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

Seeing that Gatomon had turned around and that the Ancient Soul of the Female Archer had been regained control, the two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This Gatomon is so intelligent it's almost frightening.

"It's a pity that our Digimon can't absorb these ancient souls." The others sighed, somewhat envious of Cheng Yuan.

But he and the others dared not harbor the slightest resentment.

They knew perfectly well that if Cheng Yuan hadn't been able to completely devour these ancient souls, they would have been worn down to death deep within these ruins by these endlessly regenerating ghostly energy bodies.

The more Cheng Yuan absorbs, the stronger he becomes, and the greater their chances of surviving and completing the mission.

Cheng Yuan, on the other hand, can absorb whatever he wants, and it can even strengthen the Dark Beast Armor.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal anything about the Dark Beast.

Having a few more obedient Soundbirdmon, even if they weren't normal Digimon, was enough to make them envious.

Cheng Yuan ignored their envy; his attention was entirely focused on the ancient female archer spirit.

He crouched down and examined it closely, feeling somewhat surprised.

What kind of Digimon was it before it died?

There are also many modern Digimon that resemble humans in form, such as the Golden Hornmon that became friends with the Savage Valley after a fight, as well as Sistermon, Witchmon, and others. It is believed that there were also Digimon in ancient times, but they were lost in the wheels of history in the Digital World.

After all, many ancient Digimon have become extinct.

Cheng Yuan touched its hair and skin; they felt cool yet light. Despite being a soul, it could mimic such a concrete form, flexibly switching between the tangible and the intangible—it was incredibly magical.

Moreover, the system shows that it is also in the mature stage, but the actual combat power of these ancient souls is probably only in the early stage of maturity. It is possible that although the power of the ruins forcibly preserved their growth stage, the years have still caused them to lose most of their power.

Cheng Yuan looked closely at its face and sighed inwardly: My goodness, this is incredible.

Aside from being as pale as paper, his features were unusually handsome, and his brows exuded a warrior's heroic spirit.

Digimon that evolve into female forms are generally quite attractive, including the violent female Goldhornmon. Although she is all muscle and scars and is as coarse as an ox, her face is undeniably beautiful.

Cheng Yuan drew an illusory arrow from the quiver beside it and examined it closely.

This arrow was made entirely of soul energy, yet it was incredibly solid, had a cool touch, and seemed to have subtle energy patterns on it.

Even more interestingly, these spirits also created weapons, with even the arrows taking the form of spirits.

Cheng Yuan wanted to pick up the bow to take a look, but found that although the ancient soul of the female bow was controlled, its hand was gripping it very tightly, as if it were an instinct.

He opened his other hand and saw that his thumb and forefinger had calloused bumps, but because it was a "soul", it didn't feel hard when he pinched it.

Out of a research mindset, he gently pried open its lips with the tip of an arrow, revealing two particularly prominent long fangs, which were the most obvious difference between its appearance and that of a human.

And its light armor and clothing—he wondered what they were made of. As he thought about it, he moved his hand down, his fingers pressing against the cold, ethereal breastplate…

Hmm, it's not the texture of ordinary metal or clothing.

"What are you standing there for? You've got your eye on her?" Guan Yan came to Cheng Yuan's side.

Guan Yan reached out and pulled her armor skirt down to cover her thighs.

Cheng Yuan: "..."

“That’s normal. Cheng Yuan is indeed at the age where he’s curious about the opposite sex.” Zhao Gang stroked his chin, looking like he knew what he meant.

Guan Yan lamented, "Kids these days lack proper guidance. This child seems to be obsessed. I'm really afraid he'll develop some bad ideas about Digimon, especially female ones."

At this very moment, Cheng Yuan was studying the toes of the ancient female archer's soul. Of course, they didn't wear shoes, and their nails were as sharp as those of a ferocious beast, easily digging into the soil or clinging to rock walls.

“They are Digimon, not humans,” Guan Yan said, trying to persuade her.

"Yes, I know." Cheng Yuan squatted down and turned to look at Guan Yan: "I won't treat them as human, don't worry."

He was simply studying the morphological characteristics of ancient souls.

Guan Yan felt that he hadn't grasped the "seriousness" of the problem, and hinted more subtly: "Even if Digimon are in female form, their physical structure is actually quite different from that of human women... um... fundamentally different."

Cheng Yuan: "???"

What are you saying?

Guan Yan is just like a female teacher in middle school who wants to popularize physiological knowledge among students but finds it difficult to talk about it.

She considered her words for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "You'll understand the difference when you get to college and have a girlfriend..."

Cheng Yuan scratched his head...

Goodness...

You must have some misunderstanding about me.

"Stop researching, human female bodies aren't like that." Guan Yan grabbed Cheng Yuan's arm, trying to pull him up.

She glanced at the Ancient Soul of the Female Archer. Although some of its soul armor was broken after the battle with Gatomon, nothing was exposed, which put her at ease.

Cheng Yuan's head creased with exasperation. He could feel the Shanghai animal trainers behind him trying to suppress their laughter. He was in deep trouble today; there was no way he could clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Just then, a hand suddenly landed on Cheng Yuan's shoulder. Lin Yu leaned in and said in a cheeky tone, "Cheng Yuan, it's okay, we all understand! Add me on social media, and I'll send you some 'study materials' later. I guarantee they'll broaden your horizons and show you what real..."

You big idiot!

Cheng Yuan nudged his kind older brother aside with his shoulder, appreciating his good intentions.

He stood up dejectedly, deciding to stay away from this group of oddballs.

What learning materials?

Is it as interesting as studying Digimon?

Chapter 180 Foundation? You look like a spy from the four island nations!

Just as Lin Yu leaned closer, ready to further promote his "study materials"—

The next moment, Cheng Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted slightly, and he abruptly pushed Lin Yu away, shouting, "Behind you! The wall!"

Before he finished speaking, he waved his arm, and the six blood-red eyes on the Dark Warrior's Soul lit up simultaneously!

Six black, piercing birds, like a flock of crows flying out of hell, let out hoarse, ear-piercing cries and instantly pounced on the stone wall of the passage behind the group!

The tamers from Shanghai Taming University were startled. Although they couldn't see the enemy clearly, based on their previous trust and fighting instincts, they instinctively retreated rapidly to both sides while urging their Digimon to be on guard.

The moment they parted and retreated, the flock of crows swooped down! Their target was not an open space, but a seemingly ordinary shadow on the stone wall!

"Squeak—!" A sharp and unpleasant screech rang out!

The shadow seemed to come alive, twisting and contorting, and a blurry, ghostly figure was forced to emerge from the wall, seemingly trying to use its incredible speed to disappear into the deeper darkness and hide its form!

“It’s not an ancient soul! It’s a Digimon with a physical form!” Zhao Gang immediately determined from just one glance.

"Did it disappear? Or did it become invisible?" Liu Li gripped the Digivice tightly, the Digimon's figure sometimes blurry and sometimes clear during the attack.

"Invisibility? Just a smokescreen." Cheng Yuan sneered, then his mind raced again, "Soundbirds and beasts, a thousand howls!"

"Gah—!!!!!"

The six sound-birds raised their heads at the same time, and the speakers embedded in their wings vibrated simultaneously, emitting terrifying sound waves that were powerful enough to tear eardrums, a mixture of high and low frequencies!

This is not only a wide-ranging sonic impact, but also has a very strong detection effect!

The invisible sound waves swept across the surroundings like ripples, precisely capturing the enemy who was trying to conceal himself again!

The sonic boom sent shivers down everyone's spines, and they all painfully covered their ears.

The sonic feedback was instantly transmitted to Cheng Yuan, whose gaze sharpened as he pointed to a spot on the ground: "There it is! Underground! It's been simulated as the ground using optical camouflage!"

The Soundbird Beast had changed direction, its claws and sonic waves attacking the seemingly ordinary ground with frenzied force!

scoff!

With a sound like cloth being torn apart, the "ground" suddenly lifted up, revealing a curled-up Digimon dressed in a ninja outfit and covered with strange optical camouflage material!

It was so stunned by the sound waves from the Soundbirdmon that its optical camouflage was forcibly broken, revealing its true form—a Digimon in ninja form with a full ninja outfit, wearing a purple scarf and headband, and sharp eyes!

【Kogamon】

[Data Seed - Sudden Mutation Type]

[Maturity Stage]

[Skills: Shuriken, Smoke Screen, Invisibility, Water Release, Koga Style Shadow Clone Technique]

[Introduction: A "ninja" Digimon that lives in the shadows, wearing a purple mask. It travels throughout the Digital World to train in Koga-ryu ninjutsu. Moving from one shadow to another, it never acts in public, making encounters with it extremely rare.]

The group's Digivice/Arcbey completed their Pokédex scans almost simultaneously.

"Koga Beast?!" Zhao Gang was taken aback.

The Digimon reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward and trapping the somewhat disheveled Kogamon, who was surrounded by Soundbirdmon, in the center.

Seeing that it was not an unkillable ancient spirit, but a physical Digimon, and that it did not seem to have any intention of attacking immediately, the trainers did not immediately order their Digimon to kill it, but their vigilance remained undiminished.

At this moment, everyone was even more astonished.

First, they were surprised by Cheng Yuan's keen senses, which allowed him to detect even the Koga Beast, which was skilled in stealth, instantly; second, they were surprised that he could release six adult-stage Soundbird Beasts to form a flock of crows with a wave of his hand!

This guy... he's practically a humanoid Digimon!

Cheng Yuan himself was also blessed with a divine inspiration.

Since evolving into Darkmon multiple times, his affinity with the Dark Warrior Soul has become increasingly stronger. This warrior soul, originating from the Yomi region, not only granted him the power to evolve into a Digimon, but also subtly enhanced his perception of digital energy.

While Kogamon's cloaking technique was exquisite, it still revealed subtle energy signatures under such almost instinctive perception. Furthermore, with Soundbirdmon's masterful use of sound waves, breaking through its disguise was a piece of cake.

The Koga beast clearly hadn't expected its location to be so thoroughly exposed; it warily surveyed its surroundings.

The menacing Champion-level Digimon and the six ominous Soundbirdmon lowered their bodies slightly, holding shurikens in their left hands and gripping the hilt of a sword behind them with their right hands as if drawing their blades, assuming a defensive stance.

For a moment, everyone was at a loss as to what to do with the Koga beast.

Killed? It hasn't shown any direct aggression so far.

Release them? It was clearly targeting people like us.

Moreover, the appearance of Kogamon, a Digimon with strong cultural characteristics of the four island nations, here is hard not to evoke associations.

“Imprison it for now,” Cheng Yuan said, his sharp eyes sweeping into the depths of the passage. “Sending a Digimon to secretly monitor it is no benevolent act. If we keep it, its master will naturally come looking for it.”

Sure enough, not long after, four figures suddenly appeared at the corner of the passage ahead.

The two sides met briefly and were both taken aback.

The opposing team was also a five-person squad, four men and one woman, all wearing gray-black combat uniforms with some kind of insignia, and breathing masks covering their mouths and noses, revealing only a pair of wary eyes.

Beside them followed four powerful, battle-hardened Champion-level Digimon:

A Thunderballmon, a Wizardmon, a VenomSpidermon, and a Seadramon! Add to that the imprisoned Kogamon, and this team is quite well-equipped, with detection, ranged, control, poison, and even offensive capabilities.

The two Digimon immediately let out threatening growls, staring intently at each other, their energy beginning to gather, and the atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point.

"Who are you people? What do you mean by letting Koga beasts secretly monitor us?" Zhao Gang stepped forward, shielding his juniors behind him, and shouted in a deep voice.

The mid-stage mature Wind Lion Beast lowered its body, its surrounding air currents surging, assuming a posture ready to pounce at any moment.

The opposing sea dragon beast immediately let out a deep dragon roar, its huge body coiling forward to block the way, its cold dragon eyes locking onto the wind lion beast.

Judging from the aura it exudes, it is not difficult to tell that this sea dragon beast has reached the late stage of maturity, which makes people wary.

The four people exchanged glances. The tallest and most burly bald man, who seemed to be the leader, spoke in fluent Dongguo Tongjia, his tone slightly stiff: "We are the exploration team of the Dongguo 'History Dust' Archaeological Foundation. The Koga Beast was just conducting normal regional reconnaissance. It has been active in this area all along, arriving much earlier than you. You just didn't notice it. How can you say we were monitoring you? And who are you? Students from Shanghai University of Technology?"

His gaze swept over the mud-stained school uniforms of Cheng Yuan and the others, lingering for a moment, especially on Cheng Yuan and the six dark-smelling bird-beasts beside him, a hint of surprise and uncertainty flashing in his eyes.

Chapter 181 Who do you think you are? Conflict escalates!

"The History Dust Foundation?" Zhao Gang frowned. He had never heard of this organization. "We are students from the Shanghai Beast Tamer University, currently undertaking a summer internship. Do you have an exploration permit issued by the association? This site falls under the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Beast Tamer Association."

"Permissions are certainly available, but there's no need to show them to you students." The bald man's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority. "This place is dangerous; it's not a place for students like you. Go back to where you came from. Release our Kogamon immediately, or if those troublesome undead Digimon appear, you won't be able to escape."

Everyone knew they were talking about ancient souls.

His gaze returned to the ancient female archer lying on the ground, seemingly unsurprised that they had trapped the ancient soul.

These ancient spirits are troublesome because they can be killed and then reborn, but their strength is actually not that great. One of their companions died because he didn't know that ancient spirits could be reborn, and was thus ambushed.

"Dangerous? I think you're more dangerous than the ancient souls!" Lin Yu couldn't help but retort. "Sneaking around like this, who knows if you're really from Dongguo? Maybe you're imposters!"

The only woman in the opposing team suddenly sneered and said in fluent but slightly strangely accented Dongguo Mandarin, "Little brother, don't talk nonsense. Our Foundation and the Association cooperate closely, and our identities are beyond question. But you, bringing this kind of..." She pointed to Cheng Yuan's Soundbird Digimon, her tone filled with obvious disgust, "...a strange and ominous Dark Digimon, trespassing into an important ruin. What are you trying to do? I think you are the more suspicious ones!"

Guan Yan stepped forward and calmly said, "We are a legitimate archaeological team from Shanghai University, with all the necessary permits and procedures. Since we are all explorers from Dongda Guo, perhaps we can share information? We are also very interested in this site, and more people mean more strength."