Being a Saint Since the Age of Myth

"Jamir is a barren wasteland where not even birds shit. What's so great about it? Only those two old geezers would treasure it!" Manigoldo snorted, not taking it to heart at all.

Canes Venatici and Ursa Major felt their scalps tingle at those words and hurriedly said their goodbyes and left.

Cancer was the Pope's personal disciple, and Wuxin was Lord Hakurei's disciple. Those two could discuss their own teachers however they liked, but the others had no such courage. Even listening a little longer felt like committing a crime.

Wuxin felt a headache coming on as well and immediately interrupted, "All right, all right! As long as our teachers like it, that's enough! Nobody's forcing you to like it too, much less forcing you to stand guard there!"

"For now, I think you'd better take me to get my injuries treated!"

"Quite a few of my wounds tore open again on the way back. They hurt!"

"Follow me!"

Manigoldo glanced at him, then led Wuxin to a temple at the foot of the Sacred Mountain.

The temple was unusual, quite unlike the other buildings below the mountain. Instead, it bore some resemblance to the Twelve Golden Temples on the Sacred Mountain.

"Senior brother, this temple looks a lot like the Twelve Golden Temples!" Wuxin asked curiously.

"Not a lot like them. Exactly like them!"

As he walked inside, Manigoldo said, "I asked the old man about it once. He said this temple was originally built to the same specifications and design as the Twelve Golden Temples."

"Aside from lacking the Twelve Temples' defensive functions, everything else is exactly the same!"

"So that's how it is!"

Wuxin nodded and asked, "Then did Lord Sage say why this temple was built this way?"

"For an ordinary building down here, its specifications seem a bit too unusual!"

There were many buildings below the mountain, but the vast majority were quite ordinary, without anything as elaborate as a temple.

"No idea. I never asked. Ask him yourself when you have time!" Manigoldo waved a hand.

As they spoke, the two had already entered the temple.

Rows of enormous wooden cabinets stood at the far end of the temple, while small stoves covered the floor. Pots of medicine sat on them, puffing steam and giving off a strong medicinal fragrance.

Wuxin immediately judged that they were medicinal herbs being boiled.

Manigoldo pointed to someone working busily behind the small stoves and enthusiastically introduced him. "That's Ophiuchus Odysseus, the Saint with the best medical skills in our Sanctuary."

"He boils plenty of medicinal herbs every day to help everyone with their training."

"First, they can eliminate hidden injuries caused by excessive training. Second, they can improve physical recovery, greatly accelerating the progress of Apprentice Saints' cultivation."

"Of course, these things won't do much for you now!"

The hardest and most exhausting stage of a Saint's cultivation was the process of awakening the Sixth Sense and manifesting it externally.

Once they had truly awakened Manas, the Sixth Sense, this kind of simple, grueling training was no longer very effective.

Behind the small stoves, Ophiuchus looked up at the sound and immediately spotted Wuxin and Manigoldo.

"Greetings, Lord Manigoldo!"

"And who might this be?" He looked at Wuxin curiously.

He could clearly sense that Wuxin had awakened his Sixth Sense and reached the Silver level.

There were not many Saints of that caliber in all of Sanctuary, yet he had no recollection of him whatsoever. It was rather strange.

With easy familiarity, Manigoldo pulled over two stools and handed one to Wuxin, patiently introducing him. "This is my junior brother, Lord Hakurei's newly accepted disciple."

"He was cultivating in seclusion in Jamir before this and only returned to Sanctuary today, so you haven't met him before."

"I see!"

Odysseus nodded, then said, "Both of you are injured. I imagine you've just been through a major battle and came here specifically for treatment."

As he spoke, he had already stepped out from behind the stoves.

"Sorry for the trouble!"

For once, Manigoldo offered a sincere word of thanks.

"Thank you for treating us!" Wuxin thanked him as well.

"It's all right. This is my duty!" Odysseus smiled and waved a hand, then burned his Cosmo, concentrating its power in his hands.

"Flesh Regeneration!"

As Odysseus unleashed his special technique, an enormous wooden staff appeared. A large green snake then climbed up the staff from below. It stared at the two with eyes as big as light bulbs and released two rays of green radiance, which fell on Manigoldo and Wuxin respectively.

Immediately afterward, Wuxin distinctly felt much of his pain fade as the light fell on him. An intense itching even arose, as though countless tiny ants were crawling through his wounds.

He knew his wounds were healing rapidly.

Though the sensation was extremely unpleasant, he endured it without making a sound.

Beside him, Manigoldo had deliberately withheld any warning, hoping to see his junior brother embarrass himself. But when he saw Wuxin endure it in silence, he could not help nodding.

With willpower like that, it was no wonder he had cultivated to the Silver level in just half a year.

Before long, both their injuries had fully healed, and Odysseus finally finished the treatment.

"I've healed your injuries with Flesh Regeneration, but you'll still need to take some medicine to further stabilize your recovery! Please wait a moment. I'll prepare the medicinal brew right away!" Odysseus told them.

"Sorry for the trouble!"

Wuxin thanked him again.

After another short wait, Odysseus's medicine was ready. Only after each of them drank it did they bid Ophiuchus farewell and leave the temple.

"What are your plans next?" Manigoldo asked Wuxin curiously.

"I'll cultivate in seclusion in Sanctuary for a while, then enter the Cloth contest and win a Cloth of my own!" Wuxin said without hiding anything.

"Right, you don't have your own Cloth yet. You really should make some preparations!" Manigoldo nodded.

He knew very well just how important a Cloth was to a Saint.

Chapter 32: A chance encounter with Tenma

"Then I won't keep you from preparing! If you run into any trouble in Sanctuary, you can come find me at the Cancer Temple. I'll help you as much as I can!" Manigoldo gave him one last reminder.

"Thank you, senior brother!"

Wuxin then watched Cancer leave.

Afterward, he began exploring Sanctuary curiously.

Although he had learned about this holy land through the story, this was his first time coming here in person, and he was intensely curious about everything.

At the same time, he also wanted to learn more about the place so he could adapt to life here more quickly.

After spending nearly half a day and asking quite a few Saints in Sanctuary, Wuxin finally gained a general understanding of the place.

On the Sacred Mountain, starting from the Aries Temple, the first Golden Temple, those who were not official Saints were forbidden to enter without permission.

Below the Sacred Mountain lay the main area where all Apprentice Saints and Saint Candidates were active. It included combat training grounds, arenas for matches, and everything else one could need, practically making it a miniature city.

Unfortunately, everyone who came here was striving to become a Saint. They had little interest in a high standard of living and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to training.

This also made life in Sanctuary rather austere.

In addition, Wuxin learned from others that Sanctuary currently had roughly five hundred Apprentice Saints and over thirty Saint Candidates.

As for official Saints, there were around sixty.

Sanctuary had eighty-four Cloths in total, which meant that over twenty Cloths were still unclaimed.

Those Cloths remained unclaimed because there was no one suitable for them.

In this world, a Cloth was not merely a suit of armor, but a special creation endowed with sentience.

Having sentience meant that Cloths could make their own choices.

This led to a particular result.

While Saint Candidates chose Cloths, the Cloths were also choosing suitable wearers.

Forcing oneself into an unsuitable Cloth was meaningless, as one could not unleash its true power.

Thus, without a suitable match, a Cloth remained unclaimed.

"Among the twenty-odd unclaimed Cloths, there are twelve Silver Cloths and fifteen Bronze Cloths. With my strength, I'd be better off trying for a Silver Cloth!" Wuxin formed a preliminary plan.

Although neither Bronze nor Silver was considered high-ranking, and both were Cloths better suited to Saints with the Sixth Sense, Silver Cloths were inherently a cut above Bronze Cloths in quality and naturally somewhat stronger.

If he could obtain a Silver Cloth, it would provide a greater boost to his strength.

Just then, a young voice came from behind him.

"Hey, are you the new Saint Candidate?"

Wuxin turned at the voice and immediately saw a smiling youth.

The other boy was young, even younger than him, only around fourteen or fifteen. His face had yet to lose its childishness, and he looked exceptionally youthful.

Yet despite his youth, he wore a suit of silver-gray Cloth.

He was an official Saint.

"The Pegasus Cloth? You're Tenma?" Wuxin recognized him at a glance.

"Huh? You actually know me?" Tenma was a little surprised to have his identity called out so suddenly.

"The Tenma Constellation is famous! It would be strange if I didn't recognize you!" Wuxin smiled and shook his head.

However, Tenma was clearly somewhat displeased by those words.

"The Tenma Constellation is the Tenma Constellation, and I'm me!"

"I'm not that person from the myths you all talk about!" he said indignantly.

The rumor that the Tenma Constellation had once wounded Hades had long since spread everywhere, making him, a mere Bronze Saint, a celebrity throughout Sanctuary.

But he did not like that fame, because it was not his own. It belonged to the Tenma Constellation of myth.

Wuxin took no offense and smiled. "Actually, you don't need to be so resistant to that myth!"

"Because to everyone, that myth is also a kind of hope-a hope of defeating Hades!"

"It can give everyone a little more courage and confidence when fighting Hades!"