The Duelist Alliance is really something.
It seems like something strange has sneaked in...
"President Kaiba Seto funded the formation of this organization and established the headquarters in Domino City, which is now a landmark building in Domino City.
As of now, the Alliance headquarters is the tallest building in the city center..."
Upon hearing the introduction from the electronic screen, Xue Lang couldn't help but look out the window. As expected, he easily spotted the tallest and most eye-catching skyscraper.
The towering skyscraper, with its crystalline, shining glass curtain walls. At the top of the building stood statues of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Masked Hero, and Magician, like silent guardians of the city, representing the ace monsters of the three founding members of the Alliance.
Seeing this, Xue Lang couldn't resist the urge to make a post on the forum.
This news would definitely be like detonating a depth charge on the forum, sure to attract the attention of the witty players.
However, this thought quickly passed and was soon forgotten. As the head of Youyu's fan support team, Xue Lang had top-notch professional qualities and clearly knew what was most important and what he needed to do.
He must first find Youyu-san, that was the priority, everything else could wait.
Unfortunately, all the people he used to know in this shop were gone.
He asked around and it seemed that ever since Ito Chinai went to college, the card shop had been turned into a Duel King museum. The shop owner, an old man, would count his earnings from the revenue share until his hands cramped each year, happily traveling the world with his money.
Xue Lang couldn't help but wail.
Youyu-san, where have you gone?
Have you already forgotten Xuelang by the Daming Lake?
...
Southern region.
A giant island lay in the endless blue sea, the sunlight pleasantly spreading over the ocean surface. Flocks of seagulls, foraging for food, swooped down in the brilliant sunlight, like they were heading to a fragrant dining hall.
The roar of engines broke the tranquility, as a steel bird with the "KC" logo emblazoned on its shell flew from the azure horizon, its tail flame like a silver-white sharp longsword slicing through the white clouds.
The cabin door unexpectedly opened outward in mid-air. Youyu stood inside the cabin, wearing black goggles, his trench coat billowing wildly in the gusts blowing in from outside.
The Kaiba Group bodyguard in the front row driver's seat couldn't help but lean his head over: "Mr. Youyu, are you sure you don't need to take a parachute?"
Even though it wasn't him about to perform this crazy act, the bodyguard was more nervous than Youyu.
Not for any other reason, but if anything happened to Mr. Wang of Duels, President Kaiba would definitely ensure he was in trouble upon return.
"No need." Youyu was quite confident, "You can go back directly, no need to wait for me."
"Yes, Mr. Youyu."
Youyu adjusted his goggles, took two steps, then leaped out from the cabin. The fierce wind embraced him, the heat and roar of the plane engines rapidly fading behind him. He felt his body caught by gravity, the tails of his trench coat like wings.
Now he somewhat understood why the president enjoyed jumping off the plane so much.
Doing so was not only cool and showy but also genuinely thrilling.
A three-hundred-meter height, this was a new record—he had never tried free-falling from such a high place before, but it did not affect his confidence in landing safely.
A green whirlwind enveloped his body, cushioning him as he approached the ground. Countless wind spirits obeyed his command, precisely controlling the wind speed and direction, allowing him to land at any desired spot perfectly.
This was the power of the Masked Hero Blast.
Masked Heroes were spirits nurtured from within Youyu, like extensions of his own limbs. Over six years, he and this Hero had developed such a high level of rapport that he could easily call upon the powers of various forms of Masked Heroes with just his thoughts.
Now, even without other spirits, relying solely on Masked Heroes and his own strength, Youyu was already one of the most formidable on Earth.
Of course, that was just on the surface.
Youyu did not swell with arrogance to think he was already invincible in the world.
All things in the world are continuously developing, and the game of Duel Monsters is naturally the same. Over six years, as time passed, the overall level of the Duel World had risen, and the emergence of new strong individuals in any hidden corner was not surprising.
The characters appearing in the GX Animation mostly seemed less powerful than the previous generation, giving the impression that the entire world's dueling level had regressed, but that was certainly not the case.
The reason for this illusion was merely because the perspective of the protagonists was different.
After all, the protagonists in DM were Duel Kings at the pinnacle of the Duel World, facing top-notch opponents from around the world. In GX, the protagonists were still young and inexperienced, with even Yugi and Kaiba being "legendary" figures to them. Even ordinary Professional Duelists could earn their reverence.
The animation only showcased the tip of the iceberg of this era, with truly powerful duelists like Yugi, Kaiba, and Jonouchi not even making an appearance.
But GX, as a sequel, indeed further expanded the worldview of Yu-Gi-Oh!, introducing the concept of parallel dimensions and even Cosmic visitors. In such a backdrop, there was certainly no shortage of strong figures.
Earlier this year, Yuki Judai had just celebrated his fifteenth birthday.
It was also this year when he registered to take the Southern Duel Academy's entrance exam, with the written test set to start in a month. At this moment, Judai was shutting himself at home, studying hard.
Youyu knew that this might mean the GX era was about to officially begin, also indicating that a new version of the Linked World was about to be launched.
He had to prepare for this.
The island on which he landed was, naturally, the famous Duel Academy, also the primary setting of the original story. The main storyline of GX centered around Yuki Judai and his friends' three-year growth experience in this academy, culminating in the finale at their graduation.
When this Duel Academy was established, after a sleepless night of card games with President Haima, Youyu successfully won the right to serve at the academy through dueling.
Now, he served as the honorary principal of this school.
Though, similar to his position at the Kaiba Group, to say he was the principal, his main task was to shine with the title of "Duel King", attracting young people in awe of this name to come here. Appearing on television from time to time to make appearances and draw attention to the academy.
You might say, the drawing effect was quite decent.
Every year, more than half of the applicants came for the name of "Duel King", with young boys and girls crowding in to get a glimpse of the legendary First Duel King.
If fortunate enough to receive his personal guidance, it would be the luck of a lifetime.
Because of this, this Duel Academy currently stands out among peers, essentially belonging to a category of its own as a prestigious school within the current world range.
Unless the original First Duel King, Muto Yugi, decided to oversee another school one day, it would be a long time before the academy encounters a significant competitor.
Youyu landed on the island, walking towards the school while dialing Principal Samejima's phone.
"Mr. Youyu? Have you arrived?"
"Mm, just got off the plane."
This was also literally speaking. Although he jumped off from the sky, didn't he also "get off the plane"?
On this trip to the academy, he planned to meet someone... and had scheduled a duel.
"Has that teacher arrived?" Youyu asked.
Before Principal Samejima could respond, the distinct voice of "Mamma Mia", "Mr. Wang of Duels really came" and similar comments could be heard on the other end of the line, extremely characteristic in tone.
"Alright, it seems they have arrived," said Youyu, "Have the teacher wait for a moment, I will be there within three minutes."