Chapter 50: The Evolution of Courage

Whoosh!
Once again, the earth spear materialized, guided by the Elf Beast’s control, thrusting toward Agumon.

Bang!

Having also merged with the digital energy from Zhao Jie’s body, Agumon’s strength had increased as well. A small burst of flame shot out, shattering the oncoming earth spear.

“Agumon.”

Zhao Jie gazed at Agumon, who was battling fiercely atop the stage. Digital energy surged from his body, continuously pouring into Agumon.

“The digital energy within his body is incredibly dense,” Master Feng observed with great interest. He truly hadn’t expected to witness someone complete digital fusion so quickly today.

“Master Hua, the outcome appears more and more unpredictable,” remarked Feng Xiaosong.

Hua Mantian only smiled at these words, making no further comment. His eyes, too, were fixed on the battle unfolding in the arena.

The Elf Beast had grown to this level in just a year thanks to the Hua family’s cultivation. So what gave that Agumon the ability to hold its own against such a well-bred opponent? There were no renowned digital masters in Wuling City that he knew of. A deep doubt gnawed at his heart.

Bang!

The two Digimon clashed with great intensity on the stage, neither gaining the upper hand for the moment.

“Agumon! Evolve!” Zhao Jie’s voice resonated in Agumon’s mind.

What?

Agumon was momentarily stunned. It knew Zhao Jie had mapped out its evolution path, and even entering this competition was part of that plan. Now, having come so far, was it really time to give up?

“Zhao Jie, I can do it. Give me a little more time, and I can defeat this Elf Beast.” Through their digital fusion, Agumon’s thoughts reached Zhao Jie’s heart.

Agumon didn’t want to abandon the path Zhao Jie had charted for it. It didn’t know exactly how to evolve into Greymon, but it could see countless streams of data within its genes, each a potential path for evolution.

To find the route to Greymon among all that data was truly a daunting challenge.

“Remember the Stone of Courage we used for your last evolution? As long as we possess courage, we can achieve evolution!” Zhao Jie’s voice grew passionate.

“Let’s evolve, and finish this opponent cleanly!”

Courage!

Zhao Jie stopped overthinking. In the anime, Taichi’s Agumon kept evolving through the power of courage.

He had been preoccupied with searching for the path to Greymon’s evolution, and in doing so, he had set aside the courage that belonged to him and Agumon.

Now, courage returned once more.
So what if he couldn’t reach Greymon? So what if he couldn’t reach WarGreymon?
This wasn’t a game—this was the real world. In the anime, it was courage that allowed Agumon to undergo ultimate evolution into WarGreymon.

Now, he had used evolution materials to help Agumon reach Greymon. But when the time came, what could he rely on to guide Greymon down a path that might lead to a dangerous, erroneous evolution?

Collect evolution items again?
How could he expect to solve a problem that so many people in this world had failed to overcome—just because he was a transmigrator?

A transmigrator without even a golden finger!

“I understand!” Zhao Jie’s surge of emotion was transmitted without reservation to Agumon. Agumon gazed at its partner, white light blossoming from its body.

This light was familiar to many—it was the light of a Digimon’s evolution!

“Agumon, evolve!” (Cue evolution theme)

Partial lyrics:

Everyone has moments when they want to run away
But if you unleash the hidden power at that instant, you can clear the obstacles ahead
There must be something only you can do, to keep this blue planet shining
Hold tight to your dreams
Protect your precious friends
Become stronger
Let your latent, unknown power ignite like a flame
Then all your wishes
Will surely come true...
Show me your brave heart...

“The light of evolution—my heavens, Agumon is evolving in the midst of battle!”
The commentators cried out in astonishment. Only Teacher Zhao’s face showed not surprise, but dread, as he recalled the vow he had once made.

If Agumon truly evolved and reached the mature stage, then the Elf Beast, still at its growth stage, would absolutely be no match for a mature Digimon.

“Is this a comeback from the brink? This year’s Newcomer Cup in Shashi is more exciting than even those in the Imperial or Magic Capitals!”

“Agumon, you can do it!”

Watching online, the audience began flooding the screen with words of encouragement. Soon, the entire feed was filled with cheers for Agumon.

At the venue itself, people started chanting as well. At first, the voices were faint, but they gradually grew, until the entire arena rang with a single cry:

“Agumon, you can do it!”

The waves of sound rose higher and higher, making Hua Feihua’s expression change dramatically.

“That guy!”
She frowned, glancing toward Zhao Jie not far away, feeling a little lost. How had she become the villain in a movie?

“He’s... evolving?”
Hua Mantian turned to Master Feng, surprise flickering in his gaze.
How had it evolved? Wasn’t he afraid of a failed evolution?

“Reckless,” Master Feng’s face darkened as well. If it weren’t for the fact that forcibly interrupting the light of evolution could severely harm both Digimon and Tamer, he would have dashed onto the stage to stop this evolution.

Evolution always carried the risk of failure.
Forcing a Digimon to evolve without preparation could easily cause it to get lost among countless genetic sequences.
If that happened, at best the Digimon would be injured; at worst, it could go berserk and lash out at everything around it.

And this was a tournament stage, watched by countless eyes.
If a Digimon went berserk, the social consequences would be dire.

“Master Hua, if that Digimon does lose control, you must subdue it immediately,” Master Feng said gravely, looking toward the arena.

As for the elite Tamers behind him—if they had to subdue a berserk Digimon, the commotion would be enormous. Only Hua Manlou, standing before him, possessed the strength to resolve such a crisis quietly.

“Yes.”
Hua Mantian nodded, a faint glow of digital energy emanating from his forehead. A winged Elf Beast stepped out from the center of his brow, perching on his shoulder.

Once a Tamer reached a certain level of power, he could construct a miniature digital world at his brow, where he could store his Digimon.

Among those present, only he and Master Feng had reached such heights.

PS: Chosen Children, please cast your sacred votes for me.