Thanks. Then I'll leave the Zeng family to you.
Hearing this answer, You Ye nodded in satisfaction.
Although there weren't many useful cards among the Zeng family's resources, as an exchange, it was still a pretty good deal.
Just then, a voice echoed from afar:
"You Ye, we had no knowledge of the Zeng family attempting to assassinate you. We have offended you—please accept this as our apology.
The Zeng family's hidden Heaven-Rank ancestor—I've already eliminated him.
As for the ten thousand Zeng family members who fled into the Spirit Realm, I've disrupted their teleportation coordinates.
Without reaching the Heaven Rank, they won't survive five days.
They will either die… or become the elves' servants."
"Oh? He really came?"
Hearing this voice, Zhao Jingqing and Tian Nan both looked surprised—they clearly knew who the speaker was.
You Ye nodded silently.
When it came to the Dark Duelists, their efficiency was always top-tier—no complaints there.
It was a pity that their goal was to recruit him.
If they wanted him to join, and the cards they offered met his standards, he didn't mind helping them optimize their decklists…
…but he wasn't planning to join.
As for Zeng Jie, who looked completely lifeless—
The moment he heard the voice, he collapsed to his knees.
He knew the Zeng family was finished.
Finished.
Their Heaven-Rank ancestor was killed by Zhao Jingqing,
Their guardian Heaven-Rank duelist was gone,
And the ten thousand elite members who fled into the Spirit Realm had their teleportation disrupted—meaning they would certainly die.
The Zeng family was done.
Realizing this, and sensing the gazes of Zhao Jingqing and Tian Nan, Zeng Jie chose to end his own life.
You Ye glanced at Zeng Jie's corpse without much emotion.
Under Zhao Jingqing and Tian Nan's lead, he headed to the Duelist Association to begin his Profound-Rank certification.
Spirit Realm — Six Realms of Ruin
Kshatri-La Headquarters — Shangri-La Birth Cocoon
Due to the Dark Duelist's interference, the Zeng family elites, led by Zeng Wang, appeared here.
At first, they were ecstatic.
If they failed to teleport into a proper Spirit World, they would've been adrift in the cosmic void of the Spirit Realm—where anything below Heaven Rank couldn't survive.
But since they ended up in a proper Spirit World, there was still hope.
With that hope, Zeng Wang gathered his clansmen, preparing to negotiate with the spirits of this world.
He had already made up his mind:
As long as they could survive, even becoming servants was acceptable.
Because if they stayed alive, there would one day be a chance—
A chance to take revenge on You Ye.
But strangely—
Ever since he arrived here, none of the Cyber Dragon-lineage spirits responded to him.
Even when he attempted a summons, nothing happened.
And it wasn't just him.
All Earth-Rank duelists of the Zeng family with non–Cyber Dragon decks found the same thing:
The spirits were not answering.
Just when they were discussing ways to establish contact—
A red armored figure with a full exoskeleton and dual axes appeared before them.
Right after him, two more figures arrived:
One wielding a crimson spear with wings unfurled behind him,
The other was carrying a massive battleaxe.
The moment he saw them, Zeng Wang recognized all three.
These were Kshatri-La spirits.
A field spirit closely related to one of You Ye's archetypes.
But that wasn't the key point.
The real point was—
This archetype was absurdly powerful.
A deck capable of effortlessly killing Tearlaments in a single turn.
Tearlaments' natural predator.
Zeng Wang almost trembled with excitement.
He thought Heaven had abandoned them…
But now it seemed Heaven was giving them a lifeline—
A chance to borrow Kshatri-La to defeat You Ye and reclaim the Zeng family's honor!
"Greetings, great spirits. You are the Kshatri-La field spirits, correct?"
Zeng Wang lowered himself in respect.
"Yes. You recognize us?"
Unicorn took a step forward to speak, but Fenrir suddenly hopped in front of him, answering first.
Unicorn and Ogre were stunned—Fenrir was actually being proactive?
Rare.
But they didn't dwell on it and simply observed how Fenrir would handle the situation.
"Yes, I learned of your existence from a vicious human duelist."
Zeng Wang replied.
"Oh? A vicious duelist? Who?"
Fenrir pressed.
"A man named You Ye—eh?"
Before he finished the sentence,
He suddenly realized everything below his left knee was gone.
He collapsed instantly.
If he weren't an Earth-Rank duelist with a body far beyond that of normal humans,
He would've fainted immediately.
He stared at Fenrir in confusion.
Why did Fenrir suddenly attack?
And why wasn't the duel rule being triggered?
Fenrir simply wiped the blood off his axe and spoke to Unicorn and Ogre:
"Brothers, these humans are too weak.
They're not even qualified to be Kshatri-La slaves.
Don't you agree?"
Unicorn and Ogre exchanged a look.
The humans clearly didn't know,
But as two of the few remaining Kshatri-La spirits,
They certainly knew who You Ye was—
A human who, for some strange reason, had obtained the Tearlaments field spirits
and also became someone favored by Red Mermaiden,
one of their most important field spirits.
If that wasn't enough—
Four years ago, for unknown reasons,
Fenrir himself also bonded with that human.
Even though You Ye couldn't communicate with the other Kshatri-La spirits through Fenrir or Red Mermaiden,
That didn't matter.
What mattered was—
This human…
just insulted the person Fenrir had chosen.
"Of course, not qualified.
To be our slaves, humans must at least be Heaven Rank.
Anything below that? Trash.
We can catch thousands outside if needed."
Unicorn said, and Ogre nodded instantly.
"Then aside from this one right here—
whom I will personally handle—
Please take care of the others."
Fenrir said calmly.
Before Zeng Wang could respond—
Unicorn's spear and Ogre's battle-axe came crashing down.
In an instant, the hopeful Zeng family elites were reduced to bloody chunks.
"Why!?
You Ye uses Tearlaments—
even if he has some spirit connected to you,
He can't possibly command you!"
"And what is this place!?
Why—why isn't the duel rule activating!? Why is it failing here!?"
Zeng Wang looked at the slaughter, then at Fenrir, confused and desperate.
"Do you know Chen Honglei?"
Fenrir suddenly asked.
"I know him.
He was the servant our family trained to defeat You Ye.
You know him?
Did he offend you—?"
Before he could finish—
Fenrir slammed his axe down again,
removing Zeng Wang's right leg entirely.
"AH!?"
Zeng Wang didn't even register the pain.
His mind was full of question marks.
Why was this spirit angry!?
"Why didn't you use your entire family's resources to raise him!?"
Fenrir roared.
Zeng Wang was stunned.
How they trained their servant had nothing to do with this spirit.
At most, it would only offend You Ye.
So why was Fenrir furious!?
Fenrir answered.
"Why did you raise such a weakling!?"
"For four years—
four whole years—
do you know how long I waited for my master to wield me,
to slaughter everything,
to banish those pathetic archetypes you revere!?"
"A few days ago, my master finally constructed his deck.
But the opponents were too weak—
I didn't even make it into the Main Deck."
"Until the duel with Chen Honglei.
My master put me into the Main Deck for the first time.
I thought I was finally going to appear."
"But I didn't.
Because your useless Zeng family servant LOST before I could show up!?"
"What are you raising!?
Trash that cannot even survive long enough for me to enter the battlefield!?"
"Tell me—HOW DO YOU PLAN TO COMPENSATE ME!?"
Fenrir swung his axes wildly, carving deep trenches around him, fury shaking the air.
"He… he has the Kshatri-La archetype?"
Zeng Wang said in disbelief.
Fenrir snorted coldly.
"If my master actually had the full Kshatri-La archetype,
Would your pathetic family even dare challenge him?"
"What a joke.
Do you know he's the Rank #1 in your so-called Master Duel?
The strongest duelist among humans.
Only such a duelist qualifies to wield me as a single tech card."
"Rank #1 in Master Duel… a single card…?"
Zeng Wang was stunned.
The Master Duel rank-one position had been discussed by great families worldwide.
They all assumed it was some bored King-Rank duelist trying new decks.
They were wrong.
It wasn't a King-Rank duelist.
It was You Ye.
And a card he hasn't even used yet…
A card he concealed…
Zeng Wang felt only bitterness.
He had offended You Ye, insulted him,
and now he was at the mercy of You Ye's spirit…
and even bad-mouthed him in front of that spirit.
He had truly walked himself into a dead end.
"Honored Fenrir…
You're angry because Chen Honglei was too weak for you to appear, yes?
Our Zeng family's strongest youth—
the one who received You Ye's decklist—
I can duel him!
Let me fight you to your heart's content!"
Zeng Wang suddenly said, blood dripping down his face.
Fenrir stared at him, amused.
"A duel?
You don't want to entertain me—you want to save your clansmen, right?"
"Yes…
May Fenrir grant me a chance…"
Zeng Wang bowed so low his forehead hit the ground.
The surviving Zeng clansmen froze, holding their breath.
Everything depended on Fenrir's next sentence.
"Sure. Sure! Of course!"
Fenrir burst into loud laughter.
"It's been ages since someone dared challenge me proactively!
How interesting!"
A mere insect bringing an insect-tier archetype to fight him…
This era was getting stranger and stranger.