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

"Relax, it'll be over soon." Cheng Yuan comforted a trembling Wendimon as BlackGatomon's claws precisely pierced its Digicore.

Two hours later...

"Okay, the pollution crystals have been basically cleared. Now you can rest well and wait for the pollution and mutations to gradually dissipate."

"Thank you, thank you so much, Master Qilin! You truly are a master! My Wendymon hasn't been this energetic in three years!"

A young animal trainer held his revitalized partner, tears welling in his eyes. It was as if a light had been ignited in his heart, dispelling the gloom and giving him more hope for the future.

Seed of Light 2885 (+50)

During this time, Cheng Yuan had become accustomed to the increase in this value. The system was already able to read the Digimon's mental data. As Cheng Yuan helped the Digimon recover, his discovery of the Light Seed value was also increasing, which gave him a deeper understanding of cultivating the Light Seed.

Forging and tempering the Seed of Light is a laborious method. A more effective way to increase the value of the Seed of Light is to help others find the light and bring it to them. Cheng Yuan has calculated that, on average, helping one person can increase the Seed of Light's value by about 50 points.

The increase in light value was an unexpected bonus.

As more and more tamers' Digimon returned to normal, although they transformed into Dark attribute Digimon, this did not prevent them from becoming more active and their combat power from increasing. The atmosphere of the entire settlement was completely renewed. Even Commander Feng, who had lost his Digimon, felt less gloomy and smiled when he saw the thriving situation in the settlement.

Occasionally, he would come over to greet Cheng Yuan before heading off to his work. Now, he no longer has a Digimon and has voluntarily withdrawn from the community's management, taking on menial tasks at the very bottom of the community. However, he has no complaints and diligently contributes his efforts.

“Commander Feng is actually very strong.” Wang Zheng said softly, watching the backs of the people carrying stones. “Once he comes to his senses, he will definitely find a new partner.”

Cheng Yuan nodded. This kind of man wouldn't be easily defeated. Once he finds a suitable Digimon again, he will become strong once more.

Another point worth mentioning is that Vice Commander Zhou still hasn't brought a Digimon for treatment.

It is said that his Digimon is Bloodwolfmon, a Champion-level Virus species with high resistance to contamination. Originally the second strongest in the settlement, he is now the strongest after Commander Feng's Cyclopsmon sacrificed itself.

For the past ten days or so, Cheng Yuan has been buried in the massive project of healing his Digimon. He is also grateful to Guan Yan's adorable Digimon, which can replenish its energy and status from time to time with healing and support skills.

Dr. Zhao also mobilized the masses to find some unpolluted dark data items to replenish the energy of Black Gatomon.

Finally, on the night of the 15th day, the last Digimon completed its treatment.

Cheng Yuan sat on the empty platform, looking at the Dark Warrior Spirit he had just received from Dr. Zhao, a look of surprise on his face.

This Dark Warrior's Soul is shaped like a black bone beast with three heads and seven blood-red eyes. It has an extremely evil appearance, and Cheng Yuan can sense the evil and chaotic dark energy within it, as well as an evil will.

He immediately concluded that the Dark Warrior's Soul should not be given to BlackGatomon. This power and will might corrupt and control BlackGatomon. After all, although BlackGatomon is resistant to chaotic dark power, it cannot resist this evil will.

But he was different; he had a system that could block all attempts to possess his will.

But how do you use it? He doesn't have the Digivice from the fourth generation anime, so activating its power is a problem.

"System, how do I activate the Warrior's Soul?"

[Ding, answering the host's question can be activated through the Armed Tyrannosaurus Rex or through mental resonance contact, but the latter cannot activate the abilities of Dual Soul Evolution or Super Soul Evolution.]

"Spiritual resonance contact? How evil do I have to be to evoke its resonance? Does helping an old lady cross the street at a red light count?"

The system did not respond.

As Cheng Yuan continued to press for details about the system, such as whether he could add points, a voice suddenly came from behind him—

"Well, little Qilin, what secrets have you figured out?"

Cheng Yuan was startled and cursed himself for being careless. He hadn't even known that someone was behind him while he was talking to the system, and he had almost exposed his biggest secret.

He recognized the voice. Cheng Yuan was secretly on guard, but turned around without showing any emotion.

Before me stood Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou, a strange smile on his pale face.

"Is Deputy Commander Zhou here to see the scenery too?" Cheng Yuan asked, feigning nonchalance.

"I came here specifically to find you." Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou approached slowly.

"Find me?"

"As you already know, before I accidentally entered the Underworld area, I was a member of the Hunter Guild—the Bloodblade Hunter Guild."

"Bloodblade Hunter Guild?" Cheng Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of it."

Cheng Yuan's knowledge of the Hunter Guild was limited to the fact that there were three digital hunters in the Digital Center, and that he had forced Zhao Lu to buy the X-Antibody. He didn't have a very good impression of digital hunters.

"Our Bloodblade Guild has been searching for a magical digital item. Some of our members have found information in the ancient texts of the Time-Space Secret Realm about an evolutionary form that allows certain types of Digimon to inherit ancient digital power and evolve into another type of Digimon, possessing greater combat power than ordinary Digimon."

His gaze fell on the Dark Warrior's Soul in Cheng Yuan's hand.

"No wonder you've been working so hard to help treat the Digimon infection in the settlement. It seems that old man Zhao Jing gave you that item."

"Let Digimon inherit ancient power and evolve? You mean this?" Judging from this, Vice Commander Zhou didn't know about the Warrior's Soul, which could even allow humans to evolve into Digimon. Cheng Yuan showed a look of "doubt," wanting to see what he was up to.

Tailmon jumped off his shoulder.

"I've never heard of such a magical tool. I examined it a bit earlier, but couldn't figure it out. Deputy Commander Zhou, do you know how to use it?"

"This is a secret of our Bloodblade Hunter Guild. If Brother Qilin is willing to join our guild and become a core member, we will naturally provide the method of use. At that time, with my strength and the reputation you have built up over the past half month, we will be able to become the leaders of the community."

Cheng Yuan didn't respond to his words, but smiled faintly without saying a word.

It is said that ever since Commander Feng lost his Digimon, Vice Commander Zhou has been restless and wants to take over the leadership of the settlement. However, the settlement's managers and middle-level staff do not support him. Vice Commander Zhou's character and interpersonal relationships are not very good.

Cheng Yuan didn't know what the other party's intention was in saying all this. Was it a power struggle within the settlement, or did they truly want to become a force in the Land of the Dead?

But he had no intention of staying there for long and naturally didn't want to get involved.

Chapter 138 Heart-wrenching Pain!

“Vice-Commander Zhou, I’m not interested in the Bloodblade Guild.” Cheng Yuan smiled politely, his fingers gently stroking the surface of the Dark Warrior’s Soul. “I’ll figure out how to use this digital item myself. I’m a bit tired from treating Digimon today, so I’ll take my leave.”

Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou narrowed his long, narrow eyes slightly, his pale face appearing uncertain in the dim light. He pursed his thin, razor-sharp lips, watching Cheng Yuan's departing figure gradually recede into the distance on the steps of the high platform, finally disappearing around the corner.

Back in the stone house, Cheng Yuan solemnly placed the Dark Warrior's Soul on the stone table.

The three-headed skeletal beast statue's blood-red eyes gleamed eerily in the dim light, as if silently watching him.

"To make it resonate, and then make contact?" Cheng Yuan murmured to himself, a dark flower appearing in his right palm, while his left hand grasped the soul of the Dark Warrior. He took a deep breath and slowly clasped his hands together—

"what--!"

A heart-wrenching scream suddenly erupted from inside the stone house. When Guan Yan, Wang Zheng, and the others rushed over, they found Cheng Yuan slumped on the ground, covered in sweat, his face as pale as paper.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Cheng Yuan forced a smile, his voice trembling slightly, "I slipped and fell."

The crowd remained skeptical until they confirmed that Cheng Yuan was truly unharmed before gradually leaving. Once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Cheng Yuan finally let out a long sigh of relief, cold sweat trickling down his face.

Seeing the protagonists' agonizing expressions during their armed evolution in the animation, I initially thought it was just artistic exaggeration. Now, experiencing it firsthand, I understand that the excruciating digital pain is truly unbearable—every cell in your body feels like it's being shattered and reassembled, your bones are twisted and deformed in the data stream, and your nerve endings feel like they're being pierced by thousands of steel needles simultaneously.

"Woof..." The little dog nuzzled Cheng Yuan's hand with its head in worry, its azure eyes filled with unease.

Cheng Yuan forced a smile and gently stroked its soft fur: "Don't worry, once I master this, I'll be able to fight alongside you."

Although the testing process was extremely painful, it at least verified a key point—the Bloodblade Hunter Guild, to which Vice Commander Zhou belonged, likely possessed some other special activation method. And for him, the Dark Flower was the best "key."

However, this presents a new problem: when evolving into Darkmon using Dark Warrior Soul, Puppymon cannot simultaneously maintain its BlackGatomon form. A trade-off must be made, as both cannot be done simultaneously.

"But finding our way back is the most important thing." Cheng Yuan rubbed his still slightly aching shoulder and began packing his things.

The following morning, when Cheng Yuan announced that he was setting off to find his way back, the animal trainers in the settlement all showed expressions of reluctance.

They were worried that the young man who had given the community new hope would never return, and they also feared that he would face the dangers of the underworld alone.

Be careful!

"Remember to come back and pick us up once you find your way!"

"Take these provisions with you; they'll keep you company on the road..."

Their weathered faces were filled with concern. From their already meager reserves, they managed to cobble together all sorts of food—dried Digimon meat, bitter plant roots and stems, and even precious energy crystals.

Cheng Yuan thanked them one by one and carefully put away the gifts. Although he still had emergency supplies in his blank chip, in the perilous Yellow Springs region, having more supplies meant having more chances of survival.

“Brother Qilin.” Professor Zhao walked over, leaning on his cane, and took out a chip that was emitting a faint glow from his pocket. “This is the culmination of my life’s research. I hope you can take it with you. If you successfully return to the real world, please help me hand it over to the National Animal Tamer Research Institute of the Association.”

Cheng Yuan solemnly accepted the chip with both hands, his fingertips able to feel the residual warmth on it.

He knew that this thin crystal might contain a groundbreaking technology that would change the history of Digimon tamers—the technology to bind multiple Digimon to a Digivice. This weighty trust made him straighten his back.

"I will certainly live up to your expectations."

In his preparations for departure, Cheng Yuan had already consulted the beast tamers at the settlement in detail about survival techniques in the Yellow Springs region. At this moment, this knowledge clearly surfaced in his mind:

The known distribution of Digimon populations, the periodic outbreaks of the Dark Tide, methods for identifying edible plants, the locations of other gathering places...

In particular, there is a warning about the Dark Tide. In the Yellow Springs region, there will be a Dark Tide every few days. In the area covered by the Dark Tide, there will be icy black clouds and blue lightning. Humans cannot stay in the Dark Tide for long. Once shrouded by the Dark Tide, they must find a place to hide underground, the deeper the better, and hide in a place where the Dark Tide has not penetrated.

Otherwise, over time, these fragments of death data will assimilate people and Digimon into skeletal zombie-like beings.

Conversely, during periods when the Dark Tide is inactive, wild Digimon often appear and frequently attack humans, so be very careful.

Cheng Yuan inquired about many such messages, and even on a whim, he asked about some information about the pale-faced, thin-lipped Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou.

Only then did I learn that Vice Commander Zhou had been recruited a few years ago. He was originally the vice president of the Bloodblade Hunter Guild, and he often led hunters to various digital spaces to hunt Digimon. In addition to the quests on the Beast Tamer Quest Market, he would occasionally take on quests from the Beast Tamer Association.

After being sucked in, Blood Wolf Beast's amazing combat power killed several powerful invading wild Digimon, making great contributions to the settlement. Therefore, even though he was a hunter, he was strongly recommended by Captain Feng to become the deputy captain of the settlement, specializing in teaching the tamers in the settlement how to train themselves and their Digimon.

But recently it seems he's had a falling out with Dr. Zhao and Commander Feng, and it appears he's trying to get something from them.

Cheng Yuan became somewhat wary after hearing these words.

Today, we are seeing Cheng Yuan off. Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou was away on some mission, so he couldn't come.

The heavy metal gate slowly closed behind him. Cheng Yuan took one last look at this gathering place where hope clung to amidst despair, then turned and stepped into the vast desert, still holding the little beast.

Guan Yan followed closely behind him, her eyes flashing with a complex light.

Cheng Yuan and Guan Yan, wearing cloaks and goggles, soon arrived at the boundary between the rocky area and the desert. Here, the Zombie Tyrannosaurus and the original Jawed Beast had perished together. Because of the Zombie Tyrannosaurus's Zero-type cruise missile, a bomb crater with a diameter of tens of meters was left at the scene.

The charred sand radiated outwards. In the center of the crater, the massive remains of the original Jawed Beast's carapace stood silently like an ancient fossil, its surface covered with cracks and burn marks. Even after several days, a faint smell of burning lingered in the air.

This death mark, created by the Zombie Tyrannosaurus's "Zero Cruise Missile," silently recounts that tragic mutual destruction. Cheng Yuan unconsciously stopped in his tracks, and the image of Commander Feng, hunched over, walking alone into the depths of the desert seemed to reappear before his eyes.

Cheng Yuan stood on top of the tortoise shell, gazing into the distance, searching for a route.

"Qilin, can I ask you a question?" Guan Yan suddenly spoke, her voice exceptionally clear amidst the howling sandstorm, "Are you a professional beast tamer?"

Cheng Yuan wiped the dust off his goggles and shook his head, saying, "Of course not, I'm still in high school."

“I think I’ve heard the name Qilin before,” Guan Yan frowned thoughtfully. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time these past few days before I remembered that my mentor once mentioned it. At the National Digimon Evolution Research Institute, there was a project called Evolution Armor. The name Qilin caused a sensation at the research institute and even the combat department.”

Cheng Yuan didn't expect the evolved armor to have such a big impact. Moreover, what if the fabricated identity of Qilin was revealed to be some fabricated background as a "reserve member of the Twelve Divine Generals"? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

Cheng Yuan smiled slightly and said, "It's just a coincidence. I'm a pretty hardworking and diligent high school student who runs a little faster than the other students."

The two set off again, venturing into the desert and heading towards their next destination based on the map drawn by Commander Feng.

"Let's go," he said softly, adjusting his goggles. "The road ahead is still long."

Chapter 139 Armed Evolution! Dark Beast!

Following the map, Cheng Yuan trekked through the dark desert for most of the day before finally arriving at the "oasis" marked on the map.

Fortunately, there was no scorching sun here; otherwise, the high temperature and thirst would have greatly increased the difficulty of their journey.

It's called an oasis, but in reality it's just a few clumps of tenacious, low-growing shrubs forming a sparse, dark green strip among the sand dunes.

This route is the result of the blood and sweat of the tamers in the settlement—the fewest skulls marked on the map mean the lowest probability of encountering powerful Digimon.

This proved to be true. Although there were occasional Rookie-level Digimon along the way, they were all no match for them and were easily defeated.

Most reassuringly, we never encountered any mature predators lurking behind the dunes.

Several clumps of low shrubs stubbornly took root in the sand, adding a rare touch of dark green to this deadly place.

Just as Cheng Yuan and Guan Yan were unpacking and preparing to rest, a figure suddenly appeared on the sand dune—Deputy Regiment Commander Zhou and his Blood Wolf Beast blocked their way.

"What a coincidence, little Qilin." A meaningful smile appeared on Deputy Commander Zhou's pale face. The Blood Wolf Beast bared its teeth at his feet, its scarlet fur gleaming with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

This ferocious monster-type Digimon had bloodthirsty red eyes, and its sharp claws were deeply embedded in the sand.

Blood Wolf Beast

[Virus type? Monster type? Dark theme]

[Maturity Stage]

[Skills: Thrust Blade (Thousand Blades Piercing), Lone Wolf's Howl (Intimidating Power), Life Drain (Absorbs Data Through Wounds), Blood Claw Tear]

[Introduction: Born at the dawn of the Digital World, this vampire-like creature teleports through the network in the form of decomposed data, making it extremely difficult to capture. Its fangs can suck the blood of Digimon and steal their core data, causing the target's functions to cease. It often operates as an assassin for the Nightmare Legion, and its evolutionary chain is linked to the vampire family tree (237).]

After exchanging pleasantries, Deputy Commander Zhou extended an olive branch once again: "Join me. With your abilities and my strength, we can completely control the settlement."

He meticulously listed Commander Feng's "weakness" and Dr. Zhao's "indecisiveness," outlining a grand blueprint for unifying the surrounding areas.