Thanks to a little help from the WDA, Yukina and her friends were able to form their own team, Team Mystic, and are competing in the Worldwide Supreme Tournament. The first opponent they're is set to be Team Fanrong from China. That is why they arrived in China and were excited to be there.

"Wow! This is incredible! I can't believe we're really in China!" Yukina said as they had a look around in a glorious city that's going to be holding the first match of the tournament for them.

"Oh man! what's that?! What's that?! There's just so much to see!" Kent said as they were radiating with excitement.

"Guys, calm down. You acting like tourists is a little embarrassing." Marcus complained.

"Now you decide to act mature?" Yukina teased. "Anyway, now that we're in China, what are we going to do?"

"Our battle against Team Fanrong isn't for another three days." Felix said. "We should use that time to get prepared."

"Felix is right. We don't really know anything about Team Fanrong other than Li-Jing and Jaw-Long, and Jaw-Long is the only one we know where we have insight into his deck." Cindy said. "The team is going to consist of three duelists at least, but we don't know anything about the others."

"I guess you're right, but where do we even find them? Heck, we don't even know our way around here." Yukina questioned.

"I say we check into our hotel first." Felix said. "After that, we can ask around to see if anyone can tell us where we can find Team Fanrong."

"Sounds good to me. I can't wait to rest in luxury." Marcus said as he is going to like living in luxury.

...

The Hotel

Yukina and the others went on over to their hotel so that they have a place to rest. They were planning to find Team Fanrong, but it would seem they wouldn't have to wait for very long. When they got to their hotel, they were surprised to see that Li-Jing was there and appeared to be waiting for them.

"Li-Jing!" Yukina said.

"Hello again, Yukina and her friends." Li-Jing greeted. "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess you prefer to go by Team Mystic since you are now officially in the tournament. On behalf of Team Fanrong, welcome to China." She greeted as she bowed to them.

"You came all this way just to greet us? How neighborly of you." Kent said. "I don't suppose you have any of that delicious food that you offered last time, do you?"

"Don't be an oinker." Cindy scolded.

"This is perfect. We were just wondering how we were going to find you guys so we could get some intel on Team Fanrong." Marcus bluntly claimed, but that ended up with him getting his foot stomped on by Cindy.

"You're too direct!" Cindy said.

"It's fine." Li-Jing claimed. "Actually, it's why I'm here. I'm here to take you to our dueling facility that our team is named after. The rest of Team Fanrong would love to meet all of you." That was surprisingly convenient for them. Perhaps it might be a little too convenient.

...

The Mountains

"Fanrong was founded a long time ago." Li-Jing said as she took them through the mountains. "It's where we enhance our dueling abilities and strengthen both our bodies and our minds. We train hard, and the ones who are considered the best represent us as Team Fanrong. With Fanrong being such a successful training academy, we were able to enter the tournament easily."

"Oh man." Marcus said as he and the others were exhausted from the hike. "Just getting there alone feels like it's part of their training."

"No worries. There it is." Li-Jing said as she pointed ahead. All of them took a look and could see it. The place looked just like some sort of temple. "We only have about another thousand steps to go." That got a good groan out of all of them. Eventually, they did make it there. However, they saw that the training was harsh. There were many training hard like they were training for martial arts. They practice stands, lifted intense weight, balance training, and even vigorous exercises.

"Unreal!" Yukina and the others said as they've never seen duel training like this before.

"You guys train like this everyday?!" Yukina said.

"That's right. It might be intense, but it pays off." Ji-Ling said.

"That's right for Fanrong is the most successful dueling academy in all of China." Jaw-Long said as he stepped forward to greet them.

"Jaw-Long! Good to see you again." Yukina said.

"Likewise. I knew you would find someway to be in the tournament." Jaw-Long said. "As you can see, we train our bodies hard. Our team and facility's name translate to "resolve". The training is designed to strengthen one's resolve."

"Wow! Kent trained me pretty hard once, but it was nothing like this!" Cindy said.

"You're telling me! I'm starting to feel a little inadequate!" Kent said.

"Now, please follow us." Li-Jing said. "There is someone I want you all to meet." All of them were rather curious as to who that could be. The two of them brought them to another training area. When they got there, they found one man standing around a series of targets and he was blindfolded. All of them watched as the man jumped into the air and threw cards like they were kunai...making perfect hits on every target.

"Did you see that?!" Yukina questioned.

"How the heck did he do that?!" Kent questioned.

"Imagine the kind of training he had to do to pull this off." Felix said.

"Who's there?" The man said as he removed his blind hold. A closer look at the guy showed that he had dark hair that had a wild-look to it. He wore a white sleeveless top that strapped over his chest and white pants with a red shirt underneath. You could tell he was also quite muscular with how he had black leather bands constricting against his arms. "What is this? Who are these people?"

"This is Team Mystic, our first round opponents." Li-Jing said.

"Oh! Please forgive my rudeness." He said as he bowed to them. "My name is Yuxuan. I am the leader of Team Fanrong."

"You're the leader?!" Yukina said.

"That must mean he's the strongest one here." Felix said.

"So this is Team Fanrong." Cindy said as she looked at the three standing before them.

"Well, two of us at least: Jaw-Long and myself." Yuxuan claimed.

"Wait. You mean Li-Jing isn't part of the team?" Kent questioned.

"No. I act more as the team's manager." Li-Jing admitted.

"If that's the case, where's the third member of your team? It's only fair that we meet him." Felix said.

"I'm afraid he's not here." Yuxuan claimed. "Don't worry about him. You'll meet him soon enough. More importantly, you're Yukina Osama, are you not?"

"I am. You know me?" Yukina questioned.

"Of course. We saw Duel Battlers. You are truly skilled. I'm sure there are lots of duelists that would love to face you." Yuxuan said. His words were quite flattering to Yukina and quite annoying to Marcus. "Sadly, you won't get to face them because I'm afraid we're the ones who are going to win in our match. You've seen what we do here, and it all works for us. Surely you can see how outmatched you are."

"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you." Yukina said. "A lot of prideful duelists work hard to get where they are. Your training might seem intense, but that doesn't mean you're invincible or anything. My friends and I have had our own share of tough duels and such."

"Well, you're certainly passionate." Yuxuan said. "In that case, why not join us in our training? Give it a try and perhaps you'll see it for yourself."

"Fine." Yukina said.

"Hold on! I want to try it, too!" Marcus said.

"No disrespect, but I think Yukina is the one here who could handle it. I mean...it's obvious that she's your best duelist." Yuxuan said with Marcus getting annoyed with everyone thinking Yukina is the best. "However, if you really wish to join, I won't stop you."

"Good!" Marcus claimed.

'This is weird.' Felix thought as something strange was going on. 'Why is he letting us be a part of this?' Felix felt something was off. Regardless, they went on with it as Yuxuan showed them some of their training sessions.

"First, one must hold a firm stance." Yuxuan claimed. "A strong balance will aid in that." He showed them what he meant as he leaped up into the air and landed on one leg right on a thin pole. "By doing this, no enemy will knock you over. Your fierce confidence might throw your opponent off their game."

"Like trying to psyche them out?" Cindy questioned.

"Exactly." Yuxuan said.

"That doesn't look too hard!" Marcus said.

"Let's give it a try!" Yukina said. Both of them tried to balance themselves on a pole, but one could clearly tell that they easily failed that little training session.

"Next, the overwhelming obstacle." Yuxuan said as he stood along a path made by wooden dummies. "You must try to remain calm in a situation that seems overwhelming. If you can keep a clear head, you might be able to see the path of victory." He showed them what he meant as he ran along the path. The wooden dummies attacked him, but he used such speed and agility and made it to the other side without even a scratch.

"All we have to do is dodge?" Yukina said.

"Piece of cake." Marcus said. Both of them gave it a try, but they ended up getting clobbered.

"A real duelist must be able to take whatever is thrown at them." Yuxuan said as he showed another training exercise. He took a padded shield. He took a firm stance as another student shot a large rock with a slingshot. It smashed against the shield, but Yuxuan didn't even move a little. A large rock was shot at him, but he took it like it didn't happen at all. Yukina and Marcus gave it a try, but they were knocked over like bowling pins. There was all kinds of training they tried such as weights, balance, and waterfall training. As one could imagine, those two had a hard time with them.

"Oh man. Everything is starting to hurt." Yukina complained as she and Marcus were really feeling it.

"What did you expect? These people have been working on these training methods for years. You can't expect to get it in just one day." Felix said.

"Don't be so hard on yourselves. Yukina, you did rather well." Yuxuan claimed.

"I did?" Yukina said as she was feeling flattered.

"Excuse me, but I'm still here." Marcus said with annoyance.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've heard many things about you. You are an incredible duelist." Yuxuan continued with the compliments. "Now, let's see if it helped you even a little. What do you say to a duel?"

"A duel? Heck yeah!" Yukina said thinking this was going to be a friendly duel. The two of them now stood facing each other with their two teams watching.

"A duelist of your caliber deserves to face our facility's sacred deck, to which I have been entrusted with." Yuxuan claimed as he inserted his deck into his duel disk. "Are you ready?"

"I am." Yukina said, but Felix surely wasn't.

'Something isn't right. Why has he been so open about any of this?' Felix wondered.

"Let's duel!" They both said as they were getting started.

"Allow me to make the first move!" Yuxuan claimed. "I'll begin by summoning my Qui Beast to the field!" He summoned out a strange chimerical beast with it having the face and scales of a dragon, but with the shape and legs of a horse with deer antlers and a flaming mane around the head. It also had 1500atk points. "I place one card facedown to end my turn."

"My move!" Yukina said as she drew her card. 'I don't know what he's planning, so I better be careful.' "Since you have a monster and I have none, I can summon my Wild Ally Eagle!" She summoned out her eagle as it flew out with 2000atk points. "Wild Ally Eagle, take down his Qui Beast!" Her eagle flew right at the beast to sink its talons into it.

"I activate Sacred Iron Wall!" Yuxuan said as he played his trap. "This trap prevents a fairy-type from being destroyed, and I take no damage!" Yukina's eagle ended up hitting a barrier and was repelled.

"I don't know what you're planning to do with that beast, but I can't wait to find out." Yukina said. "I end my turn."

"So be it. My move!" Yuxuan said as he drew his next card. "You won't have to wait long. I activate Qui Beast's ability! If I send two cards in my deck to the graveyard, I can summon the other two Qui Beasts that are in my deck!" He said as he discarded his cards and summon out two more beasts. "Now that I have all three, I can tribute them to summon one of three powerful cards."

"One of three?!" Yukina said.

"That's right!" Yuxuan said as he released his three monsters. "I Sanxing Lu-Zi!" He summoned out a giant as his new monster emerged on the field wearing a red kimono with a long black beard and dressed to what would be known as mandarin. It also had a total of 3000atk points. "This is one of the three sacred cards in my deck, and is quite powerful. Watch and you will see. Lu-Zi, destroy Wild Ally Eagle!" Lu-Zi held out its arms and had light erupt right under Yukina's eagle with it being destroyed. Despite it being destroyed, Yukina took no damage.

"Wait. How come I didn't take damage?" Yukina questioned.

"The flaw with the Sanxing is that you don't take any battle damage, but that's where his ability comes in!" Yuxuan claimed. "You take damage equal to your monster's attack points!" Suddenly, Yukina was surrounded by light as it exploded from right under her with her life points dropping to 2000.

"Oh no! She lost more life points than she would have in a battle!" Cindy said.

"That thing has power, but at least Yukina didn't take any battle damage." Kent said.

"Your monster isn't the only one with abilities. When Wild Ally Eagle is destroyed, I gain two egg tokens." Yukina said as two eggs appeared on her field with 0def points.

"Fortifying your defense, are you? Well, I can't wait to see what more you can do." Yuxuan said.

"Man, I don't get it. Why is flattering Yukina so much?" Marcus questioned, but that question might be what helped Felix put the pieces into place.

"It's my turn!" Yukina said as she drew her next card. "I activate Egg Hatchery! This spell allows me to hatch my eggs into any Wild Ally I like!" She claimed with her eggs hatching. "I'll summon Wild Ally Jellyfish and Wild Ally Octopus!" She said as she summoned out her two monsters with them having 100 and 1200atk points. "Next, my octopus' ability makes it count as two monsters when I tribute summon! So, I'll sacrifice my octopus to summon Wild Ally Phoenix!" She traded away her octopus and her phoenix flew out on the field with 2500atk points.

"So that's your best card. Sadly, it still doesn't have the power to beat Lu-Zi." Yuxuan said.

"Just wait. I activate my jellyfish's ability for it to become the same level as my phoenix!" Yukina said with her jellyfish now a level seven. "With that, I overlay my jellyfish and my phoenix!" She claimed with Team Fanrong smirking. "I xyz summon..." Just then, another monster flew in and the duel was put to a stop. "Gladiator Beast Domitanius?!" Everyone looked and saw Felix interrupted the duel. "Felix?! What are you doing?!"

"Sorry, but I just realized that we haven't checked into our hotel yet." Felix said. "If we don't leave now, they'll give away our reservation."

"But I'm in the middle of a duel." Yukina said.

"Settle it in the match." Felix said as he grabbed her and dragged her out of there. "I'm really sorry, but we have to go."

"No, I understand. Best to save it for our match. We'll settle things then." Yuxuan said. "Until then." He paid them a farewell with Team Mystic leaving Fanrong.

...

Team Mystic

"Yukina! That was completely irresponsible!" Felix said. Once they were far enough away from Fanrong, Felix was giving Yukina a lecture. "You almost blew it."

"What are you talking about?" Yukina questioned.

"Yeah, Felix. It was just a duel, and it was just getting started." Kent said.

"Exactly." Felix said. "I realized it when Marcus said how it was weird that Yuxuan kept flattering Yukina."

"Yeah! I'm the better duelist! I should have been the one to take him on in that duel!" Marcus said.

"Not what I mean." Felix said. "I thought it was weird how they were so open about their training, and I soon realized it. What they were really after was to gain insight on you, Yukina! You played right into their hands with all the flattery. They wanted that duel to happen to see your cards."

"I get it now!" Cindy said. "Thanks to Felix, Team Fanrong doesn't know the full extent of Wild Ally Phoenix's power or it's more powerful forms!" When she said that, Yukina began to see it herself and was shocked.

"That's right. They were trying to gain insight on your deck, Yukina. They wanted to see your best cards so they would know how to counter them for when you duel them." Felix said.

"How cunning." Kent said as they all looked back to the temple and couldn't believe they almost fell for such a trick. "So we were trying to get info on them, but they turned the tables without us even knowing it."

"You're right. I almost blew it." Yukina said as she felt like an idiot. "I let it all get to my head and almost gave them the advantage."

"Our first opponent in this tournament is clearly a powerful one. They won't be easy to beat." Felix said. They've got their work cutout for them. Team Fanrong is surely a powerful opponent. How are they going to be able to defeat such a force?