A large number of trainee Saints and reserve Saints had gathered, and their numbers likely exceeded over a thousand, and this was only the beginning. As time passed, the trainee and reserve Saints of the Sanctuary would continue to grow in strength.

Only when all 88 Saints were fully appointed, or when the Holy War officially began, would this process finally come to a halt. This also meant that most of them would never have the chance to become official Saints.

Forget about Gold or Silver Saints, even becoming a Bronze Saint would be out of reach for most.

"Chen, this time my brother said the most expert-level ones should be Sage and Shaka."

"Did you see them? Those two over there! Those two are incredibly strong, even my brother says he doesn't have any confidence against them."

"And aside from them, there's that guy over there, and this one here, see? That one's Camus, and this one's called Milo. It's said they've also awakened their Cosmo."

"Their strength isn't to be underestimated… but they're still weaker than my brother."

Aiolia spoke softly to Jiang Chen, explaining the surrounding situation.

Through Aiolia's introduction, Jiang Chen finally began to understand the identities of these individuals, those who would become the future Gold Saints of this era.

Gemini Gold Saints Sage and Kanon, Virgo Gold Saint Shaka, Capricorn Gold Saint Shura, Scorpio Gold Saint Milo, Aquarius Gold Saint Camus, as well as the future Leo Gold Saint Aiolia standing before him, and his elder brother, Sagittarius Gold Saint Aiolos.

The lineup of future Gold Saints was almost complete.

Only the "weakling duo" and Aries Gold Saint Mu were missing. But that was understandable. After all, the storyline likely wouldn't start for another thirteen years.

This was exactly the period during which these Gold Saints were growing and maturing.

So encountering them now in the Sanctuary made perfect sense.

Even Gold Saints had to train within the Sanctuary before they could walk the path of their future. Jiang Chen even suspected that the weakling duo might already be among the thousand present, just not yet standing out like the others.

"Silence!"

As the murmuring voices spread through the crowd, a deep, powerful voice suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, an overwhelming Cosmo pressure swept across the area.

In an instant, the faces of many who had been speaking turned pale. Even Aiolia's expression changed slightly, a flush of red appearing on his cheeks.

Jiang Chen also felt an immense pressure bearing down on him.

"So this… is the power of Cosmo? It's truly incredible." Jiang Chen murmured to himself, his eyes lighting up as he began to carefully sense this energy.

At the center of it all, the descending figure seemed to sense something unusual and glanced over in his direction.

But he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

He shook his head and lost interest.

Dong!

At that moment, with everyone silent, a clear chime of a bell rang out, resonating throughout the Sanctuary and into everyone's hearts.

A sense of peace instantly washed over the crowd.

As that feeling spread...

A brilliant golden light began to radiate from the top of the Sanctuary, from Athena's Temple, spreading outward across the entire area.

On a distant mountain peak, flowing light suddenly flickered.

A majestic and terrifying golden aura surged forth. Soft, yet containing immense power, it suddenly appeared, then instantly tore through the sky, descending straight toward the plaza.

As the light landed...

Everyone finally saw the figure clearly. It was a person clad in the ceremonial robes of the Pope, holding the Pope's staff. Behind him stood five Silver Saints, and the moment they descended, every eye was drawn to them, yet the vision of the crowd also seemed to be involuntarily pulled further away, overwhelmed.

At that moment, each trainee and reserve Saint held their breath with sweat beads on their foreheads.

Even just looking at them filled everyone with a sense of dread.

"So strong!" Jiang Chen's heart surged. Even with his current strength, he felt a fearsome power like never before when perceiving this aura.

This power was likely even greater than his own peak form, before any transformation.

Of course, that was to be expected.

While others might not know who that figure was…

Jiang Chen knew very well.

Shion, Aries Gold Saint, master of Mu, and one of only two Gold Saints, alongside Libra's Dohko, who survived the previous Holy War.

Just how strong is Shion in his Peak Level state? He practically possesses invincible power, with all five of his stats maxed out, and his skills are absolutely flawless. Although Sage is also immensely powerful and bears the title of "God's Incarnation," in terms of stats and skill, he still can't compare to Peak Shion.

In the original work, Shion had aged and was caught off guard and ultimately defeated by Sage. In the anime, he simply died of old age. The one Sage ambushed was actually Aiolos. Shion's true strength, once fully unleashed, is top-tier even in this era, second only to Dohko.

Jiang Chen's eyes gleamed with excitement, and it felt like the blood in his body was about to ignite.

It was the Saiyan genes reacting to the presence of such a powerful being.

Of course, while Jiang Chen's inner world surged—

The others were filled with deep admiration.

As the light descended—

"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope!"

All around, figure after figure dropped to one knee. Whether they were student fighters or trainee Saints, all of them bowed in deep reverence.

This was the Pope.

In the current era, when Athena had not yet descended, he was the highest authority in the Sanctuary. On the high platform, Pope Shion stood in his ancient papal robes. His eyes swept across the crowd before he gave a slight nod.

"Young ones, each of you shall become the most loyal and courageous warriors of Athena… I look forward to the day you officially become Saints, fighting to protect Earth and to safeguard Athena." Shion's aged voice echoed out in the surroundings.

And the moment his words fell—

A thunderous wave of sound rolled through the crowd.

"Protect the Earth! Protect Athena!"

"Protect the Earth! Protect Athena!"

The cries came one after another like crashing waves.

After a moment, Shion gently raised his hand to silence the crowd.

"Everyone, as a test of your righteousness and courage, twelve Saint Cloths will be presented this time, including the Silver Saint Cloth of the Whale constellation."

As his voice fell, twelve streaks of flowing light descended from the sky, instantly landing around the plaza.

Among them, the most dazzling was a silver-white light.

(To Be Continued…)

You can read ahead up to 100 chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395