Through all of these interactions, a strong familiarity had naturally formed.
After exchanging greetings, Jiang Chen made his way to the massive furnace. There, Jamil was wielding a giant hammer larger than himself.
His powerful aura surged, and a terrifying Cosmo radiated outward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The colossal hammer struck again and again, and with each impact, starlight from the heavens was drawn down from above.
Jiang Chen looked up, and saw that, in the sky, countless stars had come together to form a familiar galaxy…
"Altar Constellation?" Jiang Chen softly muttered, his expression tinged with surprise.
He hadn't expected that the one being forged this time would be one of the four most mysterious Sacred Cloths among the 88 Sacred Cloths.
Of course, surprised as he was, Jiang Chen didn't interfere, instead, he quietly waited.
Countless strands of starlight cascaded down from above, bathing Jamil's figure in a radiant silver glow. A dense Cosmo began to form slowly within the Sacred Cloth beneath him.
However...
It only lasted a moment.
"Boom!"
A muffled sound rang out and in the next second, a vast sea of flames erupted, instantly swallowing the half-formed Sacred Cloth under Jamil's hammer.
The Cosmo that had just been born was immediately annihilated.
Jiang Chen's brows lifted, his surprise growing even more intense.
He had clearly seen it, the Sacred Cloth had nearly formed successfully.
And yet, Jamil had personally destroyed it with his own energy.
"Phew…"
Jamil let out a long exhale, and with a flick of his right hand, he tossed the massive hammer into the sea of flames.
With a single leap, his figure landed atop the forge.
"Asclepius, kid, what brings you here today? You've got time to visit?" Jamil asked curiously, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Chen with interest.
"Lord Jamil, that Sacred Cloth just now, it should've been a success, right?!"
Although Jiang Chen had his own matters, he couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"Yeah. It was technically a success… but far below my expectations. I wanted to see if, besides your Cloth and the twelve zodiac temples, I could forge a new Golden Sacred Cloth."
Jamil paused for a moment, then shook his head with a soft sigh.
"A new Golden Cloth?" Jiang Chen blurted out instinctively, then quickly understood.
Clearly, Jamil was dissatisfied with having only thirteen Golden Cloths; he deeply wished to create a fourteenth.
But creating a Golden Cloth wasn't just about crafting skill; it was about cosmic resonance with the constellations.
Outside the Twelve Zodiac Temples and the Ophiuchus Temple, it was nearly impossible to forge another Golden Cloth.
"Exactly. Lately, I've been experimenting with the Altar (Ara) constellation. It's located just south of Scorpio's tail. The vast Milky Way flows from Sagittarius and Scorpio through Ara, then stretches south toward the Southern Triangle and Centaurus constellations. It's a southern constellation, one of the original 48 defined by Ptolemy. Though its area is small, it was personally designated by the Divine King Zeus. I hoped that by relying on Zeus's divine power, maybe a new Golden Cloth could be born."
"Besides that, I've tried a few other special constellations as well, but none have succeeded."
Jamil nodded, then paused to explain further.
Yet as he spoke, even he couldn't help but shake his head.
The Ara constellation… This wasn't his first attempt. And sadly, this wasn't the first failure either.
Now, after all this time, even he was starting to give up.
It seemed that forging a fourteenth Golden Sacred Cloth… was simply not possible.
"Lord Jamil, forging a new Golden Sacred Cloth might be extremely difficult. After all, those are linked to the Zodiac Temples and can only be born from them. However, if it's only about creating a Cloth that rivals a Golden Cloth, that should be possible."
"Special constellations do indeed possess unique kinds of power. If it's the Ara constellation, my lord, you might consider guiding it to form a seal-based structure."
Hearing Jamil's words and seeing the disappointment on his face, Jiang Chen pondered for a moment before offering his advice.
As someone who deeply understood Saint Seiya's lore, Jiang Chen clearly knew, there were only ever thirteen Golden Cloths. There would never be a fourteenth.
But that didn't mean one couldn't create a Cloth equal to or stronger than the Golden Cloths. According to his knowledge, there were already several Bronze and Silver Cloths in canon with power matching or exceeding Golden Cloths.
In particular, the Pegasus Cloth and Phoenix Cloth among the Bronze ranks possessed exceptional abilities, even surpassing Golden Cloths in some ways.
The Pegasus Cloth, after all, was the one that injured Hades, the King of the Underworld, during the Mythical Era in the original story.
"Impossible to create a new Golden Cloth...?"
"But stronger...?!"
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Jamil fell into deep thought.
Having researched constellations and Cosmo extensively, and having tried so many times already, Jamil had nearly given up. But now, Jiang Chen's suggestion lit a new spark in his eyes.
"Kid, wait right here!" As his thoughts spun rapidly, Jamil's eyes grew brighter. With a shout, he suddenly leapt back into the forge. Raising his right hand, the massive hammer he'd previously tossed into the flames soared back into his grasp.
And then, his voice rang out.
One by one, the other strong blacksmiths stepped forward quickly.
The flames surged high as Jamil once again resumed his intense work. Meanwhile, in the sky above, strands of starlight began to stir.
The Ara constellation, No, now it should be called the Heavenly Altar constellation, began to resonate and align.
Below, a new Sacred Cloth began to be forged anew.
Jiang Chen stood silently off to the side. Though he had originally come with something to ask Jamil for help with, he wasn't in a rush. One or two days wouldn't make a difference.
Time slowly passed.
Within the forge, the flames burned ever higher.
Above, countless stars connected across the heavens, descending in light, merging and resonating with the Cloth below.
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.
And then, on the eighth day,
"BOOM!"
A pillar of starlight suddenly plummeted from the heavens, engulfing Jamil.
Brilliant silvery light flooded the area like an ocean, drenching everything around in a glowing tide.
At the same time, an immense Cosmo slowly began to emerge from below.
Compared to before, this Cosmo was significantly stronger. And within it, one could faintly sense a terrifying sealing power.
"Success!"
"Hahahaha!"
"It really succeeded!!"
Excited shouts burst from within the flames.
As the silver sea of light gradually faded, Jamil and the newly forged Sacred Cloth were finally revealed.
Compared to the Ara Cloth Jiang Chen recalled from memory, this one was far more complete, its structure nearly on par with a Golden Sacred Cloth, though it remained white in color.
Still, even so, Jiang Chen could clearly feel that this new Ara Cloth possessed a Cosmo no weaker than any Golden Cloth.
"Congratulations, Lord Jamil!" Jiang Chen said with a smile.
"Hahaha! Kid, I didn't expect it, once again, it was thanks to you! So, tell me, what do you need old Jamil for this time? If it's something I can do, I'll absolutely help you with it!" Jamil's laughter rang out, his face beaming with uncontrollable joy.
(End of Chapter)
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