"Heh, you dared lay a hand on Youye? Do you really think I'm not here?" Munin, who had remained silent at the side, wore an icy expression.
She was a spirit—a high-ranking spirit among spirits. Combined with the power of the Runick archetype, most Earth-level Duelists were nothing more than prey in her eyes. Only Heaven-level Duelists had the strength to fight her.
With her protecting Youye, she did not think anyone in Hangzhou could threaten him.
"Munin, you may be strong, but you're a spirit. Senior has only just completed the rules' certification and entered the world of human duelists. You're not thinking deeply enough," Luo Hao said slowly, a trace of apprehension appearing on his face. He did not elaborate.
Youye's expression remained unchanged. He had long been mentally prepared for this.
Whether it was the people and family factions of this world tightly controlling the Card Pool, or Luo Hao's actions just now, anyone could see that this world prioritized personal and family interests above all else.
Sacrificing for others? What a joke!
Without exception, they only handled certifications or helped capture some rule-breaking duelists because the rules required them to.
Taking himself as an example, after becoming a Yellow-level Duelist, the Dueling Rules had given him these requirements: reach Platinum Rank in Master Duel, complete Herald of Purple Light Archetype, and win the City Tournament.
Once he met all three requirements, he could go to the Duel Association for Profound-level certification. If he passed, he would become a Profound-level Duelist.
Those requirements, especially the third one, were things he would not have bothered completing if the rules had not demanded it. Wang Cheng and the others were probably the same; otherwise, they would not have dealt with certain incidents.
If even they were like this, then with the enormous benefits he represented, not every person or family faction could produce the cards he wanted, nor would they necessarily be willing to give them to him. If some people or family factions could not produce those cards, or were unwilling to do so, yet still wanted his help, what would they do?
The answer was simple: rob him for free~
"Don't worry, I understand." Youye nodded, then asked, "Do you know which nearby cities have dueling tournaments?"
"A city-level dueling tournament? Hangzhou has one. If I remember correctly, this month's tournament has already reached the Top 32. If Senior needs it, I can authorize giving you our Inspector Bureau's Top 4 spot. That way, you can directly compete in the semifinals and finals," Wang Cheng immediately said, his eyes lighting up.
As an Earth-level Duelist, he instantly understood why Youye was asking. Naturally, he would not miss such a chance to earn credit and build goodwill.
"You've helped me a lot. If there are any staple cards like Effect Veiler that you want, come to me. I'll give you one free chance to negotiate," Youye said with a smile. He accepted the suggestion, but not the favor. As a transmigrator, he naturally understood that the hardest thing to repay these days was not money, but favors.
"Alright." The smile on Wang Cheng's face froze before he nodded with a bitter smile. Youye looked young, but he handled matters without leaving any openings. It was difficult even to try to win him over.
"Senior, Minister Luo, Bureau Chief Wang, I've brought the card list." Just as the two finished speaking, Chang Xingge's voice came from outside.
"Come in," Luo Hao said. As soon as he spoke, Chang Xingge opened the door and walked in, excitedly handing the tablet in her hands to Youye.
Since they had already agreed, he naturally accepted the card list without hesitation.
A full two hours passed. When he finished looking through it, Youye's eyes were filled with surprise. As expected of a world-class organization, even one branch of the Duel Association had a card list far broader than the one the Bai family had given him.
Putting aside the various individual cards, nearly ten archetypes had complete card sets, while more than twenty archetypes had over half their cards. There were even countless scattered cards from different archetypes.
Unfortunately, there were no cards suitable for Tearlaments.
"Other than the Predaplant Verte Anaconda we discussed earlier, I want Dark Magician, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Red-Eyes Fusion, Ceasefire, Card of Demise, Sphere Mode Ra, Coral Dragon, and Stardust Charge Warrior. There's no problem with these eight cards, right?" During those two hours, Youye had naturally chosen the cards he wanted.
After this, his Stun Runick deck would receive another major boost, especially in its ability to extend plays and draw through the deck.
Even if Fountain was targeted and banished, he could make Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon. Combined with cards like Saya and Baronne, he would still have the strength to fight.
"Of course there's no problem." Luo Hao nodded with a smile. Although he was curious about why Youye wanted those three Red-Eyes Fusion cards, he tactfully did not ask.
As for the other cards, aside from Ceasefire, whose effect he did not know, he understood the others to some degree and was not particularly surprised. For instance, although Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder could not extend plays like other cards, it was an excellent board-breaking card.
After that, Youye had lunch with them at their invitation, then Chang Xingge drove him back to the shop.
After returning to the shop, Munin, who had been quiet and reserved all day, looked at Youye and seriously reminded him, "Youye, if we give away such a powerful Drytron build, it may become a threat to us."
"It's not just people with the Drytron archetype who can use it. Those with the Herald archetype can use that build too. Even people with neither archetype can use it, though the price they need to pay will be much higher."
"A two-card starter that can still guarantee five negates even without Diviner of the Herald is indeed quite good." Seeing her serious expression, Youye knew she was worried about him. He stroked her smooth hair and smiled faintly.
"But—" Munin began in confusion, only for Youye to hand her a golden card, a Level 4 Rock-Type Spirit Monster, and slowly say, "Use it well. Traditional Runick can only bully ordinary duelists. Against true experts, it can't win. Try Stun Runick instead!"
"I think I understand why the organization values you so much." As Youye's words fell, a black-robed figure appeared in the shop at some unknown moment, standing less than two meters away from him.
The moment Munin saw that person, she was about to force a duel on him with the rules. However, a black knight spirit appeared and blocked her path, making her expression abruptly change. She prepared to duel the knight spirit first before dealing with the black-robed figure.
At that moment, Youye raised a hand to stop her and gave her a reassuring look. Then he turned to the black-robed figure and asked with a faint smile, "The organization? So you're Dark Duelists?"
"That's right. So, how about it? Will you join us?" The black-robed man was surprised by Youye's calmness. Ordinary people would have already been so frightened their legs turned to jelly, yet Youye was still chatting with him. So he went straight to the point and invited him.
"You're not even stating the conditions? The Inspector Bureau and Duel Association gave me some pretty good terms," Youye remarked. He did not treat the Dark Duelist before him as an enemy at all, as though they were old friends meeting again after a long time.
"Would someone like you join just because our conditions could satisfy you?" the black-robed man asked with a smile. He seemed convinced from the start that stating the conditions would be useless. Whether Youye joined or not, he had surely already made up his mind.
"That's true. No matter the conditions, I won't join." Youye nodded seriously, confirming the fact.
"You heard him. We can begin." After Youye answered, the black-robed man spoke calmly.
As his words fell, the entire shop was instantly swallowed by black mist that seemed to come from nowhere, as though it wanted to drag everyone into an abyss.
Rather than being afraid of the mist, Youye was filled with curiosity. He could sense the presence of the Dueling Rules within it. Just as he was about to study it carefully, a gaunt man appeared before him. Holding a Duel Disk and wearing an eerie smile, the man challenged him to a Dark Duel.
Youye gave the gaunt man an indifferent glance, then looked strangely at the black-robed figure who had just been chatting with him. "Do you Dark Duelists think so little of me? You found someone half-dead to have a Dark Duel with me?"
"With dueling strength of at least Grandmaster Rank, how could we possibly look down on you? Hehehe, after learning of you last night, we specifically prepared a former Quasi-Earth Level Duelist for you—Dark Insect."
"He may not be the strongest Dark Duelist in Hangzhou, but he is absolutely the Dark Duelist most likely to defeat you. There is no second choice."
The black-robed man chuckled. After speaking, he paused briefly before continuing.
"You've probably noticed already. Yes, this is a Dark Duel, and its rules are simple. If you win, he dies, and all his personal property becomes yours. If you lose, you join us Dark Duelists, hand over all the dueling knowledge you possess, and serve the Dark Duelists!"
Happy Dragon Boat Festival. This loser is still writing—please follow and bookmark~
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