The Disciplinary Department's penalty duel changes were thus happily decided. Yu Xuan and Jaden Yuki, the two "masterminds," would team up and undergo the punitive duel.
Jaden also happily accepted this result. Firstly, as long as he had cards to play, Jaden was always happy. Secondly, he had only recently enrolled, so he wasn't particularly close with Syrus Truesdale, who was merely his roommate. Moreover, he hadn't even seen Syrus in a real duel yet.
Compared to that, if he had a choice, Yu Xuan, who had faced life-and-death gambles with him in the spirit world, was definitely a more suitable teammate.
Syrus himself was even happier. He was inherently quite timid, and before the duel date was even set, he was already half-withered upon hearing the decision. Now, hearing that he was replaced and wouldn't have to worry about holding his big brother back, he instantly felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
Everyone was happy with this change in decision; a world where no one was hurt was achieved.
However, since the duel opponents still needed to be contacted and scheduled, it was naturally impossible to arrange the duel immediately. Therefore, the Disciplinary Department's notification stated that the time was pending. They still had time to get to know each other and specially adjust their decks for team battles.
Following Jaden's habits, he naturally didn't plan to adjust his deck. He felt that no matter who came, it would be the same battle, and performing at his usual level would be enough. Even if the opponent truly had some special tactical combination that needed to be countered, he didn't need to specifically use his brain. A true duelist, as long as they trusted their deck, always had a chance no matter the situation.
To translate, a mature deck should learn to counter the opponent itself, without needing extra effort from the duelist.
But Yu Xuan disagreed.
Although the opponents weren't publicly disclosed, Yu Xuan knew that it would most likely still be the Paradox Brothers from the original story, who claimed to have "dueled against the first Duel King, Yugi Muto."
The two who appeared in GX used the Gate Guardian deck. Although this deck mysteriously received some support a decade later, the Paradox Brothers appearing in the GX anime should not have those advanced cards. From the perspective of the anime's worldview, future support cards should belong to the untapped potential of this deck.
Dueling with Jaden as a team, Yu Xuan's thoughts immediately became active. In his opinion, Jaden's destiny power should overwhelmingly defeat the Paradox Brothers. This duel should have considerable room for "miracle draws."
So, if he properly utilized Jaden's miracle draw power, he might be able to design some fun combinations that would otherwise be difficult for him to achieve alone.
This wasn't urgent for now; the duel date hadn't even been announced, so there should still be a few days to prepare.
Meanwhile, the freshman exchange tournament of the Duel Club had begun.
The same senior sister, who was quite well-built, was in charge of hosting the competition. She seemed a bit happy when she saw Yu Xuan at the venue: "You're here. I heard about the team duel, and I thought you might be too busy dealing with that duel to come and would need to ask for leave."
"How could that be? Such an interesting duel, and an opportunity to interact and bond with the new club members? How could I possibly miss it?" Yu Xuan said with a smile.
Besides, competing earned academic credits, and the champion could even choose cards from the Duel Club's exclusive inventory. He couldn't possibly miss it, no matter what.
However, the new club members who overheard this conversation had varied expressions.
Get lost, who wants to interact with you?
The senior sister smiled so widely her legs couldn't close: "That's good, I was just afraid you wouldn't come."
She didn't finish the second half of her sentence.
If you didn't come, how much fun would this year's competition be missing?
"Alright. Then, the Duel Club Freshman Cup competition officially begins. Everyone can now prepare for the first round of battles according to the roster."
So, the happy dueling time began again.
Yu Xuan's first opponent was an insider, a student from the Slifer Red dormitory. He remembered that this student seemed to have dueled him during the dormitory exchange battle, but this time, the style was different from last time.
First, it was Yu Xuan's turn. He directly played "Abyss Soldier," then set two cards and ended his turn. The opponent actually taunted him, saying that this was all he amounted to, that he had already surpassed him, and that he would show him his evolved duel. After saying that, he waved his hand and slapped down four set cards in his back row.
Yu Xuan pondered. Hmm, this scene seems familiar.
The Slifer Red student laughed heartily: "This time, I'm different from last time. Come on, don't hold back. If you can, cross my defenses and attack me! Go for the face!"
Yu Xuan indicated that he had never heard such a strange request, so he had no choice but to respectfully comply.
"Activate my face-down card, Continuous Trap - Royal Decree."
The Slifer Red student spat out a mouthful of old blood several feet high. He stared at Yu Xuan with an incredulous expression.
How did you even bring something like this with you?!
Could it be that you actually led the betrayal!?
"."
He smoothly won the first duel. Yu Xuan felt it was even simpler than his last encounter with the opponent. A combination of Royal Decree and Abyss Soldier basically suppressed them completely. The difficulty instantly returned to the "bullying noobs" level he experienced in the dojo before entering Duel Academy.
The friendly internal club exchange continued. The senior sister leaned against the railing of the high stands, most of her attention focused on Yu Xuan's duel.
On the field, there were screams as a bicycle ran over someone, or the sound of the one-eyed leader Zaloog's revolver. Submarine torpedoes crisscrossed, and Abyss Soldier wielded its trident, repeatedly bringing grimaces to the opponent's face.
Others didn't know, but the senior sister was growing happier the more she watched. She knew that with this new member, this year's competition would definitely not be boring. Looking around, she noticed that this year's Freshman Cup had higher attention than in previous years. Many older students in the club had rushed over to watch, and the seniors pointed at the new students below, who were wailing. The smiles on their faces formed a stark contrast with the miserable expressions of the new students.
The senior sister even found the main culprit, Hideyasu Watanabe, who was the first to be "persecuted" during the entrance battle. Senior Watanabe watched Yu Xuan's duels, one after another, without blinking, his smile so radiant that he seemed happier than his colleagues beside him.
"."
Yu Xuan, who had won battle after battle, gradually reached the semifinals, facing a female student from the Obelisk Blue dormitory.
"I activate the Equip Spell, 'Blazewing Burst,' and equip it to your 'Darklord Zerato' on the field. Then I activate the effect of my 'Abyss Soldier' unit 1. By discarding 'Killer Snake' from my hand, I return 'Blazewing Burst' to my hand. At this moment, due to the side effect of 'Blazewing Burst,' 'Darklord Zerato' is removed from the game."
Female student: "."
"Then I activate 'Blazewing Burst,' which returned to my hand, and equip it to your 'Warrior Lady of the Wasteland' on the field. Next, I use the effect of 'Abyss Soldier' unit 2. 'Blazewing Burst' returns to my hand again, and 'Warrior Lady of the Wasteland' is also removed from the game."
Female student: "."
Yu Xuan: "For the third time, I activate 'Blazewing Burst,' which returned to my hand. This time, I equip it to my own 'Abyss Soldier' unit 1 on the field. Its ATK increases by 400 points."
[Abyss Soldier (unit 1), ATK 1800 → ATK 2200]
[Abyss Soldier (unit 2), ATK 1800]
"Both Abyss Soldiers directly attack."
[Female student, LP 4000 → LP 0]
The female student, who had suffered two consecutive banishments and a direct attack to the face, slumped to the ground, her expression as chaotic as her hairstyle.
Who am I? Where am I? Why am I dueling?
Mom, I want to drop out of school.
Chazz Princeton, who had also achieved a winning streak and reached the finals, watched this scene, unconsciously clenching his fists. This was his long-awaited second chance.
This time, it had to be different.
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