Being a Saint Since the Age of Myth

"Everyone, a new round of the Cloth tournament has officially begun. I hope you will show your courage and wisdom, claim the final victory, and earn the Cloths' recognition!" Pope Sage stood in the center of the arena, earnestly encouraging everyone.

Although his voice was not particularly loud, amplified by his Cosmo, it reached every corner of the arena.

Afterward, Sasha, the goddess's reincarnation, also appeared and offered everyone a few words of encouragement. Only after thoroughly firing up the Saints' fighting spirit did she return to the stands with the Pope and sit down to watch.

The first to appear was the Bronze group, with thirty Saint Candidates of Bronze-level strength competing for the right to obtain a Bronze Cloth.

They fought in pairs, and only the one with the most wins would be considered the victor.

However, such frequent bouts also kept Ophiuchus Odysseus, who was responsible for treating injuries below the stage, incredibly busy.

Finally, after a long series of bouts, a young man claimed the ultimate victory. Before everyone's eyes, he earned the recognition of the Lynx Bronze Cloth and officially became a Saint.

After the Bronze group's bouts, it was time for the Silver group's Cloth tournament, in which Wuxin was participating.

Although their group had the fewest people, only six, their strength far surpassed that of the Bronze group. They belonged to Sanctuary's core fighting force, and their bouts were also the ones the many spectators in the stands valued most.

After drawing lots to determine the order, Wuxin drew number three and was assigned to the second bout, fighting Saint Candidate number four.

"Let me see what tricks everyone has hidden up their sleeves!" With a hint of curiosity, he looked toward the arena below the stands.

In fact, he had specifically sought out several Silver Level Saint Candidates to spar and exchange pointers, but because of the Cloth tournament, every one of them had refused his challenge.

Clearly, they did not want Wuxin to learn too much about them and wanted to keep some of their techniques and strength in reserve.

With no other choice, Wuxin could only ask others in Sanctuary for information about his opponents, gaining a limited understanding of some of their techniques.

Before long, the first duel ended. Number two proved slightly superior and claimed victory.

"My turn!"

Seeing that the arena had been cleared again, Wuxin leaped down from the stands and entered its center.

"To think he would grow this much in just half a year. As expected of someone Lady Sasha thinks highly of, he truly is extraordinary!" Pope Sage said quietly to the girl beside him.

Although he had already heard of Wuxin's growth from his elder brother, seeing it in person still left him shocked.

Sasha shook her head gently and smiled. "Mr. Sage, you should not be praising me, but Mr. Hakurei's teaching and Wuxin's own efforts."

"Without those two things, he could never have grown to this point."

"As for me, I merely happened to discover a pearl left lying on the ground!"

Hearing their conversation, the Gold Saints standing guard behind them were astonished.

They were not entirely clear on Wuxin's background and had only vaguely heard that he was Cancer Manigoldo's junior disciple brother. Now that they heard the Pope and Sasha mention him, they realized that Wuxin's identity was far more complicated and mysterious than what they had seen.

At that thought, the Gold Saints also developed some interest in the coming battle.

Now, seeing Wuxin enter the arena, number four, who had been matched against him, also dropped into it.

Boom!

With a tremendous crash, number four smashed a large crater into the ground that had only just been leveled.

He was an exceptionally burly man, over two meters tall. Even one of his forearms was as thick as Alves's thigh. At a glance, he was clearly a strength-type Saint Candidate.

A strength type?

Unfortunately, though, I'm stronger than you! Sensing the fluctuations of Cosmo erupting from his opponent, Wuxin was brimming with confidence.

He could roughly judge that his opponent's strength was around a hundred thousand times the speed of sound.

Although his opponent was a strength-type Saint, the gap between them was too great, rendering that advantage in strength effectively meaningless.

"Begin!"

Seeing that both sides were ready, the Saint serving as referee gave the command to fight.

"Earth Roar!"

Number four wasted no time and immediately unleashed his ultimate technique.

He leaped high, then plummeted like a meteor. The entire ground instantly split apart, and a powerful shock wave spread in every direction.

Unwilling to take it head-on, Wuxin also jumped, avoiding the shock surging across the ground.

However, just then, number four, who had landed, launched the second wave of his combination attack.

"Savage Collision!"

With a loud shout, he concentrated his Cosmo throughout his body. His frame immediately swelled further, making him resemble a small giant nearly three meters tall, ferocity radiating from his entire body. Then he pushed off the ground and abruptly accelerated, charging toward Wuxin in midair.

Clever!

Wuxin immediately saw through his opponent's plan.

He had opened with Earth Roar. If his opponent failed to evade it, they would undoubtedly be struck by the shock wave and have no chance of avoiding number four's second move immediately afterward.

But even if his opponent dodged the first move, they still could not reverse their disadvantage.

Because number four's first move sent a shock wave across the ground, jumping was generally the only way to evade it.

But an airborne target had no ground to push off from. Without the ability to fly, avoiding his second move would naturally be extremely difficult.

"Sure enough, none of the Saint Candidates who have made it this far are simple!" Watching the huge figure drawing steadily closer from below, Wuxin could not help remarking.

Although he was stronger than his opponent and nearly three times as fast, suspended in midair with nowhere to gain purchase beneath his feet, he had no chance of dodging.

This two-hit combination was enough to give plenty of people a hard time.

"Unfortunately, though, you overlooked the most important thing!"

Watching number four charge up at him, he raised both arms to defend and said calmly, "If this combination can't defeat your opponent, you'll inevitably end up at a disadvantage from temporary exhaustion yourself!"

Even a Saint's body would struggle to withstand unleashing such a ferocious two-hit combination. Temporary exhaustion was inevitable.

It was like Cheng Yaojin's three axe strikes. If the whole sequence failed to defeat the enemy, he himself would be in danger.

Chapter 40: Wind Cone Number One

Bang!

Number four's enormous figure slammed into him. Wuxin immediately felt a heavy weight against his arms as a terrifying force passed into his body. Then both hands went numb, and he was helplessly sent flying even higher, almost disappearing from sight.

Boom!

Number four landed back on the ground. Just as Wuxin had guessed, he panted heavily, entering a terrible state of exhaustion.

"Did number four win?" a Bronze Saint asked.

He could not quite follow a battle at this level.

"Not yet!" A Silver Saint beside him shook his head.

Immediately afterward, everyone clearly sensed a force of Cosmo rapidly gathering in the sky before accelerating down toward the ground.

"So it really wasn't that simple!"

Looking up at the sky, number four's expression grew much graver.

In his current state, there was simply no way he could evade this descending strike. He could only strengthen his defenses and hold his ground.

He immediately adopted a defensive stance, forcing himself through his fatigue to gather Cosmo over the surface of his body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Accompanied by the sound of air being torn apart, Wuxin's figure came into everyone's sight again.

Clenching his fist, he descended from the sky and smashed a heavy punch into number four.

Rumble!

The ground beneath number four's feet instantly shattered. Both feet sank involuntarily, and then half his body was buried in the ground.

"It was tough, but I blocked it in the end!" Looking at Wuxin before him, number four could not help feeling a little pleased with himself, even forgetting the blood spilling from his mouth.

By comparison, Wuxin had taken his Savage Collision squarely, so his injuries were definitely worse.

Having blocked this strike, he still had a chance.

"You're celebrating too soon!"

Wuxin sneered and released the Cosmo he had accumulated in his fist.

"Sekishiki Meikai Ha!"

In an instant, silver currents streamed out of his fist. Although they often used their fingers to unleash this attack, the gesture was merely a form; a fist could release it too.

And to ensure he could defeat his opponent in one strike, he had accumulated the energy needed for this attack in advance, using an ordinary punch as cover to close the distance between them and leave number four with neither room nor time to dodge.

"No-"

Seeing the silver Sekishiki released, number four turned pale with alarm, but it was already too late.

At such close range, the Sekishiki entered his body directly, giving him no chance to resist.

Immediately afterward, three streams of Sekishiki bound his soul and forcibly dragged it out of his body.

He struggled desperately to break free, but no matter what he did, he could not escape the Sekishiki's restraints. It was all futile.

Seeing this, the Saint serving as referee entered the arena and solemnly announced, "The winner of this bout is number three!"

Only after his victory was confirmed did Wuxin release number four's soul and leave the arena amid everyone's cheers.

Outside the arena, Ophiuchus Odysseus had already been waiting for quite some time.

"How badly are you hurt?" he asked with concern.

"I think the bones are cracked. Sorry for the trouble, but could you take a look?" Wuxin extended both arms with a wry smile.

With no footing beneath him, taking such a blow in midair had cost him considerably, even though he was stronger than number four.

Afterward, he had forced himself through the intense pain to launch a descending strike, worsening the injuries to his arms. Naturally, they were in no good shape.

After examining him, Ophiuchus Odysseus nodded and said, "Don't worry. It's nothing too serious. Leave it to me!"

He once again used his special healing technique to treat Wuxin's arms.

Before long, Wuxin felt all the pain in his arms disappear, and they returned completely to normal.

"Thank you, thank you!"

After expressing his thanks, he returned to the stands.

By then, number five and number six had already begun fighting in the arena, trading blows in a fierce battle.