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

Team competitions emphasize tactical coordination and attribute synergy. Even a fully-developed team can be countered in five-on-five team battles due to attribute differences. This is why school teams equip themselves with players of different attributes—vaccines, viruses, data; water and fire counter each other; light and darkness counter each other; and a well-balanced team composition is often more important than sheer strength.

On the large screen in the lounge, the results of other matches were updated one after another. In addition to the three dominant victories by the mature teams, the performances of the team captains were also commendable.

Cheng Yuan also noticed that the Magpie Beast from the Overseas Chinese Academy had also instantly defeated its opponent, while the captain of the Mathematics High School had demonstrated a set of ingenious electronic tactics.

Chapter 112 Cat's Eye, Mental Charm?

The team match group results have been announced on the central screen of the Penguin Sports Center.

Group A: Pengcheng No.1 Middle School, Hongling Middle School, Qianhai Experimental Middle School, Fuyuan Middle School; Group B: Overseas Chinese Academy, Baoan Middle School... Cheng Yuan's eyes quickly swept over the list, and the corners of his mouth slightly turned up - just as Teacher Cao Jin had predicted, the three mature students were cleverly divided into different groups.

"This is going to guarantee us a spot in the semifinals." Zhao Lu crossed her arms, and the Gear Beast X crackled with electricity on her shoulder.

"Don't be careless," Cheng Yuan shook his head.

Inside the rest room, the team members were making final tactical preparations. Li Yue sat dejectedly in the corner; her Palmon had suffered a crushing defeat to the Fire-type Flamemon in the individual competition, and the petals and leaves on its head still bore scorch marks.

【Flame-Colored Beast】

[Data Species - Bird Type - Fire Element]

[Growth Period]

[Skills: Tropical Beak Peck, Blazing Fire Pillar]

[Description: A cute bird-type Digimon with round pupils, similar to Penguinmon. Unlike Penguinmon, it prefers to live in warm places, and its tropical feathers are very eye-catching; many people admire its vibrant fur.]

Teacher Cao Jin pulled up the information on Hongling Middle School: "They are good at quick attack tactics, and usually concentrate their firepower to take down one target first. Cheng Yuan, your Gatomon will definitely be the primary target."

"Then let them not be able to hit it." Cheng Yuan gently stroked Gatomon's ear, and the little guy comfortably squinted its eyes, the flame ring on its left ear glowing slightly.

Finally, the team battle lineup was finalized: Cheng Yuan (Gitomon), Zhao Lu (Gearmon X), Kang Zhaodi (Pangolinmon), Wen Rou (Flamemon), and Wang Wei (Hedgehogmon).

This is a well-rounded lineup, with Gearmon X providing long-range firepower suppression, Sandslammon and Hedgehogmon forming the front-line defense, Flamemon providing auxiliary control, and Gatomon... being the ace hidden in the shadows.

“Remember the tactics,” Cheng Yuan said, looking around at his teammates. “At the start, show weakness and wait for them to take the bait.”

Inside the battle room, the players from Hongling Middle School looked grave. Their coach was giving them a final pep talk: "The core of Pengcheng No. 1 Middle School is that Gatomon! Focus fire from the start, at least force it out of the game!"

"Coach..." a team member timidly raised his hand, "What if it doesn't come forward?"

"Impossible! Champion-level Digimon are all proud; they'd definitely be at the forefront..."

The referee's electronic voice interrupted their discussion: "The team battle is about to begin. Players from both sides, please take your positions."

The virtual space was completed, and a rugged mountainous terrain unfolded before them. Jagged rocks and steep slopes would serve as natural obstacles, which would be particularly disadvantageous for high-speed Digimon.

"The match begins!"

The five Digimon from Hongling Middle School immediately formed an attack formation, but the expected Gatomon charge did not occur.

The adorable and elegant cat-shaped Digimon stood quietly at the back of the group, its azure eyes gleaming eerily in the sunlight.

At the start of the match, both the players and teachers from Hongling Middle School were quite surprised.

Because Gatomon, as the main force, did not rush out immediately to withstand the first wave of attacks, but instead remained standing at the back of the field.

Hongling Middle School originally planned to focus their attacks on Gatomon from the start. Even if they couldn't eliminate it, they could at least weaken it or control it first, and then focus their attacks on the other players to defeat them.

But now we have lost our goal.

"What's going on?" Captain Hongling frowned. "Never mind that, deal with the others according to plan!"

"Keep the formation. If it doesn't come forward, we'll take out the others first. Five against four, the advantage is in our hands. Let's finish this quickly."

Five Digimon launched an attack simultaneously, but just as they were about to make contact—

The electric beast suddenly trembled, and its eyes glowed with an unnatural red light.

【Cat's Eye】—A skill that manipulates enemies through sharp gaze. Enemies stared at by its gaze will fall into a state of confusion and may even attack themselves.

"An electric beast? How could you—"

Before he could finish speaking, Electricmon had already changed direction and slammed a "Lightning Ball" directly into the back of his teammate Digimon! At the same time, Electricmon unleashed arcs of electricity in all directions, and several of his closest teammates were caught in the crossfire.

As Cat's Eyes' mental power was fully unleashed, Electricmon gradually calmed down, but it wasn't conscious; rather, it was completely controlled by Gatomon.

The animal trainers at Hongling Middle School almost cried. The original 5 vs 4 situation had instantly turned into 4 vs 5.

Cheng Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

This was precisely the tactic they had designed—Gatomon's [Cat's Eye] could not only cause confusion, but with the added power of its Champion form, it could even briefly control the opponent. Although the duration was only about 15 seconds, in the ever-changing world of team battles, that was enough to turn the tide of battle.

"Ultra-high voltage lightning ball!" Zhao Lu seized the opportunity, and the Gear Beast X's triple electric net roared out.

"Earth-shattering claws!"

"Shiny bristles!"

"Deadly spray!"

The most deadly thing was the controlled electric beast. It completely abandoned its defense and frantically released "paralyzing electric shocks", causing its teammates to convulse and become live targets, being wiped out by the skills of the Pengcheng No.1 Middle School players.

"Damn it!" In an instant, two of the Digimon belonging to the Hongling Middle School contestants fell, leaving only the captain's and vice-captain's two Digimon.

"Explosive Drill!"

"Rolling Stone!"

Finally, Gearmon X and Sandslammon clashed with their opponent for several rounds and defeated him.

When the electric beast regained consciousness and saw its allies lying scattered around it, a question mark popped into its head.

"What...what did I do?" The Electric Beast stood there, bewildered.

The students from Hongling Middle School had no way of expressing their grievances.

Under the spell of the mind-controlling "Cat's Eye," Hongling High School directly boosted the opponent's combat power, putting immense psychological pressure on the spectators. They all began to mentally prepare their Digimon and develop team tactics.

Moreover, the firepower of that Gear Beast X was unusually fierce.

Many other Gearmon use electricity as their primary attack, but how come you can unleash three ultra-high-voltage electric grids simultaneously? Is your firepower output three times that of a normal Gearmon?

And this three-gear design, I've never seen it before? Could it be that three Gearmon are put together as one Digimon?

Some nosy teachers immediately went to file a complaint.

"This contestant is a normal Digimon, an innovatively bred species form, and has not violated any rules. Please return to your seat," the referee said.

Even Zhao Lu, a team member, is an excellent captain-level player...

What kind of rare data resource package did this No. 1 Middle School find?

"Four Digimon from Hongling Middle School have lost their ability to fight, and one Digimon has lost its will to fight. Pengcheng No.1 Middle School wins this match!"

In less than a minute and a half, the team battle, which was touted as having strong strategy, high intensity, and long duration, came to an end.

"They're too strong. Even without Gatomon, the other four Digimon from No. 1 Middle School can still hold their own against the five from Hongling Middle School."

Many audience members were deeply impressed by the holographic battlefield.

"Yes, even without a maturity period, it can be a 50/50 match in a 4 vs 5 situation."

"The No. 1 High School is really strong this year... I'll have my youngest son apply to it."

Amidst the audience's enthusiastic discussion, Cheng Yuan led his team back to the players' room.

In this team fight, Cheng Yuan revealed some of his strength once again.

Without a doubt, Gatomon had the biggest influence on the balance of power. But why is Gatomon, a Holy-type Digimon, so skilled in charm-type mind control techniques? And it's direct mind control, not just ordinary "control" like stun—how is this different from the "Cat's Eye" skill described in the data?

You clearly have Champion-level Digimon that can easily crush them, so why are you resorting to such dirty tactics?

Chapter 113 Clash of Titans

This team battle went very smoothly; none of the Pengcheng No.1 Middle School players were seriously injured, only expending some physical and mental energy.

This record means that they will still be able to compete at their best in the upcoming team battles and continue to challenge for the championship.

In the individual battle preliminaries, Cheng Yuan easily secured three consecutive victories, defeating his opponents in each match solely with Holy Light Bullets. When Gatomon demonstrated its ability to simultaneously unleash six Holy Light Bullets, gasps of amazement rippled through the audience—this Champion-level Digimon was no mere showpiece.

In fact, Gatomon's limit is to fire eight energy blasts simultaneously, but Cheng Yuan doesn't want to reveal these trump cards yet.

Compared to Cheng Yuan's smooth sailing, the individual matches of the other team members were much more difficult. Although Zhao Lu won two games, she encountered a captain-level player in the third game, resulting in a hard-fought battle and a draw in the end.

Kang Zhaodi's record was one win, one draw, and one loss, a mediocre performance.

As for Li Yue and Wen Rou, their plant-type Digimon were not good at strong attacks, and without encountering Champion-level Digimon, they could only barely achieve a record of two losses and one win.

This is all due to good luck in not encountering any Champion-level Digimon.

Others who encountered the mature stage fared even worse; some had already given up entirely.

Ultimately, only Cheng Yuan and Zhao Lu from Pengcheng No.1 High School made it into the top 16.

Sixteen schools are vying for sixteen spots, with No. 1 Middle School securing two, meaning that one school will inevitably receive none.

In the final count, three schools failed to make it into the top 16, which is truly a disaster.

In the team competition, it was also a foregone conclusion that No. 1 Middle School advanced.

The school leaders were overjoyed; this achievement was truly unique among the many participating schools. It's worth noting that, originally, among the sixteen key high schools, No. 1 High School was only considered average. Now, thanks to Xu Xin's guidance and the unexpected rise of Cheng Yuan and Dilu Beast, they have achieved a remarkable turnaround.

The online discussions were equally heated.

In the live stream on Penguin Esports' paid channel, local netizens in Shenzhen showed great enthusiasm for this home-based competition.

Various sensationalist headlines are emerging one after another:

Shocking! Mysterious Beast Tamer Defeats Opponent in One Move; Genius Teenager Emerges in Shenzhen, Potentially Becoming a Leading Figure in the New Generation of Beast Tamers; Three Powers Clash, Who Will Become the Newcomer King?

As Cheng Yuan scrolled through these posts, one of them suddenly amused him.

A dozen or so netizens claiming to be dragon-type animal trainers described him as a "dehumanizing demon king" who "ruthlessly exploited" newcomers in the club.

However, some astute commenters countered: "Isn't that to keep you motivated and prevent you from losing hope of becoming stronger?"

There were also some posts that made him feel quite embarrassed.

A netizen named "Shadow Wolf Pack" posted a message confidently predicting that Cheng Yuan would become the top scorer in the animal training subject of this year's college entrance examination and the new generation's rising star in Shenzhen!

Cheng Yuan gave a serious thumbs up, secretly deciding not to go all out next time he encountered a wolf-type Digimon.

The competition entered its most intense phase on the second day.

Individual and team competitions proceeded simultaneously, but the team competitions soon reached their climax – the four qualifying school teams began a round-robin final.

Pengcheng No.1 High School soon encountered a formidable rival: Overseas Chinese Academy, whose captain possessed a mature magpie beast.

As a top private school in Shenzhen, Huaqiao Academy not only has high tuition fees, but also gathers high-quality resources from social elites, making it one of the top high schools in the country.

In the preparation room, physical education teacher Cao Jin looked serious: "This is the first time we've faced a mature opponent. We lack practical experience, so we must be cautious."

"As a bird-type Digimon, Magpiemon possesses aerial superiority and ranged attack capabilities, making it easy to suppress enemy fire from the air. What's more troublesome is its ability to swim at high speed, making it a true amphibious creature. Therefore, our primary objective is to eliminate it by concentrated fire before it gains altitude advantage."

Cheng Yuan nodded. The physical education teacher Cao Jin's analysis made a lot of sense. However, it's not something you can just eliminate by focusing your fire. Even Gatomon's Cat Eye skill might not be able to completely control the opponent.

“Or… could we try a different tactic?” he suggested thoughtfully.

……

The competition was randomly assigned to the Grassland Digital Space.

Students from Pengcheng No.1 High School and Overseas Chinese College arrived at their respective positions and connected their Digimon to the virtual battle space.

As expected, the Overseas Chinese Academy employed extremely cautious tactics—the Magpiemon immediately ascended to altitude upon entering the battlefield. How could a bird-type Digimon possibly fight on the ground?

Preparing for the match while suspended in mid-air is entirely in accordance with the rules.

If Cao Jin's original plan had been followed, this tactic would have failed from the very beginning.

During the pre-match handshake, Cheng Yuan noticed that the opposing team's captain—Lu Ming, the tamer of the Magpie Beast—had a serious expression on his face.

"Lu Ming".

"Cheng Yuan".

Lu Ming's pressure comes not only from the honor of the school team, but also from the digital hunter organization "Sky Extreme" that he is about to join.

As the captain of the Overseas Chinese Academy team, and also to prove his strength to this top elite organization, he absolutely could not afford to fail here.

Last year, Pengcheng No.1 High School produced a monster named Xu Xin. His Agumon was the strongest among the students in his cohort. It is said that after entering university, it immediately evolved to the Champion stage. Moreover, it quickly rose to a high position in the student council by relying on its strength to join the university team, becoming the most popular student.

After all, the "Sky Pole" Hunter Guild is a top-tier organization of digital hunters. He must win this battle to earn a stronger and greater pledge of allegiance.