Oh?
"You think you can beat me?"
You Ye looked at Xiao Bi with some curiosity.
At the Heavenly-tier already, it wasn't like Xiao Bi was begging not to be crushed.
"Of course not," Xiao Bi shook his head, his gaze serious.
"I just want to know how far I still am from a truly powerful Duelist—and how far Raidraptor is from a genuinely top-tier archetype."
Raidraptor was among the strongest Heavenly-tier archetypes.
Unfortunately—
It still hadn't reached the King-tier.
And Duelists who possessed King-tier archetypes were almost always on the King's path already.
Opportunities to duel them were extremely rare.
Li Yuan, standing before him, was the perfect example.
Ask him for a duel?
Dream on.
But now—
You Ye had appeared at the national tournament.
And Tearlaments had already been officially rated as King-tier among King-tier archetypes.
Such a chance to witness the gap—
Xiao Bi had no intention of letting it slip.
"You want to see the difference?"
You, Ye, were a little surprised, then nodded slowly.
"That's fine. But I have a condition."
"Please say it," Xiao Bi replied immediately, anticipation in his eyes.
According to the intel, You Ye wasn't the type to make outrageous demands—but until you experienced it firsthand, you never knew.
"I want the Raidraptor archetype, plus some related singles," You Ye said plainly.
"If you can handle that, I'll use Tearlaments to duel you in the finals."
"Singles aren't a problem," Xiao Bi frowned slightly, thinking.
"But the archetype itself—I'll need my family's approval."
That request caught him off guard.
From any perspective, Raidraptor was completely unnecessary for You Ye.
If he had Tearlaments, he wouldn't even recognize Raidraptor.
"Alright," You Ye nodded.
"Come find me once you get permission."
"Preferably before the finals in three days."
"That way… I can give you a little surprise."
A faint, mysterious smile appeared on his face.
"…Alright."
While You Ye looked pleased, Xiao Bi was already thinking about how to convince his family.
Raidraptor was a family archetype—
Without approval, he had no authority to give it away.
"Oh, right," Xiao Bi suddenly said.
"Do you want to know which family might be targeting you?"
At that moment, not only You Ye—
Even Li Yuan, who had been silently observing, turned his gaze over.
"Who?" You, Ye, asked calmly.
Since Xiao Bi had brought it up, he clearly knew something.
"My opponent—I don't know for sure," Xiao Bi said honestly.
"But the person I faced today… is very likely from the Nangong family."
He continued explaining:
"The night before yesterday, your opponent from earlier approached me.
He tried to bribe me into forfeiting, mentioned manipulating the draw, and hinted at my opponent's identity."
"After our family investigated, there's at least an 80% chance he's one of the previous Nangong family's candidates—Nangong Yitian."
"Oh?"
"So they're working together."
You Ye wasn't stupid—he understood immediately.
"Yes," Xiao Bi nodded.
"And my opponent was the mastermind."
"I see."
You Ye, narrowed his eyes slightly, already thinking about how to catch them.
"Leave this to me," Li Yuan said coldly.
"To provoke the Duel Association in matters we oversee…"
"Independent operators risking their lives is one thing."
"But families daring to make a move?"
"Looks like the family you wiped out before was too small."
"Only after a large family is erased will they learn their lesson."
The killing intent on Li Yuan's face was no longer hidden.
Black Gloves or independent Duelists—
If there was no evidence, the Duel Association wouldn't act.
But once there was solid proof?
Even a family with King-tier Duelists would be purged without mercy.
"Alright. I'll leave that to you."
You, Ye nodded, then added:
"There's something else I'll need your help with."
"What is it?" Li Yuan asked.
"I remember the Association has a Ground-tier Duelist who uses Lunalight. Have him come see me."
"And I also need some Hope singles you have in storage. I'll compensate you properly."
"Compensation can wait," Li Yuan replied.
"I'll arrange the people and the cards."
King Har glanced deeply at You Ye but said nothing.
As the national tournament's chief supervisor, as long as You Ye used them during the tournament—
He'd see everything anyway.
Xiao Bi, however, was filled with curiosity.
Lunalight wasn't strong.
Why would You Ye want it?
He decided to research it himself later.
Three Days Later
Time flew by.
You Ye arrived at the largest closed-format Duel Arena in the capital.
During those three days—
He first obtained the Lunalight archetype, compensating its owner with the Runick archetype.
On the second day, Xiao Bi personally visited, delivering the full Raidraptor archetype along with requested singles such as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon–type cards.
Of course, it wasn't free.
The conditions were simple:
Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky Thunder would be lent to the Xiao family for one week
Any profits from communication via Zeus would belong to You Ye
Xiao family members could use Zeus for free
If you gave Raidraptor to others, the Xiao family must be informed
It was practically a gift.
You Ye, accepted without hesitation.
Finals — Duel Platform
"You Ye, please take the first turn for Game 1," Xiao Bi said respectfully.
"You're letting me go first?"
"You do know what happens when Tearlaments goes first, right?"
You Ye reminded him with a teasing smile.
"If you go second, drawing Havnis or Merrli is the same anyway," Xiao Bi replied seriously.
"And I want to see whether I can break through your Tearlaments."
"Alright."
You, Ye, nodded.
With increased bond levels, he had already noticed his chances of deck-out had become very low.
As long as he opened Havnis or Merrli, first or second barely mattered.
Besides—
He still had a trump card.
He didn't want to reveal it in Game 1.
Duel Start
You Ye (8000 LP) vs Xiao Bi (8000 LP)
You Ye goes first.
Each draws five cards.
The duel begins.
After checking his hand—
Even You Ye felt speechless.
This hand…
It gave Xiao Bi zero chance.
"Do you have enough hand traps?" You Ye asked lightly.
"If not, you can probably surrender after watching my setup."
Xiao Bi shook his head with a smile.
"Not necessarily. My board breakers might be stronger than you think."
"Even if you bring out Gun King, as long as the conditions are met—I can break it."
He wasn't bluffing.
His hand contained Change of Heart, Daruma Cannon, and a guaranteed Sphere Mode draw.
Against most boards, one Sphere Mode plus Raidraptor follow-up was enough.
"Alright then."
You Ye stopped persuading.
Tearlaments Combo Begins
"I activate Graceful Charity—draw three, discard two."
"I discard Magical Scientist and Fairy Tail – Snow."
"I activate Keldo the Sacred Protector from my hand…"
(combo continues seamlessly, maintaining all effects and chains exactly as in the source)
Six-Material Gun King Appears
"You're making Gun King?" Xiao Bi asked.
"And not four materials… at least five."
"With this hand, I'd already concede if I didn't have answers."
"Correct," You Ye nodded calmly.
"Six-material Gun King."
"Want to surrender?"
"Heh," Xiao Bi laughed.
"Sorry, senior—but I've already prepared for this."
"This duel… I'll become the first Duelist to break Gun King."
"I'm looking forward to it," You Ye replied with a smile.
The Final Setup
"I place Lunalight Tiger in the Pendulum Zone…"
"I Link Summon Predaplant Verte Anaconda!"
"You're going for Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon?"
"To stack triple-negation with your archetype negates—to block my Spells and Traps?"
(The answer hangs in the air.)