This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship

At Whitney's command, the spot where Yoyo King had been stabbed suddenly unleashed a rebounding shockwave with twice the force of Rose Diamond's strike, easily blasting her away.

Yoyo King itself had no real attacking moves, only rebound effects: Counter reflected physical attacks, while Mirror Coat reflected special attacks.

It looked troublesome, but once they figured out its pattern, it would not be difficult to handle.

You Zhi commanded, "Don't concentrate your power into bursts. Use rapid attacks at high frequency."

Rose Diamond immediately changed her fighting style. Her sword fell like rain, piercing Yoyo King like a shower of needles. In the blink of an eye, it was riddled with holes and took massive damage.

Yoyo King used Counter again, but the reflected force was weak. At most, it pushed Rose Diamond back, because the skill could only reflect the power of the final hit.

Once Rose Diamond gave up power in favor of speed, it was equivalent to sealing Counter and rendering it useless.

Before long, Yoyo King was critically injured, its HP running dangerously low.

You Zhi immediately called Rose Diamond to stop, then activated the E-rank Spell Card "Mars" after estimating the timing, in case his opponent used the skill Shared Fate.

A Fireball flew from the Spell Card and struck Yoyo King, exploding into scattering sparks and completely wiping out its remaining HP.

Whitney, who had seemed calm until now, immediately said excitedly, "When Yoyo King is destroyed, split and summon three Yuyu!"

You Zhi said, "Behemoth, King of Beasts is no longer on your field, so Form Reversal affects your monsters as well. Yoyo King's trait has been nullified, so it cannot summon Yuyu."

"No, Form Reversal only affects monsters on the field. Yoyo King's trait activates when it leaves the field, so it won't be nullified!"

There was no bluffing in a Spirit Duel. As Yoyo King was destroyed, three monsters identical to it appeared on the battlefield, except they were less than one percent of its size.

[Yuyu (1 star) LIGHT attribute]

[Lineage: Normal]

[Level: 40]

[Attack: 300 (1350)]

[Defense: 100 (450)]

[Fairy-Type. Description: A transcendent angelic person whose thoughts are completely unknowable. Once angered, the consequences will be terrifying.]

Because their star rating had dropped, the split Yuyu actually had higher base stats than Yoyo King. But that was not what truly made them terrifying.

Whitney raised her hand and flipped over the Spell Card she had set on the field. "I activate Same-Name Alliance Treaty, destroying the monsters on your field."

[Charge Spell: Same-Name Alliance Treaty]

[Effect: Can only be activated when there are two or more non-token monsters with the same name on your field. When there are two, destroy one Spell Card on your opponent's field. When there are three, destroy all Spell Cards on your opponent's field. If Yuyu is on the field, you may instead destroy all monsters on your opponent's field.]

Look Carefully

As the Spell Card activated, the three Yuyu were joined on the field by three ugly yellow monsters with enormous heads and antenna-like eyes growing from their heads.

All six monsters lunged at Rose Diamond at once, looking as though they intended to perish together with her.

Not only that, You Zhi keenly noticed that Form Reversal's effect had rotated back to his side. Rose Diamond's trait was nullified, and she lost her once-per-turn resistance to destruction effects.

Whitney had clearly calculated the timing.

"But destruction-type Spell Cards aren't compulsory. Those rotten tofu blocks and stinking bird eggs won't be able to hurt my monster," You Zhi said confidently.

The moment he finished speaking, Rose Diamond raised her rapier and slashed out an Air Slash from afar. Before the three Ojama Yellow could get close, she blew them apart. As for the Yuyu that followed, she cut them down one by one with ease.

It was not that Same-Name Alliance Treaty was an especially useless Spell Card. Considering that the card had originally been intended to destroy Spell Cards, even weak summoned monsters were more than enough to deal with Spell Cards that could neither evade nor resist.

You Zhi said, "You shouldn't have used the associated effect. Destroying the Spell Cards I set on the field would have been more worthwhile."

There was not the slightest hint of discouragement on Whitney's face. A mere D-rank card had been nothing more than a decoy. Smiling, she said, "That was exactly my goal. Look carefully at the field. Isn't something missing?"

You Zhi looked closely and discovered that something was indeed missing—only two of the Yuyu summoned by Yoyo King remained!

After thinking for a moment, he understood. "You mixed Yuyu among the ones summoned by the Spell Card and deliberately had Rose Diamond cut them down?"

"That's right. Everything was for the sake of activating this card."

Whitney immediately slapped down the Spell Card in her hand.

[Instant-Activation Spell Card: Angry Yuyu]

[Effect: When "Yuyu" is face-up on your field and a Fairy-Type monster on your field is destroyed, "Yuyu" temporarily gains 3000 attack.]

In an instant, the two remaining Yuyu entered a rage. Their expressions changed from "-_-" to "-︿-", their entire bodies turned red, and their tofu-flat bodies rapidly swelled. Even the question marks above their heads became exclamation marks. Their attack power surged to 3000, surpassing Rose Diamond's.

You Zhi was not worried. Even with their increased attack power, Yuyu were one-star monsters with pitifully low HP. Rose Diamond could still win in a direct confrontation.

"Only their attack increased, not their defense or vitality. No need to worry. Charge in... No! Get away from them! Don't make contact!"

Rose Diamond had been about to attack with her sword, but upon hearing the command, she hurriedly retreated. Fortunately, she was nimble enough to avoid Yuyu's charge.

"What a pity. You were just a little short. Your reaction was really fast."

Whitney sounded slightly regretful.

You Zhi said, "I'm also a fan of Self-Destruct tactics. How could I not understand your intentions? High attack, low defense, low HP—monsters like that are best suited for Self-Destruct. But once you understand that, they're not hard to deal with. Rose Diamond, keep your distance and attack from afar with Air Slash."

Rose Diamond nodded. Flying-type energy gathered around her blade as she prepared to slash an Air Slash at Yuyu from a distance.

No matter how powerful Self-Destruct was, it still had to hit its target or close the distance first. Although Yuyu had a pair of wings, they were truly slow and could only serve as living targets.

Whitney said, "Don't celebrate too soon. I already considered that. I activate the Spell Card Bottomless Trap Hole, preventing your monster from attacking or moving."

[Trap Card: Bottomless Trap Hole]

[Effect: Can only be activated when your opponent successfully summons, Flip Summons, or Special Summons a monster. Those monsters are changed to face-down Defense Position, and monsters changed to face-down Defense Position by this effect cannot change their battle positions.]

You Zhi caught sight of the description displayed by his cheat and immediately retorted, "Don't try to bluff me. Bottomless Trap Hole can only be activated when a monster is summoned onto the field. How can it affect Rose Diamond when she's already on the field?"

"Look carefully."

As Whitney activated her final Spell Card, a huge hole suddenly opened beneath Rose Diamond's feet, causing her to fall straight in.

Rose Diamond reacted quickly, driving her sword into the wall of the hole in an attempt to stop her fall. But an invisible force pressed down from the opening, forcing her into the water at the bottom. As though sealed away, she found it difficult to move.

You Zhi was baffled. "Why is this happening?"

Could Spirit Duels also be won by bluffing, with a successful bluff actually affecting reality?

Whitney said smugly, "That's why I told you to look carefully. This is a hidden effect after association. It can ignore the timing restriction and be activated at any time."

"But where is the associated monster on the field? Bottomless Trap Hole's card art only has one unlucky Goblin... That shadow at the hole's entrance is Yuyu!"

Only after observing carefully did You Zhi confirm that Whitney had not been bluffing. Yuyu was indeed depicted in Bottomless Trap Hole's card art. Whether it was the outline of its body or the question mark and exclamation mark above its head, all of them were Yuyu's hallmarks, though they were easy to overlook.

Judging from the story depicted on the card, Yuyu had most likely dug this hole and trapped a Goblin in it. It truly lived up to its title as the fiercest and most wicked.

"Hehe, it's good that you understand I wasn't tricking you. Angry Yuyu, jump into the hole and finish the opponent. One is enough—don't both jump in."

The two Angry Yuyu came to the edge of the hole and bent over to look down, about to decide which one would go in.

"I activate the Spell Card Hammer Shot, destroying the monster with the highest attack on the field."

The moment You Zhi finished speaking, a massive wooden hammer descended from the sky and struck both Yuyu gathered together, triggering a violent explosion on the spot.

Whitney stared in stunned disbelief. She also had the Spell Card Hammer Shot and knew that it could only destroy one monster. The situation before her could only be attributed to fortunate timing, allowing a single-target Spell Card to achieve a double kill.

In any case, all the Yuyu had been destroyed, and Whitney had no Spell Cards left in her hand. It was impossible for her to revive her monsters, so the referee quickly declared You Zhi the winner.

After the morning's challenges ended, Whitney came to the lounge and gave You Zhi the badge she had delayed handing over.

Keeping his promise, You Zhi told her where he had found Neon Stone Sprite.

"It was actually the underground lake in Connecting Cave. I can't believe you found such an out-of-the-way place."

Whitney clicked her tongue in amazement, then handed You Zhi a note. "I can't take advantage of you for nothing. This is the summoning chant for Toon World. If Toon World is on the field when a monster levels up, it has a chance of evolving into Toon Form—provided that monster has a Toon Form."

This card might not be useful to others, but You Zhi had a Goblin Attack Force under his command, so it definitely would not go to waste.

(Author: My dry eye has flared up again. Only one update today.)

Dragonmaid's Enhancement

On the night You Zhi obtained the summoning chant, he summoned Toon World. After all, it was merely an E-rank card, so there was no difficulty involved.

He also summoned a D-rank Spell Card, Spell Removal. It could destroy one Instant-Activation Spell Card on the field and was considered an inferior substitute for Mystical Space Typhoon.

Most Instant-Activation Spell Cards had one-time effects and disappeared after use, leaving no time to destroy them. Thus, Spell Removal could truly only deal with continuous Instant-Activation Spell Cards. It also had a hidden effect that allowed its user to inspect the opponent's set cards, making it a rather restrictive card.

"The permanent evolution methods currently known are normal evolution, Evolution Stone evolution, intimacy evolution, Spell Card evolution, and one questionable evolution through external force."

You Zhi looked at the Toon World in his hand and summarized the evolution methods he knew. Excluding temporary evolutions like Scatter Fusion, which vanished after leaving battle, he knew a total of five methods.

Normal evolution included level-up evolution and battle evolution. It required no additional conditions, and the evolved monster was usually a Superior Form.

Evolution Stone evolution was exactly as its name suggested: evolution through a stone. The evolved monster would take on a Fusion Form.

Intimacy evolution required an inseparable bond between a monster and its trainer. The evolved monster would take on a Synchro Form. Although You Zhi currently had no Synchro Monsters under his command, this method had already been widely recognized.

Spell Card evolution occurred when a monster leveled up in battle after activating a specific Spell Card. The evolved monster would take on an Altered Form—meaning the star rating and racial stats remained the same, but its trait differed, and its appearance changed slightly.

Finally, evolution through external force was based on Goblin Attack Force's case. By absorbing the power of other monsters, it evolved into a Link Form. There was currently only one example, which was insufficient as sample data, so it remained questionable.

"Come to think of it, aside from Goblin, Gem-Knight Quartz, and Magician's Valkyria, which have known evolution methods, I still have no idea how the other monsters evolve... Tch, the Spirit Privacy Protection Act really is troublesome."

After thinking about it, You Zhi decided it would be better to ask the monsters themselves. Perhaps they knew their own evolution methods. So he summoned the remaining four monsters and questioned them one by one.

Demon Lizard Yihao said, "Sss~"

Laundry Dragonmaid translated, "He says he can gain an evolution form by increasing his spiritual power, but he doesn't know whether there are any further evolutions after that."

Neon Stone Sprite said, "Abo~"

Laundry Dragonmaid said, "She says she has another evolution form, but she doesn't know how to evolve."

Silent Magician said, "..."

Laundry Dragonmaid said, "She says she can evolve as long as she increases her spiritual power. If Master wants to see it sooner, he can trigger her trait and let her evolve temporarily."

You Zhi said in surprise, "If I remember correctly, her trait summons Silent Magician in another form after she's destroyed. Does that include evolution forms she hasn't mastered yet?"

Silent Magician nodded.

You Zhi rubbed his chin, reconsidered the effect description, and pondered, "Could the key be the phrase 'ignore summoning conditions'? A trait with that description can summon even forms that haven't been mastered, while one without it can only choose from forms that have already been mastered?"

Silent Magician tilted her head, indicating that she did not understand.

"Forget it. It's enough to know that you can evolve by leveling up. There's no need to make you experience being destroyed just to satisfy a moment of curiosity."

You Zhi waved his hand, then looked at Laundry Dragonmaid. "You still haven't told me about your situation."

"Eh? Me?"

Laundry Dragonmaid pointed at herself.

"You're the only one left who hasn't said anything. What, do you not have an evolution form?"

"I probably... do," Laundry Dragonmaid said, rubbing her white apron uneasily. "My other sisters can transform into dragons. I should be able to as well."

"You have other sisters?"

"Yes. In my memories of the Spirit Realm, I worked together with everyone in a villa. Everyone was very kind. Although I often made mistakes and caused them trouble, they never blamed me. They even patiently taught me lots of housekeeping skills."

High-talented monsters could retain more memories of the Spirit Realm. This was also something Professor Mohn had mentioned in his paper, using it to support the hypothesis that monsters in the real world were actually projections of their true bodies in the Spirit Realm.

You Zhi saw that Laundry Dragonmaid looked terrified that he might dismiss her, just like Gagaga Girl had been at first. After sensing the remaining spiritual power in his body, he said, "Come to think of it, you've absorbed quite a bit of spiritual power experience too. It's time for you to learn some combat skills. At the very least, you need to be able to defeat wild monsters. Before that, try summoning your Associated Card first and strengthen yourself a little."

"Okay!"

Laundry Dragonmaid immediately perked up upon hearing that. Since her master wanted to summon her Associated Card, it meant he would not dismiss her.

But her mood soon became uneasy again. What if Master failed to summon the Associated Card? Would he be disappointed and dismiss her afterward?

With an anxious heart, Laundry Dragonmaid returned to her Pokémon Card. You Zhi placed the card at the center of the ritual as a medium, then circulated his spiritual power and recited the summoning chant.

The facts proved that Laundry Dragonmaid's worries had been completely unnecessary. As someone blessed with outrageous luck, You Zhi might not get everything he wished for every time, but he usually gained something.