Bladedance had thought she would be smiling when Alex’s result showed up, as she could not imagine it being any lower than Pearl’s. However, when the actual result did show up, her face could not make any other expression than one of surprise.

She had known he was talented, and yet the score of 96 was outside of her expectation.

To her side, the Sky God held a similar look of pure awe. She stared at the pillar and the man before it with a look that was quite hard to read. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Alex had not only gotten the best proper result of anyone in history, but he had also done so an entire 3 points higher than the second-highest score. Considering that the other person was his own mother, the Sky God could not help but rub her forehead at the thought of just how talented their family was.

"I had never doubted Renye," Newheaven said in a low voice such that only Bladedance could hear her.

Bladedance looked toward her. "That’s your disciple, right?"

Newheaven nodded. "When he first returned, he told me that he had brought along many talents. But he had said that he had to leave behind the most talented of all. When he said that, I had my doubts, but I knew my disciple wouldn’t lie to me, so I chose to trust him."

"However..." Bladedance said, seeing where the conversation was headed.

"However," Newheaven continued, "I never thought much about it since the one he called talented was from a lower realm. I was interested in meeting this young man, but that was the extent of it. Then, he showed up in the Alchemy tournament and won it despite being so young. At that point, I started wondering if my disciple wasn’t exaggerating, perhaps."

"But of course, he was sent to Hell. Some years later, Ronron reached the Immortal realm and took the test. When she got 89, I was convinced he had to be in the 80s or higher. Then his mother reached the Immortal rank, and her test gave us the highest score. At that point, I believed he really might be quite talented."

"But then, his father tested and received a measly 27. My expectations lowered around that point. I had heard he had come out of Hell, but he was nowhere to be found, so I was never really sure what to expect of the young man."

"Today, I held no expectations, but as this younger generation started getting higher and higher points, I was convinced I would see a decent score with him. However, I could have never expected this."

Newheaven could not hide her look of pure astonishment at this point as she stared at the glowing white pillar.

"A score of 96. I fear he might as well be the most talented person to have ever been born in the entire world," the Sky God said. "I think I might believe what you and the others have started to believe."

Bladedance smiled. "So you think he might be the Savior as well?"

Newheaven nodded.

Alex thanked everyone who congratulated him on his score and walked up to the two gods. He bowed before them. "I had hoped to gain a higher score, but I hope you will be happy with the score I’ve shown, Your Brilliance."

"Humility doesn’t suit you, you know?" the Sky God said. "You can’t score the highest anyone has ever scored and then say you wish you could have done better."

Alex rubbed the back of his head. "It is the truth, though," he said. "And besides, it was my cousin who received the highest score."

"I told you that was a glitch due to her body," the Sky God said. "Her actual talent is in the 60s, or maybe the 70s."

"Her body is part of her, so it is her talent too," Alex said. "But I won’t argue on that. You know more about this artifact than I ever could."

"Well, anyway. Congratulations on your score," Newheaven said. "And once again, I would like to ask you this. Do you wish to join our cult? I will make you a Reverend right away."

Newheaven’s words got the few Reverends that were standing nearby to stare in awe. Silkspear, Riftblade, and Brasswind had been Newheaven’s disciples for many, many years before they were made Reverends of the cult. To hear that Alex was being given the same opportunity just a week into arriving here was absurd to the few of them.

"Master, are you sure about this?"

"There is no hurry, is there?"

They tried to bring some sanity to their master’s thoughts, but Newheaven didn’t give them any attention, only looking directly at Alex.

Alex bowed toward the Sky God and gave his honest answer. "I’m sorry, but I must decline for the same reason I said so previously."

"Huh?"

The other three were even more surprised now. Not only had Alex rejected the proposal, he implied that he had been given the same proposal before and had refused back then as well.

The three could hardly believe that there was someone out there who wasn’t under a god already that would refuse such an opportunity. That was especially strange considering Alex’s family members were already staying here.

Newheaven said nothing to persuade Alex. She simply nodded, accepting his refusal straight away.

"It makes sense for you to refuse me," she said. "The chances that you will one day open a cult on your own are rather high after all. You would rather become a god than a subordinate to a god, wouldn’t you?"

Alex simply smiled, saying nothing.

He wasn’t entirely sure if he even wanted to become a god or not, but given the situation, life might in fact force him into becoming one just for the sake of absorbing more Primordial energy in the end.

Newheaven looked away from Alex toward the stunned masses and gave her orders. "The tests are complete. Brasswind, take Ronron and record down the scores in the official registry. The rest of you are dismissed."