Chapter 134: The Power of Cards
Chapter 134: The Power of Cards
The Labyrinth Brothers left the arena howling in frustration.
Even as they were escorted out of the academy, the two legends were still dazed and confused.
Perhaps until the very end, they were still thinking—
How could anyone's duel be so treacherous!? Students of Duel Academy? Freshmen?
What century is this joke from?
If given a choice, they would even prefer to face Yami Yugi and Joey Wheeler again. Although they might be instantly defeated or completely overwhelmed, at least it would be a quick and clean death, unlike this slow and torturous execution they had just endured.
Especially that jellyfish-haired guy, who, after winning, jumped in front of them and made a somewhat provocative gesture.
"We won! What a fun duel!"
The Labyrinth Brothers: "..."
The brothers almost rolled up their sleeves and took action right then and there.
Ha ha ha, yes, a truly fun duel.
Fun my ass.
The two turned away, their faces sullen, and stormed off.
Duel Academy, this bizarre place, was somewhere they vowed never to return to as long as they lived.
"I never expected this," even Asuka on the spectator stand was momentarily speechless.
Tristan also had a complicated expression on his face. "Yeah, even the legendary duelists were defeated."
He didn't finish his sentence, but both of them could understand the hidden meaning behind his words.
No, it wasn't as simple as being "defeated."
The legendary duelists had been utterly crushed.
Anyone could see that the Labyrinth Brothers left the arena in a dazed and confused state, almost on the verge of a mental breakdown. It wouldn't be surprising if their friendship fell apart after this.
The students and teachers who had watched the duel felt nothing but joy, and they couldn't help but agree with Jaden's assessment that it was "a fun duel."
However, after calming down and reflecting on what had just happened, they realized that even the legendary duelists had been driven to the brink of self-isolation. The future of the dueling world seemed to be growing darker and more uncertain.
This combination was actually modified by You Xuan, and it also had a prototype in the real card-playing world called [Cosmic LOCK].
It was also one of the earliest card groups to emerge in the real-world card environment. However, calling it an "arena" was a bit of a stretch, as this deck could only be considered entertainment back then, falling short of the mainstream strategies in the competitive environment.
As the name suggests, it was a specialized lockdown deck centered around the continuous trap card "Cosmic Shrink," a typical revenge strategy.
The reason it was merely entertainment was that achieving a complete lockdown was no easy feat. During the setup phase, it was highly vulnerable to disruption and interference from the opponent. However, once the lockdown formation was established, with the card pool depth in the early environment, one could say that not even divine intervention could save your opponent.
The moment the LOCK was in place, it was as if your opponent was "alive but already dead."
Of course, there was no way for You Xuan to remember such a card group, and he only knew that something like this existed. So, he designed a modified version, combining the stability of a disruption lockdown with the power of the Cosmic LOCK strategy.
At the same time, his disruption strategy was also upgraded with a large number of animation-exclusive cards. The early game field control and setup were handled by his own disruption system, while the crucial lockdown card "Cosmic Shrink" and the face-up attack strategy were entrusted to Jaden and his "Iron Wall Gunner."
They had to rely on Jaden's luck to some extent to pull off such a devastating lockdown with ease.
Of course, godly draws were ultimately based on luck, and neither Jaden nor You Xuan could be certain that he would immediately draw the "Cosmic Shrink." But even if they didn't, they still had a tactical plan. They could rely on the disruption lockdown and the Elemental Heroes to fight, although it wouldn't be as oppressive as the lockdown formation of the Cosmic LOCK strategy.
Without Jaden's assistance, the original disruption lockdown decks mostly relied on direct-damage-inflicting monster effects and spell-and-trap cards for their offensive capabilities.
It was evident that Jaden, experiencing such a fresh and unique duel, was genuinely enjoying himself, as he excitedly raised his hand to give You Xuan a celebratory fist bump.
Tristan witnessed this and was once again left speechless.
He recalled his previous research and analysis of Jaden's Hero deck, and it seemed that their tactical style had changed.
Watching You Xuan and Jaden standing together, he felt a strange sensation.
These two individuals influenced and changed each other. Originally, they should have been duelists with completely different and extreme styles, and Tristan had even thought that their combination might lead to interference and rejection between them.
However, it now seemed that there was some sort of mysterious chemistry between them, and the sum of their partnership was far more terrifying than its parts.
Tristan silently made up his mind.
"Disruptive monsters... Can these insignificant monsters even be of any use?" Manjome furrowed his brows, deep in thought.
Yet another wave of course credits was successfully earned, much to You Xuan's satisfaction.
A few days later, his application for scientific research was also approved by the academy.
You Xuan was already a student of great interest to both Chancellor Sheppard and Professor Crowler, and after showcasing his initial small achievements, the Research Department praised him as a genius.
Although there was no precedent for such a request, after consecutive meetings over the past two days, the academy eventually agreed to his proposal. This meant that You Xuan now had his own laboratory and a substantial amount of funding from the academy, a treatment almost equivalent to that of a teacher.
Of course, he wasn't a mentor and couldn't take on students of his own.
But that didn't matter; he could always recruit his own research assistants.
He just so happened to know someone with top-notch research talent who would definitely not refuse this opportunity.
These past few days, Saizawa once again found himself unable to sleep at night. He sat in front of his computer, meticulously analyzing the duel between You Xuan and Judai, listing the cards used by both sides in an attempt to reconstruct their deck builds and tactics.
The more he analyzed, the more overwhelmed he felt.
He realized that You Xuan seemed to bring a completely new and mind-boggling strategy to the table every time, each one drastically different from the last. This made it incredibly difficult for Saizawa to see the value in his own countermeasure research.
In fact, he now felt that he wasn't so much researching countermeasures as he was studying the problem-solving approaches of a top student in hopes of gaining inspiration and improving himself.
Coincidentally, just as he was immersed in his diligent research, the main subject of his study decided to message him.
Saizawa was a little surprised to receive a message from You Xuan and paused for a moment before opening it.
"The hidden potential of my monsters?" Saizawa read the message, his expression turning pensive.
What's this about? How come I don't know anything about this?
Elsewhere, in the Obelisk Blue girls' dormitory, in the bathroom...
Tenjoin Asuka dipped her foot into the pool, testing the water temperature before gracefully stepping in.
The combination of towering mountains and clear flowing water had always been a perfect match, which was why men throughout history had loved landscape paintings and traveling to scenic locations.
Asuka relaxed in the water, her eyes half-closed in pleasure, only to suddenly feel uncomfortable as she realized her two good sisters, Junko and Chazz, were staring intently at her.
"What are you doing?" Asuka instinctively adopted a defensive posture.
"Nothing, it's just that Asuka, you're so enviable."
"Envious of what? And stop staring like that."
Junko giggled, "Speaking of which, Chazz seems to have grown up a bit too. It's really enviable."
Chazz quickly averted her gaze, "Junko, keep your hands to yourself."
After a bout of laughter, Chazz casually changed the subject, "By the way, there are quite a few outstanding boys in our year."
Junko, "That's true. For example, there's Yuki Judai. But he's so loud and chatty."
"Saizawa is nice. He's good-looking and seems very intelligent."
"Actually, Yuuki You Xuan also fits my aesthetic. He has good grades and is really talented. It's just a shame..."
Chazz paused, unsure how to describe it.
"Ah, it's fine as long as you don't duel him," Chazz added.
"Indeed," Junko agreed, "He's quite interesting when he duels others."
But dueling him yourself? That's a hard pass.
It could trigger cardiovascular disease.
"What do you think, Asuka?"
Asuka tilted her head in thought, but before she could say anything, she heard a series of beeps coming from the pool.
It was her student terminal, which she had left nearby in case someone needed to contact her urgently.
Asuka walked to the edge of the pool and picked up the terminal, curious to see who it was.
"Hmm?" She raised her eyebrows as she recognized the sender.
It was a message from You Xuan, the very person they had been talking about.
【Do you want to know the true power of my Electronicized Angel?】
Asuka: "?"
(End of Chapter)
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