Soon, the beam of light landed on a figure, and all the members of the Shura Race turned to see who it
had chosen.
The famous Esteban was standing next to the figure bathed in light, dumbfounded and furious.
He never expected this would be the man the divine light would choose.
Even Rocky himself was at a loss as to whether he should laugh or cry because, sure enough, the light
was shining on him.
While he didn't know why he was chosen, he knew he was not equipped to deal with this situation.
The plot was thickening. Since he was chosen, he was to inherit the divine power. The Godly Genius
was revered in the Shura Race; he or she was the medium between them and the gods, like an oracle.
But the divine power would put Rocky's real identity at risk.
Although Rocky had become object of envy, he felt quite unhappy, uncertain as to what would happen
next.
Meanwhile, Esteban was quite grim as well. He was worried that Rocky's human identity would be
exposed by the god. He shook his head slightly and sighed.
"Well, that's it then," a voice boomed. "It seems that the gods has made the choice. Congratulations!
Please come up here!" Gilbert's eyes were fixed on Rocky. Although he felt that Rocky looked very
ordinary, he figured there was more than met the eye and believed that the gods' choice was correct.
Rocky didn't budge. Instead, he shot a glance at Esteban, who was standing next to him.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" Esteban hissed, putting on a stern expression. He had no choice but to
respect the decision.
Rocky smiled helplessly. Then he made his way through the crowd until he reached the square in the
front. There, he stood before Gilbert.
Just then, the divine light whipped back to the center of the square and transformed into a portal.
"Greetings, sir!" Rocky bowed respectfully.
"You have been chosen to become the Godly Genius of the Ghost Capital. From now on, you are the
guardian of this city. Now, receive the power from the oracle." Gilbert gestured towards the shining
portal.
"Well... the thing is... Can I refuse?" Rocky asked hesitantly. He thought it'd be best if he didn't beat
around the bush and turned the offer down frankly.
The crowd let out a collective gasp. It was the ultimate honor to be selected as a Godly Genius. If
Rocky refused this honor, he was either crazy or downright stupid!
"Stop talking nonsense! To receive such a gift is the highest honor. How can you not accept it? Hurry
up!" Gilbert shot Rocky a murderous glare.
Rocky sighed inwardly. He knew it'd be more troublesome to be stubborn here, so he reluctantly
walked towards the shining portal.
As he walked, there were all kinds of exclamations and jeers of envy around the square.
The moment Rocky passed through the portal, it vanished into thin air, taking him with it.
In the blink of an eye, Rocky's surroundings changed from the square to a scenic valley where birds
were singing cheerfully and flowers bloomed beautifully.
Before him lay an intricately constructed bamboo pavilion. As he drew near, he found that the door to
the pavilion was open, and a lovely aroma of tea was wafting towards him.
However, when he entered the pavilion, there was no one there; just a stout bamboo tea table with a
cup of steaming hot tea.
"Excuse me, is there anyone here?" Rocky cautiously cupped his hands and announced his presence.
Other than the echoing of his voice, there was only the sound of a light breeze hitting the exterior walls
of the pavilion.
Butterflies raged on in his stomach. Rocky eyed the cup of tea warily, wondering if he had to drink it
before he could proceed.
After hesitating for a moment, he resigned himself and sat cross legged in front of the bamboo table.
He furtively picked up the cup of tea and slurped it up.
The moment the warm tea connected with his tongue, he immediately felt a burst of nausea and his
mind started to whirl. All the memories of the past began to flood his mind in chronological order, like a
rapid slideshow.
It didn't take long for him to realize these were memories from his life. He alternated between laughing
and crying as he re-experienced the memories vividly, going through its pleasure and sorrows all over
again.
He didn't know how long it took until he reached his final memory, the scene of him sending Marcia and
Alyssa away from the door to the alien world. Then, his consciousness was brought back to the
bamboo pavilion.
"What kind of tea was that? It's amazing!" Once he had caught his breath, Rocky sighed in awe.
"That was the worry-free tea," an ethereal, feminine voice spoke clearly. "Once you drink the cup, you'll
be able to cut yourself off from the past and put your life into your own hands."
"Are you the god, I mean, the goddess?" Rocky was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect that the one
chose him was actually a woman.
"Exactly. You have drunk the tea. You have now been reborn! Now, I shall bestow upon you the divine
power, which will greatly help in your cultivation. But once you accept the divine power, you will forget
the past. You will even forget coming here. You will no longer be who you used to be..."
"Ma'am, although I don't want to offend you, I don't intend to cut off the past, nor do I want to accept
any divine power," Rocky interrupted. "Moreover, I'm sure you've noticed I'm not a member of the
Shura Race; I don't think I am qualified for the job!" Of course he had chosen to be honest. While the
goddess might now have known his true identity, the tea just now would've proved at least the fact that
he wasn't of the Shura Race.
"Your past is full of bumps and holes. Having gone through so much hardships in life, isn't it better for
you to forget it? Why do you want to hold on to the past? Also, of course I'm aware you're not from the
Shura Race—but there's no law that the Godly Genius must be one of them! As long as the creature is
on this continent at the time of the selection, they are qualified. Moreover, I have never met anyone
who has refused the offer! If it were any ordinary member of the Shura Race, I'm afraid they wouldn't
have been able to wait any longer and would've demanded for the divine power on the spot." Rocky
could practically feel the voice of the goddess frowning.
"So, I'm no ordinary person," Rocky retorted, not disrespectfully. In a gentler tone, he pleaded, "I don't
have any other requests. I just wish you'll choose another Godly Genius; this is all I ask. I want to stay
out of this mess."
"Do you think this is a joke? Do you think you can do whatever you want to do?" The goddess's tone of
voice was growing angry.
"Please, don't be angry! I didn't mean to offend you; it's just I'm really not interested in being a Godly
Genius," Rocky explained hurriedly.
"Are you sure? I know you used to be the Divine Lord's successor. This means that you have the
potential to be a divine successor."
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