Being a Saint since the age of myth

Wuxin did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Dégel is one thing. With his personality, he wouldn't argue with you, senior brother, so he'd let you boast all you liked!"

"But if you met the one above Dégel, I don't believe you'd dare boast like that!"

"The one above Dégel? Pisces Albafica?"

Manigoldo paused, then laughed. "His poisonous blood is a little troublesome, but it still couldn't withstand the incineration of my Demonic Blue Flames!"

"I'm not talking about Pisces Albafica. I mean the previous Aquarius Gold Saint!"

Wuxin stressed the word "previous" and continued, "Even our teacher holds that man in great esteem! You can disregard Dégel, senior brother, but you absolutely mustn't underestimate him!"

Chapter 50: Advice for Sagittarius

"The previous Aquarius?"

Manigoldo's expression changed at once, all his earlier arrogance gone.

The previous Aquarius was a legend. Even though he was no longer around, tales of him still circulated in Sanctuary.

It was said that he could hold off three Gold Saints with a single psychic manifestation. The ice shield he created with his freezing air could not be breached even by several Gold Saints working together, making it an invincible defense.

Before that man, he really would not dare make such outrageous boasts.

Although the Demonic Blue Flames were said to counter all Cosmo techniques, the speed at which they burned was not entirely up to him. It was also affected by his opponent.

The stronger the opponent, the slower the Demonic Blue Flames burned.

Against a legendary figure like the previous Aquarius, he might be frozen by his opponent's freezing air before his Demonic Blue Flames could burn away the power of ice.

Seeing this, Wuxin struck while the iron was hot. "There have never been invincible techniques in this world, only invincible people."

"No matter how exquisite a technique is, it's ultimately an inanimate thing. It needs someone to control and use it."

"Only by flexibly employing different techniques in battle can we defeat all kinds of powerful enemies."

"So even seemingly useless techniques can produce extraordinary results if used flexibly in the right circumstances."

Hearing this, Manigoldo sank into thought.

It was never the technique that was powerful, but the person.

His teacher Sage often said this to him as well.

He simply had not expected to hear something similar from his junior brother.

His teacher had repeated it so often that he had grown sick of hearing it. He had never taken it to heart and had even become somewhat impatient, but now that someone else had said it again, he seemed to finally understand.

After a long silence, he rose and smiled. "Come on. I'll take you to the Aquarius Temple!"

"Senior brother, you agreed?" Wuxin's eyes immediately lit up.

"I was only teasing you earlier! You actually took me seriously?"

Manigoldo grinned mischievously and continued, "Still, my agreeing won't do you any good!"

"If Dégel refuses to give you pointers, there's nothing I can do!"

With that, he shrugged helplessly.

All he could do was provide an introduction.

"That's all right. That's enough!" Wuxin nodded happily.

From what he knew of Dégel, getting a few pointers should not be much of a problem.

Then, with Manigoldo leading the way, the two continued toward the Aquarius Temple farther up.

They chatted along the way, opening up the conversation.

Seemingly casually, Wuxin mentioned, "I spoke with Hasgard earlier. He said the Specters have been far too active lately, and Sanctuary's security problems are becoming increasingly serious."

"I think His Holiness should take this seriously and strengthen the watch and patrols below."

"How much more seriously can he take it? Aren't Gold Saints already leading the patrols themselves?" Manigoldo replied offhandedly.

Wuxin shook his head and said earnestly, "Gold Saints may be powerful, but they're not invincible."

"What's more, the current situation is anything but ordinary. We can't keep responding with our usual standards."

"We have to upgrade Sanctuary's defenses and vigilance further!"

"Oh? Could you tell me more?"

As they spoke, a somewhat curious voice came from farther up the stairs.

Hearing the voice suddenly join their conversation, Wuxin and Manigoldo both looked up. At the end of the stairs stood Sisyphus, golden wings at his back, smiling at them.

Without realizing it, they had already reached the Sagittarius Temple.

"Greetings, Lord Sisyphus!" Wuxin hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Sisyphus nodded and asked with a smile, "From what you're saying, you seem to have a different opinion on Sanctuary's current defensive arrangements. Could you tell me more?"

Seeing this, Manigoldo immediately cut in. "What opinions could a Silver Saint who only recently arrived possibly have? He was just making a few casual complaints. There's no need to take them to heart!"

Sisyphus was not only the Sagittarius Gold Saint, but also the next Pope chosen by Manigoldo's teacher, Sage.

It was one thing for Wuxin to discuss the arrangements of Sanctuary's leadership in front of his senior brother. Naturally, Manigoldo would not mind, but in front of the next Pope, that was another matter.

Seeing through Cancer's thoughts at a glance, Sisyphus said with a smile, "Manigoldo, there's no need to be so nervous!"

"I'm not some old fossil who refuses to listen to honest advice!"

"As long as a suggestion is reasonable, I'm willing to hear it!"

As he spoke, he looked at Wuxin with a hint of encouragement.

Seeing his attitude, Manigoldo said nothing more. He and Wuxin quickened their steps up the stairs and reached the level ground outside the Sagittarius Temple.

Meanwhile, seeing this Sagittarius Gold Saint ask him a question, Wuxin's eyes lit up, and he secretly rejoiced.

Originally, he had intended to persuade his senior brother Manigoldo, then use him as a channel to alert Pope Sage and ultimately achieve his goal.

But that route was uncertain, because this senior brother of his did not care about such things.

Running into Sagittarius Sisyphus, who took this matter very seriously, was an unexpected delight.

Especially since he was the candidate for the next Pope. If Wuxin could persuade him, his goal of strengthening Sanctuary's protection and reducing Saint casualties would be easier to achieve.

He gathered his thoughts and said earnestly, "Lord Sisyphus, with the Holy War about to erupt, the situation facing Sanctuary is already very different from usual."

"In the past, even when evildoers occasionally caused trouble, most of them were small fry."

"Even when some more powerful evildoers appeared, sending out a Gold Saint could resolve almost all of them."

"But things are different now. The 108 Malefic Stars are awakening along with Hades, and a considerable number of them are extremely powerful, even surpassing ordinary Gold Saints."

"Besides that, you should have heard that my senior brother and I encountered a terrifying individual in Tehran some time ago, who called himself 'the Defiler.'"

"If he hadn't withdrawn of his own accord, my senior brother and I might both have died there."

"At this particular time, more and more powerful enemies are emerging. Even the Gold Saints themselves are in grave danger and can no longer suppress everything as they once did."

"So I propose that Gold Saints patrol and stand guard in pairs."

"This would greatly strengthen Sanctuary's defenses and allow the Gold Saints to look out for each other, avoiding needless losses as much as possible!"

Sanctuary was still somewhat overconfident, underestimating how dire the circumstances were and placing excessive faith in the strength of the Gold Saints. This also left the Gold Saints shouldering burdens beyond what they could bear.

But if they worked in pairs and looked out for one another, things would be much better.

For instance, from what Wuxin knew, Pisces Albafica's death could be avoided entirely.

Chapter 51: Paying a visit to Aquarius

After hearing Wuxin's explanation, Sisyphus nodded and said solemnly, "Well said. I'll personally relay your proposal to His Holiness!"

"It seems Lord Hakurei has taken a remarkable disciple!"

With that, he gave Wuxin a look of great approval.

"Thank you for your praise, my lord!" Wuxin lowered his head in thanks.

Afterward, the three exchanged pleasantries for quite some time before parting.

After passing through the Sagittarius Temple and the Capricorn Temple in succession, Wuxin and Manigoldo finally arrived at the Aquarius Temple.

"I'm only responsible for introducing you. As for whether Dégel is willing to give you pointers, I can't say!" Manigoldo emphasized once again.

"Yes, I understand. Sorry for all the trouble, senior brother!" Wuxin nodded in understanding.

In Sanctuary at present, aside from Dégel, only the previous Crateris, Baker, could use the power of ice.

Given his relationship with Baker, the man would never give him pointers, and he could not bring himself to ask him either.

If Dégel was unwilling to help as well, he could only consider slowly studying and comprehending it on his own.

He was already prepared for failure.

"Let's go!"

Calling out, Manigoldo strode into the Aquarius Temple first.

Before long, they found Aquarius Dégel in a study in a side room of the Aquarius Temple.

He was a very refined-looking man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, seated beside the windowsill and quietly reading, looking every bit a noble young gentleman.

"What brings you here, Manigoldo?" Recognizing the visitor's presence, Dégel asked without turning his head.

"Well... the thing is..."

Manigoldo scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly, "My junior brother Wuxin obtained the Crateris Cloth."

"He's currently studying the imprints left in the Crateris Cloth, hoping to learn to master the power of ice, but he hasn't managed to get started, so... so..."

At this point, he truly could not continue.

He really was not accustomed to asking others for favors.

Hearing this, Dégel set down his book, then turned around, his gaze settling on Wuxin beside Manigoldo.

"Greetings, Lord Dégel!"

Wuxin hurriedly greeted him, then added, "I'd like to seek your guidance, my lord, and try to comprehend the power of ice!"