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

　Moreover, he currently has an attribute advantage.

　By taking steady and methodical steps, victory will naturally follow.

　The long-lived members of the "Flower Spirit Clan" sensed something was wrong when they discovered their opponent was Shrek Holmes.

　Although she is a sixth-grade student, the available decks she has are still limited to the category of [Fairy + Grass], and she does not have the foundation to change to a counter deck based on the opponent's deck.

　Therefore, even after discovering her opponent was Shrek Holmes, she still had no choice but to grit her teeth and enter the duel with her strongest deck. Given this inherent disadvantage, attempting a comeback was indeed difficult.

　Even though she used "Aging Curse" to quickly summon a nine-star magical spirit at the start, and then used "Accelerated Summon" to special summon an even stronger magical spirit, she still couldn't win.

　The two sides were actually evenly matched, but in the end, Shrek Holmes came out on top and won his first victory in this competition!

　As the music of "Divine Inspiration" suddenly gathered, Shrek Holmes stood amidst the steel jungle, a broad smile spreading across his rugged face.

　"Is this the [divine cause]?" Even if its form is unseen and its substance untouched.

　He could still sense that something around him had changed.

　"Divine Cause" is nothing other than a ticket to the age of gods.

　Now, he has finally obtained his own ticket – a ticket for the lower deck.

　To get a better ticket, you need to win more battles!

　Shrek clenched his fist tightly, feeling the path ahead gradually becoming clearer.

　The "Flower Spirit Clan" are long-lived species, and if we only consider their strength, they rank quite high within the Sky Magic Academy.

　Her loss in the starting lineup was a blow to the Sky Magic Academy team.

　However, wins and losses are common, especially since it was only the first defeat.

　"St. Marian Academy seems to be getting serious."

　Tiffany Neham clapped her hands, signaling her companions to gather around.

　"Their lineup in the previous two games led us to believe that Mars Carey was still their starting player, and then they specifically sent Shrek Holmes to counter him."

　"They did win this first duel, but that's all. We won't fall for their tricks again."

　"Shrek Holmes is among the strongest in their team. But as you can see from the duel just now, the two fighters are actually quite evenly matched."

　"From this perspective, our strengths are actually quite even. The final outcome will depend on the handling of certain details during the duel."

　"Therefore, in every duel from now on, you must be extremely serious, extremely serious, and extremely serious in order to win this match!"

　"Do you understand?"

　At this point, Tiffany tilted her head slightly, naturally radiating an aura of power. The contestants from the Sky Magic Academy all wore solemn expressions.

　He nodded. The competition had only just begun; it was still uncertain who would emerge victorious.

　"Unexpectedly, by sheer chance, Shrek ended up facing off against the Flower Fairy." On the St. Mary's Academy's stage, the contestants were overjoyed by Shrek's victory.

　Based on the principle of "sharing the good fortune", they naturally hoped that Shrek could win a game, and luckily they were fortunate.

　The "Flower Fairy Clan" of the Sky Magic Academy are actually a rather troublesome type in their eyes.

　Fairy and Grass types have too many variations; if it weren't for Shrek, it would be really difficult to win.

　"It seems even fortune is on our side."

　Eluri Clarissa twirled the magic card in her hand and couldn't help but laugh. The other contestants were also quite happy.

　Aside from the "Golden Mammoth Clan" and Captain Tiffany, the Sky Magic Academy found the long-lived "Flower Spirit Clan" the most difficult to deal with, but they unexpectedly solved the problem by accident.

　Then there's no room for negotiation in the upcoming duel.

　“Let Mars go first,” Gina Grant said calmly.

　And so, St. Mary's Academy simply decided who would be chosen for the next duel.

　After the interviews and post-match analysis concluded, the competition moved into the strategy phase.

　Pandora returned to the strategy table and placed Marscare's player card into the slot.

　Mars took a breath and made the final adjustments.

　Among the six main contestants, he is the weakest. It was lucky that he won a duel this morning. He must go all out in the next duel and try to gain another "divine advantage"!

　soon.

　Sky Magic Academy also selected its second competitor. Projections of both competitors appeared simultaneously.

　On the St. Marian Academy side, it was naturally the "battle spirit" Marscare.

　Meanwhile, the Sky Magic Academy sent out the long-lived "Thunder Clan"!

　"So it's Thunder Clan?"

　Mars swallowed hard, immediately feeling the pressure.

　But just as he was about to say something, he heard Pandora, the team captain, comfort him: "Don't feel pressured. It's okay if we lose. We'll win back."

　These were clearly words of encouragement, but Mars paused for a moment upon hearing them, and couldn't help but give a wry smile.

　Give me some confidence, maybe we can win.

　"Look at me."

　The long-lived member of the Thunder Clan, Radiodas, clenched his fists and then calmly rose from his seat.

　The race name "ThunderClan" is very unrecognizable.

　They actually belong to an elf-like race and have long ears like elves.

　However, compared to the elves, they also have claws like wild beasts, and a long, thin, hairless tail.

　They are naturally affinity-to-electricity, so they won't be hurt even if an electric current flows through their entire body. They can also use the current to stimulate their bodies, thereby gaining greater strength and speed.

　In legends, there are even some powerful and special "Thunder Clan" who can completely elementalize their bodies and truly become lightning.

　Of course, Radiodas doesn't have that ability yet.

　However, his ability to coil electricity around his entire body gives him a significant advantage in close combat. If his opponent is Marscare, he has a 99% chance of winning.

　The contestants from Sky Magic Academy trusted him greatly and watched him walk onto the contestant's stage.

　The duel ended quickly.

　Even when facing opponents with whom he had a very poor compatibility, Marscare still forged ahead without the slightest hesitation.

　But the faster he charged forward, the faster he lost.

　In this duel, Radiodas secured a very solid victory. The score is now tied at 1-1, with St. Marian Academy and Sky Magic Academy evenly matched.

　One-sided matches are never as entertaining as matches with back-and-forth exchanges. As the match progressed, the atmosphere in the stadium noticeably became more intense.

　Amidst the continuous applause and cheers, even the music played by "God's Inspiration" seemed to become much more exciting.

　“Duelists specializing in electric magic are indeed difficult to deal with,” Dark said seriously in the players’ lounge.

　"really."

　Duolong nodded vigorously, deeply understanding.

　However, Dark changed the subject and said, "Next, it should be Winnie's turn to perform, right?"

　Emma nodded and said, "Although I don't know why Shrek senior is starting, the next draft should go back to the old ways."

　"What about the Sky Magic Academy?" Diana asked. Emma shook her head and said, "I don't know." But she actually had some guesses.

　If Sky Magic Academy hadn't been fooled by Shrek Holmes' starting lineup, they would have guessed that St. Marian Academy would field Winiscat in the next match.

　Based on this premise, they will likely field a fighter that can counter Ice-type, such as the long-lived "Bronze" race, which excels at Steel and Psychic types.

　But she also felt that the Sky Magic Academy was most likely misled. So it was difficult to determine who they would actually send out.

　However, the duel schedule was very tight, and soon it was time to devise a strategy for the third duel.

　Pandora, as always, placed the player cards on the countermeasures table shortly after the countermeasures time began.

　Sky Magic Academy then spent several more minutes considering before selecting its next opponent.

　The Sky Magic Academy dispatched Nathaniel of the "Golden Mammoth Clan".

　David!

　Nathaniel David's power is terrifying; even without magic cards, he can tear apart nine stars with his bare hands.

　If we're talking purely about physical strength, he's probably the strongest contestant in this year's Academy Championship.

　Her magical skill level is also quite high, second only to Tiffany Nehm, the captain, in the Sky Magic Academy.

　Upon confirming that his opponent was Winiscat, Nathaniel David grinned, revealing a silent smile.

　He was tall and strong, far surpassing human beings. Just standing there, he seemed like a mountain, giving people immense pressure.

　Other players might be afraid of Winnie's ice magic, but he was not afraid at all.

　Because he is born with extremely strong ice resistance, he is not afraid of being frozen at all. "Although it is slightly different from what I expected, if I can defeat Winiscat, it will be a way to eliminate one threat."

　Tiffany Neham whispered, then told Nathaniel David to come up on stage immediately.

　"The Golden Mammoth Clan?"

　Winnie put down her book, her brow furrowing slightly.

　The "Golden Mammoths" are extremely cold-resistant, making them a true bane of ice-type attacks. Although Nathaniel David hadn't revealed his ice resistance in previous duels, a knowledgeable person could discern his characteristics simply by knowing his race.

　Winnie immediately became wary; this duel was indeed extremely disadvantageous for her. If she continued with her previous tactics, she would likely suffer a crushing defeat. Her goal was to win all three matches and she naturally didn't want to leave a stain on her record. "There's no other way; I'll have to change my deck."

　If magic decks aren't working, then let's get back to the right path.

　She prefers using ice magic decks simply because it's a quick way to win. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have a normal deck centered around Spellfly.

　The Golden Mammoth Clan is immune to freezing, but that doesn't mean their magical spirits are immune to freezing either.

　Once you're in the dueling arena, simply treat it as a nine-star magical spirit immune to freezing, and then you can duel as usual.

　The key is to keep Nathaniel David at bay. Winnie pondered this as she walked toward the players' platform.

　Once she arrived at the duel arena, she already had a deck in mind. Then she took out the cards one by one and combined them into a deck.

　She placed the deck into the Duel Disk and began shuffling.

　Nathaniel David watched her complete the construction from start to finish, his smile remaining unchanged.

　He enjoys watching his prey struggle desperately, only to be driven into a corner.

　"Preparation Phase 2" [30s]

　The duel begins, and both players draw cards simultaneously.

　The outcome of this duel was uncertain, which made it all the more captivating.

　Although Winnie the Pooh is only a fifth-year student, her popularity and strength are comparable to those of sixth-year students.

　As things stand, once this year's sixth-grade students graduate, she will be Pandora's successor, the next head of the upperclassmen group.

　But her opponent, Nathaniel David of the "Golden Mammoths," is more than just a sixth-grader.

　Among the upperclassmen at St. Marian Academy, the only one who could reliably defeat him was probably Pandora Doragon.

　To outsiders, Winnie is probably still a bit short of reaching that top level.

　Moreover, the "Golden Mammoth Clan" possesses extremely strong resistance to ice. Some viewers who claimed to know a bit about the "Golden Mammoth Clan" couldn't wait to bet on them to win, enjoying the sense of superiority in their knowledge while anticipating a big win.

　But the duel had barely begun when the expressions on their faces changed drastically, and their emotions took a sharp turn for the worse.

　At the start of the duel, Winnie again used an ice-type spell card. However, this ice-type spell card was not used to damage the enemy, but rather to create terrain barriers!

　With its magical power, layers upon layers of icebergs rose from the ground, instantly transforming the duel arena into a complex landscape of continuous icebergs.

　—Although the area is actually not very large.

　Nathaniel David, however, summoned a shield-shaped magical spirit during his initial summoning.

　This shield-shaped magical sprite is of the same type as Dark's "Single Sword Sheath," both being transformed from weapon cards, thus circumventing the summoning process.

　After summoning it, Nathaniel David did not use it as a magical spirit. Instead, after ordering it to use a defensive ultimate move, he picked it up with one hand to use as a shield and launched a frontal charge towards the area where Winnie was.

　Nathaniel David's deck did not have a specific attribute. However, the magical spirits he used were mostly Ancient species.

　The shield-shaped magical spirit he summoned was also a very special ancient species magical spirit.

　However, he had never used "Aging Curse" or "Accelerated Summoning" in previous duels, and it was unclear whether he hadn't mastered them or simply hadn't found the opportunity to use them.