Becoming a Saint from the Age of Myth

It was gas produced by decomposing corpses burning, what people commonly called "ghost fire."

Inside the stone tower, Hakurei was sorting through Cloth fragments when he noticed the disturbance outside.

Sekishiki was his specialty, so he was naturally extremely sensitive to this power associated with death.

"Why has the phosphorus gas drifting outside suddenly become so agitated?"

A little puzzled, he flashed out of the stone tower and immediately spotted Wuxin surrounded by countless phosphorus flames.

"Did he ignite the phosphorus gas drifting in the air?" Hakurei was somewhat surprised.

He had originally thought Yuzuriha had suddenly gained insight and grasped how to use phosphorus gas.

Chapter 12: The test for apprenticeship

"Rein in your Cosmo, young man!"

"These phosphorus flames are not a power you can control yet!"

Hakurei strode forward and raised his right index finger.

Immediately afterward, Wuxin and Yuzuriha saw all the phosphorus flames burning in the air swarm toward the old man as though answering some summons.

In the end, every last flame sank into the tip of his index finger and vanished completely.

Seeing this, Wuxin hurriedly dispersed the power of Cosmo in his palm and greeted him respectfully. "Greetings, Lord Hakurei!"

"Greetings, Grand Elder!" Yuzuriha followed suit.

The old man nodded, his gaze settling on Wuxin as he asked tentatively, "Has someone taught you how to ignite phosphorus gas?"

"No!"

Wuxin did not know whether to laugh or cry. He continued, "I don't understand how I ignited this phosphorus gas either. I was just trying to manifest my power of Cosmo, and it ignited on its own!"

"Trying?"

Hakurei keenly picked up on a key word.

"Was that your first attempt at burning your Cosmo?" he asked to confirm.

"Yes, Lord Hakurei!"

Wuxin hid nothing and continued explaining, "Only today did I finally accumulate enough to break through the critical point in one go and awaken the Sixth Sense, Manas."

"Then, under Yuzuriha's guidance, I tried to burn my Cosmo and gain control of its power."

"And that resulted in what you just saw."

"That's right. It really was his first attempt at burning his Cosmo!" Yuzuriha added.

Hearing this, Hakurei fell silent, seemingly pondering something. His brow slowly furrowed, and his gaze grew increasingly complicated as he looked at Wuxin.

Yuzuriha did not dare disturb him and merely stood quietly to one side.

Wuxin seemed to have guessed something. A trace of anticipation involuntarily rose in his heart, and he cast a probing look at the old man.

At that instant, the old man and the young man met each other's gaze. As though both understood what the other was thinking, they immediately looked away.

"Ahem-"

Hakurei broke the silence first. After two light coughs, he instructed Wuxin, "Manifest your power of Cosmo again. Let me see!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Wuxin agreed immediately, without hesitation.

Having already found the method, he accelerated the movement of his three planets this time, drawing out more power from his Cosmo.

In an instant, a Cosmo exuding a cold, sinister aura manifested in his palm once again.

This time, he drew out more power from his Cosmo, and the aura it gave off was stronger. Naturally, that stronger power also triggered a greater change than before.

Countless ghostly blue flames appeared out of thin air, denser than before and covering a larger area, spreading across a radius of nearly ten meters.

In the blink of an eye, the three seemed to have been engulfed in a sea of ghostly blue fire.

"Just as I thought!"

Having already anticipated this result, Hakurei nodded, then raised his index finger toward the sky again, just as before.

Immediately afterward, all the phosphorus flames seemed to answer some summons, turning into streaks of light that converged on the old man's fingertip before vanishing into it.

In the blink of an eye, the old man had absorbed all the surrounding phosphorus flames.

Seeing this, Wuxin also took the initiative to disperse the power of Cosmo he had manifested.

"You have excellent talent. You are well suited to inheriting my power!"

Looking at Wuxin before him, Hakurei wore a complicated expression. "I will give you a chance."

"As long as you can pass my test, I will take you as my disciple and teach you everything I have learned in my life!"

"Please give me your instructions, my lord!" Wuxin hurriedly agreed, struggling to contain his joy.

As a veteran of the previous Holy War, Hakurei naturally possessed extraordinary strength.

If Wuxin could become his disciple and inherit his ultimate techniques, it would benefit him immensely.

Especially since Hakurei had already affirmed his talent.

This also indirectly pointed Wuxin in a direction: only the power to manipulate death suited him best.

And in all of Sanctuary, only three people commanded this power: Altar Hakurei, Pope Sage, and Cancer Manigoldo.

Under normal circumstances, none of the three would have been easy for someone of his current standing to meet, let alone seek out as a master to learn from.

But Hakurei had offered such a rare opportunity of his own accord, and Wuxin would naturally not let it slip by easily.

Yuzuriha was shocked to hear this and hurriedly said, "Grand Elder, you..."

Before she could finish, Hakurei raised a hand to interrupt her and said seriously, "I know what I am doing. You need not try to dissuade me!"

Then he fixed his gaze on Wuxin before him again and said earnestly, "Everyone is born different, and that also means everyone's power of Cosmo differs. This is what we call talent."

"Some people may be better at wielding the power of wind, while others may be better at wielding the power of fire."

"Your power is better suited to manipulating death."

Then the old man turned to look toward a nearby cliff and continued, "Many remains are buried beneath that cliff, and the lingering resentment of many dead who refuse to enter Yomotsu remains there as well."

"The test I am giving you is to use your power of Cosmo to manipulate the remains of the dead."

"If you can make a set of remains slowly climb up from the bottom of the cliff within one month, you will have passed the test!"

Hearing this, Wuxin hurriedly asked, "My lord, how do I use the power of Cosmo to manipulate the remains of the dead?"

Hakurei did not answer. He simply turned and left, as though he had not heard Wuxin at all.

At that moment, Wuxin immediately understood that this, too, was part of the test.

Hakurei would teach him nothing. He would have to work it out and grasp it himself, then manipulate the remains of the dead into climbing up from the bottom of the cliff. Only then would it constitute a complete test.

"Hiss-"

Realizing this, Wuxin immediately drew in a sharp breath.

This test was a little too difficult.

There were absolutely no hints!

He then cast a pleading look at Yuzuriha beside him.

After spending these days together, their relationship could not be called particularly friendly, but it was fairly harmonious.

"Don't look at me!"

Yuzuriha waved her hands repeatedly and said with a wry smile, "I don't know how to use techniques like Sekishiki, so naturally, I don't know how to manipulate the remains of the dead either."

"I can't help you at all."

"Besides, the Grand Elder has already made his stance clear: no one is allowed to give you any help. Even if I really knew, I wouldn't tell you a single word."

"If you want to pass the Grand Elder's test, you can only rely on your own strength!"

With that, she gave Wuxin no chance to pester her, turning and leaving without looking back.

"This really is a headache!"

Wuxin could not help letting out a long sigh. Shaking his head, he said, "Forget it. Whatever happens, I should get to the bottom of the cliff first!"

To pass the test, he had to descend to the bottom of the cliff. That was where this test began.

Chapter 13: Testing his power

As Wuxin headed down the cliff, Hakurei secretly contacted Sanctuary and informed Pope Sage and Sasha, the goddess's reincarnation, about his test for Wuxin.

"Brother, have you truly made up your mind?" Sage asked once more to confirm.

"Not yet!"

Hakurei shook his head and replied quietly, "He possesses outstanding talent and an extremely high affinity for the power of death. I cannot help wondering whether this is fate's arrangement!"

"A disciple bestowed upon me by fate!"

"But his origins are far too mysterious. Not a single trace can be found."

"So I have set him a test."

"If he truly passes the test, I will accept fate's arrangement. If he fails, it will prove that the affinity between us is not yet sufficient!"

"That works too!" Sage relaxed a little.

Although the talent Wuxin had displayed shocked him as well, those mysterious origins still made it difficult for him to feel entirely at ease.

Sasha, however, had no concerns at all and said optimistically, "I think this is a good thing."

"The greater his talent, the greater the help he can give us in the coming Holy War!"

"Sanctuary needs power like his!"

Breaking through to the Sixth Sense in just three months-such talent was truly breathtaking.

She had no doubt that Wuxin could advance another step and enter the realm of the Seventh Sense.