Hogwarts: I'm the only cultivator here!

Before Nawei could finish speaking, a dragon boat that had broken through the encirclement and was slowly catching up with Ye Feng and his group was intercepted by the 'golden light' and blasted into two pieces. With the impact, the thing's speed was reduced considerably, and they finally saw what it was.

Harry is right, but not quite right either, because it was indeed a Looping Ball, but it was not an ordinary Looping Ball, because it had been modified and dyed gold, making it more powerful, faster, and more unpredictable.

Since it's a magical world, the dragon boat race can't just be a simple race. So Ye Feng prepared a surprise for all the participants: some modified bouncy balls will randomly appear during the race, and these bouncy balls will collide with everything along the way.

Of course, to avoid causing any deaths, the Wandering Ball releases a protective spell when it hits an object, so even though the dragon boat was blown up and broken in two, no one on board was injured.

However, although this roaming ball did not cause any casualties, it did open a Pandora's box.

Since 'wandering balls' appear during dragon boat races, doesn't that mean they can also attack other people? So, some wizards who fell into the water began to use magic to attack those who were rowing their boats smugly.

With a 'fainting' sound, the surface of Black Lake instantly lit up with multicolored lights. The fishmen at the bottom of the lake, who were either still harboring evil intentions or hating Ye Feng but dared not make a move and could only watch with gritted teeth, were completely stunned by the dazzling light.

During the previous flying broomstick competition, the track was very long and had many traps. Black Lake was just one section of the track, so the murlocs only managed to intercept a small number of students. But things are different now.

Dragon boat racing is a race on boats, so it takes place on water. The vast Black Lake became the best racecourse. As a result, almost all the students of Hogwarts, and even the teachers and students, were on the lake. Therefore, the magical melee this time was far more spectacular than the previous one.

If the previous battle was a normal one, then this one was an epic battle. It could be said that at this moment, the surface of Black Lake was shining with magical light, and even the ship that Ye Feng and his group were on, which was moving the fastest, was shrouded in magic.

Fortunately, Ye Feng and his companions were truly skilled in magic. Upon discovering that someone was attacking them, Ye Feng immediately took on the responsibility of defense, drumming to keep the rhythm while defending against the occasional incoming magic. The counterattack was left to Hermione and Cho Chang.

Yes, Harry, the original protagonist, didn't get to appear. He was still rowing hard, but he didn't complain at all, because when it came to magic, he really wasn't as good as Cho Chang or Hermione.

There's no way around it; Cho Chang is the top student in Ravenclaw and even in their grade, and she's a year ahead of Ye Feng and the others. Moreover, she's enjoyed the most of Ye Feng's good things, since Ye Feng stayed at Cho Chang's house during the holidays. So, in terms of spells and magic, she's a level above Harry and Hermione.

As for Hermione, she goes without saying. She's a powerhouse in Gryffindor who can even outshine her Ravenclaw peers. Plus, she loves reading, so she knows at least twice as much magic as Harry and Ron.

Faced with these two top students, Harry and his friends naturally had to step aside, and those who attacked Ye Feng's ship soon learned what regret meant.

It can only be said that Zhang Qiu and Hermione are indeed top students. The number of magic they have mastered is really large. Even Ye Feng is a little embarrassed by the number. Although he can basically learn it with just a glance, he is too lazy to look at it. So although he also knows a lot of magic, it is not extensive. He only knows the main ones.

But Hermione is different from Cho Chang and the others. They really know everything, so the magic they use to fight back is never the same. The most outrageous thing is that they can also coordinate their spells. For example, if you throw a Flurry spell, I'll throw a Petrify spell that follows your Flurry spell.

Hermione and Cho Chang's powerful counterattack caused a lot of people to suffer. Even some of the older students gave up after trying it once, but there were also those who refused to believe in the superstition and not only refused to believe in it themselves, but also started to recruit people everywhere, and they actually managed to recruit quite a few people.

This isn't to say that these people have a strong appeal, nor that Ye Feng and his group are disliked. It's mainly because they have already pulled far ahead of the others. If they weren't restricted, the championship of this competition would undoubtedly belong to Ye Feng and his group.

Since everyone has come to participate in the competition, who wouldn't want to win the championship? So, under someone's call, a large number of contestants set aside some people to attack Ye Feng and his team's dragon boat.

Surprisingly, this trick actually works quite well.

Chapter 163 Ye Feng: Dumbledore's shield is useful!

Magic is something that depends on talent. Even if Ye Feng is excluded from the dragon boat team, the rest of them are all top-tier talents in the entire magic world. So, although they are all relatively young, their strength is really strong.

However, although they were very strong, there is a saying that two fists can't beat four hands. In addition, Ye Feng couldn't perform too outrageously, otherwise the competition would be meaningless. So Ye Feng also saw that he was starting to be 'unable to defend', which forced them to allocate more manpower to defend.

With more people defending against other people's magic, there were naturally fewer people rowing the boat. As a result, the boat moved slower, and the people behind slowly began to catch up.

If things continue like this, Ye Feng and his group might actually be worn down by them in the end. So Ye Feng and his group began to think of a way to break the deadlock. Just then, a ship came into Ye Feng's view. The reason why Ye Feng noticed this ship was that it had actually taken advantage of the fact that they were being targeted to quietly overtake them.

"Look over there! Headmaster Dumbledore and his group are about to overtake us! Focus fire on them!" As he spoke, Ye Feng took the lead in attacking Dumbledore's dragon boat, which had been secretly gaining momentum while they were engaged in fierce fighting.

Dumbledore: (キ｀?Д??)!!

"Ye Feng!!!"

Ye Feng's shout successfully drew some of the others' attention, and Dumbledore's 'good students' were instantly enraged to see their headmaster trying to steal the tower while they were focusing their fire on Ye Feng. As a result, Dumbledore and his group were then targeted by the same group.

The students of Hogwarts had long understood a principle: there is no distinction between teacher and student during a competition; there are only participants. And as long as you are a participant, it doesn't matter who you are. If you are in front of me, I can make a move. Thus, Dumbledore's dragon boat was enveloped in dazzling light.

"Wow...this is terrifying. These guys are really crazy. They're even more aggressive than when they were dealing with us."

"Phew~ Yeah, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Ye Feng: [?_??]

Looking at Harry and the others who had relaxed, Ye Feng's mind was full of questions. "I found Dumbledore and called on the others to focus their fire. They successfully attracted most of the firepower so that you could rest."

"What are you doing? If you don't hurry up and row the boat while their attention is on Headmaster Dumbledore and the others, it'll be hard for us to escape once they realize what's happening!"

Luna and others: Σ(?д?)

"That's right, quick! Row the boat and let's get going while they're not paying attention!"

While everyone else was distracted by Dumbledore and his group, Ye Feng and his companions rowed away as fast as they could. However, not everyone was paying attention to Dumbledore and his group; a considerable number of people were still watching Ye Feng and his group, so their actions were quickly discovered.

So, at the urging of some people, some began to change targets. However, with Dumbledore and the others sharing some of the firepower, Ye Feng and his group were able to barely keep up. So, although they were still a bit slower, they gradually widened the gap with the others.

Dumbledore's group of professors fared much worse.

They were already behind because they failed to escape the vortex at the starting point before the start of the competition. Now that they had just broken through the encirclement and become the 'leaders', Ye Feng pulled them down, and their speed slowed down immediately. As a result, they were caught up by those behind them.

Although they are still a little behind the others, that distance is not enough for them to completely break away. It can be said that as long as they make a mistake, the others will overtake them. So Dumbledore, who is in charge of the helm, is furious.

"Let's give it our all! Ye Feng and his gang aren't too far away. If we just work harder, we can catch up with them. Once we do, we'll show them whether these 'old bones' are all talk and no action!"

"Oh!"

Inspired by Dumbledore, the professors on the ship were in high spirits. Although the crew members were not young, it was normal for wizards to live to be two or three hundred years old. In addition, they had been doing morning exercises regularly in the past two years, so their physical condition was not bad.

Of course, the most important thing was that they had Hagrid. With Hagrid's physique, he could do the work of three people on his own, so his oars had to be bigger. And bigger oars meant a larger draft and stronger power. So you could clearly see that every time Hagrid rowed hard, their boat would lurch forward a bit.

Seeing that the professors were giving it their all, the other students naturally didn't want to fall behind. While one or two of their companions were attacking and defending, they were also rowing vigorously. As a result, the light on the Black Lake was reduced by more than half, but more turbulent white streaks appeared.

Seeing that the attacks had lessened, Dumbledore and the others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After all, although the magic these little guys used wasn't particularly powerful offensive magic, the sheer number of spells they used was overwhelming. In addition, the atmosphere set up by Ye Feng had led to a high level of martial spirit at Hogwarts, so even Dumbledore and the others didn't dare to underestimate the combined attack.

Fortunately, the siege is finally coming to an end, and the game has entered the middle and later stages. They have now arrived at the center of Black Lake.

Dragon boat racing is not just about explosive power, but also endurance. After all, rowing like crazy is very physically demanding, especially since the course for Ye Feng and his team's race directly spans the entire Black Lake.

Therefore, when the main force reached the center of the lake, even though their physical condition had been enhanced, many of them began to gradually lose strength and slow down, including Ye Feng and his group.

At this point, the human body has not actually reached its limit. It's just that the brain sends a signal to you to reduce the burden on the body, telling you that you have reached your limit. To truly reach the body's limit at this point, you need a tiny bit of external stimulation.

then…

"Hey, do you guys sense anything's wrong?"

"Really? It's quite quiet, it's fine. What's wrong?"

"Do you guys feel the same way? I thought it was just my imagination. I just noticed it; the water flow in the lake is a bit off. It's like something huge is moving in the water and disrupting the normal flow."

"Huh? Something huge? No way!"

"Yes, you guys shouldn't forget that this competition was proposed by that guy, and that guy... his rule of competition has always been... no rules, so good luck from now on."

"Shit! Row faster! Don't block the way! Don't look back!!!"

Suddenly, a huge howl came from the back, and then the dragon boat that made the sound shot forward like an arrow, as if some flood or ferocious beast was chasing them.

Others: [?_??] (キ｀?Д??)!!

"Run! No, paddle faster!"

After glancing back to realize something was wrong, everyone went crazy, because it wasn't just that there seemed to be some kind of monster behind them, there really was something there!

Behind them, a ten-meter-high giant wave was rolling in, but that was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that within and above the giant wave, there were countless strange creatures with flying scales and claws, which were very similar to the patterns on Ye Feng's ship. They had a waist circumference of half a meter but a body length of more than ten meters and were constantly moving around.

Ye Feng: How can a dragon boat race be held without dragons? I can't get a real dragon, but I can condense water dragons, ice dragons, and the like using talismans.

Chapter 164 Not being human, but not completely not being human.

"Run!"

"We're going to die, paddle faster!"

"Damn it! Ye Feng is being inhuman again!"

"Quick! Charge in and kill Ye Feng and his gang!"

Ye Feng: (￣ー￣)

Harry: (キ｀?Д??)!!

Looking at the towering waves behind them, not to mention anyone else, even Harry, who was on the same ship, wanted to beat up Ye Feng.

There were at least five-meter-high waves, and there were things that should be called dragons in the waves. If they were caught, their small wooden boats would be completely destroyed.

Driven by the desire for victory (to escape), most people unleashed their full potential, squeezing every last drop of energy from their bodies to paddle forward, causing the white waves on the lake to surge once more.

There was no way they wouldn't be excited, because they discovered that Ye Feng was truly inhuman.

At first, they thought that the giant waves would at most capsize their boats, but they could still get back up and continue the race after the waves subsided. They also thought that even if the boats weren't sturdy enough and were smashed, the people would be fine.

But they were wrong, because several slow boats were swept to the bottom of the lake by the giant waves, and their beautifully decorated boats were smashed to pieces. The worst offenders were the 'dragons,' which actually went after the people.

While they might not actually get hurt, they'll inevitably have to drink some water and do a few 360-degree rolls.

Keep in mind that these were all young ladies, many of them quite beautiful and could be considered top beauties, but Ye Feng still showed no mercy and let the giant wave swallow them whole, which shows that Ye Feng really didn't treat people like human beings.

It was precisely because of this precedent that those who were not caught up later had no more hope. If they didn't want to end up like those twenty or thirty classmates who were swept away and didn't know where they ended up, there was only one way: to paddle as hard as they could.

However, they all misunderstood Ye Feng, because he didn't actually have any intention of targeting anyone. That thing was just a 'transition animation,' the kind of thing that would automatically activate after a certain stage of the competition. In other words, if they were later in the game, they would still be swallowed up by the giant wave.

Therefore, Ye Feng was also desperately banging on the drum.

There was no other way. As the conductor and drummer, all he could do was beat the drum to control Harry and the others' rowing rhythm and make the boat go faster. After all, looking at the murderous eyes of those people behind them, including Dumbledore and his men, they would definitely not have a good ending if they were caught up. So the best way was to avoid being caught.

As the giant waves crashed down, everyone unleashed their full potential, making the dragon boat even faster than it had been at the beginning. However, human potential and endurance have their limits, so after paddling for a while longer, the speed gradually decreased.

Fortunately, Ye Feng still had some humanity. When he designed these talismans, he didn't intend to kill everyone. So, after chasing for a distance—that is, after crossing the center of the lake and moving forward a quarter of the way—the giant waves behind him gradually subsided.

At this point, only a quarter of the way to the race remained, and most of the players were completely exhausted.

In other words, the next quarter of the journey will be a test of willpower and teamwork. If the crew of that ship has strong enough willpower and is united enough, they will be able to persevere and cross the finish line.

Ye Feng and his group were relatively lucky because even if they ran out of energy and slowed down, the others still couldn't catch up in a short time. They only needed to take it one step at a time to win the championship. But Dumbledore and his group were in a terrible situation.

Although they had Hagrid, a top-tier athlete in terms of stamina and endurance, the others were all getting on in years. Even the youngest, Lupin, was in his thirties or forties. As a result, their explosive power and endurance couldn't match those of the younger students, and their advantage was slowly being erased.

Fortunately, although their bodies were at their limit, their willpower was much stronger. And as the saying goes, experience is the best teacher; they actually learned to take turns rowing without anyone teaching them, which allowed a small group of people to take turns catching their breath.

Although this didn't restore them, this last bit of energy allowed them to last longer than others. So even as they were slowly being overtaken, they paddled forward with unwavering determination. In this relentless, all-consuming instinct, where only rowing remained, the finish line gradually appeared before them.

"That's... the finish line!"

The moment they saw the finish line, everyone's spirit and will, their bodies that had been completely drained of strength, seemed to be revitalized. A warm current slowly surged from the deepest part of their bodies, which gave everyone a jolt.

"Paddle! The finish line is in sight!"

Suddenly, someone shouted, and the contestants, whose consciousness was slowly returning but whose bodies were still instinctively and mechanically paddling, suddenly shuddered. At that moment, the warm current flowed through their bodies, giving them renewed vitality.

"Charge!!! Destroy human tyranny! The world belongs to... cough cough, the finish line is in sight, whoever wins the championship can beat up Ye Feng!"