Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hierarchy of Sacred Armor

“Certain people?” Upon hearing the man with the bronze mask put it that way, Yin Seventeen suddenly understood. “Some things aren’t suitable for everyone to learn; there are certain limitations based on one’s natural talent and aptitude.”

“And the reason you chose me, senior, is because only I am capable of mastering your sword energy techniques!”

“Now do you understand why I said the Hydra Cloth isn’t suitable for you?” the bronze-masked man continued.

Yin Seventeen pondered for a moment, then replied slowly, “I was able to learn your sword energy techniques because my cosmos power shares certain similarities with yours, senior.”

“If my cosmos and yours were too different, I wouldn’t have been able to learn them at all.”

“And the Sacred Cloths have a way of choosing their own masters—they select based on the unique qualities of one’s cosmos.”

“If the Hydra Cloth rejected your cosmos, then it wouldn’t be strange for it to reject mine, which is similar to yours.”

At this point, Yin Seventeen suddenly understood why, in his memories, Shiryu of the Dragon could don the Libra Cloth.

As the personal disciple of Dohko, Shiryu perfectly inherited all his master’s techniques. Without a doubt, their cosmos powers must be extremely similar, which is why the Libra Cloth accepted Shiryu.

Delving deeper, from Shiryu’s history of wearing both the Dragon and Libra Cloths, one could deduce that the Dragon Cloth and Libra Cloth shared a special lineage.

To be precise, the Bronze Saint of Dragon was actually a candidate for the Gold Saint of Libra.

This explained why the Bronze Cloth hidden beneath the Lushan waterfall was the Dragon Cloth, and not that of another constellation.

Because the Dragon Cloth was deliberately prepared by Dohko as a transitional relic for his disciple to inherit the Libra Cloth.

Realizing that there was a unique progression between the Gold and Bronze Cloths, Yin Seventeen let his mind expand, applying this relationship to the entire Sanctuary’s system of Sacred Cloths.

Gold Cloths were one rank above Silver, and Silver above Bronze. The number of Bronze Cloths was exactly double that of the Silver, and the Silver Cloths were double that of the Gold.

Most curiously, when people chose guardian constellations, they always selected from the twelve zodiac signs, never from among the eighty-eight constellations.

And Gold Cloths corresponded precisely to the twelve zodiac signs.

Thinking further, recalling how the five main Saints had worn Gold Cloths multiple times, Yin Seventeen boldly speculated that anyone could find a Gold Cloth among the twelve that resonated with their own cosmos.

In the end, combining the inheritance between Dragon and Libra, the ranks of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Cloths, and their special numbers, Yin Seventeen reached a startling conclusion.

Each Gold Saint is highly compatible with two Silver Cloths and four Bronze Cloths.

To be precise, beneath every Gold Saint, there are two Silver candidates, and beneath each Silver Saint, there are four Bronze candidates.

When a higher-ranked Cloth was left vacant, the candidates from the level below would have the chance to rise.

In other words, between Libra and Dragon, there should be a Silver Cloth as a transitional stage.

It was just that Shiryu’s strength later rose to the level of a Gold Saint, so he skipped the Silver stage altogether and donned the Libra Gold Cloth directly.

With this realization, Yin Seventeen also understood why, during each Sacred Cloth competition, the Pope only presented Bronze Cloths.

Because below Silver, there were still Bronze candidates.

A group of backup Saints without even a Bronze Cloth could never compete with those who were already Bronze Saint candidates.

Understanding the hierarchy among the Sacred Cloths, he turned to the bronze-masked man and asked, “Senior, as far as I know, the lord of Capricorn Palace also uses a sword energy technique called ‘Sacred Sword.’”

“The sword energy technique you taught me—is it related to his?”

The bronze-masked man said nothing, simply standing quietly to one side, watching him practice.

This made Yin Seventeen all the more uncertain of his intentions.

After a moment of thought, Yin Seventeen changed his approach. “Senior, does the sword energy technique you taught me have a name?”

Still, the bronze-masked man remained silent.

“Then… could I perhaps borrow the name of that lord’s technique and call it ‘Sacred Sword’ as well?” he asked tentatively.

If the sword technique he’d learned had no relation to the one used in Capricorn Palace, giving it the same name out of the blue could only cause unnecessary trouble.

If the bronze-masked man wished to avoid trouble, he would surely reject this naming.

If not, then the situation was different.

Unfortunately, Yin Seventeen still received no answer.

The man stood there quietly, and if it weren’t for his sixth sense detecting the life force within him, Yin Seventeen would have thought him a statue.

“That’s strange. Isn’t he at all worried that Shura will come looking for trouble?” Yin Seventeen wondered as he continued carving into the stone.

Right after, he arrived at another conclusion.

“Unless he himself possesses the power of a Gold Saint and simply doesn’t fear Shura!”

“But that doesn’t make sense either.”

“If he truly had the strength of a Gold Saint, he would never let me use his technique under someone else’s name.”

“That would be an insult to him!”

“So why hasn’t he objected?”

With this question in mind, Yin Seventeen fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing, his mind becoming clear.

“The reason he hasn’t objected is because the sword energy technique I’ve learned is indeed inherited from Capricorn Palace. That’s why he doesn’t mind it sharing a name, nor does he fear Shura seeking trouble.”

“In other words, he is very likely Shura’s disciple—a Silver candidate from Capricorn!”

But Yin Seventeen had never heard of Shura having any disciples, so he remained skeptical.

As for the possibility that the bronze-masked man was Shura himself, Yin Seventeen had considered it, but it seemed highly unlikely.

In any case, Yin Seventeen had reached a conclusion.

The sword energy technique he had learned must originate from Capricorn Palace and was closely linked to Shura—far more than a simple candidate or subordinate.

As for their exact relationship, it would take further investigation to uncover.

Time passed quickly, and another Sacred Cloth competition came and went.

Unfortunately, Yin Seventeen still found no Cloth compatible with himself.

However, he did not waste these six months.

After long practice, he had fully mastered the power of each arc of sword energy, able to precisely control the length, width, and depth of the marks he carved into the stone.

Having learned to control his strength, he began to attempt sculpting statues.

Unlike simple carving, the lines of a statue undulate and vary in depth, demanding even greater control over his sword energy.

But the harder the training, the greater the gain after overcoming adversity.

His control over his cosmos steadily improved, and his strength grew in turn.

Before long, Yin Seventeen broke through the threshold of a thousand times the speed of sound.