I'm in Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I'm also in Machine Ascension.

"It doesn't matter..."

Yugi Muto, who quickly adjusted his posture, immediately shook his head:

"Youfeng, your all-resistance carry and your mastery of [Synchro] have once again broadened my understanding of card battles..."

"...Lately, I've been busy traveling with Nokia, and I've neglected my dueling duties a bit..."

"Next—I will continue to work hard, and sooner or later I will defeat you in our next encounter!"

Soon, seeing the "starfish head" Yugi Muto clench his fists and his eyes shining with a very sincere expression, Yufeng immediately smiled and nodded, patting the other's shoulder.

"I believe that if you want, you can quickly master Xyz, Synchro, or other new summoning modes to greatly enhance your strength..."

"After all, you are the undisputed first Duel King, AIBO!"

After shaking hands and taking a photo with Yugi Muto in a similarly sincere manner, Yuuki also looked with great interest at the cards in Yugi Muto's hand that he hadn't yet had time to put back into his deck:

"However, since you've included the Egyptian God cards in your deck, where's the most destructive one, the Titan of Osiris?"

"Could it be that—the seahorse accidentally got it?"

Accompanied by Yuuki's slightly teasing voice, Yugi Muto quickly shook his head and opened his hand to Yuuki:

"Look, I've already got the hang of it..."

"So that's how it is..."

"..."

Soon, after expressing his amazement that "AIBO can always get all the cards he wants to play without any restraint," Seto Kaiba, president of the Kaiba Group, the co-organizer of this [GX Tournament], immediately took the stage to offer his double congratulations to Yufeng as both an old friend and the organizer of the tournament.

Furthermore, he also proposed inviting Yuuki to become his Kaiba Group's dueling consultant, and granting him priority card design rights in collaborative research and development with Illusion International.

Thus, amidst this honor that almost represents the best in the world of card battles, Yuuki accepted the champion's gold medal, which was engraved with both the words "GX" and "KC (Kaiba Corporation)" and had his own portrait on the back. He immediately smiled and nodded, and also agreed to Seto Kaiba's suggestion.

"In this way, as an advisor to the Haima Group, Mr. Youfeng is also given the right to challenge me, the president, at any time!"

As the president's slightly excited, gruff voice, clad in a white trench coat, echoed through the open-air dueling arena, Yu Feng's face instantly darkened slightly:

"Good grief... I feel like I've been tricked!"

...

As Yuufu's muttered complaint rang out, "Blonde Hair" Joey Wheeler in the audience also revealed a hint of disdain in his eyes:

"Damn it... Seahorse, your fox tail has finally been revealed!"

"...So you can legitimately use this as an excuse to challenge Youfeng at any time, right?"

"How infuriating! They even have the audacity to describe themselves as powerful!"

"..."

Accompanied by Jonouchi's merciless吐槽 (tu cao, a form of sarcastic commentary), the usually arrogant president instantly turned gloomy and waved his hand. Several bodyguards in black immediately surrounded Jonouchi Katsuya, using physical means to make this "yellow-haired" guy "disappear" from his sight.

"As expected of Kaiba-kun~"

Amidst the slight sigh of Yugi Muto, who had shared parts with Yuuki as the runner-up, Yuuki nodded helplessly in return.

...

At this very moment, after the awards ceremony for the champion and runner-up, the president of the club, Seto Kaiba, fixed his gaze on the third-place winner, Jaden Yuki, who had been invited to the stage at the same time to receive his award. Jaden had won the third-place match against Ed Phoenix.

"It's quite surprising, but the one who managed to fight our way to the end and catch up with us is actually you, a student with extremely poor dueling theory..."

"I truly feel saddened for the future of Duel Academy..."

After giving the "jellyfish-headed" boy a cold stare, Seto Kaiba shifted his gaze slightly to Yuuki, and then softened his look at Jaden Yuki.

"However, you managed to gain Youfeng's approval and defeated so many powerful opponents along the way..."

"And—you also taught that rabid dog a lesson for me..."

As Seto Kaiba's interest grew, he even gave Jaden Yuki a rare, amiable smile the moment he mentioned Jonouchi.

"I hope you'll keep up the good work, Jaden Yuki—become a worthy duelist!"

"Yes! I will definitely do it, and I will take Senior Yufeng as my goal!"

Jaden Yuki nodded very seriously, and I gripped my card box tightly, continuing with an excited expression:

"Together with my HEROs!"

...

Soon after, since the final duel was to take place near his [Osiris Red] dormitory, Yufeng, having finished the tournament and with everyone excitedly reminiscing or discussing the match, bid farewell to everyone and returned directly to his dormitory.

Standing on the open balcony on the second floor, looking at the admiring and appreciative gazes of everyone, You Feng smiled slightly in return and immediately opened his system page, which was flashing with notifications of new rewards.

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Machine-Type Xyz Monster Deck - Soprano Music!]

Soon, accompanied by a bright black light swirling in Youfeng's palm, a classic card pack, featuring a black mecha pattern representing "overload" and equipped with a gear-shaped mechanical switch, was immediately placed in front of Youfeng:

"Huh?! Speaking of self-playing sounds... besides the main family's Link, if we're talking about Xyz Monsters..."

"It must be that powerful card, [Night Star], which serves as a versatile support for many decks, right?"

With a slightly surprised expression, Youfeng immediately pressed the button on the card pack in front of him. Accompanied by a series of mechanical sounds of gears turning, Youfeng immediately took all the heavy cards in the pack and displayed them in a fan shape in his hand.

As a shimmering, multicolored card shone brightly, a corresponding system notification sounded in Youfeng's ears:

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Tier 8 Machine-Type Xyz Monster card - Night Star Machine God - Dingilsu]

【Ding Jier Su, the Machine God of the Night Star】

[Race: Mechanical]

[Attribute: Dark]

[Class: 8]

[Attack power: 2600]

[Defense: 2100]

Seeing the card appear as he had expected, Youfeng nodded with a slight smile:

"Yes, because it's inexpensive and has the effect of bypassing destruction resistance and sending an opponent's card directly to the graveyard..."

"Removing excess materials also has the effect of replacing the entire field's destruction..."

"This makes this card appear in almost any Rank 8 deck, even the [Radiance Deck]..."

"..."

After briefly remarking on adding this powerful Rank 8 Mech Knight to his deck, Youfeng continued browsing the other cards in his deck:

"Hmm... Since the deck for the Self-Installed Sacred Music family isn't fully organized, you've filled it with a lot of [Star Relics] cards?"

Seeing the familiar cards, Yu Feng nodded slightly in surprise. Then, as a Rank 5 [Angel-Type] monster shone brightly once more, Yu Feng's eyes lit up immediately:

[Congratulations, host, you have successfully obtained a Tier 5 Xyz Monster card: Ancient Relic - Everlasting Sword]

[Ancient Relic-Eternal Sword]

[Race: Angel]

[Attribute: light]

[Class: 5]

[Attack power: 2400]

[Defense: 2100]

...

"Forcibly alters the opponent's activated effects and comes with [Manual Annihilation]...possibly capable of interrupting the opponent's combo, and even precisely punishing them..."

"This card also has very strong defensive capabilities..."

"Yes, it fits perfectly into the Cyber ​​Dragon deck, allowing for the standard Cyber ​​Dragon-Nova combo!"

Soon, the silver-white metallic body of the [Electronic Dragon] card sprite, which was originally patting Youfeng's shoulder and curiously watching Youfeng "live stream" the card opening, also trembled instantly.

[Cyber ​​Dragon]: ? ? ? You're giving me this weird stuff again?! Last time you even crammed in a [Synchro] monster, I'm completely impure now!

135. Electronic Dragon, but in Galaxy Eye Photon Dragon form, mechanical ascension!

Soon, the GX tournament, which had caused a sensation throughout the dueling world, gradually came to an end thanks to President Kaiba's heavy promotion.

As this semester came to a close, during this holiday, besides catching up with my cousin, Jonouchi, and others at the Duel Academy, we also played a few more rounds of cards with each of us in private.

Just before the start of this new semester, Youfeng once again crossed the strait at high speed in his [Electronic Dragon - Wheelchair (D Wheel)], heading to the headquarters of Haima Group for the first time in a very formal capacity.

"Wandering Wind!"

As a welcome sound that was almost one of admiration was uttered.

In the vast conference room of Haima Group, Bekas, who had been waiting for a long time, and the flowing white-haired man still wearing that extremely eye-catching red suit, also stood up at the same moment to greet them:

"Hmm... Youfeng, we meet again!"

As Pegasus clapped his hands excitedly, Youfeng nodded in acknowledgment at the same moment.

"So, Mr. Pegasus has also come along this time..."

After briefly gazing at Pegasus of the International Illusion Society, Yuuki immediately turned his attention to Seto Kaiba, who was unusually smiling.

"...President Kaiba's organization of this three-way meeting must be more than just a simple deck design, right?"

Accompanied by the chilling sound of a gentle breeze striking a vital point, Pegasus, after exchanging a glance with Seto Kaiba, immediately let out a gasp of surprise:

"As expected of Youfeng... you guessed why I came here so quickly?"

"In that case, let's skip the usual pleasantries and get straight to the point!"

Soon, Bekas opened his laptop, and Haima Group's extremely advanced technology immediately sensed Bekas's operation, projecting the content on his computer screen onto the entire wall.

"This is... a map of the dueling arena?"

Upon seeing the structural diagram that clearly divided the front and back fields and also contained graveyards and field magic areas, Youfeng looked at Pegasus, who was operating his computer, with slight surprise.