Bai Yun'er also noticed something strange. During her earlier duel with You Ye, she hadn't paid much attention—but thinking back now, in that duel, her card order was fixed while his had been random!
That realization made her even more curious—just who exactly was You Ye?
"You want to skip the preset order and go for random initiative? That's fine. I happen to have the privilege in Master Duel to adjust that for you."
You Ye said calmly, not thinking much of Sheng Ning's surprised tone. He began modifying the Master Duel settings—changing Sheng Ning's rules directly.
That was one of the privileges of a Top 1 Master Duelist—being able to tweak the opponent's conditions slightly for fairness or demonstration.
As for why he'd already adjusted it automatically in his duel with Bai Yun'er? Simple.
If the client gave it their all and he still won easily, it would only make them trust his skills more.
(Side note: You Ye had multiple alt accounts—another privilege of being ranked #1 five years in a row. Normally, a duelist only had one Master Duel account. Even the exclusive "card reward privileges" were account-locked, though the final settlement rewards were based on the person, not the account.)
"Privilege…?"
Sheng Ning gave You Ye a deep, searching look, then checked the duel room's settings.
Just as he said—the changes were real.
Her expression shifted from surprise to seriousness, a bead of cold sweat forming on her forehead.
Then she opened his public Master Duel profile.
Unlike Bai Yun'er, who focused only on deck-building and training, Sheng Ning was a member of the Duel Enforcement Bureau, well-versed in the hidden systems of the dueling world—things like Shadow Duels, which could decide life and death.
In Master Duel, such privileges were only unlocked at the Grandmaster Rank and above.
Yes—Grandmaster, minimum!
But she double-checked. You Ye's visible rank was only Platinum, and his identity file matched perfectly—no chance of error.
So how could a Platinum-level duelist have Grandmaster privileges?
And why was he so confident—choosing random order, not preset turns—using some unfamiliar deck called Tenyi Swordsoul?
"You okay? If you're not feeling well, we can wait. I'm not in a hurry,"
You Ye asked sincerely when he noticed her uneasy expression.
He wasn't the type to take advantage of a distracted opponent—though mainly, he didn't want her to have excuses if she lost later.
"I'm fine. Let's start."
Sheng Ning took a deep breath, forcing herself to be calm.
Whether he's bluffing or not, a duel will tell.
"Alright then—you can go first," said You Ye with a small nod.
In his previous life, he would never have given up first turn—especially not without Guardragon plays.
But in this world?
Even if they went first, so what?
Could they really beat him with just Ancient Gear clunkers?
Duel Start!
You Ye (LP 8000) vs. Sheng Ning (LP 8000)
Sheng Ning took the first move.
Both drew five cards. The duel began.
Looking at her opening hand, Sheng Ning's tension eased.
The Ancient Gear archetype—exclusive to the Enforcement Bureau—was designed to crush cheaters and fake duelists in Master Duel.
With overwhelming attack power and Battle Phase lockdown, it dominated anyone below Diamond rank.
This was her anti-fraud specialty.
While Sheng Ning relaxed, Bai Yun'er sat quietly, eyes fixed on You Ye—curious how he'd respond.
"I Normal Summon Ancient Gear Wyvern, and activate its effect to add one 'Ancient Gear' card from my Deck to my hand except itself.
I add Ancient Gear Golem to my hand, and apply its 'no Set' restriction!"
"I activate Ancient Gear Fusion from my hand!
I fuse Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon, and Ancient Gear Megaton Golem!"
"Fusion Summon! Level 10—Ancient Gear Ultimate Golem!"
As Ultimate Golem hit the field, Sheng Ning's confidence surged.
This was her terminal boss monster—a 4400 ATK juggernaut that pierced defenses and sealed Spells and Traps during the Battle Phase.
No stalling, no escape.
Bai Yun'er was stunned.
That's one of the strongest public-end monsters! Even my Swordsoul deck could never overcome something like that. Not even Blue-Eyes could!
But just as she was thinking this, You Ye's unimpressed voice cut through:
"Wait… that's it? You went first just to put Ultimate Golem on the board? Did you summon the wrong thing? You still have other Ancient Gears—why bring out this one?
I mean, sure, the result's the same, but letting you play this badly feels insulting.
Go ahead, take another chance. I'll let you redo the Fusion."
Bai Yun'er's brain froze.
Did he just tell a Diamond-tier enforcer to redo her Fusion Summon?
He had no Bystials, no removal in hand—how could he possibly dismiss an "Ultimate Golem" like that?
Meanwhile, Sheng Ning, who'd just relaxed, tensed again.
She could feel it—You Ye genuinely looked down on her monster.
Not arrogance. Not bluff.
Pure confidence.
And from his words, he clearly knew about the other sealed "Ancient Gear" terminal card—one that only Bureau directors were allowed to see!
"That card's been sealed," Sheng Ning said seriously.
"Only Bureau Chiefs are permitted to know its data and reconstruct it."
You Ye: "…"
He mentally flipped off this entire world.
Really? You sealed THAT card? Are you kidding me?!
"Fine then. Your turn's over?"
"…Yes," Sheng Ning said slowly, studying him.
From the start, he'd been calm—never flustered, even when she revealed her Bureau identity.
Every move, every word, every insight—none of it was luck.
So why… was someone like this only Platinum?
And didn't even own a complete deck?
"My turn. Draw!"
You Ye drew, glanced at the card, then turned to Bai Yun'er with a grin.
"Watch closely. The sword techniques from here onward are premium content—extra charge applies."
"Got it!" Bai Yun'er nodded seriously, staring at the screen.
Because it was You Ye's POV, she could see all his cards clearly.
"I activate Tenyi Spirit — Vishuda from my hand!
Since I control no Effect Monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my hand."
"Next, I use it as Link Material!
Link Summon—Monk of the Tenyi!"
"I activate the effect of Swordsoul Strategist — Longyuan in my hand!
I discard Swordsoul Sacred Summit, and Special Summon Longyuan and one Level 4 Token (Wyrm, Tuner, WATER, ATK/DEF 0)."
You Ye paused briefly, then turned to Bai Yun'er again.
"At this point, against certain Ten-Star decks, the duel would already be over.
But that's a more universal terminal—you'll need to pay extra for that one.
This time, we'll just use our in-theme boss—Swordsoul Grandmaster — Chengying. Fits the duel better."
Sheng Ning: "???"
Bai Yun'er: "!!!"
Both women froze.
He'd made only four moves. Nothing flashy.
And he'd already declared the duel over?
Yet… neither doubted him.
Their instincts screamed—he could do it.