Harry Potter: Magic and Guns

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At dawn, ninety-six contestants from eight different divisions departed from their hotels and boarded the enchanted flying boats arranged by the tournament's organizers. Their destination: the Heaven's Gate of Zhongjing City. 

Heaven's Gate was a massive magical teleportation network spanning the entire Taishi Celestial Empire, functioning somewhat like the Floo Network. A single silver coin was all it took to travel to any connected Heaven's Gate, covering vast distances in an instant. However, just like the Floo Network, it had a major drawback—severe dizziness after repeated use. It was like an amplified version of motion sickness, and even stimulant potions weren't particularly effective in countering it. The longer the teleportation distance, the stronger the nausea. 

Because of this, many preferred the slower but far more comfortable flying boats. In England, wizards who disliked Floo Powder or Portkeys would rather ride their own brooms than rely on public transportation. Take the Knight Bus, for example—its ride quality was even worse than Floo Powder and Portkeys combined. 

What made Heaven's Gate truly unique, however, was that all the gates scattered across various cities and regions were not actual doors. They existed only as magical constructs without physical form. The only real Heaven's Gates were the four grand celestial gates suspended above the clouds—the East, West, South, and North Heaven's Gates—all of which belonged to the legendary Celestial Palace above the Clouds. 

These four colossal gateways formed a seamless, nationwide teleportation system. In times of crisis, the Imperial Guard stationed within the Celestial Palace could instantly deploy anywhere within the empire. 

This skyborne Celestial Palace was, without a doubt, the Taishi Celestial Empire's ultimate national treasure. 

And now, the chosen prodigies from the eight divisions were about to set foot in this floating palace. As the Heaven's Gate of Zhongjing City activated, an enormous stairway extended into the sky—129,600 steps leading to the heavens, representing the unity of all things. Walking up was an unrealistic endeavor. The moment the ninety-six contestants stepped onto the stairs, the steps themselves began to shift, swiftly carrying them toward the heavens. 

It was only then that Harry finally took the time to observe his future opponents. Standing at the highest step of the staircase, he only needed to glance over his shoulder to see the crowd behind him. The positioning was deliberate—each division's first-place winner was granted a spot at the front. However, due to the overwhelming population in certain regions, two divisions had double the usual number of participants—sixteen instead of eight: the East Asia Division, home to the Taishi Celestial Empire, and the Central-Soviet Mixed Division. 

This wasn't considered unfair. These two divisions simply had too many wizards. The Taishi Celestial Empire alone had the highest number of spellcasters in the world—more than double that of the second-place Soviet Union—accounting for 25% of the global wizarding population. And that was only counting human spellcasters. Spellcasting Pandaren, for example, were not included in these statistics. 

In the magical world, a nation's strength was directly tied to the number of its spellcasters. The larger the population, the greater the odds of producing extraordinary talents. With so many birds in the forest, how could you not find a few phoenixes? 

As Harry turned, he immediately felt the weight of many eyes upon him. Unlike the cheerful Xiong Dezhen, who waved enthusiastically with a goofy grin, the others watching him had an entirely different look in their eyes—a playful, almost taunting glint, as if they were eager to see how the so-called "European rookie" would fare. 

Everyone knew Europe was considered the "beginner's zone". 

"Heh." 

Harry responded with a bright, sunny smile, exuding an air of complete harmlessness. During his time with his uncle, he had learned how to suppress his natural aura of death and lethality, which otherwise shone as blatantly as a lighthouse in the dark. 

Meanwhile, the contestants standing behind him—his fellow competitors from the European division—instinctively averted their gazes when Harry looked their way, each silently praying they wouldn't have to face him in the upcoming elimination duels. 

The elimination rounds were brutal. 

A one-on-one duel format, designed to test raw individual power. 

Want to win the championship? Simple—stay undefeated and crush everyone in your path. Even a single loss meant the grand prize of a championship trophy and gold medal would be reduced to just the gold medal—a stark drop in prestige.

Those who claim both the championship trophy and gold medal are the ones truly recognized as dueling champions. However, once a champion has been crowned, they must maintain an undefeated record in order to continue competing in future tournaments. 

This is why consecutive champions hold such immense prestige—one loss is all it takes to end a legacy. There are no second chances, no comebacks. Once defeated, a duelist's record is sealed in history, and they will never again receive an invitation to compete. 

For instance, after Professor Flitwick lost his fifth consecutive title to Grand Ivan, his participation in the world championship was permanently revoked. Instead of another invitation to compete, he was sent a formal invitation to spectate, bearing witness to the rise of the next generation of champions. 

Though the youth division carries slightly less prestige than the main world championship, its winners still gain significant recognition. The most immediate rewards? Official resources, sponsorships, and tournament funding—all heavily invested in nurturing the next great champion. 

— 

The ascending sky stairway moved at an astonishing speed. In just moments, the contestants had risen far above the earth, stepping onto a vast expanse of clouds that stretched out beneath their feet like a boundless, snowy-white carpet. 

And above them—where once they could only glimpse vague, shadowy outlines—the Celestial Palace finally came into full view. 

A sprawling ten-kilometer-wide architectural marvel, its structures extended endlessly, an interconnected maze of towering buildings and intricate halls. The clouds surrounding it rippled like flowing water, shifting with an almost hypnotic rhythm. 

The four celestial gates stood in majestic silence. Towering at nearly 300 meters high and spanning almost a kilometer across, they loomed over the entrance like divine sentinels. Beyond these monumental gates lay a massive arena plaza, already prepared for the tournament. At its center, a radiant dueling stage covered in crimson fabric stood prominently, capturing the eye like a beacon. 

In the stands, invited spectators and esteemed judges had already taken their seats. 

— 

The opening ceremony commenced with a series of formal speeches, marking the official start of the Youth Spellcaster Dueling Championship. 

One by one, the contestants lined up, each stepping forward to draw their numbered tokens from a white jade box. 

Unlike other tournaments, the organizers had deliberately avoided social mixers or pre-arranged meetings between competitors. While all contestants had been staying in the same hotel, most had little to no interaction unless they were from the same homeland or had randomly crossed paths. This meant that for many, their first real introduction to their competition would come only when facing them in battle. 

The first three rounds of the tournament were randomly assigned and brutally unforgiving—a pure survival test. 

Of the ninety-six contestants, eighty-four would be eliminated immediately. Only the twelve highest scorers would advance to the true final stage, where the real bloodbath would begin. 

— 

"Looks like luck is on my side." 

Harry reached into the selection box, his fingers brushing against the cool surface of a token. Pulling it out, he found himself holding a pristine white jade plaque—its surface etched in golden ink with a single, unmistakable number: 

1. 

"So this is fate telling me the championship is mine, huh?" 

Harry ignored the brief, amused scoff from somewhere behind him. Without a word, he simply turned and made his way to the resting area, casually observing the upcoming match-ups. 

In just a few minutes, his first opponent would be revealed. 

"Hope they give me some fun." 

His lips curled slightly. 

"Let's see just how much stronger the guys outside the beginner's zone really are." 

— 

(End of Chapter)