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The chaotic blade fell, bringing this duel to a close.
Even after the duel image faded, the card professors remained in a daze, staring at the spot where Black Luster Soldier had disappeared for a long time, unable to speak. They were still immersed in the shock of "your vanilla monster actually has effects."
Pegasus J. Crawford, however, quickly stood up again. "A good duel, I lost," he mused for a moment. "But Black Luster Soldier... actually gains such powerful abilities through ritual materials. So, this is the correct evolutionary path for chaos?
"It turns out that the direction of research until now has been wrong all along."
He glanced at Mokuba Kaiba. "As expected of Kaiba Corporation, known for its research capabilities, to have achieved such astonishing breakthroughs. This completely refutes the academic notion that Black Luster Soldier had already reached a bottleneck."
"Thank you for the compliment, but this time it's not our credit," Mokuba smiled, gesturing towards You Xuan. "Black Luster Soldier chose him."
"Quite the opposite of what you said, it is thanks to him that we were able to achieve this result."
Ye Xing was a little surprised and looked at You Xuan again. He narrowed his eyes. You Xuan noticed that he seemed to be looking at something behind him.
You Xuan followed his gaze and looked back, seeing Black Luster Soldier, who had returned to his spiritual form after the duel, standing behind him like a bodyguard, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
You Xuan realized something. "Can you see him?"
"Yes. My 'Spirit Affinity' is quite high," Pegasus J. Crawford smiled. "So that's it. No wonder he possesses such power. Are you also a 'Chosen Duelist'?"
After all, as a former holder of the Wicked Gods, it was normal for Pegasus J. Crawford to have high Spirit Affinity.
"Powerful spirits are indeed the duelist's reliance, but how can a first-rate duelist not also be a spirit's good fortune?"
Ye Xing closed his eyes and chuckled softly. "I lost. There's nothing more to say. In factâ"
He paused, scrutinizing You Xuan and the Black Luster Soldier behind him. "That form of 'Black Luster Soldier' didn't actually display its full power, did it?"
Upon hearing this, the card professors' hearts sank. Even this wasn't its full power?
At least in their eyes, the suppressive power Black Luster Soldier had just shown was beyond what ordinary monsters could achieve.
"Mr. Pegasus is truly perceptive," You Xuan admitted. "Indeed."
'Knight of the Beginning' and 'Knight of the Evening Twilight' â these two materials actually grant Black Luster Soldier even more effects.
The Black Luster Soldier summoned using both these knights as materials can actually activate "Dimension Slash" up to twice per turn, banishing two monsters from the game.
Alternatively, it can individually choose the abilities to "gain an additional attack after destroying a monster in battle" and "seal one hand card until the end of the opponent's next turn."
So this vanilla card not only gained effects, but its effects were also diverse and varied. In an actual duel, it could easily give the opponent the illusion that "since it's not written on the card, I can have whatever I want."
"Indeed, then it is a shame I couldn't witness its remaining abilities. I hope I will have the chance to meet it again in the future."
Ye Xing smiled, then turned around and suddenly spoke towards a higher area. "So, President Kaiba, do you have any pointers regarding this duel?"
Everyone followed his gaze and only then noticed that President Seto Kaiba had quietly appeared by the railing on the second floor of the duel arena at some unknown point.
Mokuba was surprised and delighted: "Brother!"
Kaiba said nothing, vaulting over the railing and landing directly in a half-crouch. The first reaction this posture elicited from You Xuan was that such a landing must be really hard on the knees.
Following that, he thought, This height, a human can't handle it, right? President, are you sure you haven't taken any Super Soldier Serum or anything?
Can I get a shot too?
Mokuba quickly went to greet him. Kaiba walked forward with his arms crossed, meeting Ye Xing's gaze.
After a few seconds of silence, Ye Xing spoke first. "I've actually always wanted the chance to say this..."
Ye Xing said softly. "I'm sorry about what happened back then, President Kaiba."
Kaiba assessed him for a moment but did not respond, only turning his back to him.
A few card professors seemed somewhat annoyed by this perceived slight and wanted to say something, but were stopped by a glare from Ye Xing.
Kaiba took a couple of steps, paused briefly, and said without turning his head. "You... you are at least a duelist," he said. "If you're a duelist, then become stronger, and challenge me head-on."
With that, the President tilted his head, offering a confident, sneering profile. "Of course, I just fear that you no longer possess that courage."
Ye Xing was startled, then smiled. "I understand," he said seriously. "It's a duelist's promise."
"Hmph."
Kaiba didn't look back again. This time, he looked at You Xuan.
"You Xuan's performance today was simply divine! First, he dueled the card professors in the link system, and then there was the duel just now," Mokuba immediately praised him. "And he just got the new Black Luster Soldier card today, yet he can use it so skillfully right away, right, Brother?"
Kaiba said nothing, but his eyes certainly held a hint of approval. It hadn't been long since he last met You Xuan, yet in such a short time, the progress shown was astonishing.
His card addiction was subtly starting to flare up again.
"Duelist Kingdom, don't forget," Kaiba reminded him. "Don't disappoint me then."
"Of course." You Xuan nodded.
Provided there are resources.
"Oh, right, President, I just remembered something," You Xuan said. "Actually, I've personally been deeply passionate about Duel Monsters since childhood. It's not just dueling; I'm also extremely interested in the discovery of Duel Monsters, card design research, and so on."
"Recently, my academy teacher also discovered my extraordinary talent in this area and intends to guide and cultivate it. With the academy's support, I'm establishing a laboratoryâ"
"Get to the point."
The President interrupted.
So You Xuan honestly cut to the chase: "We're short on money."
Just that honest, no pretense.
This was actually something he had investigated before coming to Kaiba Corporation headquarters today. He knew that the President had been vigorously promoting Duel Monster research and development across all fields in recent years. Not only did he have many research teams under him, but he also invested heavily.
Many research institutes and individual teams had received investments from Kaiba Corporation through various channels. The President seemed to have specifically set up a relevant fund dedicated to investing in and developing Duel Monster research teams he deemed to have potential.
You Xuan had now set up a small laboratory himself, which could be considered an initial stage research team. The President investing and allocating funds was a simple matter of a word.
As expected, upon hearing about money, the President was not annoyed. On the contrary, he was quite approving.
He seemed to think it showed ambition.
He had always advocated for scientific card printing, and his own multitude of Blue-Eyes White Dragon variants came about this way.
For the President, this was just a small favor, so he uttered a single word without hesitation.
"Alright."
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