Digimon: I really didn't want to be the Digimon Emperor!

These questions rained down on the five beast tamers like a machine gun. However, they were surprised to find that their memories of the Qilin were surprisingly vague—even though they had only been separated for a short time, they couldn't recall any of its physical features.

The news quickly spread to the headquarters of the Beast Tamer Association. The spokesperson for the Twelve Divine Generals organization convened an emergency meeting overnight: "Investigate! Find out for me thoroughly! When did we acquire a reserve force codenamed 'Qilin'?"

The research and development department was in complete chaos. An elderly professor with white hair slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Armor evolution technology? Armor enhancement technology is already giving us a headache, and he can even make Digimon armor evolve? Who is this Qilin? Find him immediately!"

The Operations Department reacted the most strongly.

The operations director, Tang Lihu, who was also one of the twelve divine generals codenamed Yinhu, directly dialed the hotline codenamed Chenlong: "President! If this technology is true, our Rookie Digimon on the front lines can all gain Champion-level combat power! Several fortresses in the Dark Zone are currently in a precarious defensive situation, which will be the key to changing the course of the war in the Dark Zone! I must find Qilin! Make Zishu from the R&D department hand over the person!"

The association building was brightly lit late into the night, and phones rang incessantly from department to department. Even a high-ranking official secretly contacted the quantum beast in Lark City via satellite phone, only to receive a cryptic reply: "How bizarre! By the way, settle your debt of computing power to me immediately!"

"But why does this new challenge require so much more computing power out of nowhere? This is a huge expense, equivalent to..."

Quantum Beast: "Your chips are so inferior, a whole batch burned out, is it my fault?"

The other person quickly replied, "No, no..."

Quantum Beast stood atop the Golden Bell Tower, a slight upturn at the corners of its mouth beneath its mask.

Her [Time-Space Chaos] perfectly protected the boy's secret. In her eyes, Cheng Yuan's greatest value was not his astonishing technology, but that he helped the Ancient Music Beast regain its evolutionary light. As for other matters, she was too lazy to interfere.

The next morning, Cheng Yuan walked to school as usual, completely unaware that his fabricated identity had become the focus of the entire animal trainer community.

Gatomon perched proudly on his shoulder, the sacred ring on its tail gleaming in the sunlight.

【Gi-Oh!】

【Vaccine Type - Sacred Beast Type】

[Maturity Stage]

[Skills: Sacred Ring, Meow Punch, Long Claw, Cat Eye (Confusion and Control)]

[Introduction: A cat-shaped Digimon with a signature sacred ring on its tail, adding a touch of mystery and holiness to its overall appearance. It is extremely curious, loves to play pranks, and is always full of energy exploring the world around it.]

Cheng Yuan looked at the data on the Arc Light Machine and shook his head slightly. This publicly available data could not possibly reflect the special features of his own Gatomon—the perfect coexistence of four main attributes, which could be freely switched through the earrings.

However, the lack of the long-clawed gloves copied from Saber Lion definitely reduced the power of Meow Meow Punch.

"I need to figure out a good pair of claws for you." Cheng Yuan rubbed Tailmon's head. The little guy comfortably squinted his eyes, and the fire ring and shadow ring on his left ear swayed slightly with the movement.

Aside from Cat Punch and Cat Eye, all the skills from the puppy beast era have been preserved.

Extreme collisions have evolved into regular extreme speeds, and Gatomon no longer relies primarily on physical impacts.

The puppy's barking interrupt control skill has been upgraded to cat eyes. In addition to interrupting skills, these cat eyes also have a certain probability of controlling the skill.

The Sacred Barrier remains usable and can be switched to a barrier of other attributes, allowing for more effective defense through attribute counterplay.

Needless to say, energy balls can be switched at will, but the number that can be released at the same time is limited to eight energy balls of the same attribute.

There are still many abilities in Gatomon's attribute rings that he and Gatomon need to develop together. On the way to school, Cheng Yuan was already thinking about it.

The current Gatomon is very well-rounded, with good speed, skill variety, and combat skills. However, the biggest problem is that they lack a powerful, decisive skill that can deliver a decisive blow.

Whether it's the Holy Light Ball, Shadow Ball, or Fireball, which combine divine and light power, they are very suitable for entanglement and adaptability, but they are scattered and unfocused, lacking the explosive power to win with a single blow.

How to develop skills with strong explosive potential has become the most pressing training challenge.

He recalled a plan he had conceived during his growth period: to fuse Holy Light Bullets and Shadow Spheres under high pressure to create a powerful hybrid energy blast.

But after trying, Cheng Yuan realized that he had oversimplified things. The two types of energy spheres could not be fused at all; the energy would become uncontrollable and explode, most likely injuring himself.

But Cheng Yuan had a premonition that this was a feasible development plan. It was just that he and the Puppymon at the time did not have enough control over light and dark energy. After all, the end of one of Puppymon's evolutionary chains, Mostimon, had the skill of "Chaos Price Reduction," which was a fusion of light and dark energy. So, it would be possible to develop a super low-end version himself, right?

However, due to a series of events, including the zombie Satan Beast and the Time-Space Mystery, the matter was temporarily put on hold.

Speaking of the zombie Satan Beast, the pair of small bat wings on its back, which the system called the Dark Seeds, have now fallen silent along with the system, leaving only the tattoo-like bat wings on its back.

The Dark Seed is a powerful artifact. In the second season of the anime, Ken Ichijouji, a member of the main cast, experienced a significant boost in intelligence due to it, becoming the Tyrannosaurus Rex cyborg who controls half of the Digital World. However, it is also sinister, drastically altering the personality of its host. In fact, the Dark Seed is nurtured by the final boss, Belial the Vampire Beast, who cultivates it. Once the Dark Seed absorbs enough dark energy, it blossoms, harvesting that energy to become the key to enhancing its own power.

At that time, this dark seed had tried to seize control of its own body, but was ultimately stopped by the system.

Obviously, since I have my own system, I'm not afraid of it parasitizing and affecting me. Perhaps I can continue to study it after the system is upgraded.

There's also the Light Digital Spirit Seed. I'll be frequently going to the research institute lately to help Zhou Mo complete her thesis project, and also to help myself figure out how to use this resource.

There are just too many things to deal with right now: the research on Dark Seeds, the application development of the Digimon Spirit of Light, the skill training of Gatomon... not to mention the college entrance exams in two months.

There are still two months until the college entrance examination. Before the exam, there will usually be mock exams and college application process, so the next few months will be very busy.

Last week, with the police's approval, Gearmon finally got its identification card sorted out for its family-owned Digimon. Although it wasn't tied to a Digivice, it's now registered as a member of the Cheng family. Gearmon went to the Pengcheng Evolution Research Institute today to report for duty, sign its contract, and start its first day of work. Initially, Cheng's father was worried and insisted on taking it there, but Gearmon refused.

I really want to go to school. After all, according to Cheng Yuan's own timeline, it has been more than a month since he went back to school.

Skipping classes is addictive, and he can't let his academic grades, which have just started to improve, drop. Especially now that the learning atmosphere in the special training class is so good, he doesn't want to hold the class back.

"Cheng Yuan! Wait for me!"

A familiar voice came from behind him. Cheng Yuan turned around and saw Zhao Lu panting as she caught up, with the Three-in-One Gear Beast X following behind her.

Chapter 107 The Captain Returns

"Cheng Yuan, when you took leave a couple of days ago, did you know what happened at school?" Zhao Lu approached mysteriously, her eyes sparkling with gossip.

Cheng Yuan looked bewildered: "What is it?"

Zhao Lu lowered her voice: "There are only two months left until the college entrance examination, and all the schools are preparing for mock exams. But this time is different—" She deliberately dragged out her words, "Starting this year, combat subjects will also be included in the mock exams! The Education Bureau will announce the exam format this week."

"Isn't this normal?" Cheng Yuan shrugged dismissively. "The Beast Tamer College Entrance Examination already includes combat subjects."

"The important part is at the end!" Zhao Lu stamped her feet anxiously. "My dad told me that there might be a high school tamer battle league held throughout the city this time!!" She proudly puffed out her chest, clearly enjoying the sense of superiority brought by this "insider information".

Cheng Yuan silently gave Director Zhao a thumbs up in his heart—what a good father.

“The Education Bureau hopes to discover outstanding potential animal trainers in advance through the league,” Zhao Lu continued. “The school has already begun to form a school team, preparing to make a name for itself in this league.”

At this point, she suddenly became a little embarrassed: "While you're on leave for two days, I'll be temporarily appointed as our team leader..."

Cheng Yuan smiled indifferently. Zhao Lu's Gear Beast X had indeed made rapid progress recently. Not only had its voltage been increased to high voltage, but the number of gear saws had tripled, and it had also learned a new skill, "Electromagnetic Bomb," which, combined with its existing "Electric Drill Impact," made it effective at both close and long range. In addition, given her family's background as a professional beast tamer, it was quite reasonable for her to become the temporary team leader.

However—

"The special training class is progressing a bit slowly," Cheng Yuan thought to himself, shaking his head. Even Zhao Lu's Gear Beast X still had a lot of room for improvement in his eyes.

What worries him even more is that Zhao Lu doesn't seem to have started planning the evolution path of Gear Beast X yet.

As a special form combining three bodies, Gearmon X's evolutionary potential far exceeds that of ordinary Gearmon, so we must make plans early.

"Finally back." Stepping into the familiar school gate, Cheng Yuan took a deep breath, as if he could smell the youth and passion permeating the air.

Inside the gymnasium of Pengcheng No.1 Middle School, the students in the special training class were training enthusiastically. More than 30 students were divided into six teams, with five official team members and two substitutes in each team.

These replacements are all newcomers who have recently evolved their Digimon to the Rookie stage, and they are eager to prove themselves.

During a training break, substitute player Wang Dong eagerly approached Zhao Lu, who was charging Gear Beast X, with a bottle of energy juice: "Captain, take a break, I'll watch the charging station for you."

Three of the six girls in the special training class were in this team—Zhao Lu, Wen Rou, and Li Yue. Zhao Lu and Wen Rou, in particular, were the kind of girls who were beautiful even without makeup, and their outstanding abilities made them the object of many students' admiration.

"Thank you, but I brought my own water," Zhao Lu politely declined, picking up the water bottle with stickers of Gearmon and Puppymon. A few drops of water still clung to the bottle, glistening in the sunlight.

Wang Dong awkwardly withdrew his hand, thinking to himself that this academic genius was indeed aloof.

"Also, don't call me captain anymore," Zhao Lu suddenly said. "Just call me Zhao Lu, because our team's real captain is back today."

"Huh?" Wang Dong looked blank. As a newly recruited member, he knew very little about the team's history.

"I'm telling you, you blockhead!" Kang Zhao strode over and slapped Wang Dong on the shoulder. "Didn't you do your homework before joining the team? Didn't you notice that we've always been one member short?"

He glared at Wang Dong with exasperation—he didn't train properly, all he did was fawn over others, and he didn't even know the basic situation of the team.

"Who's missing...?" Wang Dong scratched his head, looking confused.

There was a reason why Cheng Yuan didn't come to training in the afternoon. The school leaders specifically called him to their office—last week, the Public Security Bureau, the research institute, and the Education Bureau all called one after another, subtly indicating that they wanted to give this student special attention, and the Public Security Bureau even wanted to guide him to apply for the Animal Trainer School.

Principal Liu Guoliang dared not be negligent.

In addition, Cheng Yuan's grades have been steadily improving recently, and Teacher Liu Liuyan has been full of praise for him. If Cheng Yuan hadn't asked for two days off, the principal would have already spoken to him.

"The school has high hopes for you in this Pengcheng mock exam." Liu Guoliang patted Cheng Yuan on the shoulder affectionately. "I have kept the Qingguoshan team from Yeren Valley in mind, hoping that you can lead everyone to break through the encirclement."

Cheng Yuan then learned that, in order to wait for his return, the principal had even gone so far as to arrange Zhao Lu and Kang Zhaodi, who were originally qualified to be team leaders, into his team.

......

After speaking with the principal, Cheng Yuan headed straight for the gymnasium. The moment he pushed open the door, the familiar smell of sweat and metal hit him.

"Long time no see, I've missed you all so much~" Cheng Yuan waved to his former teammates with a grin.

"Don't give me that!" Kang Zhaodi clamped Cheng Yuan's head between his strong biceps. "It's just two days off, don't act like it's a long-awaited reunion!"

Cheng Yuan smiled without saying a word. "Big guys, what's three days for you is a whole month for me in the Time-Space Secret Realm!"

"Here, the team leader's responsibilities are back to you." Zhao Lu handed over a folder containing the team members' training records and data analysis.

If someone else had suddenly become the team leader, the team members would have been dissatisfied long ago.

But Cheng Yuan was different—he was not only the undisputed top student in the special training class, but also the school leaders' chosen captain. More importantly, he possessed all the qualities a captain needed: organizational skills, leadership abilities, and a core role in the team.

His experience in Savage Valley earned him the complete respect of top students like Zhao Lu and Kang Zhaodi. It's safe to say that Teacher Xu Xin made the right choice in selecting him as class representative.

However, not everyone was aware of what happened in Savage Valley, such as Wang Dong.

"Why should he be the team leader?" Wang Dong protested. "I think Team Leader Zhao is more capable and has better results. She should lead us!"

These words were somewhat provocative, and even the good-tempered Kang Zhaodi couldn't stand it anymore. He sneered, "Oh? Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Let's have a match!" Wang Dong's eyes lit up. "Captain Zhao should fight him! How can we convince the school's top students if we don't prove our strength in front of everyone?"

Several veteran team members exchanged strange glances.

Even Zhao Lu herself found it funny—although Gear Beast X had made great progress recently, she knew Cheng Yuan's strength very well. Besides, Cheng Yuan had helped her so much, how could she possibly be provoked like this?

Just as she was about to tell Wang Dong to stop, Cheng Yuan's backpack suddenly moved.

A white cat paw peeked out, followed by a fluffy little head—Goomon yawned sleepily.

"Huh? Why isn't it a puppy beast?" Zhao Lu's eyes widened; she really loved petting puppy beasts...

Could it be? Zhao Lu's eyes widened even more, revealing an expression of disbelief.

The evolved Gatomon became even lazier, spending all its time sleeping in its backpack, claiming it was "digesting energy and data." Its large, azure eyes scanned the area, finally settling on Wang Dong, a glint of red light flashing in its pupils.

Who dares to make things difficult for my beast tamer!

【Cat Eyes】—A skill that manipulates enemies through sharp gaze. Enemies stared at by its gaze will fall into a state of confusion and may even attack themselves.

Wang Dong suddenly froze, then slapped himself hard across the face. With a sharp "smack," he covered his face in bewilderment, not understanding what had just happened, but his face burned with pain.

"Holy crap! Champion level! Gatomon!" someone suddenly exclaimed, nearly dropping their Digivice.

Following the Beast Tamers Association, Pengcheng No. 1 High School was also in an uproar—a high school student had actually evolved a Digimon to the Champion stage!

"This...how is this possible..." Wang Dong stammered, his face pale. He finally understood why the veteran team members were all so convinced of Cheng Yuan's abilities.

Zhao Lu strode forward, her eyes gleaming with excitement: "Cheng Yuan, your little dog has evolved? When did that happen?"

"Just yesterday, didn't you ask for leave?" Cheng Yuan said casually, while ruffling Tailmon's head. The little guy comfortably squinted his eyes, the flame ring and shadow ring on his left ear swaying gently with the movement.

"Alright, now's not the time to discuss this." Cheng Yuan clapped his hands, looked around, and said, "The school has assigned me as team leader, so we need to prepare seriously for this mock exam. I heard that the exam not only has individual challenges, but the team challenges are even more important."

He flipped through the training records Zhao Lu had given him: "Starting today, we need to strengthen teamwork training. In particular, we need to develop different tactics for different types of situations."

Kang Zhao grinned and said, "That's more like it! I've been waiting for you to come back and lead us to a great victory!"

Zhao Lu nodded, her eyes full of trust: "We will follow your arrangements."

Chapter 108 Penguin Sports Competition Center

The news that Cheng Yuan's puppy-like beast had evolved into a mature-level Gatomon swept through the entire campus like a whirlwind.

The most overjoyed person was Principal Liu Guoliang, who paced back and forth in his office excitedly, exclaiming repeatedly, "It's even more amazing than Xu Xin's Agumon last year! Our No. 1 High School is going to be proud this time!"

Despite the commotion on campus, Cheng Yuan remained unusually calm.

He was already used to this kind of scene—from the enthusiastic treatment he received when the resistance against the Japanese was successful at Qingguo Mountain in Savage Valley, to his core position in the special training class, to his experience in creating the Courage Evolution Armor, and even facing the ultimate level overlord AncientGreymon—he was completely unfazed by the astonishment caused by Gatomon.

He was more concerned about the challenges that were about to come.

According to the Education Bureau's arrangements, the Pengcheng City Animal Trainer Simulation Competition is scheduled to be held on April 25. Each school has 20 days to conduct internal selections and form school teams, with the remaining 5 days used for final tactical drills.

After fierce competition among the six special training teams of Pengcheng No.1 Middle School, the Qingguoshan team finally stood out and became the main force of the school team.

Since Gatomon's public debut, Cheng Yuan has undoubtedly become the core of the school team.