"Are you lords?" the person registering asked.
"Yes, we are lords. What's wrong?" several people inquired.
"It's like this, if lords participate, it will certainly disrupt the fairness, so your lords' competitions are held separately. For the top three winners, we have some little gifts for you," the other party replied.
"Oh, what is it?" the few asked curiously.
"It's this."
The other party pointed to the rewards beside them. They were three dragon-shaped dragon boat models, one plated in gold, one in silver, and one in copper, with five of each.
"These are unique to our Luo City, and we give out three of them each year to reward the winning lords."
The three looked, thinking it was something good, but it turned out to be this. They immediately felt it was uninteresting.
"Don't underestimate these things. They will change after being placed in your lord's space,"
the other party replied.
"Oh, this thing has such a function?" The three were surprised.
Then they used the ability of the Lord's Heart to examine the item.
[Item: Dragon Boat]
[Quality: D]
[Description: A special item for Luo City's festival. Place this item in your territory to build a dragon boat.]
"It's actually a dragon boat building!" The three were indeed a little surprised.
Ye Bufan and Lin Tan weren't particularly concerned.
But Zhou Yan really wanted to get it. This was a brand-new building, and it would definitely evolve into a very good building. He had to get first place.
"We have to go all out this time. I really want this thing," Zhou Yan said very seriously.
"You're serious?" The two looked at him curiously.
"Since we're here, how can we not be serious?" Zhou Yan replied.
"Then let's get first place," Ye Bufan said.
The three boarded the dragon boat. Zhou Yan asked, "Has anyone here played with this thing before?"
"First time," Ye Bufan replied.
"First time," Lin Tan also replied.
Zhou Yan replied, "Me too."
The three: "......"
They also knew that this thing required coordination, otherwise, they would only spin in circles.
"It's time to test our coordination. Don't mess up."
They started boarding the boat and preparing for the competition. All the participating teams were lord teams, with at least four people per team.
There were only the three of them in their team. Most teams had at least four people, but these people were here to play with friends. Only one team looked professional, likely a team dispatched by the organizers.
Lin Tan even saw two classmates he had met in the inn participating in the competition, although they didn't know each other.
There was a very large crowd of onlookers on the bridge.
However, the competition hadn't started yet, and many boats were already spinning in place. Some even fell into the water, causing many people to burst into laughter.
Zhou Yan, Ye Bufan, and Lin Tan were all quite skilled. Coupled with Zhou Yan's strong desire for the reward, the three were serious and quickly grasped the basic paddling techniques.
The lord teams would compete first, followed by the ordinary people's competition.
As dozens of teams got ready, a starting gun shot into the sky, and a slogan of commencement followed.
"Go!"
Twenty lord teams began to move towards the water. However, at the start, many boats already deviated from their course, colliding with other teams. Several lords were even knocked into the water.
More laughter erupted from the bridge.
After all, they weren't professionals, and they were just playing for fun. They didn't really care about the so-called rewards.
Paddling a dragon boat requires controlling the force on both sides and coordinating well, otherwise, it would be a mess.
Although Zhou Yan's team had fewer people, they wouldn't have coordination issues due to too many people.
They chanted "One, two, one, two" and began to move forward slowly.
One lord team was very fast and rhythmic, immediately taking the lead.
Since Zhou Yan's team was serious, they naturally didn't want to lose to others. He said, "We can't lose to others."
"The rules of the competition don't seem to prohibit using skills, do they?" Zhou Yan said.
"It seems so," Lin Tan replied.
"Do you know water magic?" Ye Bufan asked.
"It's not necessarily water magic that's required."
Zhou Yan smiled. As long as the strength was sufficient, what need was there for water magic?
Thus, he circulated his spiritual energy, controlled the hull, and slammed his hands backward.
"Bang!"
An explosion sound erupted on the water's surface, and the entire boat began to move forward rapidly.
"Don't just stand there, channel your power into the oars; it can significantly increase the speed," Zhou Yan quickly reminded them.
He genuinely wanted to win first place, as this reward would be very useful to him.
"Oh, okay, okay."
The two quickly channeled their power into the oars, one on each side. Then Zhou Yan activated "Dou Zhuan Xing Yi" (Shifting Stars), minimizing the water resistance and doubling the boat's speed.
Using an R-grade skill, especially for a competition, was probably a first for Zhou Yan.
Several teams behind them also used their abilities, but due to improper use, they spun into whirlpools.
However, several teams still followed closely behind, just not as fast as Zhou Yan's team.
The spectators on the shore watched the dragon boats in the river, which seemed to be rushing forward like speedboats.
"Good heavens, you can play like that?"
"If you were a lord, you could play like that too."
"How I envy their strength."
"Is that person a water mage? He's turned dragon boat racing into flying a ship."
"I guess that person used water magic, but I don't know what kind of water magic it is."
"To get first place, these three youngsters are really giving their all."
...
Ye Bufan and Lin Tan were also filled with many questions, not knowing what method Zhou Yan was using.
They felt a very powerful spiritual energy fluctuation, far beyond their expectations, and they even felt unable to compete.
They were very curious about what realm Zhou Yan had cultivated to, to possess such immense power.
Was he really from an ordinary family?
But they put their doubts aside and focused on finishing the race first.
Their speed was astonishing, like a speedboat, and they quickly overtook the leading team.
The leading team was stunned by Zhou Yan's speed and then said, "This year is good, encountering such a team. Brothers, let's go, or we'll let outsiders take our first place."
"Alright, let them know what professionalism is."
"Prepare, one, two, three, let's go!"
This lord team was from the local organizers. When they saw someone surpassing them, they also began to use their respective abilities. The entire dragon boat's speed surged several times, as if it had been given a cheat, and it surged forward.
Zhou Yan saw this and thought, "Good heavens, as expected of professionals, they caught up so quickly."
He released the Yin and Yang energy within him, forming a Tai Chi diagram in the water. This Tai Chi diagram, like a paddle machine, doubled the speed of the entire dragon boat again.
"Holy crap, Zhou Yan, did you eat Wei Ge? Your speed has increased again."
Lin Tan was startled by the sudden increase in speed.
"Kid, are you planning to go all out? Then let me lend you a hand."
Seeing Zhou Yan's earnest effort to win first place, Ye Bufan erupted with a golden light. Everyone seemed to hear a dragon's roar, and then saw a dragon-shaped phantom enveloping the entire dragon boat, doubling its speed once more.
Consequently, the spectators on the shore saw a golden dragon phantom speeding across the river. The water splashed dozens of meters high due to the dragon boat's momentum, drenching countless spectators.
The boats behind were speechless. They could only see a flash of golden light, and then the boat had crossed the finish line.
"Not bad, this team actually beat us."
"So what if they won? We can only say that today's youth are much stronger than us."
"That's good. Look how passionate they are."
"It's been a long time since I've seen such a passionate youngster."
...