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

A simple clone is like a fleeting afterimage, illusory and easily detected. But an advanced shadow clone can be synchronized with the body, even the moves, making it truly indistinguishable from the real thing.

The puppy beast that has appeared so far is just a very rudimentary form, but with training, its skills can be gradually developed.

However, Cheng Yuan couldn't laugh.

The Holy type dog beast has actually learned the Shadow type, a branch of the Dark type?

Cheng Yuan immediately thought of the puppy beast's recent abnormal attributes.

He checked the puppy beast through the system—

[Little Dog Beast]

[Elements: Holy 1680, Light 1550, Dark 630, Ice 12...]

The Dark attribute surged by 280 points overnight! Moreover, the virus suddenly showed a value of 34?

“Teacher Xu, take a look at this.” Cheng Yuan found Xu Xin and first showed him the training video—the result of the speed training skill development for the puppy beast—Shadow Clone.

Xu Xin rubbed her bloodshot eyes and looked at the screen.

His eyebrows twitched slightly when he saw the afterimage of the puppy's body.

The little dog beast on the training field moved at high speed on the track, leaving a faint gray afterimage in its wake. When its speed exceeded the limit, the afterimage suddenly solidified for a moment, transforming into a clone that was almost synchronized with the original body. Although it only lasted for a few seconds, it was enough to be awe-inspiring.

Xu Xin rubbed his dark circles and squinted at the little dog beast on the field. "Tsk, the Holy type has actually learned a Dark type speed-type skill." There was a hint of surprise in his tone. "Rapid Collision, Holy Barrier, Little Dog Roar, Holy Light Bullet Prototype, Shadow Clone Prototype... your tactical combinations are more diverse now."

"But this doesn't mean we've mastered the development technology. After all, development technology can only be considered complete when it truly forms combat power."

"Keep training hard." He reached out and patted Cheng Yuan's shoulder, the force almost making him lose his balance. "Kid, don't get cocky. On the path of a beast tamer, hard work is just the most basic threshold. Those who truly climb to the top all train relentlessly, plus a bit of... [unclear - possibly a typo or a missing word]..."

"Teacher Xu, what I'm actually worried about is..." Cheng Yuan hesitated for a moment before finally revealing the abnormal increase in the dark attribute of the little dog beast.

"So what if it's a dark attribute?" Xu Xin waved his hand dismissively. "Isn't my Greymon also a dark attribute? Energy isn't about what attribute it is, but how you use it! As for going berserk or losing your mind..." He gave Cheng Yuan a meaningful look. "That depends on how you train your partner and how deep your bond with them is."

Xu Xin offered some suggestions on the training details for Cheng Yuan's two development skills: "Although Shadow Clone originates from dark energy, it is essentially a speed technique. When you have mastered it sufficiently, you can try incorporating other energies into it, which might allow you to develop different clones. As for Holy Light Bullets... you need to focus on both quantity and quality!"

With thoughts still lingering, Cheng Yuan returned to his department at noon to begin his academic classes.

The Beast Tamer College Entrance Examination is divided into academic subjects and combat subjects. Although they are participating in intensive training classes this month, they cannot neglect their academic subjects. Therefore, they undergo intensive training for Beast Tamers and Digimon in the morning and afternoon, and return to regular classes for academic subjects at noon.

As class was about to begin, the students in Class 18 were all talking excitedly. The topic of their discussion was the variety show "Digital Queen Creation Camp," which had just premiered the previous night.

This is a program where an creator and their Digimon compete on the same stage to perform original works. Original works are not limited to those created by the creator themselves, but can also be new works created in collaboration with external partners.

The students were actually discussing a song that had become incredibly popular in this segment!

"Did you guys watch 'Digital Queen Producer' last night? That song was amazing!"

"My pet Upa beast's stats actually increased a tiny bit after hearing that!"

"Really? I thought it was just a marketing gimmick..."

The reason this song became so popular is not only because it's catchy, the singer is beautiful, and has a great voice, but also because Digimon's stats actually improved slightly when they listened to it on repeat!

Although the increase is not large each time, it is very versatile and can be applied to almost all types of Digimon.

More importantly, compared to the thousands or tens of thousands of attribute cubes that can be purchased, the subscription fee for a single song is negligible.

This discovery was initially made possible by a small number of live stream viewers, but after the on-demand service was launched, word of mouth quickly spread, and it has now become a hot topic in the animal trainer community.

Some animal trainers, with a try-it-out mentality and others with a desire to dispel rumors, all went to try the lessons. After experiencing the real effects, they immediately became fans and went online to promote the lessons.

Which song has the effect of increasing Digimon attributes?

Just as Cheng Yuan was wondering, the campus radio suddenly blared, and the familiar melody made him freeze in place!

-

"It's that legendary 'Butterfly'! Quiet! Listen! Let the Digimon absorb more attributes!"

I wish I could transform into a butterfly, fluttering my wings to fly to your side.

"It's just because I want to see you as soon as possible."

……

The classroom fell silent instantly, all the students holding their breath, afraid of missing a single note. Even the usually noisiest boys obediently placed their Digimon on their desks, letting their partner Digimon "absorb" the energy from the music.

Chapter 21 Let's Evolve, My Deskmate

"Within the infinitely vast digital space, dreams and beliefs merge."

Nothing is impossible; no matter how much danger you encounter, I'll be by your side.

Even if I get lost in a maze of numbers, I will be able to see it through thousands of years.

"I will fly to you, Oh My Love..."

Cheng Yuan was stunned, as if he were a wooden chicken.

He never expected that the song he casually taught Yun Yao in the square would actually become a hit, and it was even discovered that it had the magical effect of improving Digimon's attribute data!

It seems that when I sang to MeowMeowmon, MeowMeowmon's attributes actually increased a little bit. At the time, I thought it was the power of "bonds".

Just as he was lost in thought, a figure suddenly sat down in the empty seat next to him.

Zhao Lu, holding her textbooks and with her cheeks slightly flushed, sat down next to him: "Hey, Cheng Yuan, did you watch the 'Digital Queen Creation Camp' program last night? I watched the live broadcast, it was amazing, so good, so incredible!"

She excitedly pulled out her Dracovish: "After listening to that song on the show, I immediately noticed something was wrong with Gearmon. My Dracovish was showing that Gearmon's stats were increasing, and it was the Mechanical attribute that was being boosted!"

“That contestant named Yun Yao…” Zhao Lu’s eyes sparkled, “She’s so beautiful, and she sings so well. Even though I’m a girl, I think she’s beautiful, you know?”

Before Cheng Yuan could answer, she excitedly continued, "She was radiant when she sang! And she said the song was written by a good friend!" She suddenly lowered her voice and moved closer mysteriously, "I'm thinking, the person who could write such a divine song must be an incredibly talented musical genius, right?"

Cheng Yuan thought to himself, "That expert you mentioned is probably sitting right next to you right now..."

"After this song became a hit, some experts and scholars immediately came forward to give an explanation—they said that emotions and memories are essentially a kind of data. When Digimon listen to music, the melody, rhythm, and lyrics will stimulate their emotional fluctuations. This emotional energy will be converted into special data fluctuations, thereby affecting their attribute values."

Zhao Lu also showed him some posts from experts who were trying to ride the wave of popularity.

Renowned trainer commentator Dr. Ma: [This is like giving a Digimon a data massage. Long-term listening not only improves its attributes but also strengthens the emotional bond between the Digimon and its trainer.]

Cheng Yuan thought to himself, these experts' interpretations are quite plausible. If he didn't know the truth, he would almost have believed them.

The girl named Yun Yao confidently declared that "this song will definitely be a hit," and I thought she was joking. I never expected that she would actually make it a hit.

The song he casually taught back then has now become a phenomenal "Digimon growth anthem".

I received 50,000 yuan from her at the time, so I didn't take advantage of her for nothing.

“You know what? During the interview on the show, Yunyao said that there is a second version of the lyrics for this song, called… ‘Evolve, Desk Mate’… Especially the line ‘Who tied up your long hair’, it feels very special…” As she said this, her voice suddenly lowered, and a suspicious blush appeared on the tips of her ears.

"Ring—" The class bell rang, and the background music was turned off. At this time, Zhao Lu was still sitting next to her and had not returned to her seat.

"Hey, sis, the teacher's here, aren't you going back to your seat?" Cheng Yuan nudged her arm. "Want to end up like me, getting called to the office by Lao Liu?"

“I…I asked the teacher to let me switch places with Li Ming so I can tutor you in academic subjects.” Zhao Lu said this with her face almost buried in her chest.

"What?" Cheng Yuan almost jumped up from his chair. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Zhao Lu glared at him: "Because you have the worst academic performance in the entire top class! You don't want to drag down the class because of your written test scores and fail to get into the Beast Tamer University, do you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Ming, sitting in the seat in front of her, turned around and added quietly, "And Zhao Lu said she wants to see if you have the ability to make your deskmate evolve..."

Zhao Lu blushed: "......"

Cheng Yuan: "???" He turned to look at Zhao Lu's Gear Beast.

Gear Beast: "???"

After communicating with Teacher Xu Xin in the morning and training in the afternoon, Teacher Xu Xin seemed to be training Cheng Yuan even harder, claiming that strengthening the training would allow him to better control the dark energy of growth.

Cheng Yuan slumped on the bench like a lump of mud, while the little dog was so tired it lay on his stomach like a marshmallow.

“Teacher Xu is definitely jealous of our talent…” Cheng Yuan poked the little dog's belly listlessly. “Do you think he’s become psychologically abnormal from being single for too long?”

The little dog rolled its eyes: "Woof..." (It's clearly your fault for being bad at the game.)

Just then, the Tyrannosaurus Rex suddenly vibrated. Cheng Yuan took it out and saw that it was a message from Yun Yao; they had exchanged contact information in the square last time.

"Cheng Yuan, this is Yun Yao. Butterfly is a hit! Have you seen the news?"

Cheng Yuan pictured the girl with the guitar in his mind. Just as he was about to reply, another message popped up: [Over one million subscriptions in 24 hours! Judges say this song has 'magic'!]

This was followed by a series of screenshots from trending topics:

[#Butterfly's catchy tune effect#]

[#Listening to music increases attributes - confirmed]

[#The Mysterious Person Behind Yunyao#]

Cheng Yuan's lips twitched: "This song is my 'original'? No, I'm just a disseminator of culture..."

He carefully considered his reply: "Congratulations, the results are better than expected."

Yun Yao replied instantly: [It's outrageously good! As a guitarist, Star Beast has been playing and singing non-stop these past few days, and his attributes have increased by nearly 100 points! The production team is going crazy!]

Cheng Yuan: ...

[Did you see Dr. Ma's analysis?] Yun Yao sent another message, [He said this song can generate data resonance! He's a true expert in the field of digital science!]

Cheng Yuan coughed twice. "Dr. Ma? So this expert isn't the same as that 'brick-wielder'!"

Just then, a voice message popped up, Yun Yao's clear voice filled with undisguised excitement: [Cheng Yuan, a music company contacted me wanting to buy the copyright! But I told them the creator is another 'mysterious friend'~]

Cheng Yuan's fingers paused, and his heart skipped a beat... Could she have sold me out?

As if sensing his concerns, Yun Yao quickly added, "Don't worry, I didn't reveal your name! But..."

She sent a playful emoji: "[I might have... subtly hinted that this 'mysterious friend' might have more similar 'hit songs'?]"

Do you think I'm a "wholesaler of songs from another world"?

Cheng Yuan: [I've run out of ideas!]

Yun Yao then posted another message: 【You're really joking... So... I'd like to invite you to dinner so we can have a good chat about music, is that okay?】

Cheng Yuan stared at the screen, unsure how to respond.

Yun Yao, seemingly afraid he would refuse, quickly added: "Consider it a celebration of 'Butterfly's' success! And... my Star Beast said it wants to meet your Little Dog Beast."

Cheng Yuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "This excuse is pretty natural."

As he hesitated, Yun Yao sent one last message: "Besides, in our copyright agreement, you get a 10% cut of the revenue! The number of views and subscriptions has already exceeded one million! Don't you want to know how much revenue we're making...?"

Upon seeing the message, Cheng Yuan immediately replied: 【Okay, you decide the time and place!】

Yun Yao replied instantly with a cheering emoji: [How about the music cafe at Qingtian Square tomorrow afternoon?]

Cheng Yuan: [Okay.]

Yun Yao: [Great! Well...see you tomorrow!]

Cheng Yuan put down the Ryujin machine, looked up, and found that the little dog beast was tilting its head and looking at him with a suspicious look in its eyes.

"Woof?" (Master, your smile is suspicious.)

Cheng Yuan rubbed its head: "Sigh, it's all for wealth points."

Chapter 22 I Have a Dream

The training continued the next day, focusing on the puppy beast's clones and Holy Light Bullets.

"Little dog, one more time!" Cheng Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, watching the white figure dart across the training field like lightning.

"Woof!" The little dog suddenly stopped and turned around, and a blurry gray afterimage suddenly appeared behind it.

Although it only lasted for two seconds before disappearing, it was still a major breakthrough for today!

"Beautiful!" Cheng Yuan excitedly snapped his fingers. "The Shadow Clone is starting to take shape!"

Not far away, the pangolin of Kangzhaodi was condensing earth-elemental energy into its claws and slamming them down on the ground—with a loud "bang," three deep claw marks appeared on the training ground.

"Holy crap, big guy, are you trying to demolish the school?" Cheng Yuan whistled.

Kang Zhaodi scratched his head憨厚ly: "Teacher Xu said that you have to practice your skills until you can control them freely to be considered qualified..."

On the other side, Zhao Lu's Gear Beast was crackling with electricity as it charged under high pressure to increase the power of its skill [Electric Shock Device]. Its originally silver body turned slightly red due to the overload.

"You want Gearmon to evolve into Trigorgi?" Cheng Yuan teased.

Zhao Lu rolled her eyes at him: "Are you kidding me! You've been watching too much Pokémon..."