Rows of red brick buildings stood tall and solemn, representing the ancient engineering and wisdom of the Magic Engineering Department.

The two walked along the school's internal path.

A clear stream meandered alongside the road, reflecting the green leaves of trees. It was especially peaceful this morning. Looking further, across the bank was a flower field that was part of the Alchemy Department's systematic botanical garden, also serving as a teaching and research base for bioengineering.

Passing through this shaded path would lead to the dormitory area of the Sage Academy.

"If you want to challenge the Shadow World as soon as possible, you should consider joining a team - investigate, learn about them. Choosing a suitable team will benefit and help you a lot," Vivian said after some thought.

She ultimately decided not to scold Lanqi, but to guide him properly instead. Since Lanqi had humbly asked her about the difficulty of third-tier Shadow Worlds, he wasn't a reckless fool.

He just had a bit of confidence matching his talent. For young people, this was normal.

Besides, even if she spoke harshly to Lanqi, he would likely maintain this gentle demeanor.

Vivian was most reluctant to hurt kind people. Scolding such a person would only make her feel guilty.

"..."

Lanqi fell into a brief silence at Vivian's words.

After passing the exam last time, Lanqi had chatted with Huberrian on the steps of the Learning and Education Building. He had also investigated and learned about the academy's Shadow World challenges.

Indeed, there were several student teams in this academy that were widely acknowledged as the strongest.

Some were newly formed in recent years.

Others were established many years ago - with team leaders changing over generations, but still using the inherited team names today.

The reason these teams were called the strongest wasn't just because they had experienced gold-level leaders, but also because some long-standing teams had platinum-level "fourth-year students" or "part-time members" as pillars.

Although the top platinum-level experts were mostly nominal members who wouldn't interfere with the team leader's decisions or actually team up with other students,

Sometimes their occasional guidance was invaluable help for newcomers!

Moreover,

Any platinum-level expert had a real top-tier "Association Registered Resident Team".

If one was fortunate enough to catch their eye, they might be introduced to a team standing at the pinnacle of the Southern Continent once their strength was sufficient!

This would be a shortcut to reaching platinum level.

However, these weren't things Lanqi needed to consider in the short term.

He still had a long way to go before reaching bronze and silver levels.

Today, Lanqi had already received a notice from the Shadow World Management Association of the Southern Continent. The school had submitted all the materials required for his "Registration Exam Exemption". He only needed to complete the final steps at the association to become a registered iron-level challenger.

"Sigh, I don't know what kind of team would suit me," Lanqi finally replied.

He had almost no connections in the capital. Much of his current knowledge came from Huberrian and Vivian's kind explanations.

"It's alright, there will be many channels to learn about teams after school starts. Some teams might even approach you proactively," Vivian said nonchalantly.

To say Vivian wasn't envious of Lanqi's first place at all would definitely be a lie.

She had initially thought herself a strong contender for the top spot in the Sage Academy.

Unexpectedly, her overall score ended up far behind this gentle and refined young man before her.

Over the years, new students who achieved excellent results in the entrance exams were always coveted potential recruits for many teams.

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She added:

"Although your true strength remains a mystery to all senior students, just your top entrance exam score in the Sage Academy will make people want to recruit you."

Lanqi's performance in the third round of exams had been personally sealed by Dean Loren of the Sage Academy. Even Vivian couldn't get any inside information.

Therefore, there were currently many doubts about Lanqi -

For instance, some speculated that Lanqi and Huberrian just happened to encounter examiner Felat's sudden cardiovascular disease, thus luckily passing the third round of exams.

The Sage Academy officials hadn't offered any explanation, and the behind-the-scenes figures aligned with examiner Felat, even if they might know something, remained tight-lipped about the exam circumstances.

"Is that so?"

Lanqi hadn't expected that he might be actively recruited after school started.

However, choosing a team and declining others' sincere invitations would both be painful tasks.

Lanqi also didn't know which team would suit him best, or if there were better options.

That meant he would need to invest time to understand the situation.

"You don't like this feeling of being popular?" Vivian asked curiously, seeing Lanqi's slightly dazed expression.

She was puzzled why Lanqi didn't show much joy, but rather seemed a bit troubled.

"Don't you think it only adds pressure when unfamiliar people have high expectations of you?" Lanqi smiled humbly, turning his head to look at Vivian.

Although Vivian's interpretation of his thoughts was slightly off,

Lanqi could easily see what Vivian was thinking.

"...Indeed," Vivian nodded after a brief silence.

"Just like being a princess, bearing everyone's expectations must be very tiring, right?" Lanqi said with a serene expression and gentle voice.

"Ah... yes, it's tiring," Vivian sighed.

Although as a royal family member shouldering many responsibilities, she shouldn't agree with Lanqi's self-centered and laid-back thinking, she truly felt the same way deep down.

How nice it would be to lie on the grass and take a nap, instead of constantly striving to be a dignified and noble princess.

Wait a minute.

Vivian quickly came to her senses.

She was supposed to be asking Lanqi questions, how did it turn into a chat about life philosophy?

Moreover, the more they talked, the more she wanted to give in to her inner desires and slack off.

This guy was speaking naturally, yet it was like a demon's whisper, unconsciously stirring up the lazy desires she had always been suppressing.

Vivian hurriedly shook her head, stopping herself from continuing this irrelevant topic with Lanqi.

"Lanqi, if you don't have any particular preferences, you could consider my team. I can introduce you. It mostly consists of students from the Sage Academy and Magic Engineering Department, which would be convenient if you need card-making commissions. Plus, we have a platinum-level member - he's the strongest mechanist among the fourth-year students in the Magic Engineering Department."

Vivian had already reserved a spot in a team. Having grown up in the capital with her high status, she naturally had many acquaintances.

She also believed this team was full of appeal and wasn't just randomly recommending it to Lanqi.

As one of the strongest teams in the academy, their biggest advantage compared to other teams was their extremely sufficient logistics support.

For instance, trying to find an excellent card maker at the Card Makers Association to commission card work often involved many difficult experiences like encountering scams, sky-high prices, long waiting times, or outright rejections.

But within the team, people were usually much more approachable, and it was easier to make friends with card makers.

"Does the Magic Engineering Department have combat roles too?" Lanqi asked in surprise.

His focus was clearly not on the team itself.

This made Vivian feel a bit frustrated, as she thought she had presented quite an attractive offer.

Lanqi probably had no idea of the value of connecting with potential card makers from the Magic Engineering Department!

Indeed, this youth from the border region was still too inexperienced in his knowledge about the Shadow World.

Vivian sighed helplessly, but still explained to Lanqi:

"Those from the Magic Engineering Department who can enter the Shadow World aren't necessarily battlefield card makers. The truly formidable magic engineers are no worse in combat than students from the Law and Knight academies."

"As for the Alchemy Department, don't underestimate them either. Provoking some troublesome individuals there can lead to big problems," Vivian added, as if recalling something unpleasant.

"Hmm?" Lanqi made a confused sound.

He knew the Alchemy Department had more scholars, physicians, pharmacists, and alchemists, leaning more towards research, but according to Vivian's words, there must also be a few individuals skilled in combat.

But what exactly qualified as a major troublemaker?

Vivian shook her head painfully, speaking as if deeply affected:

"The intelligence major in the Alchemy Department, I don't know who started it, but in recent years it has gradually developed in the direction of unscrupulous journalism... The 'Hutton Times' was actually initially published by the Alchemy Department. Now it's growing bigger and stronger. If you offend them, you might be viciously smeared."

As a princess in the spotlight, Vivian feared being caught in an indiscretion one day.

"Tsk—" Lanqi drew in a sharp breath.

He felt that compared to joining a team, he was more interested in joining a newspaper.

In a society governed by law, isn't controlling public opinion much more powerful than fighting and killing?!