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

　Darke has already sent his maid to investigate Stilwell Matt. Eluri Clarissa, meanwhile, has risen to prepare.

　In the third duel, she will face off against "Court Magister" Cortoinby.

　Nearby, Professor Harvey was explaining the "Isaac sacrifice" to Professor Jones.

　On the other side, the Holy Church contestants all had solemn expressions.

　The Pope and others, hidden in the private box, also had various expressions.

　Harpagon and Mauriat did win, but they violated a taboo of the Church, and it is unknown how they will be dealt with afterward.

　On the hosting stage.

　After loudly announcing the advancement of "Archbishop" Harpagon Mauriat, Ms. Marilyn began the selection of the candidates for the fifth match. As Dark looked up, he suddenly felt a jolt in his spiritual bond, followed by an immense surge of spiritual power flowing into him through the bond.

　He paused, a look of surprise on his face.

　He knew that the "Cosmic Brain Beast" had been in action all along.

　In the Duel City, where countless mages gather, it can be said that there are "easy targets" everywhere.

　"Cosmic Brain Monster" is a shop that offers good quality products at low prices, and its honesty and integrity have made it a well-known name.

　This is precisely why Dark's mental power has been able to grow to this extent so rapidly in the past few days.

　But all the previous increases weren't as significant as that last surge. "Who did it make a deal with?"

　Darke could no longer hide his surprise.

　He completely ignored the "Cosmic Brain Beast" because his mental power was already sufficient for his needs.

　Simply increasing the quantity won't allow him to break through various barriers. Moreover, as demonstrated by "Elysium V," ultimate evolution has already touched upon the realm of gods.

　In other words, it involves the realm of rules.

　If he wants to enable the magical spirit to undergo ultimate evolution solely through his own power without using the "Sin Card," then he himself must also touch the realm of the gods.

　Therefore, his current focus is on increasing the "width" rather than the "height".

　Only when the "width" is sufficient to support the "height" will we consider moving on to the next stage.

　However, such a large gain still gave him a secret sense of satisfaction.

　"So, with whom did the Cosmic Brain Monster make a deal?"

　Dark used the bond to communicate and asked directly, and quickly received an answer.

　"It's Louis Kennan!"

　Louis Kenan is an outlier among many players.

　He was a loner, refusing to associate with others, and resolutely refused any attempts to win him over from various powerful forces.

　Considering his sage lineage and the fact that he had not revealed the "Card of God," the major powers let him be and did not interfere too much.

　But now it seems that Louis Kennan's secrets are even greater than they appeared.

　After a moment's thought, Dak instructed the maid to investigate further.

　Louis Kennan was already under close investigation; this is simply a matter of moving his place in the investigation hierarchy.

　This person is definitely not simple!

　After Dark gave his instructions to the maid, the list of candidates for the fifth duel was released.

　It's a match between Will Smith, nicknamed "Titan Whale," who ranked tenth in the preliminary rounds, and Professor Pava Jones!

　It's easy to imagine that this will be a fierce battle!

　As soon as the selection results were announced, Dark saw that Professor Jones was full of fighting spirit, as if his whole body was burning with flames.

　Will Smith and Professor Pava Jones are essentially the same type of duelist.

　Their duel was originally supposed to take place in the main tournament, but it has now taken place in the third round of the qualifiers.

　Darke originally hoped Professor Jones would win. However, Will Smith's strength was indeed not to be underestimated, and the outcome of this duel was unpredictable.

Chapter 1565 Darkdemon and the Pillar Giants (2/2)

　The third duel then began.

　Senior Elurly steps onto the dueling ring and calmly faces the "Court Archmage" Cole Toynbee.

　Cole Toynbee is considered a "hidden master" among the court mages.

　Eluri actually consulted him on some academic issues.

　Standing on the same stage this time, you could see a slight sense of relief on Cole Toynbee's face.

　But once the duel begins, there is no room for respect for the elderly or care for the young.

　Because of the presence of the "Legendary Fairy Nia," Eluri still has a fighting chance.

　She took a deep breath and then activated her domain.

　As the realms connect, the duel begins.

　Eluri immediately unleashed "Fantasy Heavenly Principle," transforming the entire duel arena into a fairy domain.

　But Cole Toynbee remained calm and, after two rounds of maneuvering, played the field card "Path of Ice and Fire" on the third turn, bringing fire and glaciers to the field and completely suppressing "Fantasy Principle," reducing its field effect by more than half.

　Illusions of flame and ice flickered across the field as warriors of fire and ice descended from the sacrificial summoning circle.

　Eluri Clarissa, using a Fairy-centric and Psychic-centric deck, was no match for Cole Toynbee's Ice and Fire Warriors.

　Once the "Path of Ice and Fire" field was set up, Cole Toynbee held the advantage until Eluri summoned "Legendary Fairy Nia," which slightly reversed the situation.

　However, Cole Toynbee quickly summoned the "Super Ice and Fire Mage" and used his attribute advantage to defeat the "Legendary Fairy Nia".

　Thus, the duel came to an end.

　"Court Archmage" Cole Toynbee has been promoted to the starting lineup.

　"Fairy Princess" Eluri Clarissa was eliminated in the round of 32.

　Although it's a pity, reaching the top 32 in the World Cup is already a pretty good achievement.

　Eluri Clarissa appeared somewhat disappointed after returning to the players' lounge.

　Everyone offered words of comfort.

　The host, Marilyn, began drawing lots to select the sixth group of contestants.

　Soon, the sixth group of contestants was confirmed to be Eliza Clarissa and another Sea Clan contestant who had advanced to the top sixteen—"Sea King" Polka Poseidon.

　Polka of the "Sea King Clan" is the youngest son of Prince Kamel of the Sea Clan. Because he looks much younger than his age, he initially didn't attract much attention. However, Polka overcame numerous challenges and made it into the top 32, becoming one of only two Sea Clan contestants to advance to the third round of the preliminary rounds. The other one was Will Smith of the "Titan Whale." However, according to his investigation, Dark knew that Polka was actually over thirty years old; he only appeared young because the "Sea King Clan" has a longer lifespan and slower development.

　He had specifically reviewed the duel data between Eliza and Polka. If the data was accurate, Eliza would most likely lose to Polka. Comparing their current strength to that of other students from St. Marian Academy...

　While there is indeed a difference between Gina and Pandora on the surface, Eliza is, after all, a princess of the kingdom and has received special instruction from the old king. Perhaps she possesses a trump card that could turn the tide.

　In short, we'll leave this duel for another time.

　The competition has finally entered the fourth duel. This duel is highly anticipated.

　Firstly, the "Bloody Saintess" is a well-known war hero. Secondly, Ergan's performance was too supernatural.

　Therefore, the audience is extremely excited about it.

　however.

　When the "Bloody Saintess" Hayley Saint Meredith solemnly stepped onto the dueling stage, the arena opposite her, where another person should have been standing, was completely empty.

　Several minutes later.

　One of the referees, holding the notice, announced with an incredulous look, "Erganie has chosen to forfeit!"

　The venue erupted in a commotion in an instant.

　The audience was extremely surprised by the first forfeit in the competition so far.

　However, the competition rules did not explicitly state that "withdrawal is not allowed." Yet, no amount of explanation could account for why Ergani withdrew from the third round of the qualifiers.

　She just won a game during the day, so why can't she play tonight?

　As viewers, we are always caught up in all sorts of conspiracy theories. Suddenly, claims of "fingers being snatched" and "tears in her eyes" spread like wildfire, as if Ergani was forced to abstain by the immense power of the Holy Church.

　But the Holy Church had no coercion; they were all still troubled by Ergan's difficulty in dealing with her.

　The Pope and his entourage, hidden in the private box, looked at each other in disbelief.

　Only the "Bloody Saintess" on the dueling platform smiled with relief. Regardless, she'd made it into the main draw!

　Making it into the regular team means having the chance to receive the "Gift of God." And Hailey already knew that the "Gift of God" would subject the human body to a baptism.

　Using "complete transformation" to describe it might be a bit of an exaggeration. But it will definitely lead to a miraculous improvement in physical fitness.

　Moreover, this kind of improvement is not "developing potential", but "enhancing potential".

　"Developing potential" refers to the discovery and development of a person's potential, not creating something out of nothing.

　However, "artificial saints" are the product of overexploiting potential.

　"Developing potential" will only accelerate Hailey's physical and spiritual decline.

　Only by creating "potential enhancement" out of nothing can her body be nourished, thereby prolonging her lifespan.

　Only by revitalizing her body and extending her lifespan can she hope to continue towards that goal—the "God of Magic"!

　The problems caused by "artificial saints" can only be cured by becoming a god.

　This is her only viable path.

　"Finally, we've taken the first step!"

　Hayley Saint Meredith was incredibly excited as she stepped down from the dueling platform. The audience's doubts had no effect on her.

　Her only worry now is whether she'll actually get sixteen portions of the "Gift of God".

　The "Bloody Saintess" has a chance to survive. Ergane successfully withdrew from the competition.

　This matter is currently puzzling and has generated negative public opinion.

　But when the truth is revealed later, Ergane's actions may well be defined as "the mercy of the god of wisdom."

　Because the fourth duel ended too quickly, the preparation time for the following two duels was significantly reduced.

　But the players must be able to handle such unexpected events.

　Although host Marilyn tried her best to stall for time, seeing the audience's excitement, she had no choice but to quickly move on to the contestant selection process in order to bring the fourth duel to a swift end.

　The selection results came out quickly.

　The two contestants in the seventh duel are "Moon Fairy Princess" Lucia Artemis and "Little Fairy" Lily Laplace.

　"Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong—"

　Professor Lily's scream rang out the instant the list appeared. "Shouldn't I be the one screaming?"

　Lucia pursed her lips and looked this way.

　Professor Lily is tumbling in the air, showing her displeasure.

　Lucia pondered for a moment, then couldn't help but feel annoyed: "So that's it, you think I'm too weak to enjoy myself, right?"

　Once the thought crossed her mind, Lucia's evil intentions took hold, and she began to plot with gritted teeth.

　Then, the fifth duel finally began.

　This duel is between Will Smith, the "Titan Whale" from the Sea Clan, and Professor Pava Jones.

　Both contestants took to the stage early in the morning. Both were tall, and were even two-and-a-half-meter giants, much taller than the average human.

　Will Smith possesses the bloodline of the Titan Whale, granting him superhuman strength, an extremely powerful physique, and terrifying power.

　If it weren't for the fact that this duel restricted the use of physical strength through the "Vitality Card" rules, he would have been confident of crushing all of humanity.

　But since these are the rules, they must be followed.

　Will Smith is a very rule-abiding person. So from the auditions until now, he has never resorted to violence.

　—It would be so ugly to kill someone with a single punch.

　That's why Will Smith has always relied solely on magic cards to fight, but so far in the duel, he has been overwhelmingly dominant.

　His strength was terrifying, which was truly astonishing for the sea creatures, who were slightly behind humans in the development of magic.