Chapter 7: The Preliminary Round

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In the vast expanse of the arena, the dueling stadium stood beside a towering ancient city. Although the competition had yet to begin, the stands were already packed with a sea of spectators.

Yu Xuan arrived at the entrance of the stadium accompanied by his senior from the Daoist Hall, Koji Sato. Upon stepping out of the car, he immediately noticed the imposing Dark Magician statue standing solemnly at the main gate.

Although the appearance of the Dark Magician, once a rare card associated with Yugi Mutou, had sharply declined in official tournaments following Yugi’s retirement, this signature monster of the former Duel King still served as a symbol for many dueling venues.

“Well, I’ll get started with my pre-match preparations. The preliminaries should begin shortly,” Koji said to him.

“Junior brother, you should prepare quickly as well.”

“Alright. Looking forward to meeting you again on the field,” Yu Xuan replied politely.

However, upon hearing this, Koji’s expression grew strange—he hesitated, as if wanting to say something but held back.

I don’t want to see you again at all...

But the words never left his lips.

After parting ways with his senior, Yu Xuan received his contestant badge and number card from the receptionist. Glancing at the number, he found it was 39—a rather lucky number for a card player. He pocketed the card and nodded in satisfaction.

It seemed his luck was good today; he was confident he would start strong.

“The quality of this year’s Moonlight Cup feels really high,” he overheard a conversation as he entered the hall.

“I think I just saw Makoto Kajiki from the Psychokinesis School. Looks like he’s entering the competition this year...”

“Kajiki? The rising dueling prodigy from Psychokinesis School? Wow, this is going to be exciting...”

Another voice chimed in: “I don’t care much about Psychokinesis dueling, I just hope my buddy who plays Magician-type decks advances...”

“Are you really just rooting for your friend? Ha! I’m embarrassed to burst your bubble—you’re just hoping to see the Magician Valkyrie summon, aren’t you?”

The Magician Valkyrie, dressed in a refreshing sorceress outfit reminiscent of the legendary “Dark Magician Girl” from the game, with a pure face and delicate arms, surprisingly bore an unexpectedly heavy burden in certain areas. She had long been a favorite among gentleman duelists.

The person called out blushed deeply: “But she’s really well-endowed!”

The group fell silent, nodding in agreement.

“To be fair, she is,” one admitted.

“Hard to argue with that.”

...

Yu Xuan continued through the stadium, soon hearing a young girl exclaim.

“Oh my god, is that for real? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“Absolutely! That’s Dinosaur Ryuzaki—the legendary duelist!”

Yu Xuan paused mid-step.

Dinosaur Ryuzaki? The one from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters?

When first introduced, he was portrayed as a formidable expert and once placed as the national runner-up in the Duel Tournament... back when Yugi, Kaiba, and other top-tier players hadn’t entered yet.

“Is it true? But isn’t the Moonlight Cup a non-professional, secondary-level tournament? Why would a legendary duelist like him appear here...?”

“I heard he secluded himself for several years without public appearances. Now that he’s emerged, this is his comeback match.”

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“Wow, the contestants this year are really unlucky to run into the big boss.”

“Yeah, with him here, the championship is practically decided.”

...

Yu Xuan tried to recall more about Ryuzaki. Although he didn’t have a deep impression of him, he remembered his constant companion in the anime, Insect Yuga. Both were ruthless in their pursuit of victory, though Ryuzaki was considered slightly stronger. After all, Yuga once committed the audacious act of throwing the entire “Exodia” deck into the sea...

In a way, that act made him the unexpected savior of all the villains in the latter half of Duel Monsters.

Imagine if the legendary Exodia set had not been discarded—given King Yami (Dark Yugi Atem)'s near-miraculous luck in drawing cards in the late game, all the Egyptian God cards and legendary dragons would be overshadowed.

Marik Ishtar and Bakura Ryou would owe Yuga three respectful bows each.

However, since their respective defeats by Yami and Jonouchi, both seemed to have shifted from competitive duelists to comedic entertainers, their dueling styles becoming increasingly humorous.

Speaking of which, Jonouchi’s signature card, “Red-Eyes Black Dragon,” was actually won from Ryuzaki. Since then, Ryuzaki hadn’t won a single duel.

The DM series never revealed his fate, and he didn’t appear in the sequel GX anime either. But considering GX’s timeline is set eight years after DM’s conclusion, it’s not surprising to see him here now.

This means that although Yami has returned to the underworld, other characters from the DM era like Jonouchi likely still exist in this timeline, though their whereabouts and activities remain unmentioned.

As a veteran of the DM era, Ryuzaki carries the reputation of having faced Jonouchi Katsuya, earning him the title of “legendary duelist”...

Nowadays, even those once easily defeated by Yugi dared to self-proclaim themselves as legends; some genuinely had the skills to back it up, but others merely exploited the hype to gain fame.

Some of these boastful claims carried about as much weight as someone next door claiming, “I once fought the First Hokage”...

Neither Yuga nor Ryuzaki had appeared in GX, so their current strength was unknown. Yu Xuan decided to keep a cautious eye out, intending to show at least a modicum of respect and tailor his deck accordingly if he faced them later in the competition.

Yu Xuan bought a milk tea, found a seat, and casually browsed the list of registered contestants.

Overall, the contestants’ levels were generally higher than those in the Duel Hall, suggesting that by the end of this tournament, he would likely reach four stars in ranking, easing his application to the Duel Academy.

Scanning the list, aside from Dinosaur Ryuzaki, most names were unfamiliar—no other recognizable faces.

...Hmm?

Yu Xuan’s gaze landed on a somewhat familiar name.

Junjou Manjoume?

The eternal runner-up from GX, known for his rapid descent from elite to comedic duelist within a single year?

He checked Manjoume’s profile.

An elite student of the Duel Academy’s affiliated middle school, expected to be promoted to the Academy’s high school department this year.

Hmm... this meant the GX protagonists were probably the same age as him.

No problem there.

He then glanced at his first-round preliminary opponent’s details.

Tsubasa Nakamura, Duelist Level 4...

Looks like no real pressure.

...

...

In truth, when Tsubasa Nakamura stepped onto the qualifying duel field opposite Yu Xuan, he was thinking the same thing.

Yu Xuan Fujiki, Level 1, no major competition experience, no accolades, an empty record...

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Just a few brief lines of personal information. Nakamura read over it repeatedly but only saw two words.

Free win.

Sometimes, luck on the field meant facing an opponent like this—known among insiders as a charitable duelist. Terrible skill but with a passion for playing, essentially handing out points.

This match was as good as won.

But Nakamura had no idea that when Yu Xuan stood across from him, drawing his opening five cards, he was silently apologizing.

Sorry, buddy. I got a perfect hand.

Looks like only one of us will be playing Yu-Gi-Oh! today.

Yu Xuan had the first turn.

He started by playing the spell card “Imprisonment,” paying 1000 life points to look at his opponent’s hand and discard one card. Next came “Forced Recruiter,” which let him look at the hand and return a card to the deck. Then followed “Mischievous Gemini Demon,” paying another 1000 life points to activate a triple disruption, randomly discarding two of his opponent’s cards—one by Yu Xuan’s effect, one by the opponent’s own discard.

The legendary hand destruction trinity unleashed in one smooth sequence.

Before it was even his opponent’s turn, Nakamura was already stunned, left with only a single card.

Having seen his opponent’s hand, Yu Xuan clearly knew that the last card was the spell “Dual Magic,” which could discard a card to use a spell from the opponent’s graveyard.

Not very useful now.

After the flawless triple disruption, Yu Xuan didn’t summon any monsters but set a card facedown, ending his turn in style.

He then elegantly gestured “please.”

I’m ready, your move.

Nakamura was utterly dismayed.

His turn hadn’t even begun, and he had only one card left. What was the point?

Yet, as a true duelist, he didn’t give up. He steadied his nerves and drew a card...

Only to have Yu Xuan dramatically flip a trap card, “Smash Down,” discarding the freshly drawn card straight to the graveyard.

Nakamura was thrown off.

Was this guy determined to deny him any chance to play?

With only “Dual Magic” in hand and no card to discard as cost, Nakamura was forced to pass his turn in frustration.

It felt like his turn had ended before it even started—was it just his imagination?

Yu Xuan’s turn came again.

He activated the spell “Reinforcement,” searching his deck for a Warrior-type monster. He took “Leader Zarug,” summoned it, and attacked.

Triggered Zarug’s effect: when dealing battle damage, discard one card from the opponent’s hand.

Nakamura: “...”

He was completely out of cards.

Seriously...

What kind of karmic punishment was this to have matched him against such a shut-in?