn't willing to give up his cards, and Chang Xingge didn't have anything valuable to trade.
"Senior," Wang Cheng asked suddenly, "can you modify the Noble Knight build using cards that aren't currently in her list?"
"Yes," You Ye replied after a moment's thought.
The fix would be simple — add a couple of Kaijus, remove some bricky cards, and tweak the normal-summon ratios. Easy enough. If it wasn't something like Tearlaments or Runick, he could handle it effortlessly.
His answer left Luo Hao a little confused.
"Not on her card list? Then what cards would you even use?"
Before he could ask further, Wang Cheng subtly shot him a look.
Luo Hao instantly understood.
"Xingge, go pull up the Hangzhou Branch's full card catalog. See if there's anything Senior You Ye might be interested in."
"Yes, Minister!" Chang Xingge replied quickly.
Even in high heels, she practically sprinted out the door.
As soon as she left, Luo Hao quietly closed the door and turned back with a grin.
"Senior, while we're at it… could you also take a look at my Cyber Dragon deck?"
He slid two cards across the table.
You Ye accepted them and raised an eyebrow: Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise and the trap Rainbow Bridge.
"Ah, now that's what I like to see." He slipped the cards into his pocket with a grin.
"Alright, then — let's talk about your build. Do you want Surface Cyber or Core Cyber?"
Luo Hao blinked. "Surface Cyber? Core Cyber? What's that supposed to mean?"
Cyber Dragons were just Cyber Dragons, right? He'd never heard of any "surface" or "core" division — not even the top-tier Cyber Dragon duelists used that terminology!
Seeing his confusion, You Ye wasn't surprised. From the cards Luo Hao had played earlier, it was obvious that his build mixed everything — Fusion monsters, XYZs, whatever he drew, he just played.
It was… very on-brand for duelists in this world.
So, You Ye explained patiently:
Surface Cyber focuses on aggressive OTKs — you rush fusion plays, make massive attack monsters, and roll over the opponent in one hit.
Core Cyber, on the other hand, is the control variant — you rely on boss monsters like Cyber End Dragon Overlord and Chimeratech Rampage Dragon, pairing them with Cyberdarkness Dragon for pressure and disruption.
He smirked. So, which one do you want?