Bai Yun'er noticed the issue as well. She had not paid attention when she dueled Youye before, but thinking back on it now, her order had been predetermined during that duel, while Youye's had been random!
That made her even more curious about who Youye really was!
"If you want to break the order and decide who duels first in advance, that works too. I happen to have the privilege in Master Duel to change that for you."
Hearing Sheng Ning's surprised voice, Youye did not think much of it and began communicating with Master Duel's rules to alter the rules on Sheng Ning's side. This was one of the privileges of being ranked first in Master Duel: he could unilaterally give his opponent a slight advantage when dueling him.
As for why the settings had automatically been changed when he dueled Bai Yun'er, the reason was simple. If a client went all out against him while he won easily and displayed his strength, would that not earn the client's trust?
Incidentally, having multiple alt accounts was also a privilege of being first in Master Duel. Ordinary duelists only had one Master Duel account. The same went for obtaining designated cards, though that privilege required taking first place for five consecutive years. Unfortunately, settlement rewards were based on the person, not the account.
"Privilege???"
Sheng Ning gave Youye a deep look, then shifted her gaze to the information in the duel room. Just as Youye had said, it had been adjusted. Her initial surprise immediately turned into caution. Cold sweat began to form on her fair face as she opened Youye's public Master Duel information.
Unlike Bai Yun'er, who cared only about getting stronger and paid no attention to worldly matters, Sheng Ning was a member of the Inspector Bureau. She knew many of the unspoken rules of dueling and Master Duel. Leaving aside Dark Duels that could determine life and death, Master Duel only granted certain duel privileges once one reached Grandmaster Rank!
Yes, Grandmaster Rank was the starting point! Yet after checking again and again, she confirmed that Youye was only Platinum Rank. She also remembered his identity information perfectly; there could be no mistake.
So the question was, how had someone at Platinum Rank obtained rule privileges? Why was he so confident that he could beat her with random draws instead of using a predetermined order? And with this Tenyi Swordsoul deck she had never even heard of?
"What is it? If you're not feeling well, we can wait. I'm not in a hurry."
Youye noticed the odd look on Sheng Ning's face and showed concern.
He did not want to win while his opponent was in poor condition. Of course, more importantly, he did not want Sheng Ning to have an excuse when she lost later.
"It's fine. Let's begin."
Sheng Ning took a deep breath and did her best to calm herself. Whether Youye was the real deal or not, the duel would reveal it.
"Alright. You can go first."
Youye nodded and directly gave her the first turn. In his previous life, he definitely would not have done that unless he was using Tenpai Dragon. At equal skill levels, Yu-Gi-Oh! was practically unplayable going second.
But in this world? So what if he let them Build a Board first? Could they beat him with those two joke Ancient Gear bosses?
Youye (8000 LP) vs. Sheng Ning (8000 LP)
Sheng Ning went first. Both sides drew five cards, and the duel began!
Looking at her familiar opening hand, Sheng Ning's previously heavy mood gradually eased.
The Ancient Gear archetype was exclusive to the Inspector Bureau, specifically prepared for Master Duel cheaters. With its overwhelming attack power and powerful Battle Phase lockdown, it killed anyone who stood in its way below Diamond Rank. It was specially designed to catch fake-ranked duelists like him.
While Sheng Ning relaxed, Bai Yun'er quietly watched Youye, eagerly anticipating how he would respond.
"I Normal Summon Ancient Gear Wyvern, then activate its effect to add an Ancient Gear card other than itself to my hand. I add Ancient Gear Golem to my hand, then enter the restriction that prevents me from setting cards!"
"I activate Ancient Gear Fusion from my hand, fusing Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon, and Ancient Gear Dragon from my hand!"
"Fusion Summon, Level 10, Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem!"
As Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem appeared, the pressure in Sheng Ning's heart completely vanished. This was the confidence the Ancient Gear end board gave her!
Bai Yun'er was stunned. Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem was one of the few publicly known super-powerful end boards. Its monstrous 4400 ATK, piercing damage in the Battle Phase, and Spell/Trap lockdown during the Battle Phase pushed its power to the limit. There was not even any way to stall for survival. Even if it was dealt with, it could summon Ancient Gear Golem with its final effect, and that card was likewise comparable to an end board!
It was an opponent that Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the strongest monster in her Swordsoul Deck, could never overcome!
Just as she was reeling in shock, Youye's voice came with obvious disdain and dissatisfaction. "Wait? That's it? You put Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem on the field going first? Did you summon the wrong thing? You still have Ancient Gear monsters on the field, so why bring out this thing? The result would be the same either way, but you holding back like this makes me a little uncomfortable. I'll give you a chance—fuse again!"
Bai Yun'er's brain instantly overheated at his words. In her eyes, the best Youye could make from that hand was Chengying. Without a Bystial banish trigger, he had no way to banish the Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem before him. So why was he questioning its very existence like that? Why did he look down so much on this overwhelmingly powerful end board? He was even telling Sheng Ning to redo her play?
Sheng Ning's mood, which had just relaxed, grew heavy again. She could tell that Youye genuinely looked down on Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem. He was not being arrogant or forcing a bluff.
More importantly, Youye's words clearly showed that he knew about Ancient Gear's other super-powerful end board, an exceptionally unbeatable card!
Thus, she answered with a serious expression.
"That card has been sealed away. Only Bureau Chiefs throughout the generations are allowed to know its information and reproduce it!"
Youye: ...
Once again, he gave this world the middle finger. Was it really necessary to seal away even an end board like that?
"Fine. Is your turn over?"
"It's over."
Sheng Ning answered slowly, looking at Youye.
She was not stupid. From the moment she introduced herself until now, Youye had remained as calm as ever, without the slightest hint of urgency. His privilege before the duel, his pointing out which monster she should have summoned during the duel—everything revealed that Youye was far from simple.
But it was just so strange! Why was someone like him only Platinum Rank? And why did he not even have a proper deck!?
"Alright, my turn. Draw!"
Youye drew a card, glanced at it, then said to Bai Yun'er behind him, "Watch closely. The swordsmanship that comes next costs extra."
"Okay!"
Bai Yun'er stared seriously at Youye's screen. Since it was Youye's perspective, she could clearly see the effects of the cards in his hand.
"I activate the effect of Tenyi Dragon - Vishuda in my hand. If I control no Effect Monsters, I Special Summon this card from my hand. Then I use it to set a Link Arrow and Link Summon Link-1 Tenyi Spirit - Sahasrara!"
"I activate the effect of Swordsoul Strategist - Longyuan in my hand. I discard the Spell Card Swordsoul Sacred Summit to Special Summon it, then Special Summon a Token in Defense Position (Wyrm-Type, Tuner, Water, Level 4, ATK/DEF: 0)."
At that point, Youye's hand paused slightly. He turned to Bai Yun'er. "Actually, the duel would already be over if I made a certain Level 10 Synchro here. But it's the most generic Synchro end board, so it costs extra. This time, we'll make Chengying from the archetype instead. It also fits this duel better."
Sheng Ning: ???
Bai Yun'er: !!!
The two women were dumbfounded. Youye had only made four moves and seemingly done nothing, yet he had directly declared the duel over? But after hearing him, neither of them found it unbelievable this time.
Instead, their feminine intuition told them that Youye could do it!
Before you continue