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

The interior of the hall continues the magical style of blending technology and plants. The little dog beast looks around curiously, while the ancient music beast remains easily forgotten (cognitive deception).

Behind the registration desk sat several women dressed in professional attire, exuding a gentle and refined air.

"Hello sir, are you registering as an animal trainer in a different location?" a woman asked softly. "Could you please show me your animal trainer certificate? If you don't have it with you, your ID card will also be fine."

Cheng Yuan handed over his apprentice animal trainer certificate.

He had only had this little notebook for less than six months, and looking at the youthful photos and information inside, he felt a bit emotional.

The woman was operating the computer, and the screen displayed Cheng Yuan's basic information, including his registered partner Digimon—Puppymon.

She compared it to the small, snow-white dog that was curiously peering at Cheng Yuan's feet and confirmed it was the same dog.

"Is Mr. Cheng a high school graduate taking the college entrance exam this year?" the woman asked casually while entering his information.

"Yes."

After the information was entered, the woman handed the ID back to Cheng Yuan and smiled, "Mr. Cheng, your temporary visit registration has been completed. During your stay in Huadu, you can use this ID to access various facilities for animal trainers in the city. We wish you a pleasant trip in Huadu."

"Thank you." Cheng Yuan took the documents, a wry smile playing on his lips.

It seems that it is indeed more troublesome for animal trainers to travel between cities than for ordinary people. It is estimated that this registration process will be unavoidable every time they arrive in a new city.

As Cheng Yuan walked out of the digital center, he looked up and gazed into the distance.

Amidst the towering trees and skyscrapers, he could vaguely see a striking, bud-shaped building, which he knew was the core area of ​​the Flower City Beast Tamer University.

After taking a taxi, Cheng Yuan arrived at the university town area of ​​Huadu in less than 20 minutes.

The area here is far larger than imagined, reportedly covering more than 400 square kilometers, and is like a city built in a forest garden.

Besides the top-tier Huadu Animal Training University, this area also gathers several other universities with animal training programs, as well as numerous science and technology universities, surrounding the most dazzling "flower" in the center like stars around the moon.

When Cheng Yuan got out of the taxi, he was once again shocked by the scene before him.

In the center of the university town, the giant flower bud building, with a diameter of over 5 kilometers, stands in a way that is almost magical.

Its "petals" are not just simple decorations, but layers and stacks of real functional areas!

Teaching buildings, dormitories, training grounds, research institutes... are built on a huge petal-shaped platform as if they grew naturally.

Students and their Digimon, like busy bees and flower fairies, shuttle back and forth among the petals on vine cable cars or sky bridges, full of life and vitality.

Beneath the petals lies a vast, meticulously manicured garden plaza. But the most striking feature is the extremely luxurious school gate, a hundred meters wide.

The entire school gate seems to be woven from countless vibrant blooming roses. The roses of different colors are cleverly matched and stacked to form seven dazzling and artistic characters: Flower City Animal Trainer University!

This school gate alone probably used tens of thousands of top-quality roses, making it dreamy and gorgeous to the extreme, enough to capture the hearts of countless girls and make people feel that the trip was worthwhile.

As Cheng Yuan was admiring the expensive "flower gate" that required a fortune to build and maintain, a voice, tinged with surprise and uncertainty, came from the side:

"Cheng Yuan?"

Cheng Yuan turned around upon hearing the sound and was also taken aback. He had unexpectedly run into an acquaintance here—Zhu Caiwei and her sister Zhu Qiangwei! Zhu Qiangwei was accompanied by her partner, Baloo.

"Sister Caiwei? Qiangwei? What are you doing in Huadu?" Cheng Yuan asked in surprise.

Cheng Yuan never expected to run into the two sisters who run a Digimon beauty shop on his way to school in Pengcheng.

After a conversation, Cheng Yuan learned that although Zhu Caiwei did not take the college entrance examination to become a college student at the Animal Taming University, she took a different approach and applied to the Breeding Department of Huadu Animal Tamer University at her own expense.

This is a relatively niche major that mainly studies the breeding, care, beauty, and even psychological counseling of Digimon. It is not directly geared towards combat-oriented Digimon trainers and is a self-funded major (equivalent to undergraduate Class B), so students cannot enjoy the resource advantages of combat-oriented students.

But this is the best way for her to enter the Huadu Taming University she has always dreamed of and learn truly advanced Digimon knowledge.

She has even sold her storefront at "Digital Home" in Pengcheng and plans to rent a small shop near the university town to work part-time while studying, both to make a living and to put what she has learned into practice.

"My dream is to master breeding and beauty, save up enough money and experience, and in the future... I hope to support Qiangwei to get into Huadu Taming University and become a formal beast tamer!" Zhu Caiwei looked at her younger sister, who was curiously gazing at the little dog beast, with gentleness and determination in her eyes.

The little girl, Rose, has a natural affinity for Digimon and quickly became friends with the equally innocent and adorable Puppymon.

Gulemon seemed to be infected by this childlike innocence, forgetting the temptation of the food, and hopping and skipping to join in. Palmon, on the other hand, acted like a dutiful little nanny, guarding the scene.

However, an accident occurred during their playful antics.

While chasing the little dog, the rose accidentally stumbled backward and bumped into a distracted young man passing by.

"Ouch!" The little girl fell to the ground, spilling the half-finished juice from her hand, splashing it all over the young man's trousers and shoes.

"I'm sorry..." Zhu Qiangwei apologized hastily.

The young man was jolted by the impact, his brows furrowing instantly, and a look of extreme impatience flashed across his face.

Instead of helping the little girl up, he glanced at her with disgust, muttering "bad luck" and "blind" under his breath, then patted his pants and prepared to leave.

He was feeling quite annoyed—why did the student council insist on having him "sit on duty" at the school gate today? He had originally arranged to take two junior girls who had just been admitted to Huadu and admired him quite a bit, planning to show them off his power and charm as a "mature senior."

Now everything's ruined! The thought of his female classmates' potentially disappointed, tearful eyes made him furious.

After all, his Digimon had just evolved from the Rookie stage to the Champion stage, and he was preparing to apply for a professional Digimon Trainer exam. It was the perfect time for him to enjoy the admiring gazes of his female classmates!

He was holding back a lot of anger with nowhere to vent it when he was suddenly bumped into like this, and the juice even stained his carefully matched clothes and shoes.

Seeing the little one lying on the ground, he was immediately furious. "How can you let a child play in a place like this?"

"Rose!" Zhu Caiwei exclaimed and rushed forward to help her younger sister.

"Palu!" Seeing this, the lover of its younger sister, Palmon, immediately jumped forward, opened its petal-shaped hands, and blocked the young man's path.

Zhu Caiwei quickly helped her younger sister up. She saw that her sister had a small scrape on her knee with blood seeping out, and her eyes were filled with tears of grievance. When she saw that Baloo had been kicked, her face instantly turned cold.

"Sister, I accidentally bumped into her," said Zhu Qiangwei.

"Rose has already apologized," Zhu Caiwei said.

The young man was still cursing: "How do you raise a child? Is this a place to play around? Can't you watch where you're going? You're her parent, right? How did you raise her? Pay for my pants... huh?"

His words came to an abrupt halt as he saw Zhu Caiwei's delicate features; she was indeed a rare beauty.

But at that moment, Cheng Yuan had already walked over: "What happened?"

After understanding the situation, he looked at the aggrieved Rose and the beaten Palmon, and said to the young man, "Rose has already apologized, so why don't we just let it go? If your pants are dirty, we can make you an apology."

The young man said, "What's the point of having police if apologies are enough? Ha, you're here to visit the freshmen at Huadu University, aren't you? I'm a sophomore! Don't you know any manners? Is this how you talk to a senior?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhu Caiwei and deliberately showed off the exquisitely designed Tyrannosaurus Rex on his wrist, which clearly bore the emblem of Huadu Beast Tamer University.

What caught Cheng Yuan's attention was not his awkward smile or senior's airs, but the Tyrannosaurus Rex in his hand—it looked like a high-end product, not a commoner's version.

Fearing the other party wouldn't believe him, or perhaps to show off his feathers, the young man pressed the release button: "Come out, Wood Beast!"

As the data shone brightly, a figure emerged, composed of withered wood and thorns, exuding a faint smell of decay and heavy pressure—it was the mature Rotten Wood Beast!

【Rotten Wood Beast】

[Virus Species - Plant Type]

[Maturity Stage]

[Skills: Withered Claw, Branch Energy Absorption, Giant Tree Slam]

[Description: A Digimon resembling a withered tree. Although a plant-type Digimon, it dislikes water and has a gloomy personality. Its attacks possess a decaying power that withers and rots vegetation. While slow-moving, it boasts excellent defense and immense strength, typically inhabiting dry forests or deep caves.]

Although its mature aura wasn't top-tier, the dry, hard trunk, the tangled thorns, and the faint, icy, decaying scent it exuded still caused a slight pause in the surrounding air, drawing sidelong glances from some passing students.

Seeing Cheng Yuan looking at his wooden beast, the young man patted the beast's hard body triumphantly, making a "bang bang" sound, and laughed, "What? Scared, little junior?"

Cheng Yuan frowned slightly, not replying, but quickly assessing the situation in his mind.

A virus-type, plant-like, early to mid-stage mature stage, excelling in strength and defense, but lacking speed... It's a bit troublesome to deal with with Puppymon, but if you switch to BlackGatomon...

Seeing that Cheng Yuan remained silent, the young man assumed he had intimidated the boy and became even more smug. He casually circled Cheng Yuan and Zhu Caiwei, sizing them up, and then laughed, "Freshmen? I bet you are! Dragging your suitcase, standing at the door in a daze, looking like you've never seen the world before, you're most likely a freshman. And you're aiming for Huadu University, here for a visit and experience, right? You've come to the right place! But..."

He abruptly changed the subject, coldly glancing at Cheng Yuan, "Forget about you! Is this little beast yours? It doesn't seem very strong; it probably won't get into Huadu University! But this junior," he looked at Zhu Caiwei, a self-proclaimed handsome smile plastered on his face, "I can show you around and help you get familiar with the place!"

Cheng Yuan watched this scene, speechless. This guy's intentions were too obvious, and he didn't seem to be thinking very well.

Cheng Yuan suddenly gave a shy smile and said, "Senior, may I ask your name?"

The young man raised his chin: "Huadu Animal Trainer University, College of Botany, Second Year, Forestry History!"

"Oh—! So it's Senior Lin Shi! I've heard so much about you!" Cheng Yuan deliberately dragged out his words. "I'm a student from Pengcheng, and I've always longed to attend Huada University! I heard that the student council arranges for senior students to stay and guide visiting freshmen during the summer vacation. I wonder if it's Senior Lin Shi who's in charge?"

Lin Shi's brow twitched at the "shit-washing" comment, but he couldn't retaliate, so he could only grunt and say, "That's right! I'm here to guide... educate you ignorant freshmen!"

"With your strength, senior, dealing with those troublesome freshmen shouldn't be a problem. Let alone dealing with my Digimon." Cheng Yuan pointed to Puppymon.

"Of course! The strength of a mature stage is incomparable to that of a growth stage!" Lin Shi said proudly.

"What if I win?" Cheng Yuan blinked, his smile growing even more amiable. "Could you grant me a small request, senior?"

"Hmph, you think you can win? You're dreaming! What are your requirements?" Lin Shi scoffed.

"If I win... please apologize to Little Rose!"

Chapter 161: The Fire Begins

"Oh? What are you apologizing for... And you think you can win?" He looked at the little dog beast.

"Senior Linshi, are you afraid? Although Sister Qiangwei was careless just now, the field of vision is wide. Senior Linshi, you were only looking at your phone and didn't watch where you were going, so you bumped into Sister Qiangwei. It's not that I didn't make a mistake. I don't ask for anything, I just want justice."

"Bullshit! What's there to be afraid of! Let's go! There's an open-air battle arena right next to the school gate, specially designed to teach newbies like you who don't know the rules a lesson!" Lin Shi was completely enraged. He waved his hand and took the lead in walking towards the battle area not far away.

The rotten wood beast followed, its heavy tree roots causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Cheng Yuan gave Zhu Caiwei a reassuring look, then took Xiao Qiangwei's hand and followed.

Along the way, he didn't forget to "broadcast": "Come and see! An unknown candidate from Shenzhen is challenging a senior forestry history student from Huadu Forestry University! A battle of maturity! Don't miss it if you're passing by!"

This shout immediately attracted the attention of many students from various regions who were visiting the university campus.

Curious, excited, and curious glances were cast in, and the crowd began to gather towards the open-air battle arena.

Right next to the school gate is an open-air battlefield, specifically designed to extinguish your arrogant arrogance.

Soon, a standard plant-themed battle platform was surrounded by layers of people.

The college entrance exam takers, from all over the country and dreaming of becoming animal trainers, whispered among themselves, their discussions instantly becoming lively.

Lin Shi stood at one end of the field, arms crossed, with an arrogant expression.

Cheng Yuan stood calmly at the other end, gently stroking the little dog's head.

"Look! They're really going to fight!"

"That senior is a mature-stage Deadwood Beast! He's so intimidating!"

"On the other side... Pfft, it's a little dog beast? Are you kidding me? How are we supposed to fight that?"

"From Shenzhen? That's brave! Daring to directly challenge a sophomore from Huadu University?"

"I'll bet you a meal, senior, you win!"

"Nonsense, a mature player beating a growth player, you could win even with your eyes closed, right?"

"But that kid from Pengcheng seems pretty calm. Maybe he has some trump card up his sleeve?"

"A trump card? It can suddenly evolve? Dream on!"

The discussions came like a tidal wave.

Lin Shi stood at one end of the field, enjoying the attention. He could almost see himself easily winning and receiving admiring glances from the female students. Even the pretty girl next to this Pengcheng boy might look at him with new respect.

"Hey, Pengcheng!" Lin Shi snapped his fingers, feigning nonchalance. "Don't say I'm bullying you, senior, I'll let you go first! Let your little beast come at me!"

He commanded the rotten wood beast to step forward. The massive, withered wood body creaked, and its thorn-entwined arms hung limply, appearing nonchalant and revealing numerous defensive vulnerabilities—clearly, it had underestimated its opponent.

Cheng Yuan looked at the opponent's flawed posture and chuckled inwardly, but his face showed a hint of "nervousness" and "hesitation." He deliberately said to the little dog beast, "Little dog beast, the opponent is in the mature stage and is very strong. We... we will just do our best and be careful."

"Woof! Understood!" The little dog understood immediately, a sly glint in its azure eyes. It immediately entered "acting" mode, lowering its body and letting out a threatening growl. It moved cautiously around the rotten wood beast, looking pitiful as if facing a formidable enemy and not daring to approach easily.

"Haha, look at that little dog, it's too scared to move!"

"I knew it! The class advantage is too great!"

"Wow, senior! You took it down in one move!"

Zhu Caiwei nervously gripped her younger sister's hand, while Xiao Qiangwei whispered worriedly, "Go, little dog beast..."

The Ancient Music Beast grumbled angrily to the side, waving its little paws as if to cheer on the Little Dog Beast, but unfortunately no one noticed it.

"Rotten Wood Beast, stop wasting time! Use Withered Claws to tie it up!" Lin Shi lost his patience and gave the order.

He planned to end the battle in the least strenuous and most humiliating way—by using his withered claws to immobilize his opponent, and then using his branches to drain its energy, forcing it to surrender.

This tactic has proven effective against freshmen time and again.