The Shadow Realm, by its very name, is not a place of kindness. In fact, among the various planes of existence in this world, the Shadow Realm may not be the most terrifying or the most bloody and violent. Nor is it known for its scenic beauty—but it is undoubtedly the most treacherous.

  Standing on the high tower of the Wizard's Academy, one can see only a grayish sky when gazing outward with strained eyes. On the surface, the Shadow Realm appears to be nothing more than an endless gathering of shadows, with vague outlines of land, mountains, rivers, and abyssal depths barely discernible within layers of dark mist. Overall, aside from being darker and colder, devoid of sun, moon, and stars, the Shadow Realm doesn't seem particularly remarkable.

  Yet beneath this unassuming exterior lies the most treacherous peril.

  The Wizard's Academy offers a course on "Plane Studies," which details the conditions of various planes. As the home of Soulshade City for over a thousand years, the Shadow Realm is naturally a focus of this course, with extensive information available.

  Compared to other planes, the Shadow Realm is most closely linked to the Material Plane. In fact, one could say that the Shadow Realm is a distorted reflection of the Material Plane. Long, long ago, the Shadow Realm was but a semi-plane extending from the Material Plane, narrow and simple, before gradually expanding into its current vastness and becoming more independent. Nevertheless, it remains very closely connected to the Material Plane. Textbooks describe this connection as "interlaced and fused" or, put another way, intertwined.

  Breaking through spatial barriers to traverse planes is originally a very difficult task. However, traveling between the Shadow Realm and the Material Plane is much easier. This is precisely why the Lord of Soulshade City was able to transport the entire floating city here. While his immense magical powers and abilities certainly played a role, the natural close connection and weak barriers between these two planes were also key factors.

  Try asking him to move Soulshade City to another plane, and he'd be exhausted and unsuccessful.

  People accustomed to the Material Plane won't feel too alienated once they enter the Shadow Realm. As mentioned earlier, aside from the absence of sun, moon, and stars, the natural environment here is very similar to that of the Material Plane, with mountains, forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, and seas all present, albeit shrouded in deep shadows and mist.

  Besides natural landscapes like mountains and rivers, one might even catch glimpses of artificial structures such as towns and forts—but these are all illusions. Since the Shadow Realm originates from the Material Plane and is its distorted reflection, these illusions are not surprising.

  In short, it looks like a desolate, lonely, and eerie wasteland. With a few more earth mounds, a couple of tombstones, some magical sounds of grieving spirits, and constant chilling winds, it would be a stereotypical land of the undead.

  That said, if it were truly a land of the undead, it would actually be safer. Although undead beings are full of resentment, fierce, and terrifying in appearance, most of them lack intelligence or even rational thinking, driven solely by negative energy and acting on instinct. Their movements can be described as clumsy, slow, and weak-minded. As aspiring wizards of Soulshade City, if one is afraid of such useless creatures, then all those years of studying in the academy have been in vain.

  Except for a very small number of high-level beings, most undead, no matter how powerful, are not truly formidable opponents. If one encounters high-level undead like liches or vampires, which possess both great power and clear rationality, there's no need to panic. Stay calm and try negotiating with them. As long as there's intelligence and communication, there's always room for negotiation. With no deep grievances between them, why must they fight to the death?

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  If one has too few bargaining chips, is too weak, lacks the qualification to negotiate, and can't escape, then there's nothing more to say. One can only wait to die.

  The enemies in the Shadow Realm are far more troublesome than undead.

  Within the deep shadows and mist, countless strange and monstrous creatures hide. On land, there are six-legged horses and three-headed dogs. In the forests, there are black apes like金刚 and four-armed gorillas. Underground, there are swarms of fierce rats with sharp teeth like knives. In the water, there lurk huge squid and sea serpents. In the air, there are screaming owls and shadow eagles with poisonous claws. Not to mention legendary creatures like shadow dragons.

  As indigenous inhabitants of the Shadow Realm, they can generally hide their forms in the shadows and mist, making them hard to detect and ready to attack suddenly. If one says they lack intelligence, they are treacherous and cunning beyond belief. If one says they have intelligence, there is never any room for peaceful communication.

  Moreover, they generally harbor hostility towards Soulshade City, probably due to its status as an immigrant settlement. Upon seeing people from Soulshade City, they often attack in groups, fierce and ruthless.

  Beyond the fierce monsters ubiquitous in the shadows and mist, even more terrifying is the "Dark Abyss."

  The Dark Abyss resembles a "black hole" or a "spatial trap." No matter how treacherous the shadow creatures are, they can still be dealt with through conventional means. The Dark Abyss, however, is intangible, appearing and disappearing randomly with no discernible pattern. Any being that steps into the range of the Dark Abyss instantly disappears without a trace, truly facing a fate worse than death. According to professors at the academy, since the Shadow Realm originated from the Material Plane and has not been independent for long enough, the plane is still in an unstable state, leading to these spatial rifts.

  Fortunately, the Dark Abyss, though terrifying, appears infrequently, covers a small area, and lasts only briefly before disappearing. Thank goodness for that; otherwise, all creatures in the Shadow Realm would be swallowed up.

  In summary, this is an extremely terrifying place.

  As the only human city in the Shadow Realm, surrounded by countless formidable enemies, Soulshade City has stood firmly in this treacherous land for over a thousand years. Besides the protection of the goddess Shar, it relies on its immense strength.

  The once-glorious Netheril Empire boasted a brilliant magical civilization and created countless miracles.Leoric heard from professors at the Wizard's Academy that with the empire's fall, the magical civilization was destroyed, and various exquisite and miraculous arcane arts were nearly lost and forgotten. Even seventeen hundred years later, the magical skills in the Material Plane are still far inferior to those of the Netheril era.

  Soulshade City is different. As the only floating city to survive the catastrophic disaster of that era, it is the last inheritor of Netheril's magical civilization. Various exquisite magical skills that have long disappeared in the Material Plane are still passed down and developed from generation to generation in Soulshade City.

  Soulshade City is built on an upside-down mountain peak, which floats in the air and moves around due to some powerful magic thatLeoric is not yet qualified to understand. The ground-dwelling monsters can do nothing to Soulshade City, and even those that can fly cannot approach the city. The military permanently stationed on the city walls, equipped with rows of magical cannons and giant crossbows, are not mere decorations. Any being daring to enter within a ten-mile radius will immediately face overwhelming magical bombardment. If they manage to enter within a five-mile radius, they will also face a hail of arrows, turning them into porcupines.

  Besides strict defense, offensive actions are also necessary. To ensure and enhance the military's combat effectiveness, to provide students of the Wizard's Academy and trainee priests of the temple with practical experience, to seize more slaves to ensure the city's operation and development, and for... love, peace, and justice...

  In short, Soulshade City periodically dispatches squads to sweep the areas near the city, euphemistically called "military exercises." Additionally, there are large-scale expeditionary operations, usually involving the entire city's military forces launching a sudden raid after detecting a concentration of monsters. These operations generally occur once a year.

  Today,Leoric is participating in one of these squad military exercises.