The power of the Cosmo surged forth, and Jiang Chen stood tall and composed where he was. At that moment, even Sage, Shaka, and Aiolos couldn't help but show astonishment on their faces.
They had originally assumed Jiang Chen would be at a disadvantage, perhaps even severely injured in this figth. Yet the result had far exceeded all of their expectations.
With just one strike, Jiang Chen utterly defeated Kanon and Kanon didn't even have the chance to resist.
The combat had happened so fast that they hadn't even been able to see it clearly.
"Hiss...! Chen, his power...!" Aiolos couldn't hold back and spoke, his eyes wide with shock.
While Kanon might be a bit weaker than them, it was only by a small margin. It should not have been this easy to decide a victor so quickly. Even the strongest among them, Shaka, couldn't have resolved a fight with Kanon this effortlessly.
And yet, Jiang Chen had done so with ease.
At this moment, not just Aiolos, but even Sage, and Shaka, whose eyes were closed, felt their hearts ripple intensely.
"Again! That last time, I was careless!" Kanon, who had been blasted away, climbed to his feet and spoke through gritted teeth while his Cosmo flared violently, expanding rapidly.
"Kanon!" Sage couldn't help but speak out. His figure moved to intercept him, but Kanon had already burst forward, charging at Jiang Chen with his Cosmo burning brightly.
Kanon's power wasn't much less than Sage's to begin with. Now that he was fully unleashing his Cosmo, not even Sage could stop him in time.
But as fast as he charged—
That was how fast he was sent flying again.
"Tiu are still too slow and have way too many openings in your attack. Your spine, your abdomen… Your chest, every part of your body is vulnerable." Jiang Chen's calm voice rang out in the surroundings and in the next instant, a powerful aura swept out.
His figure flickered, easily evading all of Kanon's attacks. Then, with one more punch, he struck the same spot again.
Boom!
Kanon's Cosmo exploded once more and in a flash, Kanon's body was sent flying again.
Rumble—!
A massive crater formed in the cliffside far away. This time, Kanon tried multiple times to get up, but couldn't. The moment he barely managed to stagger out—
Swish!
A figure appeared before him once more.
Bang!
Kanon suddenly threw a punch, but Jiang Chen casually blocked it with a light motion.
"Arrogance requires strength. Ambition, requires even more strength. As you are now… you're still not there." Jiang Chen's voice remained calm as he spoke. He swung his right arm, and Kanon's body was once again sent flying.
This time, Jiang Chen didn't follow up. He simply turned and walked off to the side.
"…Thank you." Sage spoke softly.
"Don't worry about it." Jiang Chen shook his head, not taking it to heart.
Kanon might be disagreeable, especially in his younger days, but he couldn't deny Kanon had a charisma of his own. Besides, they were still on Lushan, and Dohko was watching.
Of course he wasn't going to really hurt Kanon.
"Chen, your strength is amazing! If there's time, I'd love to spar with you and I would be grateful if you can teach me something." Aiolos couldn't help but praise him, then spoke seriously.
"I wouldn't say 'teach', but if there's time, we can certainly exchange moves." Jiang Chen nodded with a smile.
"Chen… you haven't awakened the Sixth Sense yet, have you? But your Cosmo…?" After Aiolos spoke, even Shaka couldn't help but ask with curiosity.
With his question, all eyes turned toward Jiang Chen. Even Kanon, who had just stood up in the distance, looked over. Jiang Chen's Cosmo clearly hadn't reached the level of the Sixth Sense, yet its strength far surpassed theirs who had.
That was what puzzled them the most.
"Maybe… my Cosmo is just larger than average?" Jiang Chen offered a light-hearted explanation.
"Larger…?" Shaka murmured thoughtfully.
The others still looked confused.
"Everything in this World is made of atoms: flowers, trees, grass, rocks, stars, the Milky Way… Even the universe itself is no exception. Everything in this great cosmos was born from the Big Bang, composed of atoms. And so, destruction is, at its core, the breaking apart of atoms. The Cosmo is the latent cosmic energy within the human body, our source of power."
"But how big that Cosmo is, varies from person to person. Just like the universe itself comes in sizes, so too does the Cosmo."
Seeing their puzzled faces, Jiang Chen calmly explained further.
Shaka's thoughtful expression deepened. Sage and Aiolos fell into contemplation as well. Even Kanon, off to the side, began to reflect.
"The size of one's Cosmo is indeed related to a Saint's strength. Every flower, every blade of grass, every tree contains its own Cosmo. A Saint's training is both about refining their Cosmo and expanding it. But compared to expansion, refinement is actually more important."
As the others were lost in thought, an aged voice suddenly rang out.
Hearing it, everyone froze for a moment. Then they immediately realized who had spoken.
Jiang Chen looked toward the distant cliff wall in surprise. Only then did he notice that the figure who had been seated calmly upon the cliff… had vanished.
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, and caught sight of a hunched old man slowly walking toward them.
"Master!"
"Master!"
Shaka, Sage, Aiolos, Kanon, and even Jiang Chen all bowed respectfully.
"Boy, your Cosmo is indeed massive. But you must think this through carefully. With a Cosmo of that size, your path to mastering it will be incredibly difficult." Dohko's ancient gaze settled on Jiang Chen, his deep voice resonating as he spoke.
At first, he had been puzzled, 'why hadn't Jiang Chen awakened the Sixth Sense?'
But the moment Jiang Chen made his move, Dohko understood.
Good heavens… he had never seen someone's Cosmo directly condense into a level that could shake the foundations of the Zodiac Temples.
Such an immense Cosmo…
In the past two centuries, he had never heard of or witnessed such a thing. Stunned as he was, Dohko couldn't help but frown.
As a surviving warrior of the previous Holy War, and someone with close ties to Athena, Dohko understood some things very well, while an enormous Cosmo brought overwhelming advantages, it also came with enormous drawbacks.
Namely: the larger the Cosmo, the harder it is to refine.
And Jiang Chen's training clearly showed this.
Despite his extraordinary physical and mental talent, far beyond the others, a whole year had passed, yet the others had successively awakened the Sixth Sense, while Jiang Chen still didn't know how long it would take him to reach that level.
And that was just the Sixth Sense.
For a true Saint, especially one officially recognized, awakening the Sixth Sense was practically a given. But the true divide, the real test, was the Seventh Sense.
What truly determined the power of a Saint wasn't their Saint Cloth, but the depth of their Cosmo. The reason Gold Saints were so powerful was because they had grasped the essence of the Cosmo: the Seventh Sense.
To most, the Cosmo is a vague concept, drawn from the heart, mind, soul, life force, or spiritual will.
(To Be Continued…)
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