Yunhai City, Duel Ninth High School.
Fang Qing walked into the classroom and said solemnly,
"Classmates, I believe you have all noticed that one person is missing from class today."
"That person is You Chen."
As soon as these words fell, the classroom immediately became noisy.
"It looks like the rumors are true."
"You Chen really is a Dark Duelist!"
"Otherwise, how could he disappear the very next day?"
The discussions became increasingly outrageous.
Fang Qing listened for a moment, then knocked heavily on the desk.
"Quiet."
"Do not speculate blindly."
"You Chen is not a Dark Duelist."
"The reason he didn't come to school today is because—"
"He has been directly admitted to Thunder Academy."
"He is going today to complete the reporting procedures."
The entire classroom froze.
Then—
An uproar exploded.
"What?!"
"Direct admission?!"
"There's still someone like that?!"
Zhang Cuihua, who had been genuinely worried about You Chen earlier, felt another critical hit land squarely on her heart.
"Damn it…"
"I'd rather hear that he became a Dark Duelist."
This perfectly matched the saying—
I'm afraid my brother will suffer,
but I'm even more afraid my brother will suddenly drive a luxury car.
Mu Qingyu, however, was not surprised.
Her eyes sparkled slightly as she looked toward You Chen's empty seat.
There was still one week left.
One week until the college entrance duel results were fully released.
"Teacher," Mu Qingyu spoke softly,
"I want to complete ten test duels today."
"And I also want to try a Dark-style deck."
"Please cooperate with me."
Fang Qing: "?"
Even Mu Qingyu?
She was momentarily stunned.
When did even Mu Qingyu start studying such unconventional deck styles?
But Fang Qing understood.
If You Chen could do it, others would naturally want to follow.
As a teacher, she wouldn't refuse.
Her mindset had already changed.
So she took out her phone and said,
"Classmates, let me tell you something."
"In fact, the deck construction philosophy of Dark-style decks is not exclusive to You Chen."
"I don't know if you've paid attention to Kaiba Duel Magazine."
"There's a contributor under the pen name Ultra's Temptation."
"This expert has published many detailed analyses on Dark-style dueling methods."
"After the college league ended, those articles received unanimous praise."
"So if you're interested, you can read more and learn."
...
"Ha—choo!!!"
You Chen sneezed.
Who was talking about him?
He raised his head and looked at the massive Thunder Academy before him.
Ancient-style pavilions stood among flowing water and surrounding mountains.
Jade-white buildings blended with engraved stone platforms.
This was completely different from the modern Western-style architecture seen elsewhere.
Above the central pavilion floated a massive lightning-pattern emblem—
The symbol of Thunder Academy.
Around the grounds stood numerous stone statues of famous monsters, frozen in summoning poses.
"So this is Thunder Academy…"
"It really feels like a duelist's paradise."
"No wonder countless duelists exhaust every effort just to enter one of the Four Great Academies."
You Wushuang's eyes shone brightly, and it took her a long time to regain her composure.
"You Chen."
"We meet again."
A clear, pleasant voice sounded.
A tall figure stood gracefully at a distance, smiling as she spoke.
You Wushuang turned to look and was immediately stunned.
Beautiful.
And carrying a powerful aura.
"Yes… Senior Sister Mingshen."
You Chen paused slightly.
He hadn't expected it to be her.
Someone who could remain beside Xiao Shan clearly wasn't an ordinary student.
She shouldn't have been responsible for guiding newcomers.
"Senior Sister Mingshen?"
"That's interesting."
"Call me Senior Sister Liu."
Liu Qingyi was briefly surprised, then smiled as if amused.
"Alright, Senior Sister Mingshen," You Chen nodded.
Liu Qingyi: "..."
"Next, I'll explain the key points to you."
"I'll keep it brief."
"When you first enter Thunder Academy, you will be assigned to a class."
"The academy's classes are divided into—"
"Ordinary Classes."
"Elite Classes."
"And Master Classes."
"Each class level has completely different resources and privileges."
"Additionally, Thunder Academy holds a Secret Duel every month."
"This is extremely important."
"Many students obtain rare and powerful cards through this system."
"Now—"
"I'll take you to the entrance assessment first."
"Or would you prefer to rest?"
You Chen understood immediately.
In other words, class placement depended entirely on the assessment.
And class placement determined future resources.
"There's no need to rest."
"I'll take the assessment."
You Chen answered without hesitation.
"I'll tell you a secret," Liu Qingyi smiled softly.
"You don't actually have a choice."
"I just wanted to see whether you would hesitate."
"Your reaction makes me very satisfied."
You Chen: "..."
"I'll also tell you a secret."
"It's too early for you to be satisfied."
You Chen copied her tone exactly.
You Wushuang, standing beside him, nearly wanted to punch him.
This guy was far too irritating.
But Liu Qingyi remained completely unaffected.
At that moment, You Wushuang finally understood—
This was the mindset of a true academy duelist.
Her own mentality was far inferior.
Liu Qingyi led You Chen into a duel hall.
Inside, countless students were already dueling.
The level of competition was completely different from high school duels.
"Senior Liu!"
"What brings you here?"
As soon as Liu Qingyi appeared, countless admiring gazes followed her.
A yellow-haired boy hurried forward enthusiastically.
"There's a special admission student today," Liu Qingyi said calmly.
"He needs an entrance assessment for class placement."
"Where's the assessor?"
She glanced around.
"The assessor was temporarily called away by Teacher Fu to help with class training."
"He probably won't return until the afternoon."
The yellow-haired boy glanced at You Chen in surprise.
A special admission student—
His strength must be exceptional.
"Aren't you also an assessor?" Liu Qingyi said lightly.
"You'll do."
In truth, she simply wanted to test You Chen's upper limits.
If Wang Hao handled it, You Chen would almost certainly suffer badly.
This wouldn't truly count as a formal result.
It would be unfair.
But Liu Qingyi didn't say that aloud.
What she wanted was pressure.
"Eh?"
"Me?"
"I'm assessing freshmen now?"
"Senior Sister Liu, if that's the case—"
"Then this freshman can forget about entering a good class."
Wang Hao laughed.
"So he's also an assessor?" You Chen asked quietly.
"He's the captain," Liu Qingyi replied calmly.
"He leads them."
"His strength isn't comparable to ordinary students."
Wang Hao straightened proudly.
You Chen: "..."
Alright.
So Sister Hades really was making things difficult for him.
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