Time flew quickly — in the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
During those two days, Yuuya had gained quite a bit.
To express their apology, the Bai family had interceded with the Zeng clan, helping him obtain two more Original Cards:
[King of the Swamp] and [Twin-Headed Behemoth].
With those, once he got his hands on Super Polymerization, he could immediately integrate them into his Fusion deck for breakthrough plays.
Additionally, the Bai family personally gifted him Hiita the Fire Charmer and [Blaze Maiden of Cinder Blame] as a formal token of apology.
Meanwhile, the Hangzhou City Duel Tournament was reaching its climax.
Aside from Yuuya, the remaining top four duelists had already been decided.
The semifinals would be held that morning, and the championship match in the afternoon.
That morning, Chang Xingge, the deputy minister of the Duel Association's Hangzhou branch, personally escorted Yuuya and Mu Ning to the city duel arena, where they waited in the rest area for the match to begin.
Yuuya had only just arrived when a man with tanned skin, spiky dyed hair, and sharp features walked into the resting lounge.
The man's gaze swept across the room before locking onto Yuuya. He approached, stopped about a meter away, and spoke respectfully:
"You must be Senior Yuuya, right? I'm Li Quanming — your opponent in the semifinals."
"Oh?" Yuuya smiled faintly and extended his hand. "The Dark Magician archetype duelist, correct?"
He'd already been briefed by Bai Yun'er; as soon as the man said "opponent," Yuuya knew who he was.
"You really do know," Li Quanming said with a relieved grin.
"Why? Were you worried about something?" Yuuya asked, curious.
Li Quanming scratched his head awkwardly.
"After my Top 8 match yesterday, some people from the Zeng clan approached me. They said you'd violated dueling etiquette by learning about my deck's archetype and strategy through another family. They even handed me a file containing your deck's information… and lent me an Original Card meant to counter yours."
"Ah, so that's how it is."
Yuuya let out a small chuckle. "And they didn't promise you anything else? Maybe some reward if you managed to 'take care' of me?"
He didn't believe someone who made it to the city's top four would be that straightforward without motive.
"Oh, they did offer," Li Quanming admitted without hesitation. "But I refused. The day I entered the Top 32, I'd already accepted recruitment from the Duel Association. After today's matches, I'll officially become a member. The intel and cards I used were approved by the Association — I didn't violate any rules."
There was a trace of pride in his voice.
The Zeng clan was powerful — Hangzhou's undisputed number one local family.
But the Duel Association was an international powerhouse.
Even a provincial branch held authority that no clan could openly challenge.
Even if the Zengs had Heaven-Level duelists, they'd bow their heads before the Association.
Still, when Li Quanming looked at Yuuya, that confidence faded.
All he felt was curiosity… and respect.
After the Zengs contacted him, he'd refused to be their pawn — but the Association's Vice Minister Chang Xingge had personally messaged him later, advising him to use the provided information anyway.
Not to win — but to avoid losing too badly.
And if a Duel Association vice minister was being that deferential toward Yuuya… what kind of monster was this man?
Intrigued, Li Quanming researched everything he could.
From the Zeng clan files, he studied Yuuya's Runick plays and the counter card they'd suggested.
Then he checked the tournament database for official info — only to find Yuuya's record completely redacted.
All that was listed was: "Recommended by the Inspection Bureau."
Everything else was blank.
A ghost competitor.
It didn't take a genius to realize that Yuuya was not ordinary.
So when he finally met him in person, Li Quanming was both cautious and fascinated.
Yuuya patted his shoulder with a grin.
"Since you're a Duel Association man, I'll give you some advice — do your best with your Dark Magician archetype. I know that deck even better than you."
Li Quanming blinked in surprise, then nodded solemnly.
"In that case, I'll look forward to learning from you, Senior."
He could tell from Yuuya's tone — this wasn't arrogance, but simple truth.
And the chance to duel someone who truly understood his archetype? That was something he'd never pass up.
They exchanged a few more words, mostly about tournament format, before two staff members entered.
One escorted Yuuya and Li Quanming to the duel chamber.
The other guided Mu Ning to the spectator area.
Within three minutes, Yuuya and Li Quanming arrived at the designated duel room.
The staff explained: it was a 20×20×20 meter sealed dueling chamber.
Once the match began, the doors would lock automatically, blocking all outside interference — human or spirit.
No referees were present — only recorders and observers.
The Duel Rules system would automatically track the match; violations would result in instant disqualification.
This was a BO1 (Best of One) match — winner takes all.
The starting order would be determined by the Duel Rules algorithm.
Only officially recognized cards were allowed; any non-registered card would trigger an automatic loss.
After explaining, the staff informed them they had ten minutes to make final deck adjustments.
Once the countdown ended, the duel would begin automatically.
If both players agreed, they could start early.
Yuuya and Li Quanming took their respective positions.
The staff left quietly, sealing the chamber.
Meanwhile, in the spectator room, Mu Ning found seven people already seated.
Three of them she recognized immediately — Wang Cheng (Director of the Inspection Bureau), Luo Hao (Minister of the Duel Association), and Chang Xingge (Deputy Minister).
Among the remaining four, one man's face strongly resembled Zeng Wang's — Zeng Jie, current head of the Zeng family, and the only Heaven-Level Duelist present.
"Patriarch Zeng," Luo Hao said coldly, not bothering to hide his irritation, "I heard your family's been meddling with our Association's recruits?"
"Of course not," Zeng Jie replied smoothly. "We were unaware that Li Quanming had already accepted the Association's offer. Had we known, we would never have interfered."
Then his gaze shifted subtly toward Bai Lingtian.
"We merely objected to certain families leaking players' deck archetypes, leaving others at an unfair information disadvantage."
Bai Lingtian shot him a wary glance, then snorted.
"Don't act innocent. Unlike some families, we didn't hand over full decklists and lend counter cards. We only mentioned a single archetype name."
"A King-rank duelist who knows the opponent's archetype isn't at an advantage already?" Zeng Jie retorted.
Before Bai Lingtian could respond, Mu Ning spoke up calmly:
"It doesn't matter whether you share his archetype or his full decklist. It changes nothing.
Even if you gave Li Quanming every detail of Yuuya's deck — even forty dedicated counter cards — he still wouldn't win."
Zeng Jie's eyes flickered. He didn't reply.
He didn't expect Li Quanming to win anyway — this was just an experiment, a chance to test how effective their counter card really was.
The real strike would come during the finals.
Inside the duel chamber, the heavy door closed.
Yuuya and Li Quanming, fifty meters apart, exchanged smiles.
"Shall we begin?" Yuuya asked softly.
"Let's."
Duel Start!
Yuuya (LP 8000) vs. Li Quanming (LP 8000)
The system randomly determined the starting turn — Yuuya went first.
Both duelists drew their opening hands of five cards.
The city semifinals… had begun.