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

A simple clone, like the afterimage we just saw, is illusory and blurry, and easily detected. But an advanced shadow clone can synchronize 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 afterimage, but with training, its skills can gradually be developed and formed.

However, Cheng Yuan couldn't laugh.

The Holy-type Puppy Beast has actually learned a Dark-type skill from the Dark branch?

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, a value of 34 suddenly appeared in the virus category?

"Teacher Xu, take a look at this." Cheng Yuan found Xu Xin and first showed him the training video—the skill development results of the speed training 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 behind the little dog beast.

The puppy-like beast on the training field moved at high speed along the track, leaving a faint gray afterimage in its wake. When its speed exceeded the critical point, the afterimage suddenly solidified for a moment, transforming into a clone almost synchronous with the original body. Although it only lasted for a few seconds, it was already 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 speed-type Dark type skill." There was a hint of surprise in his tone. "Rapid Charge, Holy Barrier, Dog Roar, Holy Light Bullet Prototype, Shadow Clone Prototype... Your tactical combinations are becoming more diverse."

"But this doesn't mean we've mastered the development technology. After all, the 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 so strong that Cheng Yuan almost lost his balance. "Kid, don't get cocky. On the path of a beast tamer, hard work is just the most basic requirement. Those who truly climb to the top have all trained like crazy, plus a bit of luck."

"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 puppy 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 your partner 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 master it enough, you can try to incorporate 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 lunchtime 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 in the elite class this month, they cannot neglect their academic subjects. Therefore, they conduct elite class Beast Tamer and Digimon training in the morning and afternoon, and return to the regular class for academic subjects at noon.

As class was about to start, the students in Class 18 were all talking excitedly about the new variety show "Digital Queen Creation Camp" that premiered the night before.

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

The students were actually discussing a song that had become incredibly popular on the show!

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

"My Upamon'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 that listen to it on repeat experience a slight increase in their stats!

Although the increase is not large each time, its advantage lies in its versatility, as it can improve almost all Digimon with different attributes.

More importantly, compared to the thousands or tens of thousands of attribute cubes that can cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars, the subscription fee for a song is negligible.

This discovery was initially made by a small number of live stream viewers, but with the launch of the on-demand service, word of mouth spread rapidly, 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 the intention of dispelling rumors, went to try out the classes. After experiencing the effects firsthand, they immediately became fans and went on to promote the classes online.

Which song has the effect of boosting Digimon's attributes?

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

-

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

I long to transform into a butterfly, to flutter my wings and 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

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

"Nothing is impossible; no matter how dangerous the situation, I'll be by your side."

Even if I am lost in a digital maze, I can still see it through thousands of years.

"I spread my wings and came to you, Oh My Love..."

Cheng Yuan was stunned.

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 the attribute data of Digimon!

It seems that when I sang to Meowmon, Meowmon's attributes actually increased a tiny 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 sitting next to him with slightly flushed cheeks, said, "Hey, Cheng Yuan, did you watch the 'Digital Queen Producer Camp' program last night? I watched the live broadcast, it was amazing, so good, so incredible!"

She excitedly pulled out her Digivice: "After listening to that song on the show, I immediately noticed something unusual about Gearmon. My Digivice was showing that Gearmon's data was increasing, and it was the Mechanical attribute that was being improved!"

"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 practically glowing when she sang! And she said this song was written by a good friend!" She suddenly lowered her voice and leaned 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 and gave 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 trying to ride the wave of popularity.

Renowned tamer 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 tamer.]

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 him back then has now become a phenomenal "Digimon Growth March".

I took 50,000 yuan from her back then, so I didn't take advantage of her for nothing.

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

"Ring—" The class bell rang, and the broadcast 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 Old Liu's office?"

“I…I asked the teacher to let me switch seats with Li Ming so I can tutor you in academic subjects from now on.” 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 with your written test scores and fail to get into the Beast Tamer University, do you?"

Before she could finish 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 help 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 that 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 a psychopath because he's been 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 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 subscribers 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 your attributes, confirmed#]

[#The Mysterious Person Behind Yun Yao#]

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: [That's outrageously good! As a guitarist, Star Beast has been playing and singing non-stop these past few days, and his Light attribute has increased by nearly 100 points! The production team has gone 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 digital science!]

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

Just then, a voice message popped up, Yun Yao's clear voice filled with barely concealed 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 anticipating his concerns, Yun Yao quickly added, "Don't worry, I didn't reveal your name! But..."

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

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

Cheng Yuan: [I've run out of ideas!] Doing too much of a porter's work makes my conscience hurt...

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 talk 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 says it wants to meet your Little Dog Beast."

Cheng Yuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "That's a pretty natural excuse."

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 on-demand subscribers 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: [Tomorrow afternoon, the music cafe at Qingtian Plaza, how about it?]

Cheng Yuan: [Okay.]

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

Cheng Yuan put down the Digimon machine, looked up, and found the little dog beast tilting its head and looking at him with suspicion 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 Beast, 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 dissipating, it was already a major breakthrough for today!

"Beautiful!" Cheng Yuan snapped his fingers excitedly. "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 "boom," three deep claw marks appeared on the training ground.

"Holy crap, big guy, are you going to tear down the school?" Cheng Yuan whistled.

Kang Zhaodi scratched his head sheepishly: "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 a three-in-one Gearmon?" Cheng Yuan teased.

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