The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　They don't mind taking a little time to add some synergy elements to their decks, reducing the impact of "luck" on duels to a negligible level.

　Under these circumstances, they can fully unleash the power of a well-constructed deck in almost any duel.

　Pandora and Doragon, and Winnie Skadi, both belong to this category.

　The duel arena, located in the center of the venue, was frozen almost at the very beginning of the duel, and the ice elements throughout the venue began to gather towards the center of the arena at an extremely terrifying speed.

　The drop in ambient temperature is becoming increasingly noticeable.

　Even standing in the "backstage area," Dark felt a distinct chill.

　Not to mention the dueling arena where ice elements are highly concentrated, which has almost turned into an extremely cold place!

　Winnie Skadi's tactics in this duel were not unusual; they were simplified to the classic elemental tactics—a basic tactic of quickly summoning high-level magical spirits by changing the elemental environment of the duel arena.

　However, the extent to which she altered the field environment was simply too exaggerated! It was just an ordinary ice-type field card, but the final field effect it created was comparable to "Fantasy Heaven".

　In such a harsh environment, Pandora's Dragon decks were suppressed like never before.

　Dark thought that Pandora would find a way to dispel or cover up the ice-type field effect, but she didn't.

　Despite the harsh conditions, Pandora fought fiercely against Winnie Skadi.

　Her brows were furrowed the whole time.

　She dislikes the cold and winter.

　She wanted to tear the cold wind apart and shred this icy world to pieces!

　What is presented to the audience is a reverse attribute battle that is not favored by anyone who knows anything about magic duels.

　However, the expected clear advantage did not materialize. The duel proceeded fiercely, and at first glance, the two sides appeared evenly matched.

　Winnie Skadi didn't gain an advantage from the ice-themed terrain. But that's not actually the case.

　She knew it.

　Without the support of this ice-type arena, she would have been at a disadvantage long ago! It was the spread of this ice-type arena that brought the two duelists to the same level in a short period of time.

　But even so, it cannot last long.

　Winnie Skadi had already unconsciously sensed the pressure emanating from the other party.

　The oppressive feeling was like being stared at by a giant white dragon peeking out from the clouds, making one tremble involuntarily.

　In her memory, Pandora Drogon had become even stronger! "...

　"Gulu."

　Evan Pearson instinctively swallowed, but he didn't realize it.

　At this moment, like most of the students watching from inside the ring, he subconsciously focused all his attention on the duel on the field.

　"Dragon People..."

　He uttered a single word in a very low voice, as if attributing the duelist's strength to racial factors.

　Humans have always done this.

　Archbishop Caleb Norris appeared at one corner of the circular area. Professor Hoddle Bode sat beside him, arms crossed. The two of them had actually been sitting there since the beginning of the Golden Cup quarterfinals, but had gone unnoticed until now.

　Professor Bode had assumed that he would leave after watching Dark Dimon's duel.

　After all, the Golden Cup is ultimately just a duel between students.

　To the chief archbishop of the Holy Church, it was at most a matter of children fighting.

　But Caleb Norris didn't leave. Professor Bode tried to get him to explain why.

　Archbishop Caleb Norris stated rather bluntly, "I simply want to see what stage the child born to Roland Patricis and Hephaestus Doragon has reached."

　Professor Bode remained silent.

　Pandora's brow gradually relaxed.

　She gradually forgot her dislike of the cold, and the intense duel actually brought her joy.

　Unbeknownst to her, a similarly cold and piercing smile appeared on her face. In this world, every person is composed of countless elements. A single word is insufficient to describe any one person. Dark had long ago discovered that beneath Pandora's cold and hard exterior lay a gentle heart.

　But hidden within that gentle heart was something else entirely. That something, however, exuded a chilling aura!

　A child who emerged from the Forest of Exile, whose life was devoid of innocence and naivety.

　But all of that, whether contradictory or not, are merely elements that constitute a person.

　Pandora's fighting spirit is boiling!

　The duel is still ongoing.

　Countless ice flowers bloomed across the field. The falling icebergs completely altered the terrain. But the dragons soaring through the frigid cold still roared like thunder. One dragon, two dragons, three dragons…

　The cramped space was no longer large enough to contain the dragon's enormous body. The entire sky was transformed into the stage for the duel.

　Multiple dragons unleashed their fury, their dragon might suppressing the land.

　Amidst the dragons, the Ice Maiden, surrounded by ice crystals, softly sang a gentle melody incongruous with the battlefield. Yet, beneath that gentle song emanated a cruel magic capable of eternally freezing all living things.

　The dragon was frozen in ice, turning into a massive ice sculpture.

　The dragon stars cascading down from the sky indiscriminately smashed them, friend or foe.

　An even stronger dragon soared into the sky, its deafening roar bringing terror.

　The ice phoenix, arriving on snow and ice, stirred up a storm of condensed ice crystals.

　Both sides seemed to have no hand limit, constantly summoning magical spirits.

　Throughout the entire duel, there were almost no low-star magical spirits, nor any actions taken against the Magic Ball.

　The two magic orbs floated above the red and blue summoning zones from beginning to end, without moving an inch—until the life barrier of one of the magic orbs was shattered instantly by a single attack with over 8,000 points of attack power!

　"Wow—"

　The referee's whistle was piercing, startling the spectators both inside and outside the stadium.

　Even after the competition ended, the magnificent spectacle of dragons and phoenixes still lingered in the retinas of the audience.

　The duel between the elite duelists was truly breathtaking. "The victor is Pandora Drogon!"

　"call--"

　Dak took a deep breath.

　Even though he had never wavered in his belief in Pandora's victory from the start to the end of the duel, he still felt relieved after the final outcome was revealed.

　It wasn't just about victory or defeat, but also because the duel was finally over. The oppressive atmosphere and palpable fear that had gripped the fight had finally vanished. "Is this the difference?"

　It is different from other world.

　The slight sense of relief that came from the victory over Luke Becky had vanished completely.

　Without resorting to underhanded tactics, he felt he had no chance of winning.

　but.

　Not untouchable!

　Being able to perceive the gap means that the two sides are not on two different levels.

　His experiences and efforts during this period are now yielding fruitful results. The "wisdom bestowal" from Ergani and his comprehensive mastery of fourth-year magical languages ​​have expanded his knowledge from a fundamental level.

　He knew the gap between him and Pandora was narrowing. Catch up, reach, surpass!

　Someone was chasing him, and he was chasing others. Everything depended on speed.

　Dark patted his cheeks, composed himself, and waited for Pandora's victorious interview and to welcome her triumphant return.

　However, Winnie Skadi returned even earlier.

　Then he stood side by side with the loser, watching the interview segment with the survivor.

　Winnie Skadi's face showed no sign of defeat, but a hint of weariness could be detected.

　That shouldn't be psychological; she was just a little mentally exhausted from expending too much energy in that short duel.

　Unable to find words of comfort, Dark simply remained silent. Winnie Skadi clearly had no interest in speaking either.

　The two stood there watching Pandora's winner's interview, looking slightly awkward. Pandora, however, spoke very calmly about Winnie Skadi during her own interview—from the perspective of a senior student.

　Dark could only sigh inwardly, "My senior is still as sharp-tongued as ever. Unlike me, I would never be like that."

　After the interview, Pandora Drogon finally returned. Winnie Skadi then finally spoke, "You win this round."

　It was as if they had waited there specifically to say just this one sentence. Pandora smiled and said, "I hope you can achieve your breakthrough." The two parted ways.

　Then Dark and Pandora left the Duel Arena together.

　Neither of them had any interest in watching the rest of the match.

　Dark didn't walk with his senior for too long. After parting ways at the fork in the road, he went straight back to his dormitory and quickly immersed himself in continuing his research on the "Paradise? Misty Field".

　The result of the match that he heard later surprised him.

　Good morning! Don't forget to vote at the end of the month!

　I believe you chose the correct answers to the activity questions.

Chapter 910 Dark Dimon's Unexpected Move ((4k))

　[Predicting the Future] Philomena Bach and "Thunderblade" Torre Wozworth are the third group of contestants to appear, following Pandora and Winnie.

　Both are fourth-year students versus fifth-year students, but one is from the Magic Academy and the other is from the Noble Academy.

　Philomena excels in Psychic-type attacks, while Torrey Wozworth is proficient in Electric-type attacks.

　The systems that both sides are accustomed to using do not contain any mutual restraint.

　This duel can be described as a contest of pure strength.

　Torrey Wordsworth qualified for the regular selection with the highest score in the preliminary rounds. In terms of strength, he can be said to be one of the best fifth-year students in the Noble Academy. Unlike Edwin Clarissa, the president of the Noble History Research Club who only came to the forefront this year, he showed his talent from the beginning of his enrollment and has been leading the pack ever since.

　The saying "a father's status rises with his son's" applies here, as his son displayed extraordinary potential at St. Marian's College. His father, Viscount Wordsworth, also benefited from this, successfully becoming Earl Wordsworth at the end of last year, which caused quite a stir at the time.

　After all, in these peaceful times, there are few avenues for advancement among the nobility. To help his father establish himself in noble circles, Torrey Wadsworth has always been very enthusiastic about participating in various competitions and events.

　He participated in this year's Golden Cup for the same purpose.

　His hands may not be pure, but his strength is indeed extraordinary. However, in this fourth-year vs. fifth-year duel, originally not...

　The incredibly eye-catching Philomena Bach won by an almost overwhelming margin!

　Torrey Wadsworth fell silent amidst the deafening cheers.

　Then came the fourth match.

　"Iron Man" Tyler Spencer vs. "Battle Spirit" Mars Carey.

　Fifth-year Knight Academy vs. Fourth-year Knight Academy.

　Both of these players are graduates of the Knights Academy and are proficient in combat-based fighting styles, and their preferred systems are mainly based on direct confrontation.

　However, Tyler Spencer's magical spirits, with a steel-type secondary element, have a slight advantage in terms of fire defense.

　Mars Carey, on the other hand, has a slight advantage in terms of variation, primarily relying on Normal-type attacks.

　Furthermore, Fighting-type is super effective against Steel-type, and Fighting-type is super effective against Normal-type. This made the duel between the two fighters even more exciting. But overall, it was still a hard-fought, head-on battle. In the end, Mars Carey, who qualified for the main tournament last, lived up to his reputation as a dark horse, defeating Tyler Spencer at a somewhat painful cost!

　With this, the four-match winners' bracket has officially concluded.

　Of these four matches, three were fourth graders versus fifth graders, and one was even a second grader versus a sixth grader.

　However, apart from the duel between Pandora and Winnie, in which the seniors defended the ring, the other three matches all resulted in upsets.

　This was undoubtedly something that the audience had not anticipated at all.

　Newspaper reporters stationed at branch offices across the country were extremely excited. Meanwhile, the betting enthusiasts who had placed heavy bets on the upperclassmen looked ashen-faced.

　The four players who ultimately fell into the loser's bracket were Luke Becky, a sixth-grader; Winnie Skadi, a fourth-grader; Torrey Wadsworth, a fifth-grader; and Tyler Spencer, also a fifth-grader.

　The loser's bracket elimination matches for these four players continued that evening. To ensure fairness, the four players were redrawn to determine their duel pairings.

　The final result is:

　Sixth-grader Luke Becky is up against fourth-grader Winnie Skadi.

　Fifth-grader Torrey Wadsworth faced off against fellow fifth-grader Tyler Spencer.