One day later, You Ye returned to Hangzhou.
When he got back, only Yu Huo was in the shop. Ouyang Yanyan had gone to complete an Earth-rank mission and hadn't returned yet.
On the first day back, You Ye handed the Origin Code to Yu Huo. The man was so grateful that he swore even deeper loyalty on the spot, which left You, Ye, slightly embarrassed. He could only tell him to focus on doing his job properly.
As for You Ye, he spent his days wandering around with Mu Ning, shopping everywhere while waiting for the final Earth-rank mission to arrive.
While his side was steadily getting on track, the entire Dragon Nation was in turmoil due to the disappearance of the Nangong family.
Just as Li Yuan had said before, the Nangong family had been "destroyed by Calamity," and not a single member survived.
When the smaller families heard the news, they were terrified of becoming the next Calamity target. After all, even a family with several King's Path duelists had been wiped out. The strongest among them were only Heaven-rank families—there was no way they could withstand such a disaster.
The major families, however—especially those who had truly faced Calamity before—knew this was merely an excuse from the Duelist Association.
In reality, the Nangong family had been eliminated by the Duelist Association. "Calamity" was just a narrative to numb the public.
Soon after, when well-connected major families learned that the Nangong family had been investigated and punished for illegal operations, they adopted a wait-and-see attitude, watching how many more families the Duelist Association would purge.
Compared to them, the Sima family—who had been involved—and the other factions that had secretly communicated with the Nangong family all kept a low profile, afraid of being dragged into the aftermath.
Three days later, Ouyang Yanyan returned.
As expected, she had easily passed the Earth-rank certification and officially became an Earth-rank duelist.
Returning with her was Sheng Ning, who had also advanced to Earth-rank, as well as a robot spirit wearing a blue cloak, goggles, and holding a flute.
You Ye wasn't surprised that the two of them came back together. The Inspector Bureau had already sent word that they had taken the Earth-rank assessment together in the same world. It was only natural that they returned together.
What surprised him was the robot spirit.
"Congratulations, my lord/senior, for winning first place in the national tournament."
The two women bowed respectfully when they saw You Ye.
"It wasn't even difficult. What's there to congratulate?" You Ye waved it off, then looked at the robot spirit. "Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi–U4?"
"You recognized me the moment you saw me, didn't you?" the robot spirit asked, its electronic voice filled with surprise.
You Ye, smiled and nodded.
After Tearlaments had been crippled, Superheavy Samurai had become one of the major pillars of the metagame. Among them, the most unforgettable cards were Wakaushi and Soulpiercer—the former for its absurd combo extension, the latter for its non-once-per-turn searching ability.
"What do you think of my Superheavy field, human duelist?" Wakaushi's eyes glowed as it stared at You Ye, as if awaiting judgment.
"It's quite good. Going first, it can FTK-lock. Going second, it has many lines and strong breakthrough power. It's highly compatible with hand traps," You Ye answered without hesitation.
"Then do you want it?"
"If you're willing to give it, I'll take it. If not, I don't care."
"Why? I can tell you were serious just now. You clearly acknowledge the strength of Superheavy."
"Because I have stronger fields."
"Stronger than the Tearlaments and Kshatri-La Ouyang Yanyan mentioned?"
"Yes."
Wakaushi fell silent.
It wanted to challenge You Ye, but even with its bond advantage and going first, it couldn't crush Ouyang Yanyan. Considering what the two women had said, challenging You Ye would likely just be humiliating itself.
After all, when it had originally offered its field to Ouyang Yanyan, she had outright refused.
Still… it wanted to reclaim some pride.
"Ahem. Senior, could you demonstrate how you would build Superheavy?"
At that moment, Sheng Ning spoke up sincerely.
"I tried combining it with Ancient Gear, but something feels off."
Wakaushi looked at Sheng Ning gratefully. It understood she was giving it a way out. It silently thanked itself for choosing the right human duelist the first time.
"Sure," You Ye agreed.
The Inspector Bureau had done plenty for him. Though he and Sheng Ning had some minor misunderstandings at first, if not for her, he wouldn't have obtained the Runick field.
Helping her optimize Superheavy was nothing worth refusing.
Twenty minutes later, You Ye received the Superheavy field and modified the build.
But in those twenty minutes, Wakaushi was stunned.
Sheng Ning, as an Earth-rank duelist, was limited to one copy each of her archetype's key Link monster and Soulpiercer. That was normal under rank restrictions.
But You Ye?
Every key card was in three copies.
The difference between the two Earth-rank duelists was absurd.
If Wakaushi hadn't requested temporary authorization for Sheng Ning to run three Soulpiercers, it would have thought the duel was unnecessary.
"After the duel, I'll give you the build. This list is enough to get you to King rank," You Ye said.
"Thank you, Senior!" Sheng Ning beamed.
She knew very well that Chang Xingge—who had once been Mystic-rank like her—became the strongest Earth-rank duelist aside from You Ye after You Ye developed the Herald field for him. Heaven-rank was guaranteed for him, and even King's Path was within reach.
Of course, she was envious.
Now it was her turn.
She encountered the Superheavy spirit during her Earth-rank assessment, and after Ouyang Yanyan declined it, she became its choice.
At first, she thought it was just decent support. She never expected it could open the path to the King rank.
Perhaps she could even become the pillar of the Inspector Bureau.
Why stay with the Bureau?
Because, unlike Ouyang Yanyan, she wasn't an external contractor. Unless they expelled her, she would always belong to them.
"Let's head to the duel room downstairs," You Ye said.
Sheng Ning nodded. As a Bureau member, she understood that Earth-rank duels caused massive collateral damage outside.
You Ye (8000 LP) vs Sheng Ning (8000 LP)
You Ye, chose to go second.
The duel began.
"Senior, you're letting me go first?" Sheng Ning asked.
"Relax. If you were playing pure Superheavy FTK, I might regret it. But Ancient Gear Superheavy? The ceiling's too low."
"I understand."
She began her combo.
(Combo sequence retained consistently with card names translated:)
Pendulum Scale 1: Superheavy Samurai Monk Benkei–K
Normal Summon: Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei–8
Search: Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer (×2)
Link Summon: Superheavy Samurai Scarecrow–C
Add: Superheavy Samurai Bike–Q
Add: Superheavy Samurai Prodigy Wakaushi–U4
Pendulum Summon extensions…
She continued extending until—
You Ye calmly spoke.
"Let me show you how dangerous dueling is. When your opponent has more than two set cards, always respect Nibiru—or other hand traps."
"In real competitive play, hand traps won't be fewer than ten. Some decks run twenty or even thirty."
He revealed a card.
"Nibiru, the Primal Being."
The meteor descended.
Sheng Ning didn't get angry.
"You're right," she said seriously.
Her mindset was still stuck in Mystic-rank expansion lines. Earth-rank was different.
The board was wiped.
She rebuilt partially, ending on Superheavy Ninja Sarutobi–B in defense position.
Then she ended her turn.
Before drawing, You Ye gave her advice.
"When Ancient Gear Box searches, it doesn't have to be your next turn's extender. It can search Infinitrack Tunneller."
He explained:
"It has 500 DEF, searchable. Banish it from the grave, shuffle five EARTH Machine monsters, draw two. That would give you two extra interruptions during my turn."
"Thank you, Senior!" Sheng Ning said excitedly.
But then You Ye added bluntly:
"Still, I don't recommend mixing Ancient Gear or Infinitrack with Superheavy."
"If it were me, I'd optimize them out."
Sheng Ning froze.
Wakaushi immediately protested:
"Pure Superheavy is strong! It's not weaker than Snake-Eye Sinful Spoils!"
You, Ye, rolled his eyes.
"Don't drag me into that. I'm not playing pure Superheavy."
"Pure Superheavy has power—but not that much."
"The end board lacks layered interaction. Hybrid builds are stronger."
He looked at Sheng Ning.
"I'll give you another build. Slowly collect the cards. Use Ancient Gear Superheavy as a transition."
She nodded eagerly.
King rank… she was coming.
Wakaushi, however, was stunned.
"That's not right. My Superheavy has multiple starters and extensions! Why does it need other fields?"
You Ye placed his hand on his deck.
"Multiple starters? Sure."
"But do you even know what your end board looks like?"
"No omni-negate. No hard lock. No FTK consistency."
"How do you compete against Kaijus, Dark Ruler No More, Droplet?"
"You want me to 'fix' your board with Lava Golem or Sphere Mode before beating you?"
Wakaushi fell silent.
Pure Superheavy?
Maybe it wasn't as perfect as it thought