Chapter 138: The Ultimate Digisoul

"So, they really are training dummies."

Qin Fei looked at the four wooden figures swaying as they stood up, a trace of surprise in his eyes. It wasn't the dummies themselves that surprised him, but the fact that there were four of them. Was it because he had joined them that BanchoLeomon had created an extra one?

However, Qin Fei quickly pushed the doubt from his mind, for the dummies were already charging.

"Thud!"

With a dull impact, Marcus Damon was the first to knock one down.

"Not bad," BanchoLeomon said, looking at the fallen dummy. He offered a rare word of praise to Marcus, but immediately turned back with a calm expression. "However, the mere power of a fist cannot elevate the strength of your Digisoul."

"Power resides in a resilient heart and is contained within indomitable courage..."

As he spoke, the dummy Marcus had knocked down immediately stood back up, assuming a stance to face him again.

"Tsk!"

Looking at the unscathed dummy, Marcus had no choice but to ponder BanchoLeomon's words.

Qin Fei focused his full attention on the wooden dummy in front of him, tracking its every movement. Although his physique and physical stamina were not on par with Marcus and the others, he had spent time training in boxing and Sanda under Satsuma, which allowed him to barely hold his own against the dummy's attacks.

"Bang!"

Feeling the impact on his hand, a thought flickered in Qin Fei's mind; it felt as though the dummy was drawing out the Digisoul within him. Not sure if it was just an illusion, he eagerly moved closer, dodged an attack, and threw a full-force punch at its round head.

Fueled by his Digisoul, the blow was heavy. The dummy spun a full circle in the air before crashing to the ground.

"As I thought..."

Sensing the faint, restless stirring of the Digisoul in his heart, Qin Fei realized it wasn't an illusion. He didn't know what BanchoLeomon’s dummies were made of, or perhaps they contained some mysterious power that stimulated the Digisoul of whoever made contact with them.

That wasn't all. While the dummy was still down, Qin Fei closed his eyes and entered a state of rapid meditation. There seemed to be some substance within this dojo that could activate his Digisoul; no wonder his breath felt hot and stinging during the intense exertion. He had previously assumed it was just the heat caused by rapid breathing.

Qin Fei opened his eyes with a new understanding, but before he could fully react, a spherical wooden fist magnified in his vision.

"Wham!"

With a clear sound of impact, Qin Fei took a heavy blow to the cheek and was sent flying by the dummy.

"Hiss, that really hurts."

Kicking away the dummy as it tried to close in again, Qin Fei stood up immediately. Yet, as his palm touched the spot on his face where he had been struck, a faint stream of digital energy flowed from the point of impact throughout his entire body.

"So, getting hit actually works better," Qin Fei wiped his cheek, then decisively took up a defensive boxing stance, letting his Digisoul permeate his entire body. He wanted to see how long he could hold out.

...

"Hah!"

Time ticked by, and the sky outside the window darkened. The Digimon outside began to light campfires; Lalamon had even taken out the picnic gear from Qin Fei’s box and was starting to cook something with surprising proficiency.

Qin Fei lay exhausted on the dojo floor, unwilling to move a single finger. However, he felt that the Digisoul within him had never been this active; it seemed that if he could just break through one final barrier, he would gain an unimaginably vast amount of Digisoul power. Marcus and the others were the same—though physical exhaustion left them unwilling to move, their hearts and spirits felt as if they were brimming with power.

"Rest for a while and eat something. Once you've recovered, we continue!"

BanchoLeomon pulled a bag of food from nowhere and tossed it in front of them.

"How much longer is this going to take? I can't take it anymore!!!" Yoshino, as the only girl in the group, finally couldn't help but complain. After all, they had been worn down by these dummies for the better part of the day.

"Mastering the Digisoul requires a persistent heart and the grit to never give up. At your current level, you are still far off..." BanchoLeomon looked at them with a sense of disappointment.

Lying on the ground, Qin Fei began to miss the enemies from the original story. It was the threat of Bio-Digimon endangering their partner Digimon that had forced Marcus and the others to awaken their Ultimate Digisoul at the final moment. But now, in this safe environment, that feeling of being on the verge of a breakthrough remained elusive.

Thinking slowly, Qin Fei closed his eyes. After a full day of toil, he had grown accustomed to meditating; it was a habit he had developed since coming to this world. Whether after finishing a digital incident or a day of boxing and physical training, meditation helped him quickly adjust his fatigued body to a more comfortable state. It seemed the Digisoul of this world was quite compatible with meditative exercises, which was one of the reasons he was able to keep up with Marcus.

"..."

However, he hadn't expected that as he entered deep meditation, a layer of refined, solid Digisoul would cover his entire body, clearly nearing the level of an Ultimate. Watching the steady, sharp light enveloping Qin Fei, everyone turned their gazes toward him in surprise.

"Hmm, it seems this boy has good intuition. He might be about to master the Ultimate Digisoul."

Hearing BanchoLeomon say this, Marcus gritted his teeth. His exhausted body tried desperately to pull itself up; he refused to admit defeat, and he did not want to fall behind Qin Fei again.

"As the top brawler of Sakuramoto, how can I just lie here... Again!!!"

Marcus assumed a fighting stance. After glancing at Qin Fei, he gathered every ounce of his remaining strength to rise and continue battling the dummies. Just then, driven by his refusal to fall behind, a powerful light erupted from Marcus's entire body, as bright and fiery as the sun.

"Th-this is?"

Seeing Marcus's current state, BanchoLeomon’s shoulders relaxed slightly, as if the person he cared about most had finally lived up to expectations. However, his expression remained stern.

"It's not enough! Do not let your emotions dictate your actions; you must use your will to control the Digisoul!" BanchoLeomon looked at his "son" and reminded him, "What is your wish?"

"My wish...?"

Hearing BanchoLeomon’s guidance, the faces of many people flashed through Marcus's heart: his sister Kristy, his mother Sarah, Agumon, and even his father...

"I want to protect the people who are important to me!"

As Marcus spoke his wish, a layer of solid Digisoul, just like the one on Qin Fei, surged over his body.

"It seems you have finally understood." BanchoLeomon nodded, a touch of gratification appearing on his stern face.

"What do you mean?"

Facing the questions from Thomas and Yoshino, BanchoLeomon explained, "The Digisoul is the power of human intent, and Digimon respond to it. When your will can control it, the Ultimate Digisoul is born."

BanchoLeomon's words seemed to finally awaken the others. Thomas and Yoshino immediately displayed expressions of realization.

With two roars, pink and blue Ultimate Digisouls successfully appeared on each of them.

"Now, inject this Digisoul into your Digivices!"

The group nodded. The awakening of the Ultimate Digisoul had made them trust BanchoLeomon completely. The moment they each injected their Digisoul into their respective Digivices, the devices evolved as well.