332: Chapter 325 Let's examine your soul and enter a prize draw.

A few days later, Toby and Wino successfully returned to the starting point carrying the black cat's head.

The journey was mostly peaceful, aside from the last remaining solo contestant who attempted a sneak attack but was dealt with by the two; no other incidents occurred.

When the two figures emerged from the forest, despite the audience coming from different countries on Blue Star, they were met with a mountain-shaking, sea-tsunami-like roar of applause.

Toby was slightly taken aback for a moment but soon felt a sense of relief as he understood why; every spectator had a reason to applaud.

For the audience from Ying Country, the two were their fellow countrymen, and their victory was worth celebrating. For the foreign audience, everyone was a resident of Blue Star, so they naturally had reason to be happy as well.

In short, everyone felt like they had won.

Dumbledore flew out from a tree branch, suspended in mid-air as he announced the two as the champions of this final, noting that the prizes would be awarded at the start of the next semester.

As for the three missing people, he stated there was no need to worry.

That black cat was a magical creature Dumbledore had specifically found to play the villain, named 'Huan'.

'Huan's' abilities were very singular and not particularly powerful, only capable of creating some simple illusions.

After Dumbledore caught it, he made a pact: as long as it could trick all the contestants into the tree hollow—which was 'Huan's' lair—he would release it.

Otherwise... the victory conditions of the competition had already been explained.

Following this, Dumbledore pulled out his teaching rod staff to cast a spell, leading everyone back to Blue Star.

...

Outside the arena, teams were still arriving one after another, and the area was already packed to the point that not a drop of water could leak through.

Just like those who arrived first, they did not dare to rashly step into the arena to do anything to the spectators who were sleeping with their eyes closed.

It wasn't that they were worried about everyone's safety—after all, one shouldn't overestimate the moral bottom line of certain countries—they were simply terrified that causing trouble would draw the old man's gaze.

The traces of several supernatural interventions made it clear: no matter how powerful one's country was, there was only one outcome if the supernatural came looking for trouble—the country would tie them up tight and hand them over to atone for their sins.

The Ying Country team on standby at the perimeter waited from day until night, their hearts filled with anxiety as they paced back and forth.

The Queen's soul had been out of her body for nearly ten hours. Although her current body had regained its youth and all functions were at their peak, she wouldn't be able to hold out if she went without food or water for too long.

The group couldn't help but whisper among themselves, discussing that if the Queen remained asleep after reaching the limit of human endurance, they would have to take a risk.

Someone in the team voiced an objection.

"I believe with Mr. Dumbledore present, the Queen's safety will not be in danger."

"It would certainly be easy for the supernatural to maintain the Queen's physical health, but they might not necessarily care. Or rather, they can go a long time without eating and might overlook that ordinary people rely on food to keep their bodies running."

"No, no, no, Dum... Look!" The person in the white coat who was arguing stopped mid-sentence, suddenly standing on tiptoe to look toward the arena and shouting loudly to his companions.

His voice was high-pitched, attracting the researchers from nearby teams, and then the reaction spread like a photocopy to the distance. Soon, everyone noticed that people inside the arena were slowly opening their eyes.

The awakened spectators didn't seem to have reacted yet; their eyes were dazed, and they turned their heads to look around. Only when they saw their companions and relatives did they snap out of it—their souls had returned.

The awakening was not simultaneous; some spectators woke sooner than others, some faster and some slower, likely influenced by their physical constitution, as everyone's body is different.

The excited team researchers restrained their emotions until everyone had regained consciousness, then they sprinted toward the arena while signaling for their equipment to follow.

Entering the field at the same time were the colleagues of the news reporters who had been responsible for taking over while their souls were away.

Suleiman, surrounded by bodyguards, came over to stop the team, instructing them not to move yet; they could get busy researching souls after Mr. Dumbledore had left.

He was also afraid of annoying the old man, because people really could die.

The news reporters, however, had no such scruples and approached the spectators whose eyes were now clear to begin interviews.

"I am a reporter from XX Times. May I ask, do souls really exist? Where did Mr. Dumbledore take your souls?"

"Sir, sir, I am a reporter from XX Daily. What did it feel like for your soul to leave your body? Was there a difference from controlling your physical body?"

"And have you weighed yourself? Does it match the results of the MacDougall soul experiment?!" A large group of reporters crowded around; those in the back couldn't squeeze in and could only stand on tiptoe, struggling to stretch their microphones toward the man's face.

This spectator didn't mind the reporters' "aggressive approach" and waved his hand cheerfully, saying, "I'm sorry, lady, there were no scales at the arena, so I can't give you an answer."

Hearing the words "the arena," the reporters' ears immediately perked up.

"Where is the arena? Is it Hogwarts? Can you describe it in detail?"

"Alright, alright, no problem, but don't be so noisy, or my voice will be drowned out, won't it?"

The reporters thought about it and agreed, quickly falling silent like hungry infants, blinking their eyes in anticipation of the man's feeding.

"Well..." The man crossed his arms, organizing his thoughts in his mind before speaking slowly. "After Mr. Dumbledore released his magic, our souls left our bodies.

The feeling... was very wonderful. My consciousness remained clear, and in front of me were various colors twisted together, spinning constantly. Strangely, I didn't feel dizzy."

"Like a spatial tunnel in a movie's special effects?" a reporter asked.

"Yes, exactly!" The man's eyes lit up. "That's the feeling, like I was traveling through time and space to a strange world.

Oh, and the place where we landed was indeed a strange world."

"What kind of world was it?" The reporter's face was full of longing and envy. "Were there strange creatures and plants running around everywhere, or something else?"

"There were many creatures and plants I'd never seen before, but what shocked me the most was the World Tree!"

The World Tree?

Isn't that the celestial tree from Norse mythology? What does it have to do with Hogwarts? Wasn't the topic change a bit too abrupt?

The reporter's confusion was soon answered as the man explained, "Of course, 'World Tree' probably isn't its original name; we just felt that 'World Tree' was very appropriate."

"Why?"

"It's tall!" The man raised his arms to gesture, his face beaming. "Do you know? The very first second I regained my sight, I saw that tree.

It stood straight in the forest, its cylindrical trunk even piercing into the clouds, hiding its canopy within them.

At first, I thought it was a mountain peak because I couldn't see the canopy, and it was so towering, until I discovered giant falling leaves drifting down from the clouds."

"How... how big?" The reporter tried to imagine in their mind how vast the falling leaves of such a tree could be.

However, because they hadn't seen the real thing, the image that was about to emerge always got stuck at the crucial part.

"Let me think how to describe it..." The man spread his arms, saying thoughtfully, "I think... the area could easily cover a villa."

"My God! What kind of leaf is that?"

At this moment, the reporters all somewhat regretted the questions they asked. Knowing that a miracle existed in the distance but being unable to fulfill the wish to see it was too agonizing!

"Everyone." Dumbledore's figure appeared on the central wooden platform at some point, announcing to the crowd with a smile, "First, let us celebrate the successful conclusion of the 1,323rd Grand Magic Competition. Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation.

As a reward, I will select one lucky person from the audience to receive a Hogwarts freshman school uniform as a souvenir."

A school uniform? A magician's school uniform? It couldn't possibly be ordinary clothes, right?

The scene went completely wild, and the spectators immediately abandoned the reporters, surging toward the wooden platform.

The reporters who arrived later thought to themselves: Although I arrived late, I still participated in the closing ceremony, so I count as a spectator, right?

They stopped working and squeezed in along with the audience.

The grounds were vast, but they couldn't withstand the surge of tens of thousands of people. Some people were swept up by the crowd until their feet left the ground, and it looked like a stampede accident was about to happen.

The old man raised his staff, and tens of thousands of people once again felt themselves imprisoned by some force, unable to move.

"There is no need to rush, everyone. The lucky draw will be held tomorrow. As for the method, you will know when the time comes."

After saying this, the old man's body turned illusory and vanished.

Having regained control of their bodies, everyone was in no mood to be interviewed. They left the arena through the gates in all four directions and returned to their camps to prepare dinner, while also looking forward to tomorrow's draw.

However, after successfully starting their fires, they finally noticed something unusual.

They did indeed feel very hungry, but... wait, that's not right...

With strange expressions, everyone looked up and met the eyes of the surrounding spectators. Seeing the same surprise and suspicion in each other's eyes, they all reached out and pulled out their Mobile Phones to check.

Sure enough, only ten or so hours had passed since they left.

The flow of time was different on both sides?

Most people were just amazed by the bizarre phenomenon, but the pupils of some with deep attainments in Physics subconsciously constricted.

Hogwarts was also an independent space, but it still belonged to the same 'universe' as Blue Star; the dates of the Queen's two round trips had already proven this.

This time, they had been gone for nearly a month, yet only ten or so hours had passed on Blue Star, meaning that place was... was truly another 'universe'!

What did that mean?

It meant that place was a new world, a new world unrelated to Blue Star.

Resources like minerals, ecology, timber, and so on were all undeveloped.

And oil, oil was the same!

Oh, this last gentleman was from America.

The spectators' shock soon reached the reporters' ears and was then reported to Suleiman by his subordinates.

Unlike everyone else who was dreaming of a new world, Suleiman was uninterested.

So what if it was a brand-new world? It had a master, a very powerful master capable of crushing humanity.

Shaking his head to put the matter aside, he approached the Queen, who was currently surrounded by medical instruments, and asked the doctor who was writing on a chart: "How is the situation?"

"Preliminary results show the Queen's body is very healthy.

For further testing, she needs to go to the hospital. Prince Suleiman, as you know, many large pieces of equipment couldn't be brought here."

"I see." He looked at the Queen, who was standing up. "Mother, we are going to the Royal Hospital right now."

"I am fine, Suleiman."

"But..."

The Queen waved her hand to interrupt him: "That is not important. We need to... while watching the competition, Mr. Dumbledore revealed some... matters to me."

"Wha..."

"We'll talk when we get back." She glanced at the China team that was packing up their instruments and led Suleiman into the car to leave.

The China team leader watched the convoy disappear at the end of the road and said with a smile to his colleague: "They asked us to come help, but they're still keeping their guard up."

"Helping doesn't get in the way of being guarded. Besides, did we really accept the invitation because we were worried about her health?" the subordinate said while busy packing small equipment into a toolbox.

"True enough." The leader crouched down to help, muttering, "There really are souls. What kind of state of existence is it?

Humans haven't found a single trace of it for so many years."

The subordinate said cheerfully: "Don't they say that the matter we can currently observe only accounts for five percent of the total?

It's normal not to be able to see souls."

"Whatever. After we get back, I'll apply to the higher-ups to see if we can ask the Mountain Gate to help provide some research ideas and materials."

Hearing the leader say this, the subordinate looked up, scanned the other countries' teams nearby who were looking miserable, and said proudly: "It's good to enjoy the shade under a big tree."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and pack so we can go home."

The results of the other teams were basically the same as the China team; not a single abnormality was found.

According to the volunteers who participated in the research, they had 'traveled' for nearly a month, yet only ten or so hours had passed on Blue Star.

This left the white coats utterly confused.

No matter what kind of existence the soul was, energy was conserved. Actions always required energy support, right?

If it wasn't replenished in time, the reaction in reality should have been the body becoming weak and fatigued, and it wouldn't even be impossible to faint directly.

But all the volunteers stated that they were just a little hungry.

Well, that was normal, because their stomachs had been empty for over ten hours.

The white coats didn't find what they wanted until the volunteers couldn't stand the hunger and ran to the camp to cook.

They didn't dare to force the spectators to cooperate with them either. The professors of the three magic academies and Dumbledore were gone, but the professors' students were all riding broomsticks, performing various fancy aerial maneuvers right above their heads.

Soon, a night passed.

At dawn the next day, as the morning sun peeked over the horizon, the well-rested spectators crawled out of their tents one after another. While preparing breakfast, they looked around for the 'lucky draw official'.

They discussed among themselves that it might be Mr. Dumbledore presiding in person; otherwise, the candidate would be the Queen.

In the eyes of the Ying Country public, and even the whole world, the Queen was practically the spokesperson for Hogwarts on Blue Star.

However, the facts deviated from their speculation.

When the sun had climbed high into the sky, casting its brilliance upon the earth, the crowd did not see Dumbledore flying from the horizon or the Queen arriving in a special car.

Replacing them was a Snowy Owl, white all over as if untouched by any worldly pollution.

The Snowy Owl flapped its wings and circled above the camp, its 'cooing' calls echoing all around.

An Owl? From Hogwarts? Is it in charge of the draw?

Everyone on the ground dropped their chores and looked up with hands on their hips.

"Coo coo." The Snowy Owl's wings suddenly folded, and like a sharp arrow, it dove straight down from the sky at an angle.

Its speed was so fast that people couldn't help but worry it would crash to its death.

Clearly, their worries were unnecessary.

The moment before it hit the ground, the Snowy Owl spread its wings, its agile form jerking to a halt in the air before it gently landed on the head of a woman in her fifties.

Surrounding gazes converged on her, and the woman seemed startled, her whole body suddenly going stiff.