Persuading Hakurei / Building a Tower from Grains of Sand

"A Gold Saint?"

Hakurei was taken aback and asked doubtfully, "All the Gold Saints of this generation are already in place. Could he be a Gold Saint of the next generation?"

"But..."

"Isn't it a little too early for the next generation's Gold Saints to appear?"

The Gold Saints were the Sanctuary's greatest fighting force. Having attained the Seventh Sense, they were its mighty pillars, and precisely because they were so powerful, the birth of a Gold Saint was exceptionally difficult.

There had even been Holy Wars in the Sanctuary's history in which some Gold Saints were absent.

Not every generation had a full roster of Gold Saints.

"That... I don't know!"

Sasha shook her head and continued, "The feeling he gives me is somewhat similar to that person on Kanon Island, a little different from ordinary Gold Saints!"

"Overall, he won't be our enemy!"

"Now that the Holy War is approaching, the Sanctuary needs to bolster its strength as much as possible. I suggest we send him there as soon as possible and give him proper training!"

"Perhaps he'll give us a surprise in this Holy War!"

"Send him straight to the Sanctuary?"

Hakurei hesitated, then said earnestly, "Since you say so, Lady Sasha, let me teach him personally!"

"I hope he can grow before the Holy War breaks out in full!"

"You'll teach him personally, Mr. Hakurei? That would be wonderful!" Sasha was delighted.

As a veteran who had survived the previous Holy War, Hakurei not only enjoyed great prestige in the Sanctuary but also possessed immense strength.

With such a powerful man teaching him, the young man's growth would surely accelerate.

The two chatted for quite a while longer before Sasha finally said goodbye and left Jamir.

After watching the goddess's reincarnation leave, Hakurei secretly contacted the Pope and said earnestly, "I'm not questioning Lady Sasha's judgment. I just want to be a little more cautious and observe him more closely!"

"If I confirm that he isn't our enemy, I won't mind putting some effort into training him and adding another formidable warrior to the Sanctuary!"

"Bringing him into the Sanctuary so readily would simply be too risky!"

His main reason for suggesting to Sasha that Wuxin stay was to observe him further. Teaching him was secondary.

"That's fine, too. Lady Sasha is simply too gentle and too trusting of others! As Saints, we must build a solid protective wall for her!" Pope Sage did not object. Instead, he strongly supported his elder brother's approach.

Chapter 5: Persuading Hakurei

A week later, thanks to the care of Hakurei and the others, along with special medication, Wuxin's injuries finally healed completely.

Although fractures were injuries that took a long time to heal in his original world, often requiring several months of rest, in this supernatural world, they were hardly anything at all.

Crane Yuzuriha, for instance, had suffered injuries similar to his, yet had recovered completely in just two days. Had his constitution not been so poor, far inferior to these Saints who wielded Cosmo, his injuries could have healed even faster.

"Your injuries have pretty much healed! The Grand Elder told me to take you down the mountain and send you back where you belong!" Yuzuriha told Wuxin solemnly.

"Huh?"

Wuxin was stunned and asked again to make sure, "Lord Hakurei really intends to send me down the mountain?"

"Yes!"

Yuzuriha nodded and continued, "The Elder said that after spending this time with you, he believes you aren't a bad person, so he asked me to take you down the mountain."

"Besides, with the Holy War approaching, Jamir is no longer safe either. It's time for you to leave!"

Hearing this, Wuxin felt a terrible headache coming on.

Being watched had annoyed him before, but he had never actually considered leaving.

After all, he was only an ordinary person, alone in this other world without any connections. If he missed this chance, he feared he would never have another opportunity to make contact with the Sanctuary, losing his chance to join it altogether.

He couldn't give up!

"Before I leave, could you let me see Lord Hakurei again? There are some things I'd like to say to him!" Wuxin raised his head and earnestly asked the girl.

"Well..."

Yuzuriha had intended to refuse, but remembering the Grand Elder's earlier instructions, she immediately nodded in agreement.

"Follow me!"

Soon, with Yuzuriha leading the way, Wuxin found Hakurei practicing his punches beside a cliff.

Neither spoke to disturb him, quietly watching from the side.

Hakurei was bare-chested, revealing lean, powerful muscles and brown scars across his skin. He practiced various moves that seemed slow but were actually fast, each punch and kick producing a faint explosive crack in the air.

Wuxin felt none of the oppressive presence unique to Cosmo. Clearly, Hakurei was training with physical strength alone.

He's ridiculously strong!

Even without Cosmo, he could probably handle some Sixth Sense fighters easily with physical strength alone! He couldn't help marveling inwardly.

This only strengthened his determination to stay.

He yearned to obtain such power!

They waited for nearly half an hour, only approaching once Hakurei had stopped completely.

"Grand Elder, he said he wanted to see you again before leaving!" Yuzuriha glanced back at Wuxin.

"Mm! I understand. Go attend to your duties!" Hakurei dismissed her as he put on his clothes.

"Yes!"

Yuzuriha turned and left.

Only after the girl's footsteps had faded completely did the old man look at Wuxin with a hint of a smile. "What else do you have to say to me, young man?"

"I'd like to ask you to recommend me to the Sanctuary, Lord Hakurei, so I can become one of you!" Wuxin said candidly.

On the way here, he had considered many plans and arguments, but had rejected them one by one.

He knew very well that the Saints' tremendous individual strength also gave them extraordinarily keen senses, with powers of perception far beyond his imagination and understanding.

If he lied, there was a strong chance Hakurei would see through it, earning his dislike and doing more harm than good. Rather than that, he might as well be candid and tell the truth.

"Oh?"

Hakurei folded his arms and said unhurriedly, "Give me a reason. Or rather, as long as you can convince me, I won't mind giving you a chance!"

Seeing this, Wuxin breathed a slight sigh of relief.

What he had feared most was Hakurei refusing him outright without giving him any chance at all.

At least this attitude showed that Hakurei was not averse to the idea. He still had a sliver of hope of joining the Sanctuary.

Suppressing his secret delight and collecting his thoughts once more, he finally said, "If I said that I admired the goddess Athena's name and therefore wanted to join the Sanctuary to protect her, you certainly wouldn't believe me!"

The Saints' assessments had always been extremely strict, and loyalty to the Sanctuary was one of their key criteria.

This was also why Saints rarely betrayed it, even when they died in battle.

Those whose loyalty was insufficient would be eliminated before formally becoming Saints.

"That's right. Since you come from outside the Sanctuary, it's difficult for me to believe you have much loyalty to the goddess!" Hakurei did not deny it.

The human heart was the hardest thing to fathom.

Never mind those outside the Sanctuary-even within it, among the lowest-ranking apprentice Saints, there were many who lacked loyalty to the goddess.

Precisely for this reason, quite a few people were expelled from the Sanctuary every year, losing their eligibility to become Saints altogether.

"So, what I want to tell you, my lord, is that I want to join the Sanctuary not for the goddess Athena, but to obtain the power of Cosmo!" Wuxin continued.

"Of course, as a member of the Sanctuary, I would also shoulder my responsibilities and use my power to protect the goddess, fight evil, and safeguard the earth!" he added.

Although he distinguished between his primary and secondary aims, he would not refuse the responsibilities expected of a Saint.

Hakurei frowned slightly and continued, "We've known each other for far too short a time. It's difficult for me to trust your promises now!"

Hearing signs that Hakurei was relenting, Wuxin struck while the iron was hot. "You needn't worry too much about that, my lord!"

"If I really had some ulterior purpose that would harm the Sanctuary, I would need a certain level of strength to carry it out."

"If I weren't strong enough, the Sanctuary could easily dispose of me with its power."

"So, if I really wanted to do anything in the Sanctuary, I would at least need the strength of the Seventh Sense."

"But as a veteran of the last Holy War, you should know just how difficult it is to break through to the Seventh Sense."

"Even if I did manage to reach the Seventh Sense by sheer luck, the Sanctuary still has more than ten Gold Saints, as well as figures like you and Pope Sage. With the goddess Athena herself presiding over the Sanctuary as well, what would you still need to worry about?"

"That's true!" Hakurei's tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

Unless Wuxin reached the Eighth Sense or an even higher realm, it would be almost impossible for him to have much impact on the Sanctuary as a whole.

But that was clearly unlikely.

Throughout the Sanctuary's entire history, few had reached the Eighth Sense or beyond.

In his view, it would already be impressive if Wuxin attained the Seventh Sense.

Even this was the highest expectation he afforded him on account of Lady Sasha's regard for him.

Having thought this through, Hakurei let out a long sigh and said, "Very well. Although your answer doesn't satisfy me very much, you've just about managed to convince me."

"Starting today, stay in Jamir and train alongside Yuzuriha!"

His earlier order for Yuzuriha to take Wuxin down the mountain had merely been a small ploy, letting him go in order to draw him in.

He had heard from Yuzuriha that Wuxin wanted to join the Sanctuary, so he had decided to use this opportunity to test him.

He believed that Wuxin would never be content to leave just like that and would certainly come to see him.

Now, he had finally obtained the answer he wanted.

Chapter 6: Building a Tower from Grains of Sand

Soon, having received Hakurei's orders, Yuzuriha took Wuxin aside.

"I never thought you'd actually convince the Grand Elder!" Yuzuriha gave him an astonished look.