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

"What creative manager? Young man, you should at least be a creative director!" A middle-aged man wearing a black vest walked in, with the words "Director Team" written on the back. He had already heard the whole story outside the door.

"Director!" Wei Wan rushed over as if she'd seen a savior. "This brat is going too far!"

"Go back and take a two-month vacation." The director didn't even glance at him.

In the ever-changing entertainment industry, giving you a two-month break is a euphemism; it basically means you're packing your bags and leaving.

"What? Director, what... what's going on?" Wei Wan screamed.

"Who's this?" Cheng Yuan whispered.

“He is the show’s director,” Yun Yao said.

Two security guards appeared just in time and dragged Wei Wan, who was still in a daze, out. The scene looked just like a scene from a palace drama where a eunuch was dragged out and beaten to death.

"This must be the mysterious creator behind contestant Yun Yao, right?" The director warmly shook Cheng Yuan's hand. "Truly a young talent! I am the program's director, Chen Mo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Cheng Yuan was a little taken aback by this sudden enthusiasm: "Uh, hello..."

"The new song you just collaborated on with Yun Yao made two Digimon that were about to evolve evolve ahead of schedule. It's practically an evolution march, just as amazing as 'Butterfly'!" The director said, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Could you tell me the name of this song?"

"Brave Heart, the song was born of nature, a stroke of genius." Cheng Yuan waved his hand, looking completely calm.

Yun Yao couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, realizing he had tricked her again.

After a while, the director said, "In that case, I sincerely invite you to serve as the music composition director. You will be in charge of judging the song composition for the entire program."

This offer is no ordinary one—the music creative director not only earns a starting salary of one million yuan per year, but also holds the power to decide the fate of contestants.

Countless musicians would kill to sit in this position.

But Cheng Yuan knew perfectly well that he didn't have the real skills to be the director of this awful project, composing and judging music.

Besides, the college entrance exam is just around the corner, and Xu Xin's special training is entering a crucial stage. Where would he find the time for all this? He had no choice but to refuse.

“Director Chen, I am an animal trainer,” Cheng Yuan straightened his back and his eyes were firm. “My journey is to the stars and the sea of ​​the digital world.”

Yun Yao's eyes lit up. No wonder, no wonder. Only those who truly see the Digital World as their journey can create songs that touch the hearts of Digimon.

"Miss Yun Yao, I didn't expect you to have such a talented person by your side. We will need to continue to cooperate more in the later episodes. With Mr. Cheng's help, you will definitely become the first Digital Queen."

Although Cheng Yuan rejected it, the director still wanted to try. He could imagine the show's decline if it didn't have Yun Yao and this song, and instead had only mediocre cast.

If we can keep Cheng Yuan, he will not only be a cash cow, but also a lifeline.

“Yes, Director Chen, please discuss future collaborations with my studio,” Yun Yao said with a smile.

"A studio?" Director Chen looked bewildered. "Weren't you working alone?"

"It'll be ready soon." Yun Yao winked mischievously and pulled Cheng Yuan outside.

The two jogged out of the building and stopped at the riverbank. Yun Yao shouted at the rushing river, "Ah—that felt so good! That was so good, I haven't felt this good in a long time."

Cheng Yuan smiled at her: "You just left right in front of him, are you even going to participate later?"

"Of course I'll participate. He'll definitely come looking for me. Didn't I tell him to contact my studio?"

"Where did you get your studio?"

Yun Yao took out her phone and dialed a number skillfully: "Hey, Uncle, help me register a company tomorrow. I want to set up a studio. Help me get the staff ready... Okay, bye."

After hanging up the phone, she proudly waved her phone: "Done!"

Just a phone call? Setting up a company is that simple? Cheng Yuan was dumbfounded.

Yun Yao said earnestly, "Your songs have soul; they shouldn't become the flesh and blood that capital feeds on. We must keep them in our own hands so that..."

She reached out her hand, her eyes sparkling as if they were shining: "Cheng Yuan, let's team up. I also want to... spread our songs throughout the entire digital world."

The river breeze ruffled their hair as the little dog and the star beast chased and played on the shore.

It must be said that, if managed properly, this studio could be a good source of wealth points.

Cheng Yuan looked at Yun Yao's outstretched hand and suddenly laughed: "Okay, but I have to make it clear in advance—I'm going to be a hands-off manager."

"No problem!" Yun Yao grabbed his hand and shook it. "You'll be in charge of composing, I'll be in charge of singing, the Star Beast will be in charge of playing instruments, and someone else will take care of the operations!"

"Woof!" the little dog barked in dissatisfaction.

"Oh right, and the little dog beast is responsible for...acting cute!" Yun Yao quickly added.

Chapter 32 A slacker? I just haven't unleashed my full potential yet.

Cheng Yuan happily became a hands-off manager, leaving the studio's operations entirely to Yun Yao and her incredibly resourceful uncle. He then happily went home with 20 yuan of "ill-gotten gains"—or rather, revenue from on-demand subscriptions.

"Ding! Wealth points +200000!" The system's notification sound was more melodious to him than heavenly music.

After receiving some familiar stat allocation tips, and seeing the Holy and Light stats on the attribute panel widen the gap with the Dark stats once again, he finally felt relieved.

[Holy type 3630, Light type 3560, Dark type 2110, Ice type 10]

With this wave of spending, the little dog beast's size noticeably increased, and the holy ring around its neck radiated a more intense holy aura. What surprised him most was that the number of Holy Light Orbs he could summon increased from four to five!

"Woof!" The little dog spun around excitedly, seemingly quite pleased with its improved abilities.

The intensive training continued this week, with Coach Xu Xin explaining many practical techniques and points to note. Cheng Yuan mostly served as a sparring partner, and later, outstanding students also joined the sparring team to learn from each other and improve.

"Cheng Yuan! Zhao Lu! Xue Qian! Come out here for a moment! The rest of you are studying on your own." After the midday academic class, teacher Liu Liuyan called out from the classroom door, her expression as complicated as if she had won the lottery but then discovered it had been washed in a washing machine.

Among the three, Cheng Yuan is undoubtedly the "Martial Arts Champion". His little beast grows faster than a rocket and his combat record is unparalleled. Unfortunately, his academic performance is as messy as his hairstyle.

Xue Qian, on the other hand, is a typical "scholar," ranking among the top students in his grade in academic subjects. Unfortunately, his Candlemon evolves at a snail's pace, and his battle prowess is comparable to Cheng Yuan's academic achievements. However, this academic star seems to have little interest in raising combat-type Digimon, spending his days engrossed in reading "Digital World Customs."

As for Zhao Lu... she's practically the perfect child, excelling in every subject, with her combat performance steadily improving. She's a true example of someone who is "well-rounded in both academics and martial arts."

Her recent performance with Cheng Yuan in the intensive training class made Teacher Liu Liuyan walk with a swagger at the teachers' meeting, her smile brighter than a blooming chrysanthemum.

However, Ms. Liu also had her own thoughts – she heard that Xu Xin, that junior teacher, was incredibly popular in the special training class, which made her, as the class teacher, feel quite uncomfortable.

"These children are the result of three years of painstaking effort I've put into nurturing them!" Teacher Liu thought to herself, "How can I let a junior teacher steal all the credit?"

"I'm quite confident in Zhao Lu's grades," Teacher Liu pushed up her glasses, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Cheng Yuan and Xue Qian. "But you two... one's academic performance is like a rollercoaster, and the other's battle results are like an ox pulling a broken cart. Especially Cheng Yuan!" She suddenly raised her voice, "Don't think that everything will be fine just because your Digimon are growing fast. Failing your academic subjects still means you can't get into Tamer University!"

"As expected, they still see me as a slacker..." Cheng Yuan rolled his eyes inwardly. This familiar formula, this familiar taste.

"Teacher, Cheng Yuan has made great progress in his academic studies recently!" Zhao Lu quickly chimed in.

Cheng Yuan thought, "Yeah, when tutoring students, they flick their ears for making mistakes. I wonder which evil woman came up with that wicked trick."

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but rub my ears.

"What a coincidence, Cheng Yuan! I was just looking for you!" History teacher Xu Hong suddenly appeared, looking as aggressive as if he had come to collect a debt.

He pushed up his reading glasses and slammed the two test papers on the table: "Teacher Liu, look at this! Is this acceptable? Cheng Yuan cheated on the bi-weekly quiz!"

"Cheating?" Liu Liuyan's face instantly turned from sunny to stormy, her brows furrowing into a knot.

Cheating is a big problem; it's a matter of discipline and moral character. You can accept it as a grade, but you can't cheat.

"Cheng Yuan, what's going on?" asked Ms. Liu Liuyan. She had just finished praising him, and this sudden turn of events made her a little angry.

"Cheating? Me?" Cheng Yuan looked completely bewildered. "Is there some mistake?"

“Teacher Xu, I sat next to Cheng Yuan the whole time, and he didn’t cheat,” Zhao Lu said firmly.

"You still dare to say that? Look for yourselves!" Teacher Xu threw out two test papers, which turned out to be Cheng Yuan's and Zhao Lu's test papers respectively. "Zhao Lu, I always had high hopes for you, thinking you were a good student. Why did you let Cheng Yuan copy your work? This is cheating! It's extremely bad!"

"I told you we shouldn't have let Zhao Lu be transferred next to him. She's corrupting him. Look at the state she's in!"

Cheng Yuan glanced at it and thought, "Zhao Lu has been helping me with my homework for the past two weeks. Isn't it reasonable that we made the same mistakes?"

Zhao Lu looked on incredulously. What she couldn't believe was that Cheng Yuan had copied her homework, but that she had gotten the questions wrong.

But Zhao Lu was speechless at such a coincidence and kept giving Cheng Yuan meaningful glances.

Cheng Yuan said, "Teachers, I really didn't cheat. It's just a coincidence! If I had to give a reason, it would be that I have the same learning talent as Zhao Lu."

"You're still being stubborn!"

"Teacher Xu, if you don't believe me, you can test me on the points I've studied over the past two weeks."

Liu Liuyan chimed in, believing that Cheng Yuan wouldn't cheat for a perfect score, since his grades hadn't been great before. What would he gain from cheating on a quiz, especially since there was no prize money?

Cheng Yuan, who wouldn't do anything without a profit motive, would never do such a thing.

Xu Hong still didn't believe it. He picked up the exam paper and asked directly:

"In which year did the digital space first appear within the territory of the Great Eastern Kingdom, and how was it ultimately suppressed?"

"In 2005, in the Rotten Wood Forest of Shennongjia, all the Digimon in the space were Virus-type Plant-type Digimon, including a large number of Mushroommon, as well as a mature Virus-type Plant-type Digimon—Rotten Woodmon, and even a Perfect-level Tree Spiritmon, also known as Zulimon. At that time, the Central Plains War Zone of the Eastern Great Power dispatched tank units, together with the digital information forces of neighboring provinces, to suppress the riotous digital space, and spent a year building a firewall to seal the space rift."

"Huh?" A hint of surprise appeared in Professor Xu Hong's eyes as he continued, "In what year and where was the largest digital space ever to appear in Dongda Country? What was its scale?"

"In 2008, a super-large digital space called Fallen Dragon Abyss appeared in Yanjiao, northeast of the capital. To this day, Fallen Dragon Abyss remains the most dangerous digital space in the Eastern Kingdom. Dragon-shaped Digimon, symbolizing violence and power, roam within it. The spatial rift has not been completely sealed off and is currently being suppressed by the Digimon Legion of the Tamers Association."

In which year did the digital crisis have the greatest impact on the entire Eastern Kingdom in history?

"In 2015, Hellmon invaded, secretly developing by using the data network of the real world, and attempted to hack into the military firewall to steal control of forbidden weapons, causing the national digital network to be paralyzed. Although Hellmon was eventually destroyed, it also caused the national network to be destroyed and the economy to decline. It took three years for the economy to recover."

The others were dumbfounded as they watched Cheng Yuan answer fluently.

A poor student? I just haven't given it my all yet.

Cheng Yuan looked at Xu Hong and Liu Liuyan with confidence.

"Alright, I'll trust you for now." Xu Hong sized up Cheng Yuan.

"Alright, alright," Liu Liuyan said with a smile, smoothing things over and lightly dismissing the cheating incident. "From now on, the three of you need to help each other. Xue Qian, strengthen your Digimon training. Cheng Yuan, continue to improve your academic subjects. Zhao Lu..." She paused, "Keep it up! Strive to get into the Digimon Tamer University. Your teacher has high hopes for you."

The three of them are the hope of Class 18.

After making her presence known, Liu Liuyan let the three of them go back to the classroom, feeling satisfied.

During the afternoon training session, Xu Xin announced some major news.

"Assemble!" Xu Xin's voice crackled across the training ground like a whip, and all the trainees immediately stood at attention.

His sharp gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Cheng Yuan, a smile that sent chills down Cheng Yuan's spine curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Today's assessment will be a real battle!"

Chapter 33 I'm going to fight nine

The battles proceeded in an orderly manner. Xu Xin paired up students of similar strength and watched the battles carefully, providing comments and suggestions one by one.

While watching the battle, Cheng Yuan rubbed the little dog's head. The attribute points he had recently spent on in-game purchases had greatly increased the little guy's strength, and he was now confident that he could take on anyone here one-on-one.

"Cheng Yuan, step forward!" When only ten people remained, Xu Xin suddenly called out Cheng Yuan to step forward.

The remaining ten are all the most outstanding trainees recently, including familiar faces such as Kang Zhaodi, Zhao Lu, Wang Wei, and Luo Wanning.

Xu Xin glanced at the confident Cheng Yuan and announced the rules of the battle: "You students have all made rapid progress recently, so the rules need to be changed. Hmm, let's change it to a one-on-one battle with the class representative."

"A one-on-one fight?" Cheng Yuan was not afraid at all; he believed he could win.

“It’s the nine of you taking on the class representative one-on-one.”

"What?" Cheng Yuan was dumbfounded. "Teacher Xu, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? I can take on all of them by myself?"

“That’s right,” Xu Xin said with a devilish smile, “You alone are going to fight all nine of them.”

The training ground erupted in chaos.

Kang Zhao excitedly cracked his knuckles, making a "crack" sound. Zhao Lu pushed up her glasses, while Wang Wei revealed a malicious smile; they all looked impatient.

"This isn't fair!" Cheng Yuan protested. "Nine of them ganged up on me, isn't that bullying?"

“What’s fair or unfair on the battlefield?” Xu Xin patted his shoulder, so hard that he staggered. “Stop holding back, show your cards. If you can’t last 10 minutes,” he paused deliberately, “you won’t need to come to class next week.”

Cheng Yuan pursed his lips. Teacher Xu was determined to temper his recently arrogant attitude.

"Alright... ten minutes." Cheng Yuan took a deep breath and held the little dog beast in front of him. "Let them see what it really means to—if I can't afford to mess with them, I can at least avoid them!"

"Woof!" The little dog raised its tail proudly.

The whistle blew, and nine Digimon pounced at the same time, creating a scene comparable to a zoo riot.

The pangolin burrowed into the ground and charged forward, kicking up clouds of dust; the gear beast's flying saws buzzed; the hedgehog beast's needles rained down like a storm... The scene was chaotic for a time.

"Holy Light Balls!" Cheng Yuan shouted, and five orbs of light flew out from the chest of the little dog beast, drawing graceful arcs in the air as they struck five targets.

Holy crap, so many!

Several Digimon were pushing forward in a crowded mass, unable to maneuver, and were caught off guard and hit squarely.