Chapter 396 As a Champion
"cough cough"

In the duel ship, in the players' lounge, Xiang Hongye was holding onto the wall and coughing violently.

He took out a tissue and wiped his mouth, then stood up and prepared to leave the room. When he passed by a full-length mirror in the room, he stopped unconsciously and turned to look at the mirror.

He saw the man in the mirror.

A thin and fragile man, as if a gust of wind could blow him away. His pale face was like the first snow in winter that had never seen the sun, without a trace of blood, and a faint blue shadow hung under his eye sockets.

Not like a duelist, but more like a patient.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"That's really outrageous." He laughed at himself, "I'm in front of my most important junior, so I should behave like a duelist."

He adjusted himself, took a deep breath, and put his glasses back on.

But when he turned around, he found that his sister Xianglu had been standing at the door, blocking the only exit of the lounge.

"Sister." Xiang Hongye said softly.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"You really haven't recovered yet, have you?" Xianglu asked, "Since that duel."

Xiang Hongye pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes."

That was last year.

On the night when Hibiki Momiji won the world championship in the United States, a mysterious duelist appeared in front of him.

"Congratulations, world champion Mr. Hongye."

The man said this and then smiled weirdly.

He then held up the Duel Disk and inserted a deck of cards into it.

"Can you accept my challenge?"

The duel came very suddenly. But Hibiki Momiji was a card fanatic like Judai, and was immersed in the joy of winning the championship, so she didn't think much about the duel.

He feels that as a champion, accepting challenges is part of his responsibility.

So he accepted it.

And that was the beginning of the nightmare.

The man's duel was beyond his imagination. Not only was it incredibly strong, but it was also extremely strange.

This was also Xiang Hongye's first encounter with the legendary "Dark Duel". Every time he was hurt, every time he lost health, he could feel as if his real vitality was draining away from his body, like an invisible black hole was sucking away his soul bit by bit.

Then he lost.

In other words, he should have lost.

In the final round, all his resources were used up, his health was like a candle in the wind, and his consciousness was blurred.

He could no longer see his opponent clearly, he only heard the man's strange and sinister laugh: "As expected of a world champion, you are indeed better than most contemporary duelists.

Then I accept your soul and your earth without hesitation."

But at that moment, two beams of golden light shot out like sharp swords, and the roar of motorcycles approached rapidly.

The man's expression suddenly changed.

"Tsk, he actually chased me all the way to a place like this, he's really a haunting fellow. Well, my strength has not recovered enough now, it's not the right time yet."

As he spoke, he put away the duel disk and glanced coldly at Xiang Hongye.

He smiled sinisterly.

"You have saved your life, champion." The man sneered, "But don't be too happy. You have basically lost the duel to me. Although this life is entrusted to you and I will not take it away for the time being, it is already mine.

From now on, every time you duel, your life will be reduced along with your deck, which is like your "life". Hehe, this description may still be a little abstract, but it doesn't matter. "

The man's face was shrouded in shadow.

".You'll soon understand."

Xiang Hongye lost consciousness and fell to the ground in a complete coma.

Before he lost consciousness, he heard a motorcycle seemed to stop nearby and someone was running towards him at a high speed.

"Hey! Hey there, are you okay?"

"." "So, you really lied to me, right?"

Hibiki looked at him.

"He said he's recovered and can return to the duel arena."

"I'm sorry, sister." Xiang Hongye said.

"But why? My body is still the same."

Hibiki walked forward.

"And now there's only one match left in the quarterfinals. The only ones left who haven't dueled yet are you and that weird man.

You should have figured it out, this time's opponent."

"Maybe he is similar to the opponent who defeated me in the United States. He is the one who possesses the legendary 'dark power'." Xiang Hongye nodded, "I know."

"You know, two people have already fallen in the duel just now.

With your current body, it’s already very difficult for you to even fight a normal duel. If you fight with that kind of guy, you may not even be able to last until the end of the duel.”

"I know."

Hibiki Momiji nodded.

"If that's the case then why are you still doing it!?"

Xiangluo walked forward anxiously and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Just listen to me this once, Hongye, and give up. There's still time. Don't duel with that guy."

But Xiang Hongye raised her head and smiled gently.

"I am mentally prepared for whatever happens this time, sister. In this case, it doesn't matter whether it's a dark duel or not."

"Red leaves!"

"I am a duelist, sister." Hongye shook her head, "Especially in front of important juniors, I want to show the attitude of a duelist, not a deserter."

Xiang Lu: “.”

She lowered her head, speechless for a moment.

"Really? Do I have to go?"

"Ah."

Xiang Hongye smiled easily and patted her shoulder.

"And don't worry, sis. I'm very strong," he said confidently.

Xianglu took a deep breath.

"I understand. Let's make a deal, this is just one match, and it won't happen again. Also..."

She took a step back, opening the exit of the room.

".We have to win."

Xiang Hongye walked out of the room and walked towards the stadium along the aisle, leaving her with a thumbs-up sign without looking back.

"of course."

"."

"Okay, so we've finally come to the final battle of the quarterfinals!"

Referee Isono stood in the middle of the field, while the two duelists, Hibiki Momiji and the judge who claimed to be the incarnation of the snake god, stood on the field, one on the left and one on the right.

Xiang Hongye looked at the man opposite her vigilantly, while the man opposite her just had his hands behind his back and his eyes lightly closed, looking like he didn't take his opponent seriously at all.

Xiang Hongye thought of what happened in the previous game before Loren fell.

He didn't know the origins of his opponent, but there was no doubt that this must be a very scary guy, both in and outside of a duel.

But no matter what kind of opponent he faced, he never backed down.

"The world champion, the strongest hero, Hibiki Momiji."

The Judge looked at him meaningfully.

"Let me see what you are capable of."

(End of this chapter)