The False Sage

Playing another version of himself, leading to a fractured image, is very difficult!

However, Ma Ran enjoys a challenge.

In his plan, the most important initial script is as follows.

[Script One: "False Sage"]

[Protagonist: Ma Ran]

[Flaws: Obsessive-compulsive about cleanliness, keeps people at a distance.]

"Possessing the strongest brainpower in Earth's human history, Ma Ran can understand any book knowledge at a glance and master any skill with ease."

"He can infer ten things from one, grasp the myriad states of the human heart, and easily master in a very short time the skills that would take an ordinary person half a lifetime to acquire."

"Originally, Ma Ran intended to live an ordinary life. Unexpectedly, in his third year of high school, he suddenly received messages from other civilizations."

"Thus, he no longer concealed his brilliance and began to showcase his talents..."

This is the persona Ma Ran created for himself.

Creating multiple identities behind the scenes to stir up trouble using pseudonyms is good, but it's not enough.

Ma Ran is quite confident, or rather...

He's quite greedy!

He wants to lead spiritually on the stage and drive trends behind the scenes, participating in both and holding the dominant position!

Currently, Ma Ran only possesses the derivative ability of "God of Scholars," which is still far from the ultimate goal of "Peak Brainpower."

However, the script has just begun, and everything is falling into place. There are many areas to work with moving forward.

Ma Ran already has a complete plan for how to make his persona more convincing!

In his previous life, when Ma Ran first awakened the "Acting" ability, he always worried about "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," thinking about hiding his abilities and keeping a low profile.

After experiencing many things, Ma Ran understood a principle: often, deliberately leaking some less critical information can better hide the biggest secret.

In this life, Ma Ran wants to stand in the most conspicuous position on the world stage, leading the trendsetters to stir up waves!

Originally, he was a little worried that the questions would suddenly change, causing his plan's success rate to decline.

Now it seems he was overthinking.

The butterfly effect did not occur.

All subjects in this test were multiple-choice questions, with no fill-in-the-blanks or short answers. The time given was also very tight.

At noon, there was only half an hour for lunch.

Lunch break?

Non-existent!

As soon as the students from all grades had put some food in their stomachs, they were pushed back into the examination hall.

During the intense exam, time vanished without a trace, like sand slipping through one's fingers.

In the afternoon, at 4:45 PM, all subjects were completed.

"Finally, it's over. The college entrance exam wasn't this grueling!"

"The questions were impossibly hard! I almost threw up!"

"How do you think you did? Can you get over 500?"

"I might not even get 400. Many question types were unfamiliar, seeming plausible at first glance, but upon closer thought, they felt completely different!"

"It's okay if I failed, it's not like this is an official exam anyway."

"Am I the only one curious about Ma Ran and Su Qiangwei's scores?"

"Hmph... I have no common ground with you top students!"

"This exam isn't all bad! It's not even 5 PM yet, and there are no classes tonight. It's like getting half a day off! Anyone want to go to the internet cafe to play together? My Yasuo is super good!"

"Nah, it's too far. League of Legends takes too long, and playing a match is exhausting. How about Honor of Kings?"

"Fine! My Luban No. 7 is invincible!"

After the exam, the students scattered like birds returning to the forest in the blink of an eye.

Reading novels, watching dramas, playing games, browsing anime.

In short, they were all doing things they usually wanted to do but didn't have the time for.

The highly competitive Su Qiangwei followed Ma Ran, asking him questions from the classroom to the cafeteria.

Two hours later, she sadly came to a conclusion: Ma Ran had finished all the questions diligently.

The most terrifying part was...

He hadn't gotten a single question wrong!

At least for the questions Su Qiangwei could recall, Ma Ran's accuracy rate was 100%.

Su Qiangwei was lost in her own sadness for a while. She turned her grief into appetite, and after devouring two large meat buns, her gaze fell upon Ma Ran's small notebook.

"What are you writing? Oracle bone script?"

Ever since they started answering questions, this guy had been drawing and writing on the paper. The lines, whether straight or curved, all followed a pattern; they didn't look like random doodles.

"You're not qualified to access this yet."

Ma Ran put down his pen, took out his old Huawei phone to check the time, and said seriously, "You'll go mad."

These characters originated from a mysterious civilization known as "You" (Note ①). They contained supernatural powers but, subtly, twisted a person's spirit and will, driving them completely insane and turning them into bloodthirsty monsters.

If Ma Ran weren't a reborn individual with extensive combat experience and a strong will, and if his "God of Scholars" medal hadn't been amplified, he wouldn't have dared to recall these things so easily.

One slip-up, and he would completely lose himself, becoming a deformed monster.

With that, Ma Ran ignored Su Qiangwei, who had become self-isolated from embarrassment. He carefully put away his small notebook, tapped the table, and said, "I'm going to check the exam results. See you around."

The machine-readable answer sheets, coupled with the official urging, meant the test grading efficiency was extremely high.

The results would be posted at 6:50 PM.

He wouldn't get it wrong.

"How could they be out already? Shouldn't it be at least tomorrow? And what do you mean 'see you around'? Are you dropping out? Not taking the college entrance exam anymore? And... hey! I'm not finished talking!"

Su Qiangwei's face turned red with anger. She snatched her student ID and small schoolbag from the table and quickly followed him.

The results were indeed already out!

The list was posted as usual on the southeast wall of the faculty dormitory building opposite the cafeteria. It was written in black ink on a red background, using a brush.

Quite a few people were gathered around.

Su Qiangwei quickly noticed that this list was different from the usual ones; there were no top 100 rankings, only the top ten scores for each of the three grades.

Su Qiangwei couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the younger students from the first and second years. Her gaze immediately focused on the third-year leaderboard.

First place, Ma Ran, total score 750.

Second place, Su Qiangwei, total score 703.

She didn't look any further.

This score hit Su Qiangwei like a bolt from the blue, making her head buzz and stars swim before her eyes. She almost fainted on the spot.

"I... I lost again!"

Su Qiangwei felt a slight moisture in her eyes and a sourness in her heart. She immediately pinched her palm, hidden within her sleeve, her fingernails almost digging into her flesh.

The pain made her feel a little better.

"You did well."

Ma Ran looked at Su Qiangwei with satisfaction. "You performed beyond your usual level this time."

"Congratulations."

In the previous exam before his rebirth, Su Qiangwei's total score was 693.

Now, she had improved by a full ten points!

This was also the first butterfly effect Ma Ran had encountered.

Clearly, Su Qiangwei was the type to become stronger when challenged. She was a big-hearted competitor; external pressure allowed her to better display her true abilities.

The officially recognized Caolu Academy had completely different recruitment standards for different age groups.

For third-year students...

A score of 700 was a threshold.

Achieving this score, even if not in first place, qualified one to receive an invitation letter.

Furthermore, if one didn't score above 690, even being the top student in the entire grade wouldn't guarantee entry into Caolu Academy!

While these words were meant kindly, Su Qiangwei, the person involved, didn't see it that way at all.

"Waaah..."

Su Qiangwei instantly burst into tears.

Any slight good impression she had of Ma Ran moments before vanished instantly.

Gentlemanly demeanor?

That concept was completely foreign to this guy in front of her!

Thinking back now, when he said "Good luck" back then, his gaze at her must have been like he was looking at an idiot.

It had to be!

(①: Park. Definitions: 1. A garden for raising animals. 2. To confine; to be rigid.)