Chapter 29: Three Consecutive Victories, Astonishing the World (3)

In Biantana, Magic Cards are printed. The creation of a card requires a core component known as a "Pattern," which can be likened to a blueprint or a copyright. Each Pattern has a specific "Distortion Count"; once printed a certain number of times, the Pattern can no longer be used to produce cards.

Because of this, cards are categorized by rarity: Common, Precious, Rare, and Transcendent. A Common Pattern can be printed millions of times, while a Transcendent Pattern typically lasts for only a few dozen to a few hundred prints. Cards printed from distorted Patterns are known as "Lost Cards" or "Stock Cards." Once their supply is cut off, the price of these Lost Cards skyrockets, often leading to frantic bidding wars or auctions.

Early, powerful cards like "Super Polymerization," "Pot of Greed," and "Graceful Charity" are so long-lost and have never been reprinted that they are virtually non-existent in circulation; the few that remain are kept as museum exhibits. Such cards are referred to as "Ancient Lost Cards" and are worth a fortune.

Countless spectators stood up, pulling out their smartphones to snap photos frantically.

"The reaction is this intense?" Li Guanqi looked around, feeling bewildered in the wind. He had considered playing a "Super Polymerization" to startle his opponent, but he hadn't expected it to cause such a commotion. His opponent had even pressed the pause button. He currently had the illusion of someone in a card shop summoning a Starlight Rare Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, drawing a crowd of onlookers in awe.

It was hard to describe. But, it felt pretty good.

"Tch, country bumpkins, haven't seen the world," he thought.

"Hey," Qin Dongzhu patted Mickey on the shoulder and said softly, "If this card gets damaged by accident, we aren't paying for it."

"The Spirit Detention Bureau is certainly generous—they actually lend out a card like this?" If this Lost "Super Polymerization" were hyped up, auctioning it for ten or twenty million would be no problem. Why keep it as a treasure at home instead of using it for team testing?

"No matter how precious a card is," Mickey said dismissively, "it only has meaning when placed in a deck. If you just leave it sitting there like a vase, how will its spirituality accumulate?"

Epic level is not the limit of a card's spirituality; there are even more powerful and terrifying ranks beyond it. Qin Lezhu nodded, acknowledging this point. Generally speaking, high-spirituality cards are more valuable. For an individual or a fortress, a low-spirituality Ancient Lost Card cannot compare to an Epic-grade Common Card. Ancient Lost Cards have collection and rarity value, but Epic Cards have armed military value. Possessing the latter allows one to seize the former—or defend oneself from being robbed. The auction price of a Lost Transcendent Card is generally in the tens of millions, while the rental price alone for an Epic Card is calculated in the hundreds of millions.

[Pause Ended]
[Duel Resumes]

As soon as the duel resumed, Juliette hurriedly raised her hand, shielding herself: "Collisions during a duel are perfectly normal. If your side wears down the card, our side accepts no responsibility."

Before the fighting began, she had to issue a disclaimer. If even one corner of this "Super Polymerization" were worn down, she couldn't afford to pay for it even if she sold herself.

Li Guanqi understood now. The "Super Polymerization" in his hand truly was the other-world version of a Starlight Rare Ash Blossom; it had terrified his opponent.

"Fine, fine, fine." This deck wasn't his anyway; he was just a substitute.

"I set one card. Turn end," Li Guanqi said, carefully placing the card on his duel disk.

"During the End Phase, I activate the effect of 'Yubel,' Tributing another 'Yubel.' Then, the effect of 'Samsara Lotus' in the Graveyard triggers, and I Special Summon this card."

End of the first turn.
Front row: "Yubel," "Yubel - The Ultimate Nightmare," "Samsara Lotus," "Crawler."
Back row: Two set cards, "Pain," "Chronicle."
Hand: 1 hidden card.
Field: "Nightmare Throne."
Red side LP: 4000.
(The base LP for the Duelist League team matches is 4000, while major individual tournaments are 8000.)

"My turn, draw!" Juliette glanced at her fingertips, a flash of ferocity in her eyes.

"Raigeki."

"Beautiful!" Her eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth curled slightly. This was truly a lucky draw.

Juliette placed "Raigeki" into her hand, her gaze wandering over Li Guanqi's two back-row cards. If nothing went wrong, they should be "Super Polymerization" and "Eternal Favorite." What she needed to guard against was "Super Polymerization."

"Super Polymerization... with three cards in the Extra Deck, what could he fuse into...?" She frowned, her fingertips rubbing against her cards, feeling somewhat uneasy. "Garura, Wings of Resonant Life? Mudragon of the Swamp?" Both of these Extra Deck monsters only require two materials; they could fuse two of her monsters, but it wasn't a major issue. "I can win!"

The moment the timing shifted to the Main Phase, Juliette decisively slapped down a card: "I activate the Spell Card—Raigeki! Destroy all monsters on the opponent's field!"

"Beautiful!" Red Rice finally caught the moment and shouted, "Player Juliette has drawn it!" This "Raigeki" had very low spirituality; it was pure luck.

The two thousand fans of the Qianque Palace stood up again, cheering wildly.

"Dogs who draw lucky cards are the same in every world," Li Guanqi smiled helplessly.

"Boom—"

Several bolts of lightning descended from the sky, arcs of electricity exploding. "Yubel," "Yubel - The Ultimate Nightmare," "Samsara Lotus," and "Crawler" were all instantly destroyed.

"I activate the effect of 'Yubel' to Special Summon 'Yubel - The Terror Incarnate.' I chain the effect of 'Nightmare Throne' to add 'Yubel - The Terror Incarnate' to my hand, and after that, I Special Summon it, ignoring its summoning conditions!"

A two-headed demon dragon descended from the sky, flames of rage burning in its eyes.

"Player 0748 hasn't lost yet!" the commentator Zicai exclaimed.

"The only disruption, 'Samsara Lotus,' is gone," Red Rice said disdainfully. "It's just a death throes struggle."

"I wouldn't say that," Zicai countered. "He has an open 'Super Polymerization' set."

"With three cards in the Extra Deck, what can he fuse?"

" 'Wings of Resonant Life' can eat two monsters. It's hard to say. Let's see how Player Juliette develops her board first."

"Witness this!" Juliette tilted her head back, raised her duel disk, and placed the card from her hand onto it, causing it to bloom with light. "Summoning—Vampire Ghost!"

An ominous cold wind blew, and a grim figure appeared on the dueling field. The man's black robe was embroidered with dark red patterns, and beneath his black hat, crimson eyes flickered. A strong sense of oppression surged forward.

Li Guanqi couldn't help but frown. "Vampires? And it's an Undead Pile..."

For some reason, this "Ghost" emitted a terrifying pressure. While "Vampires" didn't inherently counter "Yubel," the pressure it exerted on him was far greater than that of the previous "Crawler" deck.

"I activate the effect of 'Ghost'!" Juliette shouted. "I send 'Grace' from my hand to the Graveyard, add 'Red Baron' from my deck to my hand, and then send 'Vampire Familiar' to the Graveyard! I activate the effect of 'Familiar' in the Graveyard: I send 'Red Baron' from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon this card! At this moment, I pay 500 LP to activate the effect of 'Familiar'—I add 'Vampire Duke' from my deck to my hand."

Blue side LP: 4000 → 3500.

Juliette happily added the card to her hand, casting a provocative glance at Li Guanqi. "Super Polymerization can only clear monsters; it can't negate effects. How helpless, right?"

"Uh—" Li Guanqi's expression froze as he listened. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, but he struggled to suppress it. Seeing her so happy to pay life points, he really wanted to laugh.

However, he couldn't laugh yet.