After the internet was disconnected, I connected to the magic world.

As if by some strange twist of fate, he clicked on the pinned post in the section, titled "A Complete Guide to the Warrior System: From Warrior Apprentice to Demigod, a Must-Read for Newcomers".

The post was made by a user named "Old Soldiers Never Die," and it received thousands of replies, sparking a heated debate.

The post begins by explaining the origin of the system: among the millions of intelligent races in the universe, only one in ten are born with sufficient spiritual power to connect to the magic network and become a mage.

The remaining 99% of people who want to walk the path of the extraordinary can only hone their physical bodies, condense their life essence into battle qi, and rely purely on physical strength to fight their way to sainthood through the physical body.

"In the early stages of battle qi cultivation, one relies entirely on the nourishment of qi and blood. There is no need to touch magic power or connect to the magic network. Anyone who is willing to put in the hard work can get started. The threshold is extremely low."

"After reaching a certain level of cultivation, the physical body is tempered to the extreme of the mortal realm, and the essence of life will nourish the soul."

At that point, one's mental strength will surge dramatically, naturally allowing connection to the magic network, enabling the enchanting of weapons and armor, and amplifying combat power through magical energy.

"Of course, all we can do is use enchantments and cast low-level buff spells."

If it really comes down to researching spell models and creating spells, the warrior's mental strength is still not enough.

Otherwise, why would they be called barbarians? —Author's note: This is an objective statement; please refrain from criticism if you disagree.

The replies below were indeed a chaotic mess.

"The original poster is right. Aren't warriors just relying on magic networks to survive in the late game? The real skill comes from us mages, who have more ways to play and a higher skill ceiling."

"Bullshit! A warrior of the same rank can smash a mage's head to pieces! What's the use of fancy spells? One strike and you're done for. One hit at close range and you're dead."

"Hilarious! You can only blow at close range. A mage flies in the sky casting spells, and you, a warrior, are supposed to jump up and fight? Did you grow wings?"

Lin Ze ignored the floor where the argument was taking place; he stared at those few sentences in the post, his eyes growing brighter and brighter, almost frighteningly so.

No magic is needed.

No need for the magic net.

If you practice to a high level, you can even increase your mental strength!

He was just worried that his mental strength was increasing too slowly, and that it would take forever to reach 1.2 through meditation, which wouldn't be enough to meet the threshold for mastering the Divine Transformation Magic.

Isn't this a ready-made solution delivered to our doorstep?

It's like someone handing you a pillow when you're about to doze off!

The warrior system focuses solely on physical training in the early stages, completely independent of external magic, making it a perfect fit for his godforsaken, magic-free world.

For others, training as a warrior is the ultimate goal; for him, it's a springboard.

Once he trains to the point where his physical body nourishes his soul and his spiritual power reaches 1.2 or higher, won't he be able to go back and cultivate that Divine Absorption and Transformation magic?

With magic power, you can then pursue the path of a mage, researching spells and building a magic network, taking it one step at a time, which is very reliable.

"So I have to be a barbarian first?"

Lin Ze forced a smile, feeling a little awkward.

Everyone initially wants to be a powerful mage, commanding fireballs and lightning with a wave of their hand, exuding coolness. Who would want to be a muscular warrior wielding a big sword every day? It just sounds rough.

Despite his awkwardness, he knew what was important.

At this point, what's the point of talking about class?

It's already quite an achievement to take that first extraordinary step.

It's better than sitting on a mountain of gold and starving to death, spending every day as a spectator on a forum.

So what if we start as barbarians? Once we've mastered the mage path, we can combine combat and magic, and then we'll be more powerful than anyone else.

The more he thought about it, the more feasible this approach seemed.

Others play warriors because they lack the talent to be mages and are forced to take the lower path; that's how their lives will be.

He's different. He uses warriors as a springboard, first honing his physical body and building up his mental strength, then turning around to study ancient and arcane arts, cultivating both combat and magic, walking on two legs.

He was able to forge his own path in a world without magic, a path that others couldn't traverse.

If this gets out, the mages and warriors on the forum will probably be shocked.

Once I understood this, all my previous frustration vanished.

Lin Ze's spirits lifted, and even the fatigue from staying up most of the night disappeared. He quickly clicked on the beginner's academy in the warrior section and began looking for introductory techniques.

Isn't it just about exercising?

It's done!

It's better to suffer a little than to live a life of mediocrity.

The basic training methods for warriors are a million times easier to find than the meditation methods for mages.

The basic meditation method for mages requires official certification from the Magic Network and is hidden in the beginner's academy; you need to register an account to view it.

The warrior's "General Basic Battle Techniques" is directly displayed at the top of the section, free and publicly available without any access restrictions; anyone can view it.

The comments below were full of people joking: "After all, anyone can practice this, it's worthless, it's a common thing."

Lin Ze opened the post and read it carefully three times, memorizing every key point.

The technique is not difficult; in fact, it can be said to be very simple.

The core technique involves a special breathing method combined with power-generating movements to gather the scattered Qi and blood throughout the body towards the Dantian (lower abdomen), repeatedly refining it until the first seed of fighting Qi is condensed.

There are no complicated runes, no demanding mental strength requirements; the only hurdle is being able to endure hardship, withstand pain, and be willing to spend time and effort to master it.

"Qi and blood...everyone has them."

Lin Ze stood up and stretched his limbs, his bones cracking.

He sits in an office all year round, so his health isn't great; he's in a very poor state. But he's young, so he still has a good foundation and isn't as frail as he seems.

The rented room was small, so he moved the chair to the side and pushed the blanket on the bed further in, making room for a space of about two square meters in the middle, and stood in the position shown in the post.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands clasped in front of your lower abdomen, tongue touching the roof of your mouth, and breathe slowly in a specific rhythm, with each inhale and exhale having a specific frequency.

Inhale—exhale—

As soon as he took his first breath, he sensed something was wrong.

Normally, my breathing is light and airy; I don't even feel it when I inhale.

This time, following the guidance of the method, my breath felt heavy, sinking all the way into my stomach, and all the muscles in my body tensed up slightly, a bit like the feeling of doing squats.

Following the instructions in the tutorial, he imagined all the heat in his body gathering three inches below his navel, like wringing out a towel, directing all the blood and energy in his body to his dantian.

One minute.

five minutes.

ten minutes.

My legs started to ache, and my back was soaked in sweat, sticking stickily to my clothes, which was extremely uncomfortable.

Forget about any fighting spirit seeds in my lower abdomen, not even a little bit of warmth gathered. Instead, my stomach hurt from holding my breath, like I had a stitch in my side.

"Damn, is it that difficult?"

Lin Ze relaxed his posture, rubbing his aching back, panting heavily, sweat dripping down his chin.

Didn't the post say that anyone with hands could do it?

So it was all a scam?

Or is it that he's too useless, unable to even get started?

He was unconvinced and went back to look at the replies, only to see someone say in the thread:

Don't force yourself the first time you practice. If you don't find the right path for your Qi and blood, practicing all afternoon will be a waste. You have to slowly find the feeling. Some people practice for half a month before they can condense a seed, which is normal.

"Half a month?"

Lin Ze frowned. He could wait half a month, but he didn't want to wait that long.

His mind is now filled with cultivation, becoming stronger, and transcending the ordinary; he wishes he could achieve it in a single day.

"Again."

He gritted his teeth and straightened his posture.

If once doesn't work, try twice; if twice doesn't work, try ten times.

He may not have much else, but he has plenty of time. Since he's already quit his job, he can just work out at home every day and treat it as a form of exercise.

again and again.

Sweat dripped from his chin onto the floor, leaving small watermarks.

His legs were shaking so badly that he almost collapsed several times, but he gritted his teeth and held on.

He didn't think about anything else, just focused on the key points in the post, adjusted his breathing, guided his blood and qi, and tried it over and over again.

Just when he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, his legs were about to give way, and he wanted to sit down and rest for a while.

A faint warmth suddenly emanated from three inches below the navel.

Like a thin little flame, it flickered slightly and almost went out.

Lin Ze froze, too afraid to move. He held his breath, carefully guiding the warmth, circling it again along the same path, afraid that he might blow it all away.

The heat flow was very weak, as thin as a hair, but it was definitely there.

I slowly walked around the flesh and blood, and wherever I went, even the soreness in my muscles lessened a lot. It felt warm and comfortable, so comfortable that I wanted to sigh.

Seed of Fighting Spirit.

Become!

"Holy crap! It worked!"

Lin Ze abruptly stopped his exercise and sat down on the ground with a thud, almost making a loud noise.

He was panting heavily, his whole body was soaked in sweat, he was so tired that he was trembling, and he barely had the strength to lift his hand.

But she couldn't suppress the smile on her face; her mouth was practically stretched to her ears.

It became.

It really happened.

In this world without magic networks or magic, he took his first extraordinary step entirely on his own.

It wasn't an illusion, it wasn't a dream, it was real battle energy, right inside his body.

He raised his hand and clenched his fist.

Although that wisp of fighting spirit was pitifully weak, unable to even protect his body, and even struggling to increase his strength, he could clearly feel that something different had appeared in his body.

Those are extraordinary seeds.

He planted it himself.

He looked up at the computer screen.

In the forum, the mage and the warrior were still arguing fiercely, disliking each other and looking down on each other.

The mage thought the warrior was rough and lacked skill.

Warriors complained that mages were fragile and useless, all show and no substance.

No one would have imagined that in a distant, magic-free world, someone would have pieced two paths together.

First, cultivate fighting spirit, then rely on the physical body to replenish spiritual power, and cross the threshold of the Divine Transformation Magic.

Once you have enough spiritual energy, you can cultivate the Divine Transformation Magic, which draws spiritual energy and converts it into magical power to accumulate your first strand of magical power.

With magic power, they could then study ancient and arcane arts, gradually building a magical network that belonged to this world.

While others can only walk one path in their entire lives, he was forced to walk a path that combines combat and strategy.

When both paths come to an end, who knows how high we can go?

Lin Ze sat on the ground, recovering his strength, and looked at the rising sun outside the window. Golden sunlight shone through the window and fell on his face, feeling warm.