A duelist never gives up!

"It's completely random what opponent you encounter," Nafeli said, looking at Yuan Qidao. "But there's an unspoken rule here: the ace is saved for last."

"Is that so..." Xuefeng nodded thoughtfully, a strange light flashing in his aqua blue eyes.

"Next, let us introduce the eight teams that have made it to the quarterfinals of this National College Competition!" the commentator continued.

"First up, we have the team from last year's quarterfinals—Yunxing Academy! After a tough battle yesterday, Yunxing Academy once again advanced to the quarterfinals. I hope they can perform even better this year."

"Next up is Yaoyang College, a well-established college in the eastern region. As a college that consistently advances to the semifinals and even the finals, reaching the quarterfinals seems like a given for them. They're aiming for the championship this time, right?! It's truly astonishing!"

"The next thing is..."

The commentator continued introducing four teams, then hesitated for a moment while looking at the remaining script. He began by introducing the Royal Academy. "Also advancing to the quarterfinals is the Royal Academy! As the pride of the capital and a powerhouse team that has won the championship for three consecutive years, the Royal Academy crushed their way to the quarterfinals this year. I haven't even seen their captain make a move yet. I wonder how many teams they can truly consider a rival this year?!"

"Wait, aren't we the last ones to be introduced?! Aren't we the last ones to be introduced as the previous champions?" The long-haired girl from the Royal Academy's face darkened, and she stood up like a cat with its fur standing on end, looking up at the commentator fiercely.

"It doesn't matter. This kind of thing is not serious." Mo Xun persuaded from the side.

"We can't help it. A certain team has emerged as a rising star this year and has overshadowed us." The short-haired girl with glasses spread her hands.

"Tsk." The long-haired girl certainly knew which team the girl with glasses was talking about, and that was why she became even more unhappy.

At this moment, the commentator's voice sounded again.

"And the last of the top eight is the Duelist Academy, the oldest academy in the entire continent, with a history even longer than that of the empire itself!" The commentator couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly when he said this.

"Although the Duelist Academy's performance in recent years has been somewhat disappointing, this year's team seems to have been reborn from the ashes, once again demonstrating its astonishing strength before everyone. The three duels between their captain, Yuan Qi, and last year's runner-up, Ironthorn Academy, in the second round of the competition are still vivid in my mind!"

"I hope that Duelist Academy can achieve even greater success this year and return to its peak!"

As soon as the commentator finished speaking, the audience began to stir:

"No, why is this commentator saying something personal? It's fine if you praise Duelist Academy, but why do you have to criticize Ironthorn Academy too? All I can say is - well done! Hahaha!"

"Yes, I've been a fan of Duelist Academy for ten years. Not only me, but also my father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and my great-great-grandfather are all fans of Duelist Academy! Go Duelist Academy!"

"No more nonsense! I've already spent all my money to buy Duelist Academy to win the championship! If Duelist Academy wins, I win. If Duelist Academy loses, I lose too!"

"..."

"He was sarcastic on the first day, but he's changed so much in just a few days." Sera said, wearing sunglasses, sipping a cold drink and crossing his legs.

"Because we are the Duelist Academy team, because we represent the Duelist Academy." Nafeli said lightly.

Even if the Duelist Academy has declined in recent years, it still cannot cover up its nearly thousand years of glory. The fact that an academy with a history as long as that in history books can continue to this day is a miracle in itself.

If you randomly pick someone up on the street, it is possible that his ancestors were once students of the Duelist Academy. It can be said that the Academy has many students all over the world. This alone is something that other academies cannot match.

"Today's first game is still between Duelist Academy, and their opponent is Yaoyang Academy! Now please ask both sides to submit the list of players for the first round." The commentator continued.

"Well... for the first game." Nafeli tapped the pen lightly, a little hesitant. To be honest, he still wanted Nero to start. After all, Nero's deck, apart from other things, had the extra invalid first-hand ability to kill a large group, the Spirit Bird second-hand ability to clear the field quickly and well, and he also had the invincible Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon. It was no problem for him to beat opponents of the same age.

But Nero is only 14 years old after all, and it is obvious that he has not had much physical exercise. It would be troublesome if he got injured if the competition was too intense.

Hara Nana...are you sending out your trump card right from the start? Wait a little longer...

Sera... although she's older, maybe her physical fitness is even worse than Nero's? And judging by her lack of enthusiasm for the competition, she might not even want to play.

"Then Zhu..."

"Me! Me! Teacher, I want to be the first one to go up!" Xuefeng stretched out his hand seriously.

"Xuefeng?" Nafeli was slightly taken aback. He looked Xuefeng up and down, a little hesitant. Xuefeng was, after all, a first-year student, and his deck wasn't particularly powerful...

"Okay, the first round is up to you." Nafeli said, writing Xuefeng's name neatly.

There is no other way. As a teacher, I must trust my students. Since the student wants to perform, let her perform!

"Well, leave it to me." Xuefeng nodded seriously.

"Come on." Nero said softly.

"Win the game quickly!" Sera encouraged.

"Just do your best." Julie said lightly.

"Go and show yourself." Yuan Qi said.

"Yeah!" Xuefeng nodded heavily, holding his deck, and walked towards the arena step by step.

"Okay, the player lists for both sides are out. The first round matchup is...Costa from Yaoyang Academy vs. Xuefeng from Duelist Academy!" As the commentator spoke, the information of the two players suddenly appeared on the screen on the field.

"Costa is a third-year student at Yaoyang College. Although he hasn't participated in a national college competition before, he has also won provincial youth competitions. He is truly a young talent!"

"Like Nero and Hara Nana, who shone so brightly in previous competitions, Yukikaze is also a first-year student. Although she's never participated in any official competitions before, I still have high hopes for her. Let's see how this young player performs!"

"Game start!"

Chapter 49: Let’s not do it

There are so many people.

It's different from sitting in the lounge area and it's also different from sitting in the audience.

When Xuefeng stood in the center of the stadium, feeling the gazes of millions of spectators cast towards her, she, who was originally full of confidence, almost fell to the ground because her legs went weak.

"No, no, if I fall down here, how can I prove myself to my sister?!" Xuefeng quickly patted his stiff thighs and began to take deep breaths.

"Um...well, the game has already started, please get ready." The referee on the side saw Xuefeng standing there breathing in and out continuously, and said a little confusedly.

"Huh, just wait a little longer, it'll be over soon..." Xuefeng took a final deep breath and regained his confidence. He then raised his duel disk, looked at his opponent - what-what tower and said, "Duel!"

"duel!"

"drop!"

Lady Luck was on Xuefeng's side once again. Xuefeng looked at the duel disk that rang out, her lips curled up slightly, and she said loudly, "I choose to go first!"

With that, Yukikaze quickly drew five cards from her deck, "I enter the Main Phase and Normal Summon a petal of Rokka!"

"Huhuhu~"

As a cool breeze blew, a petal of the lovely Rokka made its official debut at the National College Competition!

"so cute!!!"

"Another adorable Duel Monster? I feel like my heart is melting just looking at her~"

"She reminds me of my daughter when she was little, especially her flawless eyes, so pure that it makes people yearn for her."

"This isn't some duel monster, it's an angel that's fallen into the mortal world!"

A petal of Rikka seemed to understand the audience's praise for her, and smiled slightly, revealing her white teeth. Unfortunately, under normal circumstances, she would be sent to the graveyard after activating the effect and would not be able to stay on the field for too long.

"I activate the effect of One Petal of Six Flowers and add Six Flowers Peony from the deck to my hand." Xuefeng said while skillfully using the effect of One Petal of Six Flowers.

"A good start." Julie said as she watched the scene from the audience.

"At least one health is guaranteed." Yuan Qi also said from the side.

"It's better to attack first." Sera made such an evaluation.

That's right.

It’s better to attack first.

Xuefeng once again felt the pleasure of attacking first. It was so comfortable to have no resistance to affect his attack!

"I activate the effect of Snowdrop from my hand, releasing one petal of Rokka from the field, and Special Summon Leaf Peony and Snowdrop from my hand to the field in Defense Position!"

A petal of the lovely Rikka reluctantly left the duel arena, and was replaced by two graceful girls who appeared in front of Xuefeng.

"Next, I activate Leaf Peony's effect and add Rikka's Thin Ice from my hand." After doing all this, Xuefeng inserted the two cards in his hand into the Duel Board and said, "This is the end of my turn!"

"A clean and neat move! Yukikaze's operation is simple and effective. Let's see how Costa responds!" the commentator shouted.

"My turn, draw a card!"

Costa drew a card from his deck, then directly inserted a card into the Duel Disk during the Draw Phase. "During the Draw Phase, I activate the Quick-Play Magic Card - Cyclone, destroying the face-down card to your right!"

"Decisive choice!"

The commentator shouted quickly, "Costa unhesitatingly used a Cyclone in exchange for one of Yukikaze's backcourt moves. This way, Yukikaze has one less barrier to defend against, and Costa's chances of expansion are greatly increased! Yukikaze is probably in a bad situation now!"

However, before the Duelist Academy fans in the audience could start to worry, Xuefeng's crisp voice rang out:

"chain!"

Xuefeng suddenly opened the card selected by the whirlwind and said, "I activate the trap card - Water Spirit - "Aoi"!"

"This card's effect is to activate by Tributing 1 Water-Attribute Monster you control. Check your opponent's hand, then select 1 card from it and send it to the Graveyard!"

"I will liberate Ye Mudan on the field!"

"Brilliant!" the commentator exclaimed again. "Because of the reverse rule of the chain being processed first, Water Spirit Art - Aoi will activate its effect first, sending one of Costa's cards to the graveyard before it is destroyed by the cyclone. This way, Costa's cyclone is practically useless!"

"Damn it!" Costa also realized the seriousness of the problem, but it was too late for him to regret it now, because he had to show all his cards and then have one of them cut off.

Costa helplessly turned over his remaining five cards and said, "You choose, which one to cut?"

"Um...this..." Xuefeng was stunned when he saw the five cards Costa showed him.

Because these five cards are: Formula Athlete Drift Rider, Formula Athlete Off-Road Grand Prix x2, Formula Athlete Car Navigator and Formula Athlete Sonic Sidemount Rider.

They are all cards I don’t recognize!

"Then...then the Formula One car navigation system?" Xuefeng hesitated for a moment and asked softly.

"Are you sure?" Costa hurriedly took out the car navigation system in his hand and wanted to send it to the cemetery, as if he was afraid that Xuefeng would change his mind.

"No, no, no, I choose the drift rider!" Xuefeng quickly changed his words.

"Isn't it not good to go back on your word like this?" Costa said with some dissatisfaction.

"I was just asking, I haven't made any decision!" Xuefeng said with a red face. She also felt that it was a bit unkind of her to change her mind at the last minute.

"You're obviously trying to trick me. As a duelist, don't you think this is despicable?" Costa shouted angrily.

"Then...then the Formula One car navigation system is better." Xuefeng said weakly.

"Hmph! No need! Even without the drift rider, I can still win!" Costa said, heartbrokenly sending the drift rider to the graveyard. "Is this okay?!"

"Okay, okay." Xuefeng nodded in satisfaction, thinking that he had made the right choice.

Little did they know that Nafeli in the audience had already started to hold his forehead, and Yuan Qi even covered his eyes in embarrassment.

"Is that person acting?" Nero couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, and it's very obvious." Julie couldn't bear to watch it.

"No, why do I have an urge to laugh, hahaha, really, Xuefeng is too stupid, can't he see it's so obvious?" Sera covered her belly and couldn't help laughing.

"Then... after the snow and wind come down, should we tell her about this?" Julie suddenly asked.

Everyone was silent for a moment, and finally Yuan Qi said:

"It's better not to."

Chapter 50: The formula for victory has been assembled!

After the Water Spirit Art - Aoi replaced an insignificant monster, Costa's mood brightened. He looked at his hand, thought for a moment, and said, "I enter the main phase."

Costa said, slapping the monster card in his hand onto the Duel Disc. "I Normal Summon Formula Athlete Sonic Sidekick."

A racer wearing a blue helmet rode his racing car from a distance and appeared in front of the audience.

"Then, I activate the Track Spell Card—Formula Athlete Grand Prix," Costa said, inserting a Spell Card into the Duel Board. "As long as this card remains in the Track Zone, the Level of any Formula Athlete monsters on the field will increase by 2 points during the Main Phase only."

"I will upgrade the level of the Sonic Side-Mount Rider by 2 stars." Costa pointed at the monster on his field.

Sonic Sidemount Rider Level: 4 → 6

"Next, I activate the effect of Formula Athlete Car Navigator. If this card is in your hand or Graveyard, I can activate this effect by targeting 1 "Formula Athlete" monster you control with a higher Level than its original Level. Special Summon this card," Costa said, slapping his monster on the Duel Board. "The targeted monster's Level is reduced by the difference in its original Level. The Level of this card Special Summoned by this effect becomes the same as the difference!"

"I choose the Sonic Side-Mount rider on the field as my target!"

Sonic Sidemount Rider Level: 6 → 4

Car navigation system level: 1→2.

That’s right, this card in his hand that was almost sent to the graveyard by Xuefeng just now is the key point of his development!

"Next, I'll activate the car navigation system's effect!" Costa continued. "This card can only be activated if it's successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned. Add a 'Formula Athlete' Track Spell Card from your deck to your hand!"