Being a Saint since the age of myth

However, he no longer had a chance.

The rain of spears dissipated, and Wuxin finally freed his hands.

Enduring the intense pain in his chest, he grabbed the left fist his opponent was trying to withdraw with his right hand and sneered, "You certainly went to a lot of trouble preparing that three-part killing combo for me!"

"Unfortunately, that alone still isn't enough to kill me!"

"As a return gift, I've prepared something for you too. I hope you like it!"

As he spoke, he extended his left index finger and jabbed it forward, seemingly slowly but actually swiftly.

Just as his opponent's killing moves had linked together, he too had kept something hidden.

When blocking the rain of spears earlier, Wuxin had chosen to meet it barehanded because he had no time to gather the power for a major technique.

But he had not stopped gathering power. Instead, he had silently accumulated it in his hand, precisely to deal with unexpected developments.

At the same time, he had also intended to feign weakness and catch his opponent off guard.

Now was the time to use that power.

"Oh no!"

Noticing the movement of Wuxin's left hand, Baker felt his scalp prickle.

He hurriedly tried to dodge, but they were too close together. Moreover, his opponent had prepared this while he was unsuspecting, leaving him no chance to react.

The thought of dodging had only just occurred to Baker when that fair index finger touched his chest.

"It's over!"

"Sekishiki Meikai Ha!"

Along with Wuxin's cool voice, a silver radiance bloomed at his fingertip.

Immediately afterward, three silver streams pierced Baker's chest and dragged a semitranslucent soul out through his back.

"No-!"

"The Crateris Cloth is mine!"

Shocked, furious, and utterly unwilling to accept this, Baker's soul began struggling desperately.

Unfortunately, their strength was evenly matched, and Wuxin also held an advantage in the death attribute. No matter how he struggled, it was futile.

In the end, growing ever more desperate, he had no choice but to stop his useless struggles.

Seeing this, the Saint acting as referee entered the arena at the appropriate moment and loudly announced, "The winner is Saint Candidate Wuxin!"

Only then did Wuxin release Baker's soul, allowing it to return to his body.

This time, Baker did not become hysterical as he had before. Instead, he became unusually calm.

He said nothing, only giving Wuxin a long look before turning and leaving the arena without looking back.

Wuxin had wanted to offer a few words of comfort, but seeing that desolate figure leaving, he had to swallow the words already on the tip of his tongue.

As the winner of this duel, and the person who had truly hurt this former Crateris Saint, he had the least right to comfort him.

In the stands, few people cared about Baker's dejection. Everyone was celebrating the emergence of an even stronger Crateris Saint.

However, as Athena's reincarnation, Sasha was an exception.

She said with some concern, "Mr. Sage, please send someone to check on Baker right away!"

"It's hard not to worry about his condition!"

"Please don't worry, my lady. I've already arranged for his good friend Serpens to go comfort him!" Pope Sage immediately replied.

"That's good!"

Sasha nodded and turned her attention back to the arena.

She stepped to the front of the platform and lightly waved the golden scepter in her hand. A streak of silver light descended from the stands, landing before Wuxin and transforming into a huge silver cup.

"Saint Candidate Wuxin, you have proven your ability and character!"

Looking at the young man in the arena, she continued, "Now, I formally bestow upon you the Crateris Silver Cloth!"

"From this day forward, you are the new Crateris Silver Saint!"

"Yes, Lady Sasha!"

Wuxin dropped to one knee and bowed to the girl in the stands.

Although he disliked kneeling to others, when under another's roof, one had to bow one's head.

Even Gold Saints had to kneel when granted an audience with this goddess's reincarnation, let alone a Silver Saint like him.

Especially on such a formal occasion, paying his respects was also a way of expressing his attitude.

Of course, he could choose not to kneel.

From what he knew of Sasha, this gentle reincarnation of the goddess would certainly not mind, but there was no telling what others might think.

Ultimately, this was a society that emphasized hierarchy and rank.

He could not oppose the entire society alone. He could only blend into it as much as possible and adapt to this ancient era.

Once his oath was complete, Wuxin silently burned his Cosmo, resonating once again with the huge silver cup before him.

Buzz, buzz!

The radiance emanating from the silver cup abruptly intensified tenfold. After trembling lightly a few times, it suddenly separated into dozens of armor pieces.

Then, guided by Wuxin's Cosmo, the armor pieces flew onto his body one after another.

Clang, clang, clang!

As the armor pieces reassembled on Wuxin's body, they soon formed a silver Cloth with pale blue trim, enveloping him.

Apart from a small portion of his limbs left exposed, nearly sixty percent of his body was covered by the Cloth, giving Wuxin a sense of substantial protection.

With this Cloth protecting me, unless it's a move with an instant-death effect like Sekishiki, even someone at the peak of the Silver level couldn't kill me in one blow! He immediately grew immensely excited.

Not only that, besides providing powerful protection, the Cloth also gave him a powerful boost.

He could clearly feel that, with the Cloth's enhancement, his mental power had surged by nearly a third, allowing him to wield even greater Cosmo.

In more concrete numbers, his strength had previously been at roughly three hundred thousand times the speed of sound. Now, enhanced by the Cloth, it approached five hundred thousand times the speed of sound-a complete qualitative improvement.

At the same time, the protection granted by the Cloth had greatly increased what his body could withstand. Even with his mental power surging and more Cosmo available to him, he no longer needed to worry about the consequences of his Cosmo backfiring.

"No wonder. No wonder everyone values Cloths so much!"

"There really is a world of difference between a Saint with a Cloth and one without!" Wuxin exclaimed once again.

In the stands, seeing that Wuxin had donned his Cloth, Sasha nodded and smiled. "I have high hopes for you, the new Crateris Saint."

"I hope that with your addition, you can share more of everyone's burden and protect more of the weak in the coming Holy War!"

"Everything shall be as you wish, Lady Sasha! I will use my power to protect peace on earth!" Wuxin replied in agreement.

"I look forward to seeing what you accomplish, Crateris Saint!"

Sasha nodded, then turned and disappeared from the stands.

Seeing this, Pope Sage and the Gold Saints quietly departed as well.

This contest for the Cloth had now come to a complete end.

Chapter 48: The Cloth's effects

Although the contest for the Cloth was over, Wuxin did not find himself at leisure.

He had not been at Sanctuary for very long, but he had still made quite a few friends, such as Tenma.

They all came up to congratulate him on successfully obtaining his Cloth and becoming a Silver Saint.

"I'm so envious! You actually became a Silver Saint in one go! Poor me, who knows when I'll qualify to change into a Silver Cloth!" Looking at the silver armor on Wuxin, Tenma's eyes filled with indescribable envy.

"Don't envy me! I'm envious of your Cloth! That's the legendary Tenma Constellation!" Wuxin shook his head with a smile.

The Tenma Constellation Cloth bore the destiny of slaying gods. It was anything but ordinary.

Unfortunately, that Cloth was not something just anyone could wield.

Wuxin envied it, but he had never entertained the thought of possessing it.

"Legends are just legends. Who knows what's really going on! Anyway, I haven't felt any major difference between the Tenma Constellation and other Bronze Cloths!" Tenma scratched his head helplessly.

Although everyone believed his Pegasus Cloth had a rich mythological background and was a very special Cloth, even more precious than a Gold Cloth.

But he had not felt anything special about his own Cloth, which also left him deeply envious of the stronger Silver Cloth and Gold Cloth.

"There's no rush. Take your time! Maybe one day you'll suddenly discover what makes the Tenma Constellation special!" Wuxin patted Tenma's shoulder reassuringly.

"That's right, take your time. You'll find what makes the Tenma Constellation special eventually!" the other Saints chimed in.

Afterward, Wuxin chatted with everyone for quite a while before finally sending them off.

"Some peace and quiet at last!"

After seeing the last person off, Wuxin let out a long breath.

However, the pain in his chest constantly reminded him that he could not relax just yet.

Helplessly, he could only make his way to Ophiuchus's clinic with heavy steps, not even in the mood to explore what functions his newly acquired Cloth possessed.

Only after receiving treatment from Ophiuchus did his injuries heal, allowing him to return to the little stone house where he lived.

However, Odysseus instructed him that his wounds had only just healed and needed a good period of rest, telling him not to fight again for the time being.

"Resting for a while is fine too! After fighting so many matches in a row today, I really am a little tired!" Recalling the battles in the arena, Wuxin sighed again.

Fighting too frequently could leave a person mentally exhausted, and that was precisely his current state.

For the next few days, he would not want to spar with anyone.

"Now, it's time to take a look at my Cloth!"

Wuxin sat cross-legged on the stone bed, closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and focused, using his mind to communicate with the Cloth's spirit.

The Cloth's spirit was very faint. Like a small pet, it could only engage in simple communication and could not understand anything too complicated.

After a difficult exchange, Wuxin finally figured out the Cloth's special abilities.