What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

Chapter 154: Unlocking the Ancient Bloodline! Strength greatly increased!

On the night the university league ended, the news of Lin Chen's victory swept through Donghuang like a hurricane.

The image of this eighteen-year-old boy dominated the headlines of major news outlets, trending topics on social media platforms, and Beast Tamer forums.

Looking back on Lin Chen's entire journey in the university league, it is even more impressive.

During the preliminary rounds, he swept across two islands, becoming the undisputed leader in first place.

In the quarterfinals, in the epic showdown against Li Hengyu, Steelflame Tyrannosaurus made its debut and crushed Thunder Beast in a head-on confrontation with overwhelming force. Its terrifying dominance is still a topic of conversation to this day.

In the final competition, Lin Chen sent out three pet beasts, which swept through the competition and defeated Ye Xuan's three pet beasts respectively, winning the championship with an indisputable undefeated record.

Amidst heated discussions, countless netizens reached a consensus: the competition in this year's university league was the fiercest ever, and Lin Chen, who emerged victorious, is undoubtedly the most prestigious champion in the history of the university league!

When people tried to compare Lin Chen with the genius beast tamers of the past few decades, the conclusions were even more astonishing: with the talent and combat strength that Lin Chen has shown so far, even looking at the younger generation of Donghuang over the past fifty years, he is definitely among the top.

Some of his peers who were once exceptionally talented and led an era may be comparable to him in terms of beast taming, but Lin Chen also possesses the academic ability to independently research a completely new evolution path for pet beasts.

This advantage made all other young beast tamers of the same level pale in comparison to him.

Of course, "same stage" here does not refer to the same year, but rather to the university stage.

That night.

In the press conference hall of the arena, Lin Chen accepted a joint interview from dozens of mainstream media outlets from all over Donghuang.

The flashbulbs of cameras were constantly going off, almost engulfing him.

After the baptism of this university league, his fame, which was originally limited to the northern border, suddenly expanded to the entire Eastern Empire as if it had taken a rocket ride.

Although he is not yet a household name, his name has reached its peak among the younger generation and he has become a phenomenon on online platforms.

After the interview, Lin Chen was led by staff to a special room reserved for champions to take photos.

The walls are covered with photos and handprints of past champions, recording the history of the event.

Tonight, he will leave his mark here.

With the click of the photographer's shutter, a photo destined to be recorded in history was captured:

Lin Chen, dressed in the uniform of Qiming Beast Taming Academy, stood at the front, holding a gleaming golden championship trophy, a bright smile on his face.

To his left, a shrunken Steelflame Tyrannosaurus Rex tilted its ferocious metal head, staring intently at the gleaming gold trophy, its mouth full of sharp teeth open as if it wanted to bite it.

On the right, the Moonlit Spirit Cat appeared elegant and serene, its amethyst-like eyes calmly gazing at the camera, as if all the noise had nothing to do with it, except for its long tail quietly climbing up Lin Chen's arm.

The Vine Fist Warrior stood behind, its arms outstretched as if to embrace the person and the two pets.

After taking the photos, Lin Chen and the three little ones pressed their handprints and paw prints together on a specially made clay sculpting board prepared by the staff.

The clay sculpture will be fired in a high-temperature kiln and permanently preserved in the hall of honor of this arena, for every future visitor to admire.

After imprinting the claw marks in its shrunken state, the Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus stared at them for a long time, still feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

Then, with a burst of white light, it instantly returned to its normal form, extending its giant metal claws towards the staff: "Roar!"

Let's start over!

The giant metal claw was almost within reach. The staff member wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Okay, okay, please wait a moment."

Thus, the domineering Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus had two claw marks, as it always was.

After doing all this, Lin Chen finally bid farewell to the bustling sports arena.

But in the banquet hall on the hotel's rooftop, a celebration banquet was already in place.

Ye Xuan, Yun Chufei, and all the members of the school team had been waiting for a long time.

Not only that, Ye Zhen, Yun Chuxiu, Zhou Ming and others who came all the way from the northern border also gathered together.

The atmosphere was as lively as boiling water, and the laughter and cheers almost lifted the ceiling.

At the dinner table, after several rounds of drinks, a slightly drunk Zhou Ming suddenly stood up, shaking his head, holding a half-finished glass of wine, and loudly proclaimed, "There's something I can brag about for the rest of my life!"

Everyone was bewildered by his sudden action and cast questioning glances at him.

Zhou Ming's face flushed, and he suddenly grinned, pointing at Lin Chen not far away. His voice was so loud that the entire banquet hall could hear him: "Brother Chen was my sparring partner!"

"Hehehe, champion sparring partner."

For a moment, everyone burst into laughter, but Li Heng clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth: "Damn it..."

Lin Chen couldn't help but chuckle.

Yes, I had just become a Beast Tamer back then and was worried about the cost of raising the two little ones. I had to work two jobs, patrolling the detention center during the day and working as a sparring partner at Zhou Ming's house at night.

Before we knew it, the light boat had passed countless mountains.

"Huh? How come only four months have passed?"

Just as Lin Chen was about to express his feelings, he suddenly noticed the time and shook his head: "Then it's nothing."

The banquet ended late at night, and everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

Lin Chen finished washing up and had just lay down on the bed to fall asleep when a system notification sounded in his mind:

【Ding! 】

Side Quest ③ The King's Journey is Completed

[Rewards: 300 EXP, 10 x 5x EXP Cards, 1 Ancient Digimon Bloodline.]

Lin Chen's eyes, which had been somewhat weary, snapped open instantly, revealing an irrepressible gleam of excitement.

He had been looking forward to this reward for a long time.

As we all know, Ancient Digimon are qualitatively different from regular Digimon. Once Steelflame Tyrannosaurus merges with this bloodline, its physical potential and power ceiling will be greatly enhanced, the most direct manifestation of which is its size.

As WarGreymon, the Ancient Species are ten times larger than the normal form. The larger the size, the more energy it can carry, and the stronger its combat power.

Moreover, the Ancient Species MetalGreymon form has the potential to unlock Armored Steel Mode, at which point its full-body armor will be further enhanced, and its firepower output will double.

In short, the benefits of becoming an Ancient Species Digimon are countless, making Steelix, which is already at the top of its class, even more terrifying.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen became more and more excited. He simply threw off the covers, got out of bed, grabbed his coat, and pushed open the door to go out.

After leaving the hotel, we headed straight to the nearby beach.

The beach was deserted and silent in the dead of night. The bustling tourists and vendors of the day had long since dispersed, and even the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was exceptionally clear.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, rushed towards Lin Chen, making his hair shake wildly.

He took a deep breath of the cool air, calmed his slightly rapid breathing, and summoned the Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus.

As the white light dissipated, the twelve-meter-tall steel behemoth landed with a thud, its claws sinking half a foot deep into the fine sand.

The Steelflame Tyrannosaurus shook its head, which was covered by a metal crest, its dark blue eyes scanning the black sea before looking down at its tamer, its face full of confusion: "Roar?"

Lin Chen looked up at Er Huo, who had accompanied him all the way to the championship podium, and a smile appeared on his lips: "Do you want to become stronger?"

Upon hearing this, the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus nodded repeatedly.

"Alright." Lin Chen's smile faded, and his tone suddenly became calm: "Get ready, I'm about to perform a small modification on your body."

"Hoo-hoo!"

The Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus's eyes lit up, and it quickly made all the necessary preparations.

Lin Chen said the same thing a few days ago, and then he evolved.

What about this time?

Am I about to evolve again?

The Steelflame Tyrannosaurus couldn't wait to get its hands on the imposing humanoid pet that Lin Chen had mentioned earlier.

Lin Chen! I want to evolve into that!

Lin Chen had already closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the system panel: "Use the Ancient Digital Species bloodline on Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus."

The Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus did not react the moment the words were spoken.

It blinked in confusion, tilted its head, and waited expectantly for Lin Chen's small modification.

But the next moment, the Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus's entire body suddenly stiffened.

A warm current surged from the depths of my heart, like the gentlest spring water in spring, quickly flowing through every part of my body.

But just as the warm current had completely spread throughout his body, a sudden change occurred.

The originally gentle warmth suddenly intensified, like a frying pan of oil being lit, and a scorching sensation surged wildly from within the body, as if boiling magma was churning and surging in the blood vessels and meridians!

The Steelflame Tyrannosaurus's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints, and it could clearly feel its heart beginning to pound uncontrollably.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Each heartbeat was like a heavy hammer striking an anvil; the dull yet powerful sound of the heartbeat overpowered the crashing waves, echoing across the entire beach.

Lin Chen raised his eyes, staring intently at every subtle change in the Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus.

His nerves were on edge, afraid of missing any unusual signal.

Suddenly, the massive body of the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus trembled violently.

A sharp pain originating from the stretching inside the body instantly spread to every part of the body; it was the tearing sensation caused by the bones being forcibly stretched and the muscle fibers being reorganized and expanded.

The Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus's expression froze, and its thick hind legs instinctively bent, about to collapse to its knees.

But a roar burst from deep in its throat, and it stubbornly used its giant claws to support itself on the ground, refusing to bend its knees no matter what.

The pain is getting worse.

But at the same time, Steelix clearly sensed that its power was increasing wildly!

The stretching of every bone and the expansion of every muscle are accompanied by a surge of pure power.

It was actually immersed in the pleasure of its ever-increasing power amidst the excruciating pain, completely forgetting about the pain itself.

"Hoo-hoo!!!"

The Steelflame Tyrannosaurus raised its head and let out a deafening roar into the dark night sky.

The roar transformed into tangible sound waves, spreading in all directions. The sea surface was shaken, causing white splashes of water to rise. Even the seabirds in the distance were startled and took flight, circling wildly in the night sky.

Cool!

The more it hurts, the better!

The more pleasure, the more pain!

Lin Chen frowned slightly as he looked at the Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus.

This guy probably doesn't have any weird fetishes, right?

This process lasted a full two minutes.

Two minutes later, the tremors on the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus Rex finally subsided, and the burning pain slowly subsided, merging into every inch of its flesh and blood.

It lowered its head, panting heavily, its deep blue eyes gleaming with excitement.

Lin Chen took a few steps forward and looked up.

The Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus, which was originally twelve meters tall, has now grown to about fifteen meters. Its massive body is even more robust and heavy, the patterns on its silver alloy armor have become more intricate and precise, and the pair of purple wings on its back have also become much wider.

"Tsk."

Lin Chen couldn't help but click his tongue, his eyes filled with amazement: "When the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus evolves again, how big will it be? Thirty meters? Or forty meters, fifty meters?"

Suppressing his shock, he smiled and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Upon hearing this, the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus Rex suddenly raised its head and roared at the night sky again: "Roar!!!"

This dragon is invincible again!

Lin Chen smiled slightly: "Then let's go, let's test your current strength."

He took a few steps back, exerted a little force with his legs, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and soared into the sky, landing steadily on the broad shoulders of the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus.

With a gentle flap of its purple wings, the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus Rex's massive body soared into the air, skimming across the dark sea and hurtling towards the ocean's depths.

The night wind whistled past Lin Chen's ears. Standing on the back of the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus, he looked down at the boundless dark sea below and suddenly exclaimed, "I never thought my first flying mount would be you."

Even so, Lin Chen knew that flying was not Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus's forte.

In the anime, MetalGreymon does have wings on its back, but these are not wings in the traditional sense, and its massive body is covered in silver armor. Its weight is extremely astonishing.

Therefore, the lift provided by these wings can only support it for short-distance flight sprints at best, and is far from sufficient for long-term sustained high-altitude cruising.

If you fly for too long, your energy consumption will increase exponentially, eventually forcing you to land.

But to test whether Steelix's flight ability was exactly the same as MetalGreymon's, Lin Chen patted Steelix's head and shouted, "Use all your strength and fly as fast as you can!"

Upon hearing this, the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus's azure eyes lit up slightly, and its purple wings suddenly spread out to their maximum extent.

With a sudden flap of its wings, its massive body shot out like a cannonball, skimming across the dark sea!

The wind pressure created a visible air wave in front of it, and the strong wind brought up by the wingtips scraped two long white streaks on the sea surface. The flying fish was startled and leaped out of the water, only to be overturned in mid-air by the air wave.

This extreme speed lasted for a while, and soon Lin Chen could clearly feel that the frequency of the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus's wing flapping began to slow down, and its speed declined accordingly.

After a few moments, the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus roared and began to dive downwards, its massive body skimming across the sea surface before finally crashing heavily onto a dark, nameless island.

The island is small, and the beach is covered with lush coconut trees whose shadows sway in the moonlight.

After landing, the Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus was slightly out of breath, its claws sinking into the sand, and its wings slowly folding back.

Lin Chen leaped lightly off its shoulder, his feet landing on the soft sand, his eyes gleaming: "Just as I expected."

Based on his recent experience, he quickly concluded in his mind that the Steelix could only perform short-range dash attacks. After flying a certain distance, it had to descend and glide to recover, briefly restoring its energy upon landing. It simply couldn't maintain a high altitude for extended periods.

Endurance without air.

"But that's enough." Lin Chen's eyes flickered slightly; he was quite satisfied with the result.

His current activity range is mainly in the urban and rural areas, and this short sprint ability is more than enough for him.

However, when you venture into the wild or go abroad for training, you will need to contract a pet beast that can fly for extended periods of time.

Having confirmed his flying ability, Lin Chen took a deep breath, turned around, and waved his hand: "Let's test your current strength."

With a low roar, the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus Rex strode heavily to the edge of the island, facing the vast, boundless black sea, and unleashed all the skills it currently possessed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The gigabit destroyer's massive missiles slammed into the distant sea, sending up columns of water tens of meters high.

The pillar of fire from the End of the World instantly boiled a large area of ​​seawater, and white steam billowed out.

The green dragon-shaped phantom crashed into the sea, carving out a trench several meters deep.

A barrage of skills caused the entire sea to boil, the booming sound echoing in the night sky for a long time, even scaring the distant schools of fish into scattering and fleeing.

After a long while, as the aftershocks of the last skill dissipated, the sea finally returned to calm.

The moonlight shone on the rippling water, as if nothing had happened.

Lin Chen stood on the reef, gazing at the now tranquil sea, and nodded thoughtfully: "Having acquired the Ancient Race bloodline has indeed significantly boosted my overall strength. Add to that the 30% damage bonus from the Badge of Courage, and if I could also master the Armored Steel Form, hiss..."

He gasped, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

In its Armored Steel Mode, MetalGreymon's armor is further reforged and strengthened, doubling its firepower output.

That kind of Steelflame Tyrannosaurus might actually be able to compete with epic-level pets!

Thinking about this, Lin Chen rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought: "But the problem is, how can we get the Steel Flame Tyrannosaurus to master this special form?"

"Or rather, can it even control it?"

In the anime, MetalGreymon can activate Armored Steel Mode only if several conditions are met:

Firstly, it possesses ancient bloodlines, which is the genetic key to unlocking its form;

Secondly, they found themselves in dire straits, pushed to their limits at a critical juncture of life and death;

Thirdly, and most importantly, the partner must possess extreme courage, a courage that aligns with the production of the Courage Badge.

The resonance between the creature and the spirit will stimulate the ancient power hidden within the pet, thus completing the transformation into a fully armed and steel-clad being.

"But in the real world."

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at the dark horizon in the distance: "Can the Steelflame Tyrannosaurus really activate this form?"

He had no clue about it.

As I pondered, a system voice suddenly sounded in my mind:

【Ding! 】

[Mission Objective: Engage in close combat with ten dragon-type pets of lord-level rarity and strength no lower than your own.]

[Mission Reward: Unlock Armored Steel Form!]

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