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Alex respectfully bowed and took his leave as well.

…

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, from the thirty-one candidates who resonated with the Saint Cloths, five Saints ultimately emerged. There was even a new Silver Saint among them. And those five weren't strangers, they were Camus, Shura, Milo, Aiolia, and the burly man Jiang Chen had previously defeated.

Jiang Chen later found out his name—

Aldebaran.

Yes, he is the future Gold Saint of Taurus. For a time, the entire Sanctuary buzzed with excitement. After all, this was the first time in six years that five Saints had been born at once.

It sparked renewed motivation and drive in many trainees.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Jiang Chen and the other four at this moment.

Three days later—

Under Alex's lead, the group arrived in Athens, where they boarded a flight bound for China.

As Saints, they could have easily flown there themselves, and it wouldn't have taken them that long at all.

However, in order to avoid disrupting modern order—

The Sanctuary enforced strict rules.

Whether trainee, Bronze, Silver, or even Gold Saints, no one was allowed to leave the Sanctuary without the Pope's command. Furthermore, Saints were strictly forbidden from interfering with the outside world's normal order.

So crossing more than half the globe in the blink of an eye was clearly off-limits. Thankfully, the flight from Athens to China didn't take long, about twelve hours or so. They boarded the plane in the early morning, and by the afternoon, they had arrived in China's capital.

However, they still needed to take additional transport to reach their destination.

In this era, travel in China wasn't yet highly convenient.

It took almost two full days before the group finally arrived at Mount Lu (Lushan).

At this moment, Mount Lu was nothing short of breathtaking.

As soon as they arrived—

"Sage, Chen, Aiolos, Shaka, Kanon, from here on out, you'll have to walk the rest of the way yourselves. The elder will be waiting for you in the depths of Mount Lu." Alex announced.

And with that, his figure disappeared from where he stood.

The five exchanged glances.

"Let's go," Sage finally spoke.

The group quickly stepped forward and continued their journey. Moments later, taking in the surroundings—

"This really is beautiful," Aiolos couldn't help but marvel.

"Tch, what's the point of it looking nice? We're here to train," Kanon grumbled. "I just hope that old man really can teach us something."

"He's a Saint from over two hundred years ago, what if he's already dead?" He muttered quietly, almost to himself.

"Watch it!" Aiolos shot Kanon a sharp look.

"Kanon!" Sage also frowned at his younger brother.

"What? Am I wrong? This guy is over two hundred years old... that's two centuries! What kind of mortal can live that long?" Faced with his brother's and Aiolos' stern looks, Kanon shrank back a little, but couldn't help grumbling again.

"That's not necessarily true. A Saint is no longer an ordinary mortal. And besides, he's not the only one who survived from two hundred years ago." Jiang Chen's steps didn't slow, but his voice suddenly rang out.

"Not just one? There's more?" Kanon's eyes widened as he instantly turned his gaze to Jiang Chen.

The others weren't any different.

Although they didn't doubt the Pope's words, hearing that someone from two hundred years ago was still alive inevitably stirred some disbelief in their hearts.

"Yes. In fact, you've already met him." Jiang Chen nodded slightly.

"Met him? Chen, don't tell me… you mean His Holiness the Pope?" Aiolos seemed to suddenly realize something. His eyes went wide as he looked at Jiang Chen.

"That's right. Pope Shion is none other than the former Gold Saint of Aries. He is also one of only two survivors from the previous Holy War." Jiang Chen confirmed with a nod.

"Hsssss! The Pope was also a Saint from back then? So… does that mean becoming a Saint lets you live for over two hundred years?!" Kanon's eyes lit up, unable to keep his excitement in check.

Clearly, his focus was completely different from the others.

"In theory, yes."

"Maybe even longer."

Jiang Chen nodded again.

While Saints don't reach godhood, living two centuries or more is not that difficult for them.

Even without receiving a divine blessing like Dohko, it's still achievable.

In the original canon, Libra Dohko received a gift from Athena that allowed him to maintain his youth, but that gift didn't extend his life; it only kept him looking young.

Yet even without that, there were numerous long-lived Saints in history.

Aquarius Cretos lived for over 500 years, and Capricorn Ionia lived for over 800 years.

These examples prove that a Saint's lifespan can easily range between 200 to 800+ years.

At the very least, Pope Shion and Alex had already lived well beyond two centuries.

"Hssss! Hearing Jiang Chen's clear confirmation, Kanon couldn't help but draw a sharp breath, his expression turning even more excited.

Two hundred years, that was a two-century lifespan.

Kanon had never been particularly interested in protecting Athena or safeguarding the Earth. His primary motivation for becoming a Saint was power.

Now, it seemed he had found another reason:

Extended life.

Of course, compared to Kanon's excitement, the others weren't as thrilled, but they couldn't help being shocked.

Their eyes drifted toward Jiang Chen with a hint of astonishment.

It was obvious now that Jiang Chen knew far more than any of them.

They couldn't help but feel a little curious.

"Let's go. Let's not keep the elder waiting." Taking a deep breath, Aiolos finally spoke.

The others nodded slightly. Then, the group continued heading deeper into Mount Lu.

At that moment, in the depths of Mount Lu—

An old man sat cross-legged before a waterfall.

In his hands was a fishing rod, without a line or a hook.

Shua—!

"Master Dohko!" A figure appeared. It was Alex, bowing respectfully to the elder.

"How is my old friend doing?" A hoarse and aged voice emerged from the old man's mouth.

"Master, the Pope is well." Alex replied respectfully.

"Is that so…"

"Time… it's been two hundred years already, hasn't it?"

The old man sighed softly, then opened his eyes and looked straight at Alex.

(Note: Even Saints can fall ill or age like normal people. While their lifespans are long, unless they're given divine protection, they eventually grow old and die. Still, living over 200 years is fairly common, excluding the outrageous cases in Lost Canvas.)

(End of Chapter)

PS-"For every 100 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-32)!"