As night fell over the Polant capital of Hersalem, dim blackout lamps cast faint puddles of light across the streets, where the scurrying silhouettes of pedestrians carried the palpable tension of wartime.
The silhouette of the Parliament Building stood out starkly against the night sky, resembling a lighthouse on the verge of burning out.
Behind a single window among the high-rises that continued to emanate a hazy yellow glow sat Lanqi, his face stern and solemn in the middle of conscientious work as he conversed with his secretary.
The secretary, who had initially been slightly stiff and filled with trepidation toward him, was gradually relaxing her tense posture under his words, the distance between them beginning to close.
***
Outside the Shadow World.
At Ikerite Academy, the clock had just passed eight in the morning.
Upon Jera Memorial Square, the giant outdoor screen and the terraced steps surrounding it were bathed in bright morning sunlight.
Yet unlike ordinary days, the crowd of students watching the broadcast was noticeably larger than usual, a ceaseless din of chatter and speculation filling the air.
"A seventh-tier Shadow World?"
A moment ago, the screen had briefly displayed the tier. It was unequivocally an open-map Shadow World of the seventh tier.
They rarely ever saw a Shadow World of this rank.
Even fourth-year students could not necessarily break through to the seventh rank, let alone encounter a seventh-tier Shadow World.
"How on earth did Lanqi get into a seventh-tier Shadow World? Did he team up with a seventh-ranker?"
Having not caught a glimpse of Lanqi for an entire semester, the students of the School of Sages had genuinely missed the entertainment he always brought. Who could have anticipated that he would pull off something this massive the moment he returned?
"Good heavens... Does Dean Loren even know he went into a seventh-tier Shadow World?"
Right now, what worried them most was Dean Loren's state of mind.
Under normal circumstances, the School of Sages would have already convened an emergency meeting.
However, Loren was currently away from campus, so word would likely reach him late.
No one knew whom Loren was entertaining right now, but if he learned that Lanqi had dragged Hyperion into a seventh-tier Shadow World, he would surely rush back to Ikerite without a second's delay.
As everyone knew, failing a seventh-tier Shadow World would trigger an unimaginable natural catastrophe.
Shadow Worlds were double-edged swords that opened periodically in endless numbers. Their timelines and world settings could vary drastically, ranging from breezy and simple to extraordinarily perilous. They manifested without warning at fixed or random entry points across the realm, serving as projections of historical fragments from this world or another. If left unattended beyond a certain time limit, a Shadow World would automatically collapse, releasing a catastrophe that devoured the mortal realm.
Clearing a Shadow World yielded lavish rewards, whereas failure unleashed disaster somewhere in the world.
The higher a Shadow World's tier, the more exponentially its rewards—or catastrophes—multiplied.
Consequently, every nation spared no effort in cultivating talents capable of conquering Shadow Worlds, which was precisely the core mission of Ikerite Academy.
If an egregious student error caused an accident that triggered a large-scale catastrophe in the mortal realm, Ikerite Academy would bear primary responsibility!
And since the challengers were Lanqi and Hyperion, Loren was undeniably the first person on the hook.
"I heard that over Senior Asna's matter, a good number of high-ranking kingdom figures led by Duke Agares were already using it to impeach Dean Loren. Voices outside the Kingdom of Hutton have also been fanning the flames. They neither want Loren to hog too much limelight nor want Ikerite Academy to keep monopolizing so many resources and Association backing."
Many Ikerite Academy students were analyzing the situation.
Viewed from this angle, allowing Lanqi to make such a fatal move as entering a seventh-tier Shadow World at this crucial juncture meant Dean Loren was either detonating himself or playing multidimensional chess.
"Looking on the bright side, a seventh-tier Shadow World offers vastly more room to maneuver. The time limit and the map are completely free, and the number of historical figures one can interact with is countless. As Dean Loren's secret weapon, maybe everything is proceeding according to Dean Loren's master plan."
Although most people inside and outside the academy watching before the screen expressed deep worry, there were still students who had witnessed Lanqi's previous two Shadow Worlds firsthand and chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Still... this scenario..."
Those words drew many eyes back to the giant screen, murmurs turning hesitant.
After half a year without seeing Lanqi, he appeared quite rusty at tackling Shadow Worlds. Under such pressing circumstances, he was actually making aimless small talk with his secretary about topics completely unrelated to the war. One could visibly see the secretary's gaze shifting, leaving the onlookers utterly baffled as to what Lanqi was doing—or what sort of bizarre new skill this might be.
Upon entering a Shadow World, challengers were assigned unpredictable new identities to play out historical fragments.
Sometimes the role was well suited to one's personal skills; at other times, it was an absolute disaster, requiring specialized experience to handle.
The higher the post, the greater the demands placed upon one's capability, and the more arduous the mission.
This was the very first time they had ever seen someone with such abysmal luck: opening a Shadow World as a prime minister backed into a dead end!
Generally speaking, whoever drew an identity like that was virtually guaranteed a game over from the start.
***
In the Hutton royal capital of Ikerite.
Not far from the municipal hall stood the ducal manor of Agares, a residence befitting its owner's lineage and power.
A delicate fragrance hung in the air, drifting from a row of potted plants near the parlor window.
Deep-blue tapestries hung from the walls, bearing the Agares crest that symbolized the harmony of power, commerce, and culture.
Two middle-aged men in lavish attire sat composedly on sofas, conversing about recent kingdom affairs across a low coffee table inlaid with rubies.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, the visiting Marquis Gaxiges spoke up.
"Duke Agares, leave Loren's matter to me. Though his reputation rode high some days ago, it cannot mask his declining fortunes in education."
Marquis Gaxiges leaned in slightly, promising Duke Agares with the air of a vanguard charging into battle.
Letting Asna go was an absurd act that had drawn sighs of dismay even from His Majesty the King. Loren had clearly handed them ammunition this time.
"..."
Duke Agares studied Marquis Gaxiges and gave a faint nod.
He gazed out the window, his thoughts seemingly drifting far away, making it impossible for Gaxiges to gauge his mood.
Before long, footsteps echoed through the manor. An attendant dressed like a secretary entered the parlor with measured, elegant strides.
The attendant walked over to Duke Agares, leaned down slightly, and spoke at a volume audible only to the three of them.
As the duke listened, a trace of astonishment surfaced on his habitually impassive face.
Only after the attendant withdrew did Duke Agares murmur Loren's name, his hand clenching into a fist.
"Loren... is it finally time for you to taste the bitter fruit of indulging your students?"
he muttered to himself, sounding as though he had at last found the opportunity to settle old scores.
"Hahaha!"
Sitting nearby, Marquis Gaxiges could no longer hold back his sneer upon hearing Duke Agares speak.
Loren was truly a riot.
They had originally worried that Asna's departure alone would not be enough to impeach Loren. But now, even if the opposition did not kick him while he was down, the Kingdom of Hutton would crumble under the combined pressure of the Southern Continent United Kingdom Council and the Shadow World Management Association.
If failing a seventh-tier Shadow World triggered a catastrophe, the blow to the international reputation of the Kingdom of Hutton and Ikerite Academy would be catastrophic!
"Lanqi... is that the student who always mingles with Mikhail's daughter?" Duke Agares asked.
He paid little attention to the petty antics of academy freshmen, having only vaguely heard that a School of Sages freshman named Lanqi had defeated the Saintess of Destruction, allowing Loren to scoop up another young genius after Asna.
His primary impression of this youth named Lanqi was that the boy excelled at flattering the young lady of House Mikhail, behaving for all the world as though he wanted to retire at twenty and live off a wealthy woman.
"That's the one!" Marquis Gaxiges slapped the armrest of the sofa, a gloating grin spreading across his face. "This makes things easy. No matter how the United Council of Kingdoms or the international community pressures us in the coming days, we'll simply push Loren to the forefront and offer him our 'full support.' He's not the type to shirk responsibility anyway."
When the tide was turning against Loren, there was no need to antagonize him openly. They could simply masquerade as his staunchest champions, aggressively drawing hatred and backlash onto him.
In the days ahead, Loren probably would not even be able to tell who was genuinely trying to help him and who was dragging him down into the mire.
As the saying went, a just cause found abundant support while an unjust cause found little. Without lifting a finger, various factions would naturally move to suppress Loren, and public opinion would shift toward viewing him as a reckless, failed dean!
A seventh-tier Shadow World with a hellish start—no matter how miraculous Loren's student was, there was no way he could salvage his master's reputation this time.
Even Loren himself knew nothing of politics. What sort of Prime Minister could a brat like Lanqi possibly make?
Chapter 533