With the broad outline in place, only the details of carrying it out remained.
Lin Yi rapidly worked out his disguise in his mind.
"All I've retained is that sliver of Soul Origin. But it came from me in the first place. Besides, from what I learned on the Virtual Network in my previous life, I've never heard of any way to examine someone's Soul Origin directly."
"Information on the Virtual Network about methods beyond Eternal Divinities is scarce, so I can't be certain about those. But as for Eternal Divinities, as long as I don't reveal anything unusual, even if one uses Rewind, checks surveillance footage, or investigates me, they won't uncover my secret."
"So with that in mind, I just need to draw on the memoirs of the Cosmic Geniuses I've read and give everything extraordinary about me a plausible explanation. Then that divinity won't have reason to suspect anything is wrong."
"After all, with their eternal lives, divinities have seen countless geniuses. As long as I don't stand out like a Two-headed Ant, who'd bother scrutinizing an ant just because it's a little stronger than the others?"
Lin Yi sat at his freshly tidied desk, his right index finger tapping unconsciously against its surface. Tap, tap, tap.
"I'll pass off my combat experience as an innate instinct for fighting and the ability to learn rapidly in real combat."
"I'll pass off what I know about Abyssal Beasts as keen observation and a knack for spotting patterns."
"I'll pass off my cultivation speed and Rule Comprehension as exceptional aptitude and an unyielding will."
"Every step has to look like a miracle born naturally from a genius under immense pressure."
"As for how much talent I can show..."
At that thought, a trace of self-mockery rose in Lin Yi's heart.
How much would fall within normal bounds?
There was already a benchmark.
It was the Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle, held every five thousand years under the Spirit Race's leadership and open to Star Core level competitors from all affiliated civilizations.
The monstrous talents who emerged from it were the best points of reference.
Lin Yi had lived through two such battles since venturing into the wider cosmos.
During the first, he had only recently arrived in the wider cosmos and was just at Star Core second rank. Not wanting to waste the registration fee, he hadn't entered.
He had still watched the live broadcast on the Virtual Network to broaden his horizons, and he'd been stunned by what the most gifted Star Core level fighters could achieve.
Every one of the top thousand finalists had possessed a domain.
In the final, the champion had even displayed a domain that fused six rules.
What did that mean?
A domain was the hallmark of the Star Domain level. It meant complete mastery of a cosmic rule.
In other words, every contender who reached the top thousand had already attained Star Domain level Rule Comprehension.
The Spirit Race genius who took first place was even comparable to a sixth-rank Star Domain fighter.
Of course, that competition had pitted the finest talents of every race in the Pan-Spirit Alliance against one another. The Spirit Race, one of the cosmos's pinnacle races, had claimed more than six hundred of the top thousand spots. The Human Race had taken only forty-odd, with just two reaching the top hundred.
So apart from marveling at the matches, Lin Yi hadn't felt much else.
The gap was too vast for comparison.
Instead, it was the winner of the Purple Gold Star Alliance Zonal Competition who had inspired him. At Star Core ninth rank, that competitor had displayed Rule Comprehension comparable to the fourth rank of the Star Vortex level.
So when the next battle came around, Lin Yi had paid the entry fee and signed up, brimming with confidence.
By then, he had reached Star Core ninth rank. Under Relina's guidance, his blade technique had improved, and he had mastered two finishing moves with the power of Star Vortex level attacks.
Not long before, he had also fought two opponents at once on a mission and killed one of them, who had been at his own rank.
That had given him tremendous confidence.
In the end, his result hadn't been too bad.
He had won eight of his ten matches in the zonal preliminaries, earning a place in the Purple Gold Star Union's zonal elimination round.
But he won only one elimination match before losing the next. His run ended in the second round, without even qualifying for the third round, the zonal finals.
Remembering it, Lin Yi shook his head with a wry smile. He had recouped his entry fee and earned ten times that amount besides, but the experience had shown him just how wide the gap was.
That year's champion had once again come from the Spirit Race. Though not quite as strong as the previous champion, the winner's Rule Comprehension at the Star Core level had still rivaled a fifth-rank Star Domain fighter's.
Using those genuine prodigies as his guide, Lin Yi arrived at a fairly reliable standard.
Surpassing one's level by two major stages was monstrous but not implausible. What mattered most was concealing his abilities at the start, then revealing them gradually and convincingly.
He couldn't begin by leaping three major stages and displaying Star Vortex level Rule Comprehension.
As long as his growth followed a visible path and he never showed the jarring signs of someone who knew the future, he would be safe.
Then, seven days from now, when the illusory Divine Kingdom Projection shrouded the earth and the roars of Abyssal Beasts tore through the illusion of peace, he could set out on that bloodstained path of trials as a perfectly convincing "unworldly genius."
Only then could he withstand whatever scrutinizing gaze might turn upon him in the future.
Lin Yi concentrated for a while, and a plan for the "rise of a genius" rapidly took shape.
He went over the details again and again. Only when he was sure every step would hold up did he quietly let out a breath.
"I have to protect my family and friends and reach for the pinnacle. More than that, I have to keep my greatest secret hidden beneath all that dazzling brilliance."
"The preparations start now."
With that, Lin Yi returned to his bedside and picked up his old phone. He opened his contacts and looked at the names, each one stirring distant memories and slowly coming alive again. At last, a smile broke across his previously solemn face.
The summer sun blazed overhead. Light slipped through gaps in the plane tree leaves, casting shifting patches across the concrete of the old apartment complex.
After the Gaokao, the days seemed to move in slow motion. The air was heavy with idleness and relief.
Lin Yi played the role of a "soon-to-be university student" perfectly, slipping back into that brief, fragile peace like a drop of water into a pond.
Wearing an apron, he helped his mother, Zhou Jinghua, wash vegetables at the sink. Water splashed as her rambling voice filled the cramped kitchen:
"The cucumbers at the market on the east side are twenty cents cheaper than at the supermarket. They're just a little uglier. And the price of eggs—every time I look, it's gone up again..."
Lin Yi murmured agreement, his eyes fixed on rinsing the leaves as though nothing in the world mattered more.
At lunch, steam rose from the stir-fried vegetables while his father, Lin Ruiming, sipped from a cup of cheap baijiu.
The atmosphere was warm and peaceful.
After a few bites of rice, Lin Yi looked up as if something had just occurred to him. "Dad, Mom... you mentioned wanting to hold a celebration for me getting into university?"
His mother immediately put down her chopsticks, unable to hide her eagerness, though there was a hint of caution in her expression.
"That's right, Xiao Yi. Getting into Qingteng University is a wonderful thing for the whole family!"
"Money's a bit tight, but your dad and I were thinking we should at least treat our relatives and friends to a meal. Everyone could get together and celebrate with you."
Xiao Yi was Lin Yi's childhood nickname. His parents had chosen it as a homophone for "easy," hoping things would come easily to him in life.
His father nodded beside her, simple pride in the corners of his wrinkled eyes. "Yes, we should! It's been years since our family had news this good. Besides, it's the custom. Even your cousin had a celebration when he got into an ordinary university."
Lin Yi fell silent for a few seconds, absently rubbing the rim of his bowl as though wrestling with the decision.
In Helu City—or perhaps all of Su Province—these celebrations generally involved no cash gifts. They were pure expense, which was why Lin Yi had previously been unwilling to add to his family's burden.
But now, after a moment's thought, he raised his head with the smile of someone who had finally made up his mind.
"Yeah... I've thought about it, and you're right. It's good news. We should celebrate and get everyone together."
He paused, as if weighing the details carefully.
"How about next Saturday at noon? It's the weekend, so everyone should be free."
"And for the venue... I've heard good things about that new Hongfu Tower outside our complex. The portions are generous, the prices are fair, and it's bright and clean. It's close to home, too, so getting there will be easy for everyone."
The time he had chosen pointed precisely to the moment the apocalypse would descend!
And Hongfu Tower was the stage he had carefully selected after combing through his memories.
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