What's there to be scared of? This is just one of the proper ways to use the 'Runick' engine.
You Ye smiled lightly, then turned curiously to Tian Nan.
"By the way, those two Dark Duelists earlier—one of them even walked away right in front of you. Aren't you, a high-ranking officer of the Inspection Bureau, supposed to do something?"
Forget the Ice Barrier guy—
That black-robed man literally vanished under Tian Nan's nose.
But Tian Nan, despite being upper management, didn't even twitch.
He just let the Dark Duelist walk off.
"As long as they aren't breaking the rules, no amount of regulation can truly wipe them out. Burn the weeds all you want—they always grow back in the spring. Better to leave them alive within a controllable range."
Tian Nan gave You Ye a meaningful look and then revealed a sly, fox-like smile.
"So that's how it is."
The expression alone told You Ye, everything.
In simple terms:
The Inspection Bureau doesn't want to corner the Dark Duelists completely.
Push them too hard, and all they'd do is eliminate the ones on the surface.
They could never wipe out the entire organization.
So long as the Dark Duelists don't do anything outrageous, the Bureau won't intervene.
If they do commit a crime?
Then the Bureau members will be waiting outside after the duel wraps up.
"Enough about those bugs scurrying in the dark.
This is the junior I mentioned — Tian Yingye, Duelist of the 'Mathmech' archetype."
Tian Nan introduced the young woman beside him.
"Yingye greets Senior."
Tian Yingye looked at You Ye with open curiosity.
It was the first time she had met someone who could casually talk to her great-great-great-ancestor like an equal.
But she maintained professional composure, offering a polite half-bow.
You Ye, however, was stunned.
So this is the Mathmech girl…
Mathmech on its own wasn't that powerful.
But it had one card that broke the heavens—
a "create-everything-from-one-card" piece that fixed the Cyberse engine's fatal weakness.
That was the power of a Master Duel Core Boss Monster!
"…Umm, Senior, is something on my face?"
She felt his gaze and was confused.
His clear eyes did not look like a man eyeing her beauty, so she asked sincerely.
"No, just remembered something."
You, Ye, snapped out of it and turned away slightly, feeling a bit rude.
"Remembered something? Don't tell me Yingye looks like your secret crush?"
Tian Nan suddenly looked excited.
"Anyway, You Ye, you don't have a woman around you.
If you like Yingye, I'll make the decision—she can marry you!"
Tian Yingye lowered her head slightly and remained silent, awaiting You Ye's reply.
"…No thanks. I'm already married."
You Ye looked dumbfounded.
He dazes out for a moment, and suddenly Tian Nan starts matchmaking??
He quickly refused.
"You're married? To a Spirit?"
Tian Nan froze.
Your Ye's records clearly said single.
So where did a wife come from?
Then—
as a Duelist on the King's Road—
He immediately understood.
Muning also looked shocked.
She'd never heard him mention having a wife.
"Yes," You Ye nodded.
Ever since he got that card, he has had a wife.
And the Spirit herself acknowledged it.
Unfortunately, her existence-tier was way too high.
Before King-tier, he couldn't summon her.
But once he reached Heavenly-tier, he could enter the Spirit Realm to see her.
"That doesn't matter.
Among Heavenly-tier duelists, at least one-tenth have Spirit wives.
And every one of them also has a human wife.
There's no conflict."
Tian Nan began explaining patiently.
Humans are different from Spirits.
A Heavenly-tier human might live for a bit past a thousand years.
Someone like me on the King's Road? Two to three thousand.
Even the almighty King-tier duelists—
who seem immortal—
They aren't actually immortal.
I personally know two who already reached the end of their lifespan."
"In contrast, Spirit Realm beings…
The lowest mortal-tier Spirits reincarnate with memories.
High-tier Spirits remain eternally youthful, ageless… immortal."
He paused, looking at You Ye seriously.
"In simple words…
to them, humans are companions who stay a bit longer before leaving."
"There were duelists who only wanted to accompany Spirits their whole lives…
But none of them lasted.
All of them eventually married a human, too."
"They experienced it:
You are born, they are not.
You die, they remain unchanged.
The youth pass, but the Spirit stays the same.
Your mentality will collapse."
He hesitated at this point.
"Say it."
You Ye encouraged.
He didn't plan to get a human wife,
but he was curious about the world's outlook.
"…You might be an exception.
Since Runick and Tearlament are extremely rare archetypes."
Tian Nan finally said it.
"But historically…
Spirit cheating is very common."
"You dare question Spirit loyalty?!"
Muning erupted immediately.
The earlier explanation was fine—
But this one crossed a line.
He was calling Spirits unfaithful!
"Of course not."
Tian Nan didn't look offended, only conflicted.
"One of my friends was a Ground-tier Duelist.
His wife was a female Spirit.
She was completely faithful while he lived.
But less than 100 years after he died…
She had a new human Duelist husband."
"This isn't rare.
Especially among well-developed archetypes."
He paused.
"For rare or undeveloped archetypes…
It rarely happens."
Muning fell silent.
She could guarantee that the Runick Spirits would never betray You Ye.
But Spirits of other archetypes…?
She had no authority there.
"Ah, I see."
You Ye, smiled.
He couldn't care less.
His wife had already told him:
He can't truly die.
For him, 'death' is only a state.
He thought she was joking—
until his repeated Dark Duels proved she meant it literally.
Impossible?
Well…
When your wife's existence-tier is absurdly high,
She really can do whatever she wants.
"…Are you actually listening seriously?"
Tian Nan's face darkened.
He was telling deep, painful history,
yet You Ye looked like he was happily munching melon seeds.
"I am.
You made good points."
You, Ye, nodded solemnly.
"So?"
Tian Nan glanced at Yingye again—
The meaning is obvious:
Interested?
"I have time. But my goal now is to raise my Duelist rank as fast as possible."
You Ye politely declined.
"That's fair. Rank comes first."
Tian Nan didn't push.
He'd seen duelists like this before.
Yingye frowned slightly.
Many had pursued her after she awakened Mathmech,
but this was the first time she was rejected this cleanly.
But she was logical.
She didn't comment and instead returned to the real reason she came.
"Senior, may I request a duel?
I hope you can point out any weaknesses in my style."
"Sure.
If possible, a Master Duel would be more suitable.
That way, I can also show you how to break boards going second."
You, Ye, replied.
"Master Duel mirror match?
Big Brother loses his omni-immunity in mirror matches.
What's the point of going second?"
Yingye asked.
Right—Mathmech Final Sigma only has omninegate immunity outside the archetype.
In a pure mirror match, it loses its biggest strength.
"My mistake."
You Ye, understood instantly.
He thought for a moment.
"Then choose one of my three archetypes:
Runick, Tearlament, or Horus.
After our duel, I'll do a Master Duel with Tian Nan.
I'll use Mathmech and show you its true potential."
"Horus?"
Tian Nan raised a brow.
He had seen You Ye obtain the Horus engine.
Horus was strong,
but barely enough for the mid-Heavenly tier.
In higher levels, pure boss monsters meant nothing.
"Yes.
Horus."
You, Ye, nodded.
He had just obtained several new cards from Sun Ce and Mo Wang.
Enough to form a small control and OTK setup.
Tian Nan looked confused.
Natural Beasts plus Horus?
How did those engines even go together?
Yingye thought briefly.
Then bowed.
"I choose Horus."
"Alright. Give me a moment.
I need to communicate with these Spirits first."
You, Ye, said.
They both nodded silently.
After ten minutes, You Ye finished—
And all the new cards became full affinity.
Yingye looked stunned.
Tian Nan's scalp went numb.
Yingye, a Ground-tier duelist with good talent,
usually needed half a day to two days to get one original card.
For strong cards, maybe even months.
But You Ye?
One minute each.
All full-affinity.
It was monstrous.
Tian Nan was even more shocked
because he could sense the Spirits.
These were terminal-tier monsters—
cards, even King-Road duelists had trouble communicating with.
But You Ye?
The Spirits treated him like their father.
Why??
You Ye, noticed their looks.
"What? Didn't Wang Cheng tell you?"
"He did…
But I thought he was exaggerating."
Tian Nan sighed.
You Ye, understood the warning behind Tian Nan's expression:
Don't show this in front of others.
Even a King-Road duelist couldn't do it.
He nodded, then turned to Yingye.
"Shall we begin?"
"Yes."Duel StartYou Ye (LP 8000)
vs
Tian Yingye (LP 8000)
She chose to go first.
One glance at her hand—
And she smiled.
She had drawn her single copy of the archetype's key card.
Her board would be huge.
She began her combo:
Mathmech Circular
→ send Mathmech Sigma
→ Special Summon
→ Search Superfactorial
→ Overlay
→ Mathmech Alembertian
→ Extend
→ Synchro
→ Mathmech Final Sigma (Extra Monster Zone)
→ Equip Mathmech Equation Blade Nabla
→ Set two cards.
Her field was set.
But You Ye simply sighed.
"With that hand, your setup is…
a pity. A big pity."
"Please guide me, Senior."
She bowed.
She knew:
Circular was something she obtained only after becoming Ground-tier.
It was a sign of the archetype's true strength.
Yet despite years of study,
she still hadn't discovered the secret behind the Mathmech engine.
You had the pieces for 3-4-5-6 + Superfactorial.
You, Ye, said.
3-4-5-6???
Both Tian Nan and Yingye froze.
Tian Nan especially:He had never heard of any monster called 3-4-5-6.