In the bustling heart of the Ikryte Academy, a colossal building stood proudly.

It was the central hub of the entire campus, surrounded by the district affiliations of the four major faculties.

Despite their unique charms, the various classical and innovative architectural styles of the academy paled slightly in comparison to this massive central structure.

Not only because of its immense size, but also because its very existence was fundamentally different from everything around it.

Compared to the surrounding historical Gothic or Renaissance buildings, this place looked more like a military fortress.

Its walls were a deep blue, as hard as iron, and surrounded by layers of powerful barrier incantations, forming visible magical shields of protection with a soft golden glow.

For students, just sensing its presence from afar felt like an invisible pressure.

Only by using proper credentials, passing through several security checks from the sole main entrance, could one enter this building.

Around this barrier, many members of the Royal Palace Knights, clad in ornate armor, patrolled.

They weren't the regular academy guards, but elite knights sent by the Hutton Kingdom. Anyone daring to force their way in would never return.

All of this was because the interior of this building held a void gate leading to the Shadow World.

To prevent cultists or outlaws from entering the Shadow World, all fixed void gates on the Southern Continent were defended and controlled with the highest level of security by the Shadow World Management Association and the Southern Continent United Council.

The Kingdom of Hutton, where Lan Qi was located, had five large void gates, one of which was in the Ikryte Magic Academy.

Or rather, this academy was initially built around this gate, a research stronghold gathering high combat power.

As the sun began to set in the west.

Ikryte Academy was enveloped in a molten gold color, forming a serene and dreamlike painting.

Lan Qi and Hyperion's figures passed through the security check of this building, their shadows stretched long and straight on the wide road.

Until they finally stepped inside the building.

Before their eyes, in the wide-open space, stood only an immensely huge void gate.

Its appearance was bizarre and mysterious, yet beautiful like the art of the Creator. The frame was composed of a meteorite-like material, its surface as smooth as a mirror, with edges flowing with a shimmering light like liquid starlight, its colors constantly shifting between black-purple and silver-white.

The entire gate flowed with a faint purple glow, like the deepest light in the night sky, constantly flickering, sometimes visible, sometimes hidden, mysterious and unpredictable, as if countless stars were gently rotating in a vortex.

"What's the team name going to be?"

Hyperion looked at the final security checkpoint and its workstation, and the empty hall, and said to Lan Qi.

Here, they only needed to register their challenger's license and have the staff check the wearing of the [Shadow World Recording Program], and then they could proceed to the void gate ahead for matching challenges.

If they also wanted to use a "team card" for team challenges, they would also need to register the team's name.

The "team card" was another tool magic card, officially called [Shadow World Cooperation Program].

Lan Qi thought for a moment, feeling that anything would do.

Then, based on the characteristics of their team, how about...

"Let's fill in 'Civilized Exemplar Squad'."

Lan Qi replied.

Hyperion hesitated, but finally nodded.

She felt like she had a lot to complain about, but decided against it.

Let him be happy...

Next, the two handed their respective licenses and two tool magic cards to the security checkpoint counter, waiting for the staff to complete the procedures for them.

"After entering the void gate, the Shadow World will automatically start matching suitable existing Shadow Worlds for the challengers. This is not controllable by humans. Don't just come out of the void gate after entering the matching state, otherwise you may be separated, you should know that, right?"

The staff member in the officer's uniform registered them with the magical instrument at hand, and noticed that their challenge count was 0, so he explained some basic precautions.

"Understood."

Both nodded.

"Because there will be many challengers from other ports around the world matching at the same time, if your ranks are low, you usually won't have to wait long."

The staff member stared at the crystal screen of the magical instrument, operating it, while also telling the two common situations.

Even if Lan Qi and Hyperion knew something about this knowledge, they still listened carefully.

The real Shadow World, the lower the rank of the challenger, the easier it is to match successfully, after all, the frequency of low-rank Shadow Worlds is very high, and the number is also large.

The frequency of high-rank Shadow Worlds is often low. Sometimes, even if there are challengers willing to fight, there are sometimes no Shadow Worlds available for them to challenge.

As for once the Association detects the appearance of a Cataclysm-level Shadow World of rank seven or higher, the Southern Continent United Council will issue warnings to various countries, and multiple countries will begin consultations to send out the most capable and most suitable challengers and teams.

The higher the level of the Shadow World, the more serious the disaster caused by failure.

If the real-world consumption caused by the failure of second and third-rank Shadow Worlds is just a small matter, then once a Shadow World of rank seven or higher fails, a truly large-scale natural disaster will be ushered in.

Therefore, any country or force will treat high-rank Shadow Worlds very cautiously.

This is also the reason why the identity and status of high-level Shadow World challengers are so high.

Not only in their own kingdom, but even in the Southern Continent United Council, they will have a say!

As for wanting a fixed combination of challengers to enter the same Shadow World, there are two ways.

Either those top challengers, because of the small number of people, and very few Shadow Worlds are suitable for them, as long as they enter at the same time, they will basically be matched together.

Or another stable method is to carry a "team card"—

[Shadow World Cooperation Program]

[Category: Spell Card]

[Grade: White Common]

[Rank: 1]

[Passive effect: Will be matched into the same Shadow World as companions carrying the same numbered Cooperation Program.]

[Note: no. 891852279 Team Card]

This was the team card that Lan Qi and Hyperion bought at the entrance counter.

Jointly issued by the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association and the Card Maker Association, it is a team tool card that is processed and copied using natural team function cards originating from the Shadow World.

Often, the more people on a team, the more difficult it is to match into the Shadow World, the longer the waiting time required, and it will also increase a certain difficulty compared to challenging separately as individuals.

However, if it is just a team of two, the side effects are minimal.

"Okay, when you come out, read the [Shadow World Recording Program] to me again, and you can take back your challenger's license and leave."

The staff member returned the two's tool magic cards to them, and then the gate in front of them opened.

He waved his hand, indicating that the two could go in.

Lan Qi and Hyperion accepted the tool magic cards and thanked him, and then walked towards the void gate.

There were hundreds of steps to go, and the two didn't say anything along the way, until they came to the void gate.

"Ready?"

Lan Qi turned his head and looked at Hyperion with a smile.

"Of course."

Hyperion also nodded.

Completely different from the door created by the artificial Shadow World terminal, the real void gate is a bottomless black hole. Just getting close to it, you can feel an invisible pulling force, as if it wants to attract the soul of the visitor into this endless unknown world.

However, Lan Qi did not hesitate, and walked straight forward, stepping in as if passing through water.

Instantly, sound, sight, consciousness, and even time disappeared in this instant.

All that could be felt was the breath of the universe, the endless stars, and the bottomless nothingness.

It was as if two worlds were interwoven, formed together, and after everything was reversed, they finally arrived in a brand new world.

[The story of shadow and reality intertwined, today, unravels once again.]