Chapter 41: Advancing to the Quarterfinals

"On the arena, Agumon launches another attack—my goodness, Shadowcat nimbly dodges again. It seems Agumon has no way to deal with Shadowcat."
Zhao Zhe narrated with passion. At the start of the match, he had been worried about an upset, but seeing the way things were going, his concerns faded away.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my earlier assessment may have been inaccurate. This Agumon does possess some strength, but that seems to be its limit."
"Agumon is a balanced-type Digimon; with training, both its speed and strength can improve greatly. However, compared to Shadowcat, its speed is completely outmatched."
Indeed, as he said, Agumon had fallen behind, forced into passive defense.
Up to this point, Agumon hadn't landed a single hit on Shadowcat.
This was not good news for Zhao Jie and Agumon.
"Give up. Your Agumon is countered by my Shadowcat; there is no chance of victory,"
Feng Xiao's voice rang in Zhao Jie's ear.
"In the world of martial arts, speed is everything. In his eyes, the only real threat to his Shadowcat was that Mantis in Group A. Agumon was far from that level."
"That's not necessarily true."
Zhao Jie shook his head. How could he possibly lose here?
"Agumon!"
He shouted. At the sound of his command, Agumon's speed suddenly increased, and it lunged fiercely at Shadowcat.
"Useless. Even if your Agumon's faster, it's still no match for Shadowcat."
Feng Xiao was stunned by Agumon's sudden burst of speed—he hadn't expected Agumon to get faster. But even so, it couldn't reach Shadowcat's level.
"Baby Flame!"
Bang!
The flame hit the ground. Shadowcat looked on with disdain, twisting its body to appear at Agumon's flank.
"Baby Flame!"
It hadn't expected Agumon to unleash its special move twice in succession without pause. Shadowcat, just landed, barked in surprise as a dark purple clone materialized around it.
Shadow Clone.
Bang!
The flame landed, and Shadowcat dodged in a sorry state, its black fur singed and flickering with tiny tongues of fire.
"Oh, Agumon has accelerated! But does that help? Special move—special move lands, Shadowcat dodges—Agumon is only wasting its own energy."
Teacher Zhao commented with a mocking tone, not even pausing for breath.
But in the next instant, as Agumon spat out another flame, he was speechless—for the flame struck Shadowcat.

Not only him—many of those watching the match were dumbstruck.
"A double flame burst?"
Someone murmured. That technique was difficult, especially to release it as smoothly and seamlessly as Agumon had just done.
Most crucially, Agumon had unleashed it instantly—so fast that Shadowcat didn't have time to dodge.
"Wow, the outcome is uncertain now. Is Teacher Zhao going to call for an early end again?"
"Feels like the commentator just got slapped in the face."
"..."
Those who had thought Agumon would surely lose, swayed by Teacher Zhao's commentary, became active once more, their fingers flying across their keyboards.
"Ahem, it appears this Agumon has mastered the double flame burst—unbelievable. However, Agumon's special move didn't inflict much damage on Shadowcat, and the match will continue."
Cold sweat broke out on Teacher Zhao's back. If Shadowcat lost, he couldn't imagine the online backlash he'd face.
"Yes, the match continues!"
Xiao Ming picked up the commentary. A strange idea crept into his mind—if Agumon won, would Teacher Zhao keep his promise?
On the arena, Shadowcat bounded several meters away, watching Agumon warily, no longer daring to approach as before.
"To think it mastered the double flame burst. If not for Shadowcat's inherited technique, you might have succeeded just now."
Feng Xiao looked at Agumon on stage, surprise written on his face.
"No matter. Sooner or later, I'll get my chance."
Zhao Jie smiled, signaling to Agumon.
Agumon moved again, but this time, having witnessed Agumon's skill, Shadowcat did not attack and observed from afar.
"Shadowcat, attack!"
Feng Xiao saw his partner retreating into a corner and called out loudly. If Shadowcat didn't counterattack, it would be forced into a corner by Agumon.
At Feng Xiao's command, Shadowcat made up its mind. It shot toward Agumon like a gust of wind, dark purple energy surging around its paws.
This time, Shadow Claw swelled to several times its usual size, a solid, shadowy claw tearing toward Agumon—a blow that, if it landed, would end the match.
This was Shadowcat's true trump card.
Bang!
Baby Flame was scattered into sparks by the Shadow Claw, which pressed on relentlessly toward Agumon.
Agumon retreated step by step, trying to buy time. When the Shadow Claw was about to reach it, its own power-up was complete.
"Charged Baby Flame!"

Fwoosh!
Flames exploded above Agumon's head. With a cry, it was blasted backward by the immense force, crashing to the ground.
In full view of the audience, fire and shadow claw intertwined, dissolving each other at a rate visible to the naked eye. After a few seconds, both were utterly spent.
Thud.
Shadowcat collapsed, exhausted. That previous attack had drained all its strength.
Huh?
Shadowcat stared wide-eyed as Agumon staggered to its feet—while it had nothing left.
"You win."
Feng Xiao was silent for a moment, then spoke.
Shadowcat's strength was its speed, but that was also its weakness. Its agile build meant its endurance was inferior to Agumon's.
After such a clash, Shadowcat had no energy left to stand, but Agumon did.
"Hello, I'm Feng Xiao from Zhushi City. Pleased to meet you."
Feng Xiao extended his hand to Yang Dong. Though unwilling, a loss was a loss—he wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat.
Besides, the growth stage was only the beginning; there was a long road ahead.
"Zhao Jie from Wuling City."
Zhao Jie scratched his head and reached out as well.
"I know you."
Gripping Zhao Jie's hand, Feng Xiao smiled faintly, a hint of color on his pale face.
He pointed to his phone.
"Online."
PS: I didn't dare ask for votes when I was just a one-chapter beast. Now that I'm updating twice a day, please give me some recommendation votes! They're really important for a new book.
Let me set a small goal for myself: if daily votes break 50, I'll evolve into a mature three-chapter beast.
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