Sister Sheng, could he really be a scammer? But… his Master Duel rank is Platinum! That's Earth-rank territory! As a Duel Master, would someone like that really cheat people for just a million?
Bai Yun'er first nodded to confirm that, yes, You Ye had introduced her to an obscure archetype and helped her merge it into her deck—but when she turned to look at him, her eyes were filled with confusion.
You Ye, meanwhile, wore his usual calm expression.
Was he lying? No.
It was true that several players had previously purchased decks from him. He sold them for around 50,000 to 100,000, offering standard-level builds he remembered from his previous life.
To put that in perspective—getting an Earth-rank Duelist to build you a deck in this world normally started at one million yuan.
And yet, his builds could easily outperform what those so-called "Earth-rank Duelists" offered. If anything, he was doing them a favor!
The problem? Those clients didn't even complete their decks or pay for the combo guides. Then they came back, accusing him of fraud. Naturally, he kicked those freeloaders out.
"In a Master Duel, the system ensures fairness—so no, a real Duel Master wouldn't lie," Sheng Ning explained patiently to Bai Yun'er.
"But that's only true if the person actually is an Earth-rank Duelist. You see, in Master Duel, players can copy others' builds and strategies, climb ranks with them, and make people think they're skilled. That's exactly what this man did."
Then, turning to You Ye, her tone hardened.
"You Ye. Five years ago, you entered Hangcheng Duel Academy. Your theoretical grades—undisputed first place."
She sighed, a flicker of pity in her eyes before continuing:
"But due to your archetype situation, you never completed a deck—graduating only through special authorization."
"According to Hangcheng Duel Association records, you're still not even a Yellow-rank Duelist. And yet you let people call you an Earth-rank Duel Master?"
"Huh? You can do that?"
Bai Yun'er was stunned.
Despite being from a Duelist Family, she had spent the past year focusing on optimizing her deck—she had no idea that this "shortcut" to Master Duel ranks even existed.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Sheng Ning asked, arms folded.
You Ye only smiled faintly, answering with composed confidence.
"First of all, I never said I was an Earth-rank Duelist. That was the little girl's assumption."
"And second… yes, I don't have a deck. As you said, I'm not even Yellow-rank."
Hearing that, Sheng Ning's eyes narrowed. She reached behind her, fingers brushing the silver cuffs at her belt—ready to arrest him if he tried to resist.
Even Bai Yun'er's bright eyes dimmed with disappointment.
But before anyone could speak again, You Ye's calm voice cut through the tension—laced with amusement.
"However… you said I copied someone else's build to reach that rank?"
"Tell me—who exactly is worthy of being copied by me? Who's even worth the effort? Go on—name one!"
He leaned forward slightly, smirking.
"Those people who bought my decks didn't finish collecting their cards, didn't buy the combo tutorials, and now blame me? That's their fault for being weak! If you're bad, practice more! Study harder! Does a student who refuses to pay for tutoring get to complain that the teacher didn't teach well?"
"What kind of logic is that?"
"Oh? So you're claiming your deck builds are original? Was your Master Duel Platinum run based on decks you configured yourself?" Sheng Ning sneered.
A deckless man who supposedly created an original Platinum-tier build?
In the entire history of dueling, such a thing had never happened. She didn't believe him for a second.
"Yes."
You Ye nodded without hesitation, utterly confident.
Unless there was another transmigrator in this world, no one could have the same deck designs he did.
Sheng Ning, unsurprised, just sighed internally.
She'd seen dozens of "genius" Duelists like this—people who thought that slightly tweaking an advanced deck made them special. They shone for a moment online, then crumbled once they had to build from scratch.
"Fine," she said at last. "Then, as a representative of the Duel Oversight Bureau, I'll give you one chance."
"You don't have a real deck? That's fine. Use the deck you told this young lady about—the Tenyi Swordsoul deck—and show me its power. If you can perform to that deck's true level, I'll acknowledge your ability and register it officially. You'll be allowed to teach others legitimately."
"But if you can't…"
She pulled out the silver cuffs, their meaning clear.
"That's simple enough!" You Ye grinned.
"Come on then—duel me. Once I beat you, the girl will believe in my Tenyi Swordsoul, too!"
He glanced at the cuffs briefly, then ignored them entirely. There was no reason to refuse.
If he could gain recognition from the Duel Oversight Bureau, future clients would trust him more easily—a huge advantage for gathering his Tearlament cards later.
And once he completed Tearlament Ishizu, who in this world could stop him?
A King-rank Duelist? Please.
Sure, the Kings of this world had lifespans measured in millennia—but no matter how high your life form evolved, the rules of dueling never changed.
And under those rules—if you face him, you lose.
"Tenyi Swordsoul?" Sheng Ning's brow furrowed. "Wait—Swordsoul… and Bai Yun'er from the Bai Family? You're that Bai Yun'er?"
At that, Bai Yun'er's face flushed crimson, and she lowered her head.
She'd only wanted a little break to relax—and by pure luck, found a small shop selling deck builds. She'd been about to pay when the official fraud inspector walked in and called out the shop owner as a scammer.
To make matters worse, the investigator knew her personally!
The social embarrassment was unbearable.
Sheng Ning herself looked equally exasperated.
The Bai Family of Hangcheng was the city's foremost dueling clan—hereditary masters of the Blue-Eyes archetype. With so many elite Duelists and even a rumored Heaven-rank ancestor still alive, Bai Yun'er coming to some random street shop for a build was beyond ridiculous.
Still, since she was a Bai, Sheng Ning held her tongue and turned back to You Ye.
"Are you sure you want to use Tenyi Swordsoul? For your own sake, I'll warn you—I'm a Xuan-rank Duelist, and I'll be using the Bureau-issued Ancient Gear deck. I've beaten Diamond-tier opponents with it."
"Of course," You Ye replied, smiling with absolute confidence.
"Swordsoul is a newly emerging archetype. If I can defeat you with Tenyi Swordsoul, that alone proves my build and my skill are one of a kind."
"If you can really do that…" Sheng Ning gave him a long, skeptical look.
Tenyi was known as a weak archetype—focused on Link Summons and Normal Monsters.
Swordsoul was entirely new—no one knew its full mechanics yet.
Combining a weak archetype with an untested one?
That was completely unprecedented.
Still, she sat down at the terminal opposite him and logged into Master Duel.
"Xiaobai," You Ye called out casually, "come watch. This Tenyi Swordsoul combo preview's free—the next demonstration'll cost extra. And Inspector Sheng, the duel room's name is 'Why Haven't I Wiped You Out Yet?'—join whenever you're ready."
Even as he finished setting up the room, You Ye seemed completely relaxed—no pressure at all.
Bai Yun'er glanced at him suspiciously but couldn't help edging closer, curiosity written all over her face. If Sheng Ning weren't beside her, she might have thought You Ye was secretly some top-tier duelist.
As for Sheng Ning, at first, she was puzzled by his confidence.
How could someone so calm be this sure of himself, using a weak archetype against her—a Diamond-slayer?
Then she saw the duel room name—and couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"What does that even mean? Is he implying I'm about to get wiped out?!"
But as soon as she entered the duel room, her smirk faded.
Wait a second—your duel settings… they're not using fixed deck order? You even left the starting player to random rule selection?!