Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
You Ye once again arrived at King Yuan's grand villa.
The past three days had been calm, and during that time, You Ye received two pieces of good news.
The first:
His quarterfinal opponent withdrew, allowing You Ye to advance directly into the Top 4.
The second:
Li Yuan had successfully collected the complete Hundred-Headed Dragon engine, which You Ye also obtained as a result.
In addition, he received the Rank 7 "Small Aircraft", along with several other odd but interesting utility cards.
They might not be overwhelmingly powerful—but at the right moment, they could produce unexpected results.
There was, however, one piece of bad news.
Melo had returned to the Spirit Realm.
Because You Ye's Duelist Level had remained linked to Melo for too long, not only could he no longer summon Melo, but he also couldn't summon any other spirits for the time being.
He would need to wait one full week.
"You're here," Li Yuan said cheerfully.
"Come eat—my grilled fish is almost done."
By the pond beside the villa, Li Yuan and the Har King were grilling a strange fish over two meters long.
When they saw You Ye arrive, Li Yuan immediately invited him over.
You Ye walked over with Muning, watching them grill the fish, not asking why Li Yuan had called him.
"We'll talk business while eating," Li Yuan said while turning the fish.
"This is one of the few fish species from the Spirit Realm that managed to reproduce successfully in the human world. The taste is exceptional."
You, Ye, nodded.
The aroma alone surprised him.
It was fragrant but not heavy, with none of the usual fishy sharpness.
By all logic, such a light scent shouldn't be very stimulating—
Yet it strongly teased the appetite.
Soon, Li Yuan placed the grilled fish on the large table and smiled.
"My skills are limited. Dig in."
You Ye, picked up his chopsticks.
The moment the fish touched his mouth, he was even more surprised.
The texture was like jelly—melting instantly.
Only a rich but clean freshness remained, with no greasiness at all.
Muning was equally astonished.
Neither of them expected such a fish to exist in the Spirit Realm—much less to be successfully cultivated in the human world.
"Which Spirit Realm does this fish come from?" You, Ye, asked after a bite.
If nothing else, he was certain the Tearlaments merfolk would absolutely love it.
If they liked it, there was no reason for him not to catch some himself.
"The Sea Emperor's realm," Li Yuan replied, then added,
"This fish has extremely strict water-quality requirements. It's fine in the Spirit Realm, but very hard to raise here."
"Understood," You Ye nodded, already planning.
Seeing You Ye deep in thought, Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling like an old fox.
Was he being kind out of generosity?
Of course not.
This was about building goodwill with the Tearlaments.
Even if he couldn't obtain the archetype itself, future dealings in the Perlereino / Primeval Planet world would become far more convenient.
Why covet that world?
Because the power of Tearlaments and Kashtira spoke for itself.
"Do you know the format after the Top 4?" Li Yuan suddenly asked.
"I heard it's a best-of-three, first to two points wins," You Ye replied.
"One win and one draw doesn't count."
"As for cards, anything you own or can legally use is allowed. No restrictions."
Li Yuan nodded.
"That's the general idea, but there are many details."
"First, turn order. You and your opponent decide who goes first.
After that, you get 30 minutes to modify your deck."
"The number of cards can change between games—
40 cards in Game 1, 60 in Game 2 are allowed."
"From Game 2 onward, the player with fewer points chooses turn order.
If tied, the rules decide."
"Second, deck construction strategy."
"You should know—going first and going second are entirely different games."
"Going first requires protection and escort cards.
Going second requires board breakers."
"In single-game duels, you might run everything—
Kaijus, Sphere Mode, Dark Ruler No More, Forbidden Droplet."
"But at Heaven-rank and above, going-second decks often run three copies of breakers to guarantee draws through bond probability."
"Finally," Li Yuan continued,
"Dark Duels and Gamble Duels must be declared before Game 1.
They cannot be activated mid-match."
"If a duelist loses the ability to act during a duel, they automatically lose when the time limit ends."
"I understand," You Ye nodded.
Then, recalling a certain infamous card, he asked calmly:
"If a card effect directly declares victory—does that still override match rules?"
"…?"
Li Yuan froze for a moment, then looked deeply at You Ye.
He wasn't stupid.
If you asked this, then such a card definitely existed in this world.
A card capable of bending the rules themselves.
"Yes," Li Yuan answered without hesitation.
"Match rules are supplementary. Actual duel rules still take priority."
"Then that's fine," You Ye said.
Having played physical Yu-Gi-Oh! competitively in his previous life, You Ye could tell—
This world's best-of-three differed in detail, but not in essence.
Go first to establish protection.
Go second to break boards.
"One more thing," Li Yuan added.
"Two of the Top 4 have fabricated identities."
"Black gloves?" You, Ye, murmured.
"Yes. They change archetypes and identities to act behind the scenes for major families or factions."
"There are too many of them. The Duel Association can't possibly track them all."
"I see," You Ye nodded.
He understood this perfectly.
After all, he himself was essentially undocumented—
surviving on free meals and lodging from the academy.
At least one-tenth of the students were the same.
Investigating everyone was impossible.
"Doesn't matter," You Ye said calmly.
"Black gloves or white gloves—if they deserve to die, they die."
Li Yuan said nothing more.
You, Ye, was right.
For duelists, there was only one objective.
Win.
One Day Later — Top 4 Arena
You Ye, stood opposite a thin, middle-aged man.
Sima Jie.
The staff escorted them in, then silently withdrew.
"You Ye," Sima Jie said politely with a smile.
"Could you help me establish contact with the Tearlaments?"
"If you can, I'll surrender immediately.
As long as your conditions aren't excessive, I'll agree."
"I can't," You Ye replied calmly.
"Tearlaments is a unique archetype. Only one person can possess it."
Sima Jie frowned slightly, his eyes flickering.
His intuition told him You Ye was telling the truth.
"So be it," Sima Jie sighed softly.
Only one owner meant it had to belong to his family—
no one else.
Black mist rose around them.
A Dark Duel began.
"I'll go first—any objections?" You, Ye, asked.
"Please," Sima Jie agreed.
Going first was important, but Sima Jie had prepared counters for acceleration, Kashtira milling, and more.
More importantly, he wanted to see You Ye's best-of-three habits.
Did he switch archetypes?
If yes, every counter had to be included.
If not, he could tailor everything to one deck.
Game 1
You Ye (8000 LP) vs. Sima Jie (8000 LP)
Best of Three — You Ye goes first
Both drew five cards.
You, Ye, glanced at his hand, his expression strange.
He had drawn several of the "odd tools" he'd recently acquired.
More importantly—
Sima Jie's deck was 42 cards.
"You Heaven-rank duelists also run ~40 cards?" You, Ye, asked.
"Because you build lock boards," Sima Jie replied.
"With 60 cards, I can't guarantee drawing even one hand trap."
"After studying your duels, I realized ~40 cards doesn't hurt consistency at all.
In fact, it improves it."
"I see," You Ye nodded meaningfully.
"Good logic—but you picked the wrong opponent."
"…?"
You Ye didn't explain.
He began.
"I activate the Field Spell Primeval Planet Perlereino – Kashtira Variant,
and add a Kashtira monster from my Deck to my hand."
"Kashtira?"
Sima Jie's face lit up.
Of all decks, this was the one he most wanted to face.
Kashtira was weak.
Individually strong—but almost no built-in protection.
Other than Kashtira Shangri-Ira, the entire archetype folded to a single Raigeki or Dark Hole.
And in his hand?
Nibiru, Effect Veiler, and protection against Kashtira Arise-Heart.
You Ye couldn't possibly win.
"No response?" You, Ye, muttered, slightly surprised.
No hand trap—even with a 40-card deck?
Still, he continued.
"I add Kashtira Unicorn, then Special Summon it.
Unicorn effect—add Kashtira Birth."
"I activate Kashtira Birth, Special Summoning Kashtira Fenrir from the Deck."
"Fenrir effect—add Kashtira Riseheart."
"I overlay Unicorn and Fenrir—
Xyz Summon Rank 7 Kashtira Shangri-Ira."
"Riseheart effect—since a Kashtira was Special Summoned, I enter Xyz lock.
I banish Kashtira Big Bang from my Deck face-down,
Riseheart becomes Level 7, and you banish three cards face-down."
"I activate Kashtira Big Bang, targeting Shangri-Ira."
"Chain Link 2: Shangri-Ira targets one of your Spell/Trap Zones."
Resolution:
Shangri-Ira locks a zone.
Fenrir returns to hand, then Special Summons itself.
"I overlay Fenrir and Riseheart—
Xyz Summon No.89: Diablosis the Mind Hacker."
"No.89 effect—detach one material, check your Extra Deck,
and banish one card face-down."
You Ye, reviewed Sima Jie's Extra Deck.
As expected—
a mid-speed Ninja beatdown deck.
After a brief thought, he banished Ninja Grandmaster – Hanzo of Darkness face down.
"Because a card was banished face-down, Shangri-Ira triggers.
Chain Link 2: No.89's second effect—
banish face-down cards equal to the number already banished."
Resolution:
No.89 banishes four more cards face down.
Shangri-Ira locks another zone.
"Bricked?" Sima Jie murmured.
You Ye's board looked weak.
Shangri-Ira.
No.89.
Zero negations.
On his turn, Sima Jie could OTK easily.
He immediately revealed Nibiru.
"I activate Nibiru, the Primal Being—"
"Chain Link 2: Crossout Designator, declaring Nibiru."
Sima Jie smiled.
One negation was worth everything.
Resolution:
Nibiru negated.
"Time to show you my odd little tools."
"I activate Field Spell Golden Castle of Stromberg."
"Then I activate Terraforming the Land—once per turn, banish a face-up Field Spell.
That card is then placed face-up in the opponent's Field Zone."
"I target my own Golden Castle."
"Then I activate Prohibition, declaring Forbidden Droplet."
Sima Jie stared, completely confused.
This wasn't Kashtira as he knew it.
Locking zones but not committing.
Face-down banish, but not pressuring.
And that Field Spell—he'd never seen it.
Was it for Special Summon denial?
Or something else?
"This is it," You Ye said calmly.
"I end my turn."
Sima Jie frowned deeply.
Prohibition on Droplet.
Shangri-Ira.
No.89.
He decided to rely on bond probability to draw Cosmic Cyclone—
then froze.
His intuition screamed that the one copy he ran
had already been banished face-down by No.89.
Which meant—
No way to remove Prohibition or the Field Spell.
Still, he had no choice.
After drawing, at the Start of the Standby Phase—
"Golden Castle of Stromberg's mandatory effect activates.
Banish the top 10 cards of your Deck face-down."
"Face-down mill?"
Sima Jie frowned.
Then his expression collapsed.
"No… my Deck—!"
He remembered No.89.
Five cards drawn.
Eighteen have already banished.
Only 18 cards left.
And No.89 could banish all of them.
"This duel is over…"
"Yes," You Ye said gently.
"You noticed."
"No.89 third effect—
When your cards are banished face-down,
banish that many cards from the top of your Deck face-down."
"Chain Link 2: Shangri-Ira locks another zone."
"All 18 remaining cards are banished face-down."
"Then Shangri-Ira's effect Special Summons another Kashtira Unicorn."
"My turn's over. Your move."
Sima Jie stared silently.
"May I ask one question?" he finally said.
"Go ahead."
"If I had drawn Cosmic Cyclone and Forbidden Droplet,
removed Prohibition and tributed your Field Spell—what then?"
You Ye, smiled.
"Then what?"
"You're a mid-speed Ninja beat deck.
To kill me, you need a full board."
"You spent your bond probability on breakers.
Where does your kill come from?"
"And if you can't kill me—
Shangri-Ira survives, I summon Unicorn next turn,
and No.89 continues banishing your deck."
Sima Jie sighed.
Kashtira lacked resistance—but its single-card pressure was undeniable.
He surrendered immediately.
"Interesting," You Ye said softly.
Most duelists insisted on being beaten to death.
Sima Jie didn't.
"I don't waste time on garbage time," Sima Jie replied.
They adjusted decks.
Thirty minutes later—
"Sixty cards this time?" You Ye noted.
"Forty lost me the game," Sima Jie replied calmly.
"I won't repeat that mistake."
"Then let's begin."
Game 2
Sima Jie goes first.
"I Normal Summon Ninja with Gun – Firelight.
Once per turn—on Summon, I Special Summon a different Ninja from my hand or GY face-down."
"Chain Link 2: Maxx 'C'," You Ye said instantly.
No further responses.
Resolution:
Maxx "C" resolves.
Firelight sets the Green Ninja Trainee face down.
You Ye frowned.
A Heaven-rank duelist with high bond probability
would never open with only this unless—
He was fully prepared.