A duelist never gives up!

"There's no difference between your two sentences." Honglian said unhappily, "I hadn't reacted during the duel. Now that I think about it, that voice and that figure...really resembled the deceased Seventeen."

"How could a dead person reappear?" Yuan Qi shook his head. He then saw Ai folding his arms and looking at him teasingly. He swallowed and said, "Unless he met the God of Duel and was resurrected by him, there is no other possibility."

"Then...what if he didn't die?" Honglian asked suddenly.

"not dead?"

"Well, I think Seventeen might not be dead." Honglian expressed her guess, "Because... no one has seen Seventeen's body."

"Since he's not dead, then why is he..." Yuan Qi was halfway through his words when he suddenly realized, "You mean, there's something wrong with the Duelist Alliance?"

"I don't know, this is just my guess." Honglian sighed softly, "But... I have to take the professional duelist exam in advance."

"I want to use my own eyes to see what is going on." Honglian said in a deep voice.

Yuan Qi moved his lips slightly, hesitated for a moment and said, "How about you wait a little longer?"

"What are you waiting for?" Honglian asked puzzledly.

"What I mean is, why don't you join the Duelist League next year?" Yuan Qi pursed his lips.

He didn't know whether there was a problem with the Duelist Alliance, but if there was, Honglian would probably be in danger alone. It would be better for him to wait until next year to solve the problem of the "Dueling Power" by himself. By then, the Duelist Alliance, which had lost the "Dueling Power", would collapse no matter how deep the water was.

Hiss... Thinking about it this way, after I achieve my goal, I will probably become a big devil that everyone will hate, right?

"Next year? Why wait until next year?" Honglian said somewhat unhappily.

"Um, well..." Yuan Qi rubbed his temples and explained with some effort, "Because next year, there will be a big change..."

"You don't think that you can become the Duel King next year and then protect me directly, right?" Honglian couldn't help but sneered.

"You can understand it that way." Yuan Qi nodded.

"Aren't you being too arrogant?" Honglian said speechlessly, "First, get a spot to the 'Original Land'."

"I'm already taking it." Yuan Qi said seriously.

"Huh?" Honglian's eyelids twitched. "What do you mean... you've already taken it?"

"That's right, if nothing goes wrong, I can get the quota in a month." Yuan Qi explained.

"...Seriously?" Honglian swallowed and said.

"seriously."

"...No, that's not necessary." Honglian shook her head. "This is my own business. You don't need to think so much about me."

"Besides, I can't wait that long."

Chapter 11: Sometimes, a powerful ending is not necessary.

"Really? I'm next."

Inside the office building, Alice leaned against the wall and said to Zhu Xiu half-jokingly, "Speaking of which, quotas are clearly a benefit for teachers, right? Isn't it inappropriate for the principal to do this?"

"If you are dissatisfied, you can go to the principal. It's no use talking to me." Zhu Xiu stretched out his slender middle finger and gently pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"If I go looking for him, wouldn't that mean I'm afraid?" Alice said, crossing her arms. "Come on, I'm a duelist after all."

As she spoke, a sharp gleam flashed in Alice's blue eyes: "No matter who your opponent is, as a duelist, you must have the confidence to win."

"After watching the duel between him and me today, do you still think so?" Zhu Xiu said suddenly.

"Ah, of course." Alice chuckled. "Rather, thank you for helping me understand his deck better."

"Although I originally wanted to observe for a while longer, now that he's come knocking on my door, I have no choice but to prepare in advance." Alice said, her eyes rolling as she suddenly asked, "Who do you think will win?"

"Yuan Qi." Zhu Xiu answered without thinking.

"That's quite direct. Is it because you lost that you don't want to see me win?" Alice continued to ask.

"I don't have such boring thoughts." Zhu Xiu shook his head, "It's just that the feeling he gives me now is... the same as Perlivia."

"Powerful, pure and simple. His mentality, skills, deck strength, and even his luck—it all feels like they've reached their peak." Zhu Xiu narrowed his eyes, his expression solemn. "He might actually be able to win next year's festival."

"There's no such thing as an absolutely powerful deck," Alice interrupted calmly, "So, he's not absolutely powerful."

"There's no absolutely powerful deck, but there are relatively powerful decks." Zhu Xiu shook his head and said pointedly, "Compared to Yuan Qi's Pearl Tears, is your Dragon Maid really powerful enough?"

Alice bit her lower lip slightly, her eyebrows twisted together in displeasure, as if she had been touched in a painful spot.

Yes, maybe Yuan Qi's Pearl Tears are not that powerful.

But is her dragon maid powerful enough?

"I believe in my deck." Alice said in a deep voice.

"Sorry, I said something a bit harsh." Zhu Xiu quickly realized the problem with his words, "I didn't mean that, I just..."

"Only from an overall perspective, Pearl Tears' system is superior, right?" Alice sighed softly, "It's not just Pearl Tears."

"Wyrm-Kai-Kaku, Albus Brand, Wandering Bird, Magic Rescue, El Dorado, Heroes... There are so many decks superior to the Dragon Maid system." Alice said calmly, "But I already knew this."

"I've already accepted it."

"But... a duel isn't something where the stronger deck guarantees victory, right?" Alice said seriously. "Although there might be some shortcomings overall, every deck has its own strengths and weaknesses, right?"

"I will make good use of the advantages of Dragon Maid, target the shortcomings of other decks, fill the gaps between systems through construction and my own skills, and then... defeat everyone and become the Duel King!" Alice declared.

Zhu Xiu stared at Alice blankly, feeling his heart skip a beat, and suddenly felt a little ashamed.

It was like a fake thing meeting the real thing, it was so shameful.

"It seems that I have been the dean of studies for too long and my edges have been smoothed out." Zhu Xiu said a little disappointedly.

"That's true." Alice laughed wantonly.

"I retract my previous words," Zhu Zheng said calmly, "No one knows who the winner is until the very last moment. This is how a duel should be fought."

"That's right!" Alice arched her brows in delight. "So come and see my duel. I'll win!"

"I'll go and see."

Zhu Xiu nodded.

but.

There was one more thing that Zhu Xiu hesitated for a moment but still didn't say.

Maybe Alice can really beat Yuan Qi.

But if you just do that, you won't be able to become the Duel King.

It is reasonable to rely on other factors to make up for the gap in the deck.

But if you want to become the Duel King, you must have absolute hard power.

Because Duel King is not targeting others, but... others are trying to target you.

"Half-dragon maid..."

In the middle of the night, Yuan Qi sat on the bed in his room and began to change his structure.

That’s right, just like Alice intended to target Hara Shichi’s Pearl Tears.

Hara Shichi was actually also planning to target Alice's Dragon Maid.

He wasn't confident enough to defeat 12 competitive-level duelists with a single build.

In the past, it would mean that a mainstream player would take a deck to a card shop and duel with 12 competitive players, and he had to win all of them.

Even if the opponent uses end-of-the-pie decks or second-tier decks, there is no way to absolutely win.

As a user of the second-tier deck - Puppet Dessert, Yuan Qi has a deep understanding of this.

"During the festival in the starting place, you are not allowed to change the structure midway." Ai reminded from the side.

"Let's get the spot first," Yuan Qi said as he laid out his deck one by one on the bed, examining his build. "The Dragon Maid's ultimate targets are nothing more than the Celestial Sphere, the Radiant Dragon Maiden, and the Family Trap. Honestly, the biggest threat to Pearl Tear... doesn't seem to be much of a threat."

"The biggest threat comes from outside the system," Ai raised a finger and began discussing with Yuan Qi. "The Dragon Maid's system is more compact than the Pearl Tears with the addition of the Brand Axis and Shaddoll Axis. It might carry a lot of hand pits and red pits, especially stickers. If they get eaten, it'll be troublesome."

"That makes sense. As for the hand trap, there's probably no other way except to specify it. Let's add some wind." Yuan Qi said, adding cards such as Feather Broom and Cosmic Cyclone to the main deck.

"By the way, add some invalid hand traps. The Dragon Maid doesn't have many points to replenish. Instead of trying to clear the field, it's better to directly block the deployment." Yuan Qi said, and added two more effect maskers.

"In that case, isn't the deck too large?" Ai tilted his head and looked at the cards on the bed. "Will I be unable to draw the key cards?"

"It would be better if we remove these Shadow Axes." Yuan Qi said, and removed several Shadow Lower Level Monsters from the construction.

"Huh?" Ai was a little confused. "Why do you want to remove the Shaddoll Axis? It's a 2700 Xiaomi. It's going to be very troublesome for the Dragon Maid to remove it."

"Because of the excessive intensity," Yuan Qi explained, "sometimes, a strong finish isn't necessary."

"The Pearl Tear family traps, Rhinohorn Dragon, and Ice Sword Dragon are enough to make the Dragon Maid uncomfortable."

Chapter 12: By the way, it seems like we haven’t played any team games yet?

"Eh? Do you want me to help arrange a battle?"

Inside the activity room, Xuefeng pointed at herself and said in surprise.

"Yeah." Yuan Qi nodded. "If possible, it would be best to arrange it on this Saturday or Sunday, or in a secluded place."

To be honest, although Yuan Qi will not be affected by the surrounding environment in the duel.

However, he didn't want to be watched by a group of people every time he dueled, as it felt a bit weird.

"I thought you liked being watched by a group of people." Julie looked at Yuan Qidao in surprise.

"Why?" Yuan Qi asked puzzled.

"Isn't it good to be the center of attention?" Julie said, dragging her chin.

"It's really troublesome if it keeps happening." Yuan Qi said, looking at Julie, "But you, haven't you been practicing duels lately? Why are you suddenly free and reading in the activity room?"

"How dare you say that?" Sera said unhappily. "Because you've started showing up less in front of other students, that group naturally came to us to inquire about your whereabouts. They want to duel you."

"Let's wait until the heat dies down for a while." Julie said helplessly. Now, as soon as she arrived at the training ground, people kept asking where Yuan Qi was, which made it impossible for her to practice duel properly.

"Right." Xuefeng nodded. "So even if I help you arrange a fight... they'll still find out."

"No way..." Yuan Qi scratched his head in confusion. "Could it be that if they find me and duel with me, their dueling level will increase, their dueling skills will improve, and their deck strength will increase?"

By the way, Ai is a very stingy guy. Generally speaking, after the duel, even the losing party will get a small part of the duel power.

But Ai would not allow this to happen.

She takes it all!

Even the residue in the air is not spared!

Therefore, if you lose the duel with Yuan Qi, you will not gain any dueling power.

"No, but they think they will." Julie gave Yuan Qi a deep look. "And one or two fights won't be very useful, but... what about the long term?"

"I can't possibly stay with them for long," Yuan Qi said helplessly, "and with so many people, how can I possibly stay with them for long?"

"There's nothing I can do. That's why you should have refused to duel with them from the beginning." Sera pointed at her big eyes and said unhappily, "Now you tell me what to do. I'm in such trouble. They almost broke the door of the activity room. Look at how dark circles I have under my eyes. In a few days, I'm afraid my skin, which is as smooth as a baby's, will age..."

"Then don't sleep in the activity room." Julie rolled her eyes in annoyance.

According to school rules, students should go back to the dormitory to sleep.

"It's my activity room, why can't I sleep?!" Sera put her hands on her hips in dissatisfaction, "I'm the president!"

"It has nothing to do with the president..." Xuefeng said weakly.

"You can't play games in the dormitory." Nero suddenly said from the side.

"Yeah, that's right." Sera showed an appreciative look.

"Is that so... What you said makes sense. Then from today on, I won't duel with them." Yuan Qi frowned and pursed his lips.

"It was possible before, but not now. Those guys who haven't duelled with you may feel uncomfortable." Julie said softly.

"Why bother with them?" Sera said indifferently, "Do I owe them?"

"If you want to duel with a powerful duelist, why don't you go to your teacher? Why don't you go to a professional duelist? Is it because Yuan Qi is your classmate and you think he's easy to talk to?" Sera rolled her eyes.

"But in reality, many people never come back to me after dueling with me," Yuan Qi suddenly recalled Qingshi's bitter expression and said, "After dueling with me a few times, you'll find that they're not much help, right?"

"There are so many students in the school. How long will it take you to calm them down?" Sera said angrily. "Don't forget, you have to defeat 12 teachers in a month. Are you planning to fight one a day and finish them in 12 days?"

Yuan Qi opened his mouth and fell silent.