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

Sword Beast wanted to cry but had no choice but to obediently nod when he saw Cheng Yuan's serious expression.

Cheng Yuan first wanted to test the sword beast's abilities, asking what skills it possessed and then casting those skills on the puppy beast (who was seen as Cheng Yuan's clone). The puppy beast was also eager to try.

"Let me see your strength first." Cheng Yuan gestured for the little dog beast to stand on the opposite side. "Attack it with your skills."

"Teacher, is this your clone?" The sword beast looked over, and in its eyes, the puppy beast was a clone of Cheng Yuan.

Swordmon hesitated before raising its sword, the blade suddenly crackling with blue lightning. "Lightning Strike!" A bolt of lightning struck Puppymon, but the Holy Barrier withstood it head-on and shattered.

Immediately afterwards, the sword ignited with crimson flames, "Flame Strike!" The fiery sword energy swept across, carving a scorch mark on the ground.

Cheng Yuan yelled "Holy crap!" and the little dog quickly dodged. If it had been hit head-on, it would definitely have been injured.

Cheng Yuan raised an eyebrow: "This power... and you call it no good?"

“Then, let’s analyze your problem first.” Cheng Yuan took out a small notebook and began to take notes in a serious manner. “What is your biggest weakness in combat?”

"I'm afraid of getting hurt..." the sword beast said, head bowed.

"What? Afraid of getting hurt?"

"I'm afraid of hurting others," the voice trailed off, "After I accidentally injured a friend before, everyone avoided me..."

Cheng Yuan pondered for a moment: "In other words, it's mainly a psychological problem. Being too concerned about other people's feelings isn't because of the cowardice the dragon priests thought it was." He closed his notebook, revealing a sly smile. "I have an idea."

He left Gearmon and his two clones behind to continue hammering iron, then went out with Puppymon and Kendomon.

They walked through the alley and arrived at the spot on the street where the sword beast had been bullied. They hid in a corner and waited quietly. Finally, after a short while, they saw two familiar figures.

Wild beasts and mushroom beasts are surrounding a flower beast.

"Hand over the food!" the savage beast shouted, waving a wooden stick.

The flower beast trembled, scattering the berries in its arms all over the ground.

"It's a Flower Beast!" The sword-wielding beast gripped the hilt of its sword tightly. "It...it's my friend..."

"They're bullying people again."

Cheng Yuan observed the sword beast's trembling body: "Aren't you angry seeing your friend being bullied?"

"I'm angry, but..." the Sword Beast's voice choked, "If I were to harm anyone, everyone would only fear me more..."

Cheng Yuan shook his head: "You're wrong. People aren't afraid of the strong, they're afraid of being hurt by the strong."

He pointed to the sword-wielding beast's new sword blank, "Look at this sword, its sides are sharp enough to cut down enemies, and its front is broad enough to protect friends. You need to let your companions know which side you will use to treat them."

Sword Beast listened thoughtfully.

“Also, Sword Beast,” Cheng Yuan pointed to the newly forged sword blank, “I forgot to tell you the name of this sword earlier. This sword is called ‘Guardian’.”

After saying that, he kicked the sword beast away.

The sword-wielding beast staggered towards the savage beast. The two bullies were taken aback at first, then grinned maliciously.

"Hey, isn't this the sword-wielding beast without a sword?" the mushroom beast mocked.

The sword-wielding beast looked back at its original spot, but Cheng Yuan was nowhere to be seen. It trembled as it raised its sword, but hesitated when it saw the terrified look in the eyes of the flower-wielding beast.

"When did you get your hands on this toy sword? You'll lose it soon. Let me play with it," the mushroom beast said.

"Hehe, don't be afraid of it!" the savage beast shoved the flower beast. "It's just a useless piece of trash!"

Suddenly, Floramon cried out, "Kendomon! Help me!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt. Flames ignited in the sword beast's eyes, and lightning suddenly crackled across its blade.

"Lightning Strike!" A bolt of blue lightning struck the savage beast's wooden club precisely, splitting it in two.

"Flame Strike!" A fiery sword aura swept past the mushroom beast's feet, startling it so much that it fell to the ground.

"Get out!" the Sword Beast roared for the first time. "If you bully people again, I will not let you off easily!"

The two bullies tumbled and scrambled away. Floramon pounced and hugged Kendomon: "Thank you! I knew you were still the Kendomon who protected everyone!"

Kendo Beast stood frozen in place, looking at his weeping friend in his arms, then at the sword in his hand, and suddenly understood something.

On the way back to the workshop, the sword beast's steps became firm. Cheng Yuan patted its shoulder: "Remember, true strength lies not in how many people you can defeat, but in how many people you can protect."

Under the moonlight, the sword beast began practicing its sword techniques, each strike imbued with a determination to protect.

As Cheng Yuan watched its fluid movements, he noticed that the light patterns on the sword were getting brighter and brighter—the almost divine aura had actually intensified.

But that alone is not enough to win the Kendo Tournament for Kendo Beast in 10 days.

While Gearmon and Puppymon's clones were learning armor forging, he and Puppymon's main body officially began pre-match training for Kendomon.

Chapter 92 Thunder Flame Cross Slash

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

Ten days passed quickly. During these ten days, the mornings in Forging Fire Village were always awakened by the crisp sound of metal clanging.

Cheng Yuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and pushed open the wooden door of the workshop, only to be met by the Gear Beast, which was using its mechanical arm to hold three carving knives and simultaneously carving energy matrix patterns on a metal plate.

With the help of its puppy-like clone, its gear joints precisely controlled the depth of each engraving, and sparks flew in the morning light, like a miniature fireworks show.

"Good morning, Gear Beast. Stayed up all night again?" Cheng Yuan squatted down and poked the Gear Beast's hot shell.

Since discovering that industrial process optimization and programming thinking can optimize the forging process, this workaholic has been working non-stop for three days. His intensely dark circles under his eyes are so intense that even a clone can't outlast them.

"Click... Final quenching process optimized." The Gear Beast's electronic eyes flashed blue as it recorded data on its chest tablet: "Based on 287 experiments, the Holy Light's purification efficiency increases by 23% at 450℃... Next, test the next set of parameters..."

With such efficient cooperation, they completed the "impossible mission" assigned by Village Chief Long ahead of schedule—refining a batch of metal ingots containing trace amounts of sacred properties.

Each metal ingot's surface was covered with pale golden patterns, proof of Cheng Yuan's growth in his digital spirit of light; the seed of his digital spirit of light within him had indeed grown considerably stronger.

"Woof! Breakfast is here!" The little beast hopped in, carrying a grilled fish in its mouth, a few glowing berries curled around its tail. It had recently become obsessed with "enchanting" food—using divine energy to enhance the flavor of ordinary ingredients.

Cheng Yuan took the berry and took a bite. A minty coolness suddenly burst forth from beneath the crisp skin, making him widen his eyes in surprise: "What kind of black technology is this?"

"Diamond Star Crispy Berry!" The puppy-like beast proudly perked up its ears. "I learned it from the Flamebeast chef in the kitchen! He said he made desserts for Lady Jeannemon back in the day..."

Before the words were finished, the village chief's gruff voice boomed from outside the door: "Cheng Yuan Beast! Your metal ingot is ready to graduate!" There it was, carrying a silver ingot with golden patterns on its back, with coal dust still stuck in the gaps between its scales. "The purity is almost as good as the ones I forged when I was a young apprentice!"

Cheng Yuan nearly choked on a fishbone—this wasn't his doing at all! It was clearly the result of the Gear Beast using the factory's standardized processes to keep the error within 0.01mm. Just as he was about to explain, the Gear Beast quietly tugged at his trouser leg, and the optical lens blinked.

"Ahem, it's all thanks to the village chief's excellent teaching." Cheng Yuan knowingly changed the subject. "Um... could the armor crafting class be moved up?"

Village Chief Long: "Isn't this learning speed... a bit too fast...???"

"Drink!"

In the courtyard, the sword-wielding beast was practicing its newly learned sword techniques. The rough "Guardian Sword" gleamed faintly in the sunlight, and each swing carried a subtle aura of holiness.

Cheng Yuan squatted down beside him, instructing: "Raise your wrist a little higher... Yes, just like that!"

He wasn't idle during those ten days. Every day, when Village Chief Long came to provide guidance, he had to "act," pretending to be a studious child, while in reality, the Gear Beast was absorbing knowledge through forging. After Village Chief Long left, the Gear Beast and its clone would hammer and refine metal ingots. Cheng Yuan, on the other hand, was giving the Sword Dao Beast special training.

Occasionally, he would wander over to visit other beast tamers, using his status as a "reserve member of the Twelve Divine Generals" to extract information.

There are currently 18 entrances to the Dark Zones globally, six of which are located within the territory of the Eastern Kingdom. The six outposts established by the Eastern Kingdom, despite the enormous expenditure of its national resources, are only barely holding off attacks from the Dark Zones. If they fail, the evil Digimon from the Dark Zones will directly invade the real world, threatening human safety, making the situation extremely precarious.

Conversely, the Kingdom of Eagle, a powerhouse of mechanical Digimon, has only three Dark Zone passages; in addition, the Kingdom of Yangon, which is dominated by Holy Digimon, the Kingdom of Idealism, which is dominated by Knights, and the Kingdom of Snowfield, which is dominated by Ice and Snow Digimon, each have two Dark Zone passages; and the island nation and India each have one passage.

The greatest obligation of the Beastmaster Associations in each country is to guard the entrances, and the Eastern Great Country alone bears the responsibility of guarding six entrances, thus facing the greatest pressure.

No wonder there's such a shortage of professional animal trainers; Xu Xin and his colleagues are always incredibly busy.

"Teacher Cheng Yuan!" The sword beast's call interrupted his thoughts, "What do you think of this move, 'Thunder Flame Cross Slash'?"

The sword in the sword-wielding beast's hand simultaneously unleashed lightning and flames, drawing a dazzling cross of light in the air.

This move was something Cheng Yuan made up based on his memories of games from his previous life, but unexpectedly, the Sword Beast actually mastered it.

Thus, in addition to the [Flame Strike Face] and [Lightning Strike Hand] that it already possessed, the Sword Beast also managed to develop a new skill, [Lightning Flame Cross Slash], which combines the two moves to unleash even greater energy.

"Beautiful!" Cheng Yuan gave a thumbs up. "We'll rely on this move for tomorrow's kendo tournament..."

"Wait a minute," he suddenly realized, "you just said 'conference'? Isn't that the Baby Cup?"

Kendomon scratched its head sheepishly: "It's a limited-time Rookie Digimon tournament organized by the Humanoid Digimon League..."

Cheng Yuan: "......" Okay, that's about right.

Just then, Village Chief Long came over again.

“Cheng Yuanshou,” Village Chief Long got straight to the point, “I’ve also registered you for the swordsmanship tournament tomorrow.”

"Huh?" Cheng Yuan almost fell off the stone bench. "I'm going to participate in the Baby Cup too?"

Village Chief Long said, "Aren't you also in your growth stage?"

……

As night fell, Cheng Yuan was studying the metal ingots forged by the Gear Beast and his clones in his room when there was a sudden, urgent knocking on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Cheng Yuan asked, "Who is it?"

"Lord Qilin!" Xu Bing's voice came from outside the door, lowered. "Would it be convenient for us to talk?"

When I opened the door, all five animal trainers were there.

Cheng Yi's hands were wrapped in bandages, Cui Zhuo's dark circles were comparable to a panda's, and Ma Yunlin's exquisite makeup could not hide her fatigue. Only Xu Bing was still relatively energetic—after all, her Martial Rabbit Beast had hands.

"You guys are... a mass prison break?" Cheng Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Don't even mention it," Lin Xiaoyang said with a mournful face, "My Gaoga beast's claws are all worn smooth!"

It turns out that for the past ten days, the other five people had been struggling to practice basic training. Without the blessing of holy light or the precise control of the gear beasts, they had to rely entirely on the tamers' physical strength to endure it.

Ma Yunlin's dolphin beast was of no help at all, so she simply gave up hope of passing the test.

"We're still learning basic forging, and you've already started learning advanced armor forging. How did you do that?" Xu Bing asked.

"I can't teach you this either..." Cheng Yuan said with a smile, "Make good use of the Digimon's abilities. I used the Digimon's abilities and was more efficient under the blessing of holy light, which is why I finished forging the metal ingot ahead of schedule."

“We want to too, but here, the Digimon are even more frustrated than we are.” The doctor showed off his calloused and fleshy hands. It turns out that Digimon without hands can only rely on their own hands to hold the hammer and forge, since the tamer and partner are one.

Martial arts master Xu Bing said, "I'm a little better off. I have a martial rabbit beast, so I'm quite skilled at forging, but I'm not good at controlling the heat."

Air Force Cheng Yi, stroking his calloused hands, said, "Village Chief Long boasts in front of us mentors every day, making us feel ashamed. He pushes us to our limits every day."

"Lord Qilin, are you involved in scientific research in reality? I heard that the Twelve Divine Generals are all in very core departments. Seeing how quickly you learned armor forging, and how you even participated in the complete mechanical modification and evolution, I'm guessing you came from the research department?" Xu Bing asked. "The most sensational thing recently is the successful completion of the Andromon project. Could it be...?"

"Ahem!" Cheng Yuan quickly interrupted, "It's classified, it's all classified."

He leaned back tactically, as if afraid of being devoured alive by this pack of "hungry wolves." Especially Cheng Yi's eyes, which looked as if he wanted to tie him up and take him back to the military headquarters.

The military unit has the most concentrated group of mechanical Digimon.

"No, no... I'm a bit socially awkward." He deliberately avoided the intense gazes of the crowd, pretending to be very interested in the pattern on the corner of the wall.

"Ahem," Cheng Yuan changed the subject, "You guys came all in the middle of the night, you didn't just come to expose me, did you?"

"Actually, we came here for two reasons. First, we wanted to brainstorm ways to pass the assessment in 16 days. Ten days have passed, and our learning progress isn't great. Second, there's the Kendo tournament tomorrow. We heard the prize is something called 'Digital Spirit,' which is the digital legacy of the previous leader, Jeanne d'Arcmon. We heard it has a great effect on the growth and evolution of Digimon, but unfortunately, only Rookie-level Digimon can participate."

"Your Digimon is still in the Rookie stage, right? I was wondering if you wanted to participate, capture it, and study it. We also wanted to go and see what's going on, and maybe check out the gathering place to gather some information."

Cheng Yuan said, "Regarding the assessment..."

The five men immediately perked up their ears.

“I understand that in addition to basic forging, there is also a team assessment, which is that the whole team works together to create digital armor. If they pass, everyone passes. You have different strengths, and I think we can try to go in that direction.”

"As for tomorrow's kendo tournament... Village Chief Long has already registered me."

Chapter 93 What kind of swordsmanship is this?!

The next morning, the steam train in Forge Village, billowing thick smoke, carried a group of people toward the gathering place of humanoid Digimon.

Inside the carriage, Village Chief Long sat upright, his scales gleaming metallically in the morning light, looking just like a parent sending their child to an Olympiad math competition.

Beside it, the sword-wielding beast nervously wiped the "Guardian Sword".

Five animal trainers and their mature partners acted as guards, their expressions serious, as if they were not going to participate in the Baby Cup, but to carry out an S-rank mission.

In addition, several other participants from the Forging Village, who were mainly there to "accompany" and "experience" the competition, also accompanied the group.

Although it's just a "Baby Cup" competition, the prize is Jeanne d'Arcmon's Holy DigiSpirit, so everyone takes it very seriously.

"Remember this!" Village Chief Long brandished his forging hammer, spittle flying everywhere. "This competition concerns the honor of Forgefire Village! Chengyuanmon and Jiandaomon, you two must do your part! The rest of you—" He glared at the eager Digimon, "Don't run around, don't cause trouble, and most importantly, don't steal Floramon's berries!"