Digimon: I reached the top using the Knight item.

The next moment, countless sharp leaves crashed violently into the swirling fire tornado.

Rumble—!

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out, more violent than any previous collision.

The scorching flames and sharp energy blades intertwined, collided, and annihilated wildly, and a powerful shockwave spread outwards, stirring up dust and gravel on the ground, forming a chaotic smoke screen. The fire and smoke from the explosion temporarily engulfed everything.

As the aftershocks of the explosion gradually subsided and the billowing smoke slowly dissipated, a sizable crater appeared in the center of the battlefield, with charred marks still remaining on the edges. The spot where Bai Yu had been standing was now empty.

The fiery tornado disappeared, and Bai Yu's figure vanished as well.

The fox-like beast's sharp eyes quickly scanned its surroundings, warily searching for Bai Yu's whereabouts.

As Ruki watched this scene, she subconsciously muttered to herself, "He was beaten to death?"

However, no sooner had she finished speaking than a mocking voice suddenly rang out behind her: "Aren't you having some wild ideas?"

The sudden sound made Ruki tremble all over, and she was jolted awake!

Chapter 4: I Won This Battle

Ruki suddenly turned around, and the next second, she was grabbed by Shiraha and lifted up.

Ruki stared wide-eyed in horror: "W-what are you doing?!"

The fox spirit shouted even more fiercely, "Release Ruhime at once!"

Bai Yu jokingly said, "What can I do? Of course, I'll capture and provoke Qian Su!"

He wasn't stupid. If he let Ruki give the fox spirit all sorts of "buffs" on it, how could he win the battle?

Ruki's face flushed red, tinged with anger: "I am a beast tamer! There is no reason for a warrior to attack a beast tamer!"

Hearing Ruki's matter-of-fact words, Shiraha couldn't help but laugh.

Although Ruki is much more mature than children her age, her understanding of Digimon battles is still at the "game" stage.

She believes that battles between trainers involve releasing their Digimon and letting them fight each other.

And what about yourself? You're just there to direct and watch from the sidelines; the attacks, of course, won't land on you.

That's true, after all, Ruki hasn't experienced the real, brutal battles that followed.

Nowadays, she has only dealt with some Digimon that have materialized in the real world. These Digimon usually only focus their attention on Renamon, who is also a Digimon, and they don't care about Ruki at all.

Bai Yu grabbed Liu Ji and applied slight force, making it impossible for her to break free.

"I'll teach you today."

Bai Yu's voice carried a hint of seriousness, yet also a hint of lecturing.

"War is not child's play, and you are not an outsider. If you don't know how to protect yourself... you could die!"

After saying that, Bai Yu suddenly stretched out his claws and grabbed the [D-Ark Gyarados] from Ruki's hand. With a click, he took the [D-Ark Gyarados] from her.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, Bai Yu flung Ruki away without hesitation.

"Ryuhime!" the fox spirit cried out in alarm, its body rushing towards Ryuhime like a golden lightning bolt, catching her in mid-air and preventing her from falling and getting hurt.

Holding the fox spirit, Liu Ji looked at Bai Yu with lingering fear, then at her own empty wrist.

"My arc laser machine!"

Bai Yu stood still, looking down and carefully examining the blue [D-Ark Tyrannosaurus Rex] in his hand.

Blue, one of the three primary colors, is indeed a good thing, but he is not fortunate enough to enjoy it.

The thought that he probably wouldn't have a digital partner, and therefore wouldn't have things like the Arc Machine or the Sacred Project, made Bai Yu feel a little sentimental, but he wasn't too discouraged.

Because he has a system, he has something better.

After being put down and steadyed by the fox spirit, Ruki immediately roared at Shiraha, "Give me back my Arc Light Machine!"

Bai Yu shook his head as he listened to her naive request: "It seems you still haven't grasped the point. Do you think your opponent, or even your enemy, would agree to such a request?"

Liu Ji was speechless at Bai Yu's words. She opened her mouth, but found that she couldn't refute him at all. After a few seconds, she still stubbornly managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You're cheating!"

Bai Yu did not answer Liu Ji's question again. Some truths cannot be taught by words, but they can be learned by doing.

Bai Yu launched another attack, his orange-red figure once again turning into afterimages as he pounced on the fox spirit and Ruki.

Having just experienced this, the fox spirit was now extremely worried about Ruki leaving its side again. It protected Ruki behind it while focusing all its attention on dealing with Bai Yu's attacks.

However, how could a fox spirit with a "burden" be a match for Shiraha?

Bai Yu's attacks came like a tidal wave, wild and precise, and the fox beast was soon forced into a state of chaos.

With a single claw strike, Bai Yu knocked the fox beast back several steps, and stood firmly in his orange-red form.

"Ready? I'm about to unleash my ultimate move."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Yu quickly pressed a button on the dial and the driver respectively, and then rotated the entire driver.

"The End Time!"

The cold and imposing electronic sound effects reverberated all around, as if proclaiming some kind of irreversible judgment.

"Flaming Lynx Kick!"

With this announcement, Bai Yu's right leg was instantly enveloped by surging orange-red flame energy. The flames were solidified and did not dissipate, like the fangs of a ferocious beast, radiating a high temperature that could melt gold and iron.

Bai Yu crouched slightly, gathering his strength.

The next moment, Bai Yu's figure leaped high into the air, and then, with an incredibly graceful posture, turned his body, his right leg like a battle axe carrying flames that could incinerate everything, and kicked fiercely at the demon fox beast below.

The air was torn apart by the rapid dive, producing a sharp whooshing sound.

The fox spirit clearly sensed the power of Bai Yu's attack.

"Ryuhime!" The fox spirit didn't have time to think. It pushed Ryuhime behind it away with all its might. The next second, it turned around and quickly crossed its arms in front of it.

Boom!

A deafening roar suddenly erupted.

The orange-red flame shockwave spread wildly outwards from the point where the white feather landed, cracking the ground and sending plumes of smoke and dust soaring into the sky, instantly engulfing everything.

Amidst the flames of the explosion, the golden figure of the fox beast was sent flying backward like a withered leaf in the wind, crashing heavily into the nearby ruins with a dull thud before slid limply to the ground and fell silent.

Smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring the view.

"Demon Fox Beast!" Ruki quickly stumbled and ran towards the direction where the Demon Fox Beast had fallen, nearly tripping over the loose stones beneath her feet.

As the smoke from the explosion's epicenter slowly dissipated, Bai Yu's figure reappeared. Beneath his feet, a small crater was clearly visible, with traces of scorching still remaining in the soil around its edges.

Bai Yu slowly stood up, his gaze falling on Ruki, who was anxiously checking on the fox spirit's condition not far away.

Looking at the girl's face, which was filled with worry and fear, Bai Yu calmly said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. It won't die. However, I won this battle."

Bai Yu definitely didn't intend to kill. He deliberately held back some of the power in his [Flame Lynx Kick] at the last moment.

Sure enough, just as Ruki was extremely anxious and almost cried, the previously motionless fox spirit twitched its eyelids slightly, let out a weak groan, and slowly opened its eyes.

Although it still looked very weak and its breathing was somewhat disordered, it was not in any life-threatening danger. However, Bai Yu's weakened attack still caused it considerable injury, and it would probably be difficult for it to fight again in the short term.

Seeing the fox spirit awaken, Ruki's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. An indescribable sense of relief instantly swept over her limbs and bones, and her body, which had been tense due to extreme tension, suddenly relaxed.

Ruki let out a long breath, as if to expel all the fear and unease in her chest with that breath.

Bai Yu removed the dial from the driver. The next second, his imposing orange-red Lynx Armor transformed into countless specks of light, slowly dissipating into the air, revealing Bai Yu's handsome face. However, a few fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his breathing was slightly rapid.

The feeling of transforming and fighting for the first time was really good.

Although it had taken a toll on his stamina and left Bai Yu feeling somewhat tired, he was already quite satisfied to have won the first battle without suffering a setback at the start.

Moreover, this feeling of wielding power is truly captivating.

Chapter 5: You can call me 'Demon King' for now.

Shiraha strode forward and casually tossed the blue D-Ark Tyrannosaurus back to Ruki.

Ruki subconsciously reached out and caught it steadily. The familiar cool touch came through her fingertips. Her gaze shifted complicatedly from the Tyrannosaurus Rex to Shiraha's face.

"Can we still walk?" Bai Yu's tone was calm, but his gaze swept sharply across the surrounding streets.

"If we can still move, we should leave here quickly. The battle just now was quite loud, and the Digital Realm has long since disappeared. If someone is attracted here, we won't be able to explain it."

The Digital Realm was only able to be briefly generated because of the materialization of that lynx.

Now that the lynx has been eradicated, the anomalous data that constituted the domain naturally collapsed, and the order of the real world quietly returned.

Liu Ji pursed her lips. Of course, she understood what Bai Yu meant. In the past, after disappearing from the digital realm, she always chose to leave quickly to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Ruki turned her head and looked at the weak fox spirit beside her. Sensing her gaze, the fox spirit struggled to its feet, its body covered in wounds.

Ruki quickly reached out and carefully supported it.

The man and the beast silently began to walk towards the other end of the street, trying to get away from this place of trouble that had just experienced a fierce battle as soon as possible.

Bai Yu followed them at a leisurely pace.

The crisp sound of footsteps was particularly clear on the quiet street.

After walking a short distance, Ruki seemed unable to bear the silence any longer. She suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Shiraha with a mixture of wariness and confusion.

"Why are you still following us?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yu's casual expression suddenly changed, as if he had heard something unbelievable. He feigned surprise and asked, "Why do you think I'm following you? You haven't forgotten our bet so quickly, have you?"

Betting?

Ruki paused slightly, then the brief moment of confusion was quickly replaced by an unnatural embarrassment. Of course, she hadn't forgotten, but if she really had to fulfill that bet...

Bai Yu took in every subtle change in her expression, his tone laced with undisguised disdain. He raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke leisurely, "What? The dignified 'Digimon Queen,' are you planning to cheat? If word gets out, tsk tsk..."

Bai Yu deliberately prolonged the last syllable, the threatening meaning self-evident.

"I'm going to make sure you spread the word about this."

Ruki's face instantly darkened, and she retorted indignantly: I cheated? You were the one who broke the rules first and stole my [D-Ark Digivice] in the middle of the battle. If it weren't for that, how could Renamon have lost so thoroughly? This despicable guy is now turning around and blaming her.

Although Ruki wasn't the type of person who valued her reputation highly, she absolutely couldn't tolerate Bai Yu spreading rumors about this and ruining her image. That was more unacceptable to her than losing a battle.

Taking a deep breath, Ruki suppressed the surging anger and resentment in her heart, then raised her head to meet Bai Yu's teasing eyes, and squeezed out a few words from between her teeth: "Of course I will keep my bet."

Upon hearing what Liu Ji said, Bai Yu immediately smiled and said, "Just abide by it. I'll be staying at your house for the next month. Don't worry, I'm thick-skinned and won't feel embarrassed."

Liu Ji's face turned ashen in an instant, and her purple eyes were blazing with fury as she glared fiercely at Bai Yu.

"No! You can't stay at my house!" She rejected the idea almost immediately, her tone firm and leaving no room for negotiation.

Before Bai Yu could say anything more, Liu Ji immediately followed up, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency: "I'm not trying to renege on my debt. It's just a month's worth of room and board. I'll give you the cash payment."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, a perfectly measured hint of doubt in his eyes. He looked Liu Ji up and down, as if assessing the truthfulness of her words.

"Cash? Do you have that much money?"

These words were like a spark, instantly igniting Ruki's suppressed anger. Her beautiful eyes were now filled with disdain as she stared unabashedly at Bai Yu.

"Do you know who worries about this kind of problem? The poor."

Bai Yu's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

So what if someone is poor? They can still make money off you.

Bai Yu held up a finger and waved it lightly in front of Liu Ji: "Since you want cash, this is the price. No bargaining."

To Bai Yu's surprise, Liu Ji hardly hesitated at all when he quoted the number. She only frowned slightly before replying decisively, "Okay."

Now it was Bai Yu's turn to be secretly amazed. What a rich person.

Bai Yu calmly recalled that among the female characters, apart from the young lady Mei Mei, the one in front of him, Makino Ruki, was probably the most well-off.

Although Ruki lives with her grandmother and is from a single-parent family, her mother is a well-paid and popular model. Otherwise, at Ruki's age, she wouldn't be able to attend one of those expensive private schools for the elite. Regardless of the quality of teaching, the tuition fees are definitely beyond the reach of ordinary families.

About half an hour later, Shiraha followed Ruki to a residential area.

Just as they reached the entrance of a mansion with a wide wall, the silent fox spirit suddenly spoke softly to Ruki. Then, dragging its wounded body, it leaped nimbly onto the high wall and disappeared behind the rooftop in a few bounds.

The fox beast went to rest and recuperate on its own. This is how the fox beast usually is; it doesn't easily appear in front of outsiders when it doesn't need to fight.

Ruki turned around and said to Shiraha, "Wait here for a moment."

After saying that, she pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside.