The ones related to Dogmatika… You Ye thought for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"Usually that would refer to 'Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous' and 'Dogmatika Quam, the Guiding Saintess.'"
He paused after saying that, noticing Ye Lingling's keen gaze, and didn't elaborate further.
"So you do know about 'Cartesia, the Virtuous'!"
Catching that little pause and the word "usually," Ye Lingling instantly understood —
Just as Bai Yun'er had said, You Ye really was an omniscient master of cards.
You Ye's lips curved into a faintly mischievous smile.
"Is it possible that I also know another identity of Ecclesia?
Though that one isn't really tied to the Dogmatika archetype."
His eyes flicked toward Bai Yun'er meaningfully — but she didn't seem to notice.
"Another identity of Ecclesia that's unrelated to Dogmatika?"
Ye Lingling, who had been nodding in understanding a moment ago, froze completely.
She couldn't make sense of it.
Dogmatika might appear to be a priestly or holy order,
but in reality, the archetype was filled with internal strife and powerful, independent Spirits.
Would they really allow Ecclesia, their saintess, to have a second identity outside their faction?
"Eh? But aren't you acquainted with Xiaobai?" You Ye asked,
half-joking at first.
He assumed Ye Lingling had meant the four saints in total—
But from her reaction, he realized she truly didn't know.
Didn't even Bai Yun'er realize that her Sword Soul's "White Saintess"
And the Dogmatika Saintess was the same Spirit?
"Huh? What does Dogmatika have to do with me?"
Bai Yun'er blinked in confusion.
Her Swordsoul deck had been trying to integrate Tenyi cards lately,
but Dogmatika? Totally unrelated.
"Isn't it possible," You Ye said dryly, "that your White Saintess and the Dogmatika Saintess are the same, just under different identities?"
"That's impossible!" Ye Lingling blurted out instinctively.
"They may share the same name, both be saintesses,
and even have identical ATK, DEF, Attributes, and Types… heck, they even look identical!
But there's zero synergy between their cards — they can't be the same Spirit!"
Her words sounded certain,
but even she could feel her conviction wavering.
With that many coincidences… maybe it wasn't a coincidence at all.
Bai Yun'er only frowned slightly, not too bothered.
She was fully focused on developing her Tenyi Swordsoul build.
Whether one Spirit had multiple "forms" didn't really matter to her.
"Well," You Ye shrugged, "Dogmatika cards are connected to 'Fallen of Albaz', right?
While your White Saintess directly links to him, too.
My advice? Just ask your Spirits yourselves — we've got time before the next Duel anyway."
Ye Lingling nodded thoughtfully.
It made sense.
She closed her eyes, reaching out mentally to Ecclesia.
A brief moment later, she had her answer.
Indeed, both the White Saintess and the Dogmatika Saintess were her.
However, due to Dogmatika's rigid hierarchy, as long as her dual identity wasn't exposed,
she would never admit it — nor reveal it on her own.
"Senior," Ye Lingling asked after regaining composure,
"You mentioned 'Fallen of Albaz' earlier.
Does that mean there's a 'Fallen of Albaz' archetype?"
She was curious — what kind of archetype could connect both her Dogmatika and Bai Yun'er's Swordsoul?
"Fallen of Albaz isn't an archetype," You Ye replied, choosing his words carefully.
"He's the central figure — the core Spirit — of an entire world.
The world of Branded."
He didn't call him the protagonist, though he might as well have been.
He'd once asked Mu Ning whether the Spirits of Branded had ever clashed with those of the Warrior Kings archetypes.
The answer was no.
Even though they existed within the same realm,
the Warrior King Spirits rarely battled the Runick-affiliated ones.
They didn't fight — they Duelled.
And that difference made the world peaceful.
Well… mostly.
Except for rare troublemakers — like the Kshatri-La archetype, who went around enslaving other Spirits.
"How strong is he?" Ye Lingling asked next,
curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
In a world where Dueling defined everything, strength was the ultimate measure.
If Fallen of Albaz and his related cards weren't strong,
she'd lose interest.
Even Bai Yun'er leaned in, eager to hear the answer.
"Strength, huh…" You Ye murmured.
He thought back to his past life — remembering the massive skill gap between veteran Branded players and newcomers.
In Yu-Gi-Oh!, two people could pilot the same Branded deck —
One would end with a full hand and an unbreakable board.
The other wouldn't even know what they'd just built.
The difference was astronomical.
"Both its ceiling and its floor are extremely high," he concluded finally.
That single statement left Bai Yun'er quiet.
She could sense from his tone that, in some ways, Branded's potential ceiling
might surpass even her Tenyi Swordsoul.
Ye Lingling didn't quite catch the nuance.
Instead, she pressed, "And compared to my Dogmatika archetype?"
"Dogmatika?" You Ye, didn't hesitate.
"It's a toy by comparison."
"Phew~" Ye Lingling let out a visible sigh of relief.
Yesterday, she'd faced Bai Yun'er in five Master Duel matches —
and lost four of them.
Her only win came from banishing half of Bai Yun'er's Extra Deck by luck.
If Branded turned out to be even stronger than Dogmatika,
she might as well quit while she was ahead.
But before she could relax too much,
You Ye glanced her way and said calmly:
"Did it occur to you… that what I meant was
'Dogmatika is a toy compared to Branded decks built around Albaz? '
"Huh?!" Ye Lingling nearly choked.
Just when she thought she'd found relief — he'd flipped her world upside down again.
"What's there to be shocked about?" You Ye went on evenly.
"Dogmatika isn't strong. At best, it barely reaches low Heaven-rank.
Even Earth-rank Duels are a stretch.
Branded, on the other hand, once you grasp its fusion formulas and patterns —
can casually crush Heaven-rank Duels.
And if the pilot's a true veteran…
I wouldn't be surprised if they could challenge King-rank.
Of course," he added with a shrug, "I've never witnessed a King-rank Duel myself,
so that's just my speculation."
"That's…" Ye Lingling deflated instantly.
Her archetype's ceiling barely reached Heaven-rank,
While Branded started at Heaven-rank.
That gap was soul-crushing.
Bai Yun'er was equally astonished,
But she didn't pry further.
After all, she still hadn't fully mastered Tenyi Swordsoul yet —
Biting off more than she could chew would only slow her progress.
"I know you wouldn't joke about this, Senior," Ye Lingling said after a long pause.
"But I still want to prove that my Dogmatika archetype isn't weak —
not as weak as you say."
She pulled out a small tablet device, projecting a deck list.
"This build might not have every rare card you'd require,
but it's solid — and I'm willing to offer two original cards as payment for your guidance."
"How long until you reach Earth-rank?" You Ye asked instead of taking the tablet.
"I'm currently in Earth-rank certification.
If I pass… within half a month," Ye Lingling replied.
"Alright," You Ye nodded.
"Forget the deck list.
Once you reach Earth-rank, just let me meet one of the Dogmatika Spirits.
That'll be enough."
"You want to communicate with a Spirit to obtain the Dogmatika archetype?"
Ye Lingling frowned, not understanding at first.
Why would he want to bond with a Spirit from an archetype he'd just called weak—
Then it clicked.
His true target… wasn't Dogmatika.
It was Branded.
After all, once a Duelist reached Earth-rank,
They could summon Spirits freely.
And if that Spirit willed it, they could grant another person access to their archetype—
or even share cards through their inter-spirit networks.
You Ye, didn't want the Dogmatika archetype.
He wanted to use it as a bridge to reach Branded.