Three years had passed.
The Sanctuary remained as tranquil as ever. Compared to when Jiang Chen and the others had departed, not much had changed in this place. If anything had changed, it was the number of people present here.
A number of trainee Saints who failed to awaken their Cosmo had been quietly dismissed from the Sanctuary. In their place, a new batch of trainees arrived, embarking on the same path of training that Jiang Chen and his friends once took.
"Big bro!" As the group arrived, Aiolia excitedly rushed forward.
"Aiolia Chan!" Aiolos greeted him with a smile, instinctively sizing up his younger brother.
Over the past three years, Aiolia had undergone major changes. Even setting everything else aside, his height alone had noticeably increased and now, he carried on his back a massive Bronze Sacred Cloth box.
Jiang Chen could tell at a glance, it was the Leo Bronze Cloth.
Three years ago, Aiolia had already been recognized by the Leo Bronze Cloth. Now, it was clear that in this time, he had nearly mastered it completely. This was evident from his Cosmo, which had clearly reached the Sixth Sense.
"Morning!" After greeting his brother, Aiolia turned to Jiang Chen with a warm smile.
"Not bad! Looks like you've made great progress these past few years." Jiang Chen commented with great admiration in his voice.
"Heh…" Aiolia scratched his head in slight embarrassment.
Jiang Chen smiled at the brothers, then took his leave and returned to his own residence.
As for Sage, Shaka, and Kanon, they had already gone elsewhere. Their current focus was solely on one goal: awakening the Seventh Sense and now that they had returned to the Sanctuary, they immediately devoted themselves to training.
Even Jiang Chen was no exception.
After saying goodbye to Aiolos and Aiolia, he went straight back to his room to resume training.
In these three years, his body had grown significantly taller and stronger. His Saiyan power had fully merged with this new body. At this point, even relying purely on physical strength, he surpassed many of the Gold Saints from the original series.
His Cosmo, while not yet having broken through the Sixth Sense, had already started to manifest the Zodiac Temples.
Even without full materialization, his Cosmo rivaled that of any Gold Saint.
Once the Zodiac Temples fully took shape, he believed his Cosmo might even surpass ordinary Gold Saints altogether.
"Hoo…" He exhaled a deep breath.
"From here on, it's all-out training. Hopefully it won't take too long." Murmuring softly to himself, Jiang Chen closed his eyes and entered meditation.
Meanwhile, across the Sanctuary, Saints of all ranks had likewise begun their own training.
At the same time—
In the Pope's Hall…
Two figures appeared.
The moment they arrived, Pope Shion's face turned pale, and he staggered, almost collapsing. Luckily, Alex reacted quickly and supported him in time.
"Pope!" Alex's expression was filled with worry.
"I'm fine. Just wounded. I'm not dead yet." Shion shook his head.
"But Pope…" Alex still couldn't help but look concerned.
"Alex." Shion steadied himself and suddenly spoke with uncharacteristic solemnity.
"Yes, Your Holiness?" Alex straightened at once, sensing the shift in tone.
"Alex, from this day forth, I entrust all Sanctuary affairs to you. Starting today, you are the new Pope of Sanctuary." Shion spoke deeply and firmly.
"Pope... what?!" Alex was stunned.
"There is no need to refuse. Even if I hadn't been wounded this time, my body wouldn't last much longer. Over two hundred years ago, the battle with the Heavenly Star Phecda left my body in shambles. I've only lasted this long by Athena's grace."
"Alex, you're my younger brother. As the Silver Saint of the Altar constellation, there's no one better suited to guide the next generation of Saints."
"So don't refuse."
Shion spoke with a weary but heartfelt tone.
"I understand, brother… I'll carry on your will and lead the new generation of Saints." Alex inhaled deeply, then nodded in determination.
He had accepted the responsibility.
Upon hearing this, Shion smiled faintly.
"By the way, those children… they all have an incredibly vast future ahead of them! Once their Cosmo reaches the peak of the Sixth Sense, they can attempt to inherit the Gold Cloths." Shion paused slightly before continuing.
"Understood," Alex nodded seriously.
"As for that child from Huaxia (China), I've done some research. Outside of the traditional Twelve Zodiac Temples, there is actually one more temple."
"It's the legendary Ophiuchus Temple, the 13th Golden Temple."
"A myth that's been passed down since the Age of Myth: The Ophiuchus Temple lies between the Scorpio and Sagittarius Temples. Its guardian was the 13th Gold Saint of Sanctuary, the Ophiuchus Gold Saint, Asclepius, known for his benevolence, wisdom, and courage."
"However, the Saint of Ophiuchus once believed he could stand equal to the gods. When he tried to transcend mortality and become a god himself, that blasphemous ambition enraged the deities."
"As punishment, he was expelled from Sanctuary, his very existence erased. The constellation he represented was removed from the Golden Zodiac altogether. The Ophiuchus Cloth was later downgraded to a Silver Cloth and reborn."
"If the Ophiuchus Temple reappears, perhaps that child could be its guardian. Then, in this era, we may once again witness the birth of 13 Gold Saints."
"Perhaps…"
Shion hesitated slightly, lowering his voice. His thoughts drifted, and he didn't continue the sentence.
Even he found such speculation hard to believe… But for some reason, a glimmer of hope surfaced instinctively in his heart.
"Thirteen Gold Saints?" Hearing his brother's words, Alex was visibly shocked. He hadn't imagined that beyond the Twelve Zodiac Temples, such a legend existed.
Surprise aside, Alex still quickly nodded in agreement.
When it came to his brother's decisions, he had no doubts whatsoever.
A few days later…
Within the Sanctuary, the great bell suddenly rang out.
The deep and resonant chimes echoed throughout the Sanctuary, bringing a deep sense of tranquility.
All across the Sanctuary—
Many trainee Saints and Saint candidates instinctively paused their training.
"What's going on?" Kanon looked confused, turning instinctively to his older brother.
Sage shook his head, equally bewildered. The others weren't doing much better and even Jiang Chen felt puzzled.
Then, the very next day…
Alex donned the Pope's ceremonial robes once worn by Shion.
He took up the Pope's scepter.
The Pope remained the same but the shadowy warrior who had always guarded the Pope quietly disappeared. Clearly, such a transition happened silently, without any noticeable ripple across the Sanctuary.
Not a single Saint noticed the change.
Even the Silver Saints who had always been by Pope Shion's side failed to sense what had happened.
Naturally, Jiang Chen and his group had no clue.
Even Aiolia, though already a Bronze Saint, still had no qualifications to approach the Pope.
And Jiang Chen and the others, they were not even official Saints yet, so they were even further removed.
On the seventh day after returning to the Sanctuary… Sage, Shaka, and Aiolos were suddenly summoned by the new Pope.
Shortly after—
Twin Gemini Temple, Virgo Temple, and Sagittarius Temple lit up in radiant light.
That day, constellations sparkled across the sky as three brilliant golden beams pierced the heavens. Then came three sudden explosions of Cosmo.
Under the night sky, Jiang Chen looked up without much surprise.
"Gold Saints…" He whispered softly.
He quickly looked away and returned to what he was doing.
As expected—
At that moment, Sage, Shaka, and Aiolos had become Gold Saints.
Although none had awakened the Seventh Sense, their Cosmos had reached the limit of the Sixth Sense. The Sanctuary clearly intended to use the power of the Gold Cloths to stimulate their breakthrough into the Seventh Sense.
And the result?
It succeeded.
The Gold Cloths truly did accelerate their awakening.
Just three days after becoming Gold Saints, in the Virgo Temple, Shaka's Cosmo suddenly erupted and in a single moment, he stepped into the Seventh Sense.
By comparison, Sage and Aiolos were still behind. Despite half a month of effort, they had yet to touch that threshold.
Still, their Cosmos continued to grow.
With the boost of the Gold Cloths, their Cosmo training rose by multiple levels. Even Jiang Chen couldn't help feeling stirred, he wanted to give it a try himself.
Unfortunately, to be chosen by a Sacred Cloth, one must at least comprehend the Sixth Sense, and right now, he hadn't reached that level yet.
Even attempting it was incredibly difficult. So, he could only calm his thoughts and return to training.
…
(In Toei's official novelization "Holy Sword Legend", Shion dies of natural causes. His younger brother and shadow bodyguard, the Silver Saint Altar Alex, takes over. Alex is later assassinated by Sage, who impersonates him as the Pope. This version makes more sense, Shion, even if aged, couldn't have been killed by a teenager like Sage.)
(End of chapter)
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