The atmosphere in the meeting hall of the Blue Enchantress Mercenary Group was oppressive and somber, as if a storm was about to erupt at any moment.

Standing in the middle of the hall, Arthur bowed his head deeply, his tattered leather armor hanging off him in pieces, while the wounds on his face and chest had already healed. For a mercenary group that had a wood mage, such external injuries were the easiest to deal with.

Arthur clenched his fists, not daring to look up.

Outside the meeting hall, many mercenaries were peeking inside curiously. Although Arthur had used a magic scroll to kill the black-backed boar at the last moment, for a mercenary who had just stepped into the first rank of human warriors to kill two magical beasts of the same rank in his first battle immediately caused a huge sensation within the mercenary group.

"Who allowed you to learn magic?" The first to speak was Lander, his tone suppressing anger.

"Arthur's magic was taught by me; he is now my magic apprentice," Edeline said lightly from the side.

"No, it wasn't Teacher Edeline; I was the one who kept pestering Teacher Edeline to teach me magic," Arthur hurriedly explained, waving his hands.

Lander turned his head and glared fiercely at Edeline, not caring about anyone else in the mercenary group.

Edeline had no intention of further explanation and sat there expressionless.

"Did I not tell you before formally teaching you martial skills that once you choose to become a warrior, you cannot learn magic? Why didn't you listen?" Lander shouted, his anger finally erupting.

On the Continent of Beland, there is a clear divide between warriors and mages, and it is rare for one to cultivate both. The reason is simple: whether it's becoming a high-level warrior or a great mage, it requires a lot of time and energy to cultivate.

Warriors need to absorb fighting spirit night and day, then use the fighting spirit to temper their bodies, while also continuously honing their martial skills. Mages, on the other hand, need more time for meditation to temper their spirits, communicate with the magical elements in the space, and memorize a large number of magic construction formulas.

"Cultivating the body for warriors, refining the spirit for mages" is the most basic theory in the world of cultivation.

"I just wanted to learn more," Arthur said in a low voice, still not daring to lift his head.

"How far have you learned?" This question, however, came from Kains, the leader of the group.

"I can already communicate with the magical elements wandering in space and retain a small part within my body," Arthur answered truthfully.

"What about constructing magic arrays?"

"I can't do it yet; I always fall short in the end."

"Which magical element do you communicate with most easily?"

"It seems I can communicate with all the magical elements," Arthur said, slightly proud as he raised his head a little.

"Whew," Kains whistled, jokingly saying, "I thought our mercenary group might have gained a future great mage."

Arthur looked surprised, as if Kains did not appreciate his ability to communicate with magical elements.

Seeing Arthur's expression, Kains turned to Edeline and chuckled, "It seems you haven't been teaching your magic apprentice very diligently, have you?"

Edeline's face turned slightly red, "Arthur doesn't have any particular affinity for a specific type of magical element; in fact, he's not suited to become a mage. But I had promised him in the Nightingale Bar to take him as my apprentice. That exploding fireball magic scroll was my welcoming gift as a teacher. I just didn't expect him to be able to mobilize magical power so quickly."

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This actually involves another basic theory of cultivation, "Only those favored by the magic sprites can become mages."

To become a mage, the prerequisite is that one's spirit can establish a connection with the magical elements wandering in space. However, what type of physique can communicate with magical elements seems to be random, and to this day, the scholars of all races on the Continent of Beland have not found any pattern. Even the children of mages have the same chance of communicating with magical elements as the children of commoners.

Even if one can communicate with magical elements, it does not necessarily mean they can become a mage. What follows is to see the affinity for magical elements. If one can be especially close to a certain type of magical element, then they truly have the qualifications to become a mage. Among ordinary people, those who can ultimately become mages are one in a thousand, and it is this high threshold that makes the status of mages on the continent even more revered than warriors.

Of course, there are mages who are close to two or even three types of magical elements, but these mages' ultimate achievements are not as high as those of single-element mages. There has never been an all-element mage in the history of the continent.

A disappointed look appeared on Arthur's face as he turned to look at Edeline, "Does that mean I definitely can't become a mage?"

Edeline smiled bitterly and then shook her head slightly, "In theory, anyone who can communicate with magical elements can become a mage, but it will take many times longer to gather and control magical elements than mages with a strong affinity for a single element. Moreover, the further up you go, the more apparent this gap becomes, and many people remain at the level of a junior mage all their lives."

Arthur's eyes, which had just dimmed, lit up again, "So, I can still learn magic from you?"

Edeline smiled bitterly again, this time truly bitter, "Of course, you can, but you are more suited to become a warrior, and you will go further on that path!"

"Hmm!" Arthur nodded firmly, "I will become a strong warrior one day, but I will not give up learning magic!"

"Kid, you'd better give up this foolish idea right now! Don't even think about dual cultivating magic and martial arts; it's simply not possible!" Lander poured cold water over him.

Arthur's determined gaze met Lander's, "Teacher, if you want me to give up cultivating magic, you have to tell me why?"

Since Lander began teaching Arthur martial skills, he had voluntarily changed his address. Lander was not very used to it at first, but over time, he also started calling him as Arthur did.

"The path of a warrior's cultivation is like a long race. Those who pursue strength have no room for error on this path. Once you go astray, your realm for the rest of your life will stop here! And wasting energy on a cultivation that is known to be fruitless is the greatest folly!" Lander seemed to remember something, his gaze somewhat distant as he spoke.

"Thank you for your teachings, Teacher Lander, but I still want to learn magic. I promise it won't interfere with my martial arts cultivation!" Arthur still did not give up.

This was the first time Arthur had defied Lander since joining the mercenary group.

"You!" Lander's eyebrows stood on end, a strong fighting spirit about to burst out from his body.

A large hand landed on Lander's shoulder just in time, pressing back the fighting spirit that was about to erupt, "Still so hot-tempered, let's first listen to the young fellow's explanation."

Kains slightly raised his chin to signal Arthur to continue.

"When I started learning magic, I just wanted to learn more to make myself stronger. But when I devoted all my spirit to communicating with magical elements, I would forget the pain 'Danyang Refinement' brought to my body."

"What? Say that again!" Kains and Lander exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Once a warrior steps into the first rank, a spinning vortex of fighting spirit automatically forms in the dantian during cultivation, absorbing the fighting spirit from space, expanding the meridians, and tempering the flesh, bones, and blood. The biggest drawback of "Danyang Refinement" is the pain it brings to the whole body and spirit, like being roasted in fire, when the fighting spirit vortex rotates. Therefore, the soldiers they trained before could not practice for a long time. Every half hour, they had to stop and rest, otherwise, the continuous, baking-like pain could drive a person mad. And Arthur said he could ignore this pain!

This means Arthur can cultivate fighting spirit and magic at the same time, a miracle never seen before! And the time to cultivate fighting spirit using "Danyang Refinement" will be several times longer than the soldiers they trained before!

"It's impossible, how can you calmly and peacefully communicate with magical elements in that kind of pain?" Lander excitedly stepped forward and grabbed Arthur's shoulder, causing Arthur to grimace in pain because of the force.

"At first, I just hoped to distract my mental attention to alleviate the pain, but the pain made me feel the magical elements more clearly, more real. Once I devoted myself entirely, I forgot about the pain!"

"It's impossible, impossible, how can this be?" Lander still shook his head in disbelief.

"Why not? It's just that none of the soldiers we trained before were foolish enough to cultivate fighting spirit and magic at the same time!"

Kains couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Haha... We at Blue Enchantress really picked up a treasure this time!"