Silhouettes were darting through the Sacred Domain, and soon, everyone had gathered at the very center. Looking up, they could see the distant, towering Golden Palaces, majestic and awe-inspiring.

Those were the pinnacle of the Saint Seiya cosmos, the legendary twelve Zodiac Temples of the Gold Saints. But at this moment, not a single one of the twelve Golden Palaces was occupied.

This also represented endless opportunities, so long as one could become a Saint, anyone might one day reach the rank of a Gold Saint.

However, it remained just a possibility.

Each year, the Sanctuary selects trainee Saints from around the world. Yet among the many trainees, surviving the grueling training at the Sanctuary was already a challenge. To even become a reserve Saint was difficult, let alone an official one.

In the past few years, even during the once-every-three-years Sanctuary Tournament, only one or two people were able to become official Saints.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"You don't know? I heard that this time's Sanctuary Tournament includes a Silver Cloth!"

"For real?!"

"Yeah, I heard it from my second brother, it's said to be the White Whale Cloth!"

"Hiss—!"

"That White Whale Cloth is mine!"

Excited voices overlapped, filling the training grounds. All around, the silhouettes were brimming with anticipation and excitement. At that moment, countless trainee Saints had eyes glowing with longing.

A Silver Cloth, ranked above the Bronze Cloths.

Although most people dreamed of becoming Gold Saints, many were well aware that such a goal was out of reach. In that case, aiming to become a Silver Saint was undoubtedly the best and most realistic choice.

"Chen! Are you going to compete this time?"

Jiang Chen had just arrived when Aiolia came over eagerly, his face filled with anticipation.

"Tch, him? Aiolia, who do you think he is? He's nothing but a wild monkey from East Asia." A boy sneered and spoke with scorn.

"Antonio! What did you say?!" Aiolia snapped angrily, his eyes instinctively shifting to the golden-haired boy in front of them.

"Hmph. What do I mean? That White Whale Cloth is mine!" Antonio scoffed coldly, glaring at Jiang Chen with visible contempt.

"Oh, really? Strength isn't something that can be claimed with words alone." Aiolia looked like he wanted to say something, but Jiang Chen raised a hand and stopped him and then Jiang Chen spoke.

And in the very next moment, his figure vanished.

"What?! So fast!" Antonio's face changed dramatically, his pupils dilating in shock.

But his awareness only lasted that brief instant.

Boom!

Antonio's body was sent flying, instantly crashing down in the distance with a thunderous impact.

The loud noise instantly caught the attention of many nearby. Curious gazes turned toward the commotion.

Once they saw what had happened, many observers looked on with growing interest.

Some sneered and dismissed it. Others, however, felt eager to try for themselves.

In the Sanctuary—

The Sanctuary did not interfere with internal battles.

In fact, it encouraged them as only through constant battle could the strongest Saints be forged. As someone who had survived since the last era, Pope Shion understood this better than anyone.

"Chen, that was amazing! You took him out in one strike!" Aiolia's eyes gleamed with admiration.

Even though he already knew Jiang Chen was powerful, he hadn't expected this level of dominance. Antonio's strength was almost on par with his own, yet he hadn't been able to land a single hit against Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen smiled lightly, clearly unbothered.

It was laughable. His current battle power was in the millions. Facing this group of trainee Saints, who hadn't even grasped the concept of Cosmo yet, was like comparing heaven and earth. They weren't even on the same level.

"Let's go. We still need to get to the assembly."

Jiang Chen said casually, already turning away without the slightest intention of paying further attention.

He was just a minor character. Someone who didn't even appear in the original storyline. Who knew if he'd even live until the main plot began?

Jiang Chen had no interest in wasting time.

"Bastard! Do you even know what you're doing?!" An angry shout rang out before a burly figure stepped in to block the path of Jiang Chen and Aiolia.

"Lorenzo! Antonio brought this upon himself. As a Saint candidate, are you seriously planning to get involved?" Aiolia frowned slightly, his eyes filled with caution as he stared at the newcomer.

This one was different from Antonio.

Unlike Antonio, the person before them had genuinely grasped the power of Cosmo, he was a reserve Saint.

"Out of the way, brat." Lorenzo growled coldly, though his eyes did show a trace of wariness as he glanced at Aiolia.

Of course, Lorenzo wasn't wary of Aiolia himself, but rather of Aiolia's older brother, Aiolos. As one of the most renowned Saint candidates of this generation, Aiolos already had achievements of defeating other Saint candidates head-on.

And at this moment, with Lorenzo stepping out—

Many who had already diverted their attention refocused their gaze. Even Aiolos instinctively frowned and stepped forward.

However, his path was blocked by a figure.

"Shura?" Aiolos couldn't help but look toward the figure beside him.

"Don't be so eager, Aiolos. Let's just watch," Shura said with a smile, his eyes filled with interest as he looked down at the scene.

"Brother, who do you think will win?" On the other side, a young man was also watching the scene below excitedly, asking curiously to the youth next to him.

"Not sure. Garon, stop them if things go too far." The youth shook his head and spoke softly.

"Stop them? Why should we? It's been a while since something fun happened in the Sanctuary." Garon shook his head, speaking with excitement.

Hearing his brother's words, Sage couldn't help but frown slightly.

But in the end, he didn't say anything.

Back at the scene—

"Be careful, that guy was brought back from Spain by the Bronze Saint of Ursa Major along with Antonio." Aiolia said with a heavy tone. "Right now, he's a Saint candidate and has already successfully awakened his Cosmo."

Aiolia's expression was serious.

There was a vast difference between someone who had awakened Cosmo and someone who hadn't. Aiolia could clearly feel this massive gap just from his own brother.

"A Saint candidate, huh?" Jiang Chen's heart stirred, his eyes lit up.

Although he had fought against Saga before, due to the dimensional invasion at that time, his understanding of Cosmo wasn't yet clear. Now that a real Saint candidate had appeared, it was the perfect opportunity to understand Cosmo better.

"Brat, be good and let me break a few of your bones, or it's gonna get ugly," Lorenzo sneered coldly.

(To Be Continued…)

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