Am I a Druid?

"Professor! The Whomping Willow hasn't calmed down—it's getting more and more agitated! It looks like it's about to pull itself out of the ground!"

Following the shout, everyone looked toward the Whomping Willow and discovered that the willow tree was indeed twisting its body wildly, trying to break free from the earth!

"What is going on?" Professor McGonagall's eyes widened. Though the Whomping Willow was a magical plant, that did not mean it could move like a living creature. For the past twenty years, it had remained rooted in the soil.

The Whomping Willow's roots ran deep underground. If they were pulled out completely, they would be more than two-thirds longer than its trunk.

"Good grief, it's starting to feel like a Treant!" Chu Yang exclaimed. He had intended to admire the Whomping Willow's might a little longer, but Hermione and Harry grabbed him from either side and started running with him.

Ron and Neville cleared the way ahead.

The two were like a pair of door gods, screaming as they shoved a path open.

Everyone fled in panic. Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch drew their wands and stood firmly between the students and the Whomping Willow, prepared to burn down the tree that had accompanied Hogwarts for so many years.

The Whomping Willow's roots continuously tore through the earth, ripping apart the lush green lawn. Spiderweb-like cracks immediately spread across the once-level ground.

The next second, the Whomping Willow collapsed stiffly onto the ground like a patient with weak legs. With a thunderous crash, dust billowed everywhere!

At the sight, the students stopped and turned back to watch.

Professor McGonagall let out a long breath. Though her body was still trembling slightly, she feigned calm and joked, "See that? That's what happens when you try to run before you've learned to walk. Apart from making people fall over, there won't be a better outcome!"

As expected of the deputy headmistress—she was still thinking of educating the students at a time like this!

"Ahhh!"

The students screamed again!

Professor McGonagall turned around and discovered that the fallen Whomping Willow had not completely lost its vitality. It was crawling like an animal!

Its thick roots and branches resembled a spider's eight legs, propping up its massive body as it crawled at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, the Whomping Willow bypassed Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch, charging straight at the students like a raging bull.

Professor McGonagall drew her wand and cast a Fire Spell, trying to burn the Whomping Willow down. To her surprise, it crawled far faster than she had expected, and the flames only burned away some of its branches.

"Wait." Chu Yang broke free from Harry and Hermione's grip. He sensed that something was strange about the Whomping Willow.

It was clearly coming in his direction, but he was not sure whether it was after him or Harry.

"Chu Yang, run!" Hermione anxiously tugged at Chu Yang's clothes.

Chu Yang explained, "No! Harry and I need to split up from you and run separately. That Whomping Willow is coming for us!"

Hermione turned her head and saw that the Whomping Willow really was charging toward them.

"What are you standing around for? Get on the broomstick and fly in the opposite direction! Don't go where there are lots of people!" Chu Yang handed the flying broomstick to Harry. He did not need it. At his speed, the Whomping Willow would never catch him, not even in its next life.

If Chu Yang had been alone, he would not have needed to run at all. Whether it was Wood Release or Taijutsu, he could have easily dealt with the Whomping Willow.

He could not use such extraordinary power in public. Otherwise, Ministry of Magic officials would come take him away for research tomorrow—or simply lock him in Azkaban.

"I should have kept my wand on me. Why isn't Charms until tomorrow?!" If he had a wand to use as cover, Chu Yang could have used some of Wood Release's power. He regretted it a little and silently vowed to break this bad habit.

After venting, Chu Yang lunged forward and sprinted away!

"Chu Yang, what about you?" Harry tried to grab him, but he was too slow to react. Gritting his teeth, he mounted the broomstick and flew into the air.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have waited here for you!" Hermione, furious beyond measure, turned and ran. Her two short legs moved as if they had been wound up.

After only a few steps, Hermione noticed that there was no movement behind her. Instead of feeling relieved, her heart sank, because that meant Chu Yang had been completely right.

When she looked back, the Whomping Willow had indeed changed direction and was racing after Chu Yang alone!

"Hermione, its target is Chu Yang!"

Harry, flying overhead, was filled with regret!

He had ignored the warnings and chased the Golden Snitch into this place, causing the Whomping Willow's rampage!

More importantly, Chu Yang had given him his flying broomstick!

If anything happened to Chu Yang, Harry felt that he would feel guilty for the rest of his life!

To keep the other students safe, Chu Yang led the Whomping Willow toward the Forbidden Forest. It was sparsely populated there, and it was also the only direction he could run.

The Whomping Willow's enormous body was like a plow. Wherever it charged, the ground was left ravaged and barren.

After running for a while, until no one could be seen behind him,

Chu Yang, who had long run out of patience, stopped at once, clenched his fist, and turned around to punch it.

What Chu Yang had not expected was that after he stopped, the Whomping Willow stopped as well, sliding all the way in front of him on momentum.

Then it quieted down and stopped thrashing. The branches on its trunk slowly drooped around Chu Yang, swaying gently as if it were acting cute?

Chu Yang stared at the enormous thing in front of him with a strange expression...

What was this supposed to be now?

Seeing that Chu Yang did not react, the Whomping Willow stretched a branch in front of him and rubbed it repeatedly against the back of his hand.

"Could it be..."

Chu Yang's eyes widened. He grabbed a branch and poured Magic Power into it.

Magic Power containing immense natural life force entered the Whomping Willow's huge body, and all its branches began dancing excitedly in an instant.

"So it really chased after me because of my Magic Power!" Chu Yang thought about it. It was probably because the Magic Power he had leaked while flying had caused some unknown change in the Whomping Willow.

Judging from its behavior, it was likely an extremely beneficial change. The original Whomping Willow had instincts that ordinary plants lacked, but this Whomping Willow seemed to possess greater intelligence.

Under the influence of the special Magic Power, it was developing in the direction of a "living creature"!

"If this keeps up, won't I become a Druid?" Chu Yang was dumbfounded. This was a path he had never considered.

The Whomping Willow was not thinking about any of that. It kept rubbing against Chu Yang, like a kitten or puppy trying to please its owner in hopes of getting more food.

The child was hungry. Give it some Magic Power to eat!

Due to the dual effects of his soul and physique, Chu Yang's Magic Power reserves were absurdly vast to begin with. He was not stingy in this regard and increased the output.

A green glow symbolizing life began to radiate from the Whomping Willow's entire body. Even its branches started shedding green motes of light like fireflies.

The Whomping Willow gradually grew larger. Its height rose from three stories to five, and it continued growing without pause.

Dusk was approaching. Bathed in warm golden-red light, the Whomping Willow's green glow overlapped with the sunset, making it look like an Ancient God awakening.