If it were the former, he couldn’t afford to provoke her. The latter, he could barely manage.

He decided to assume it was the former, just to prevent any accidents.

He then answered the question about his proficiency in arrays. "I haven’t really studied arrays."

Qing Dai figured the Young Master must be being humble.

Soon, she led him into the courtyard.

Meng Qiewei was just as he remembered, her skin like snow and the ends of her hair adorned with Silver Bells.

When she rose, the crisp sound of the Silver Bells followed.

"Young Master Jiang," Meng Qiewei said with a smile.

Today, she was Ji Meng. Her features were as exquisite as a painting, her smile a mix of innocence and fiendish charm.

Seeing that smile, Jiang Man felt the person before him was unmistakably Meng Qiewei.

’Some things can’t be faked,’ he thought, ’especially not in front of an Unparalleled Celestial Pride like me.’

He wasn’t sure if he should play dumb now that they were interacting.

"Miss Ji, I have come to learn about arrays," Jiang Man said respectfully.

Meng Qiewei then gestured for Jiang Man to sit. She produced two books, placed them before him, and asked, "Which one would you like to study, Young Master Jiang?"

Jiang Man glanced down at them.

One was the *Mountain and Sea Array Pattern*, the other was the *Star Sea Array Pattern*.

Jiang Man asked curiously, "Is there a difference between the two?"

"The Mountain and Sea uses the great earth as its foundation, mastering the power of mountains and seas to control space and life force," Meng Qiewei explained. "The Star Sea uses the constellations as its foundation, mastering slaughter and destruction."

Looking at the two books, Jiang Man asked curiously, "Can’t I learn both?"

Meng Qiewei wasn’t surprised by his words, but Qing Dai was quite taken aback.

She explained softly, "These two types of arrays are incredibly difficult. Each is a path that can be followed to the absolute peak."

"There’s no need to learn them both."

Jiang Man didn’t know anything about arrays; he was just curious. "So what would happen if someone mastered both?"

’What would happen?’ Qing Dai was momentarily speechless.

She had no idea.

No one had ever mastered both.

"Perhaps the Young Master doesn’t understand the power of arrays," Qing Dai said. "Mastering just one of these texts is enough to possess world-shaking power."

Jiang Man looked at the books and asked Qing Dai, "So which is more powerful? Cultivation or these arrays?"

Qing Dai explained, "Cultivation is one’s personal strength, while arrays borrow external power. But that doesn’t mean arrays are useless. Sometimes, you absolutely need their unique abilities. For example, some sealing techniques require even top-tier experts to work in concert with an array to suppress someone."

"Another example: today’s Sects, and many of the items used for Cultivation, are all related to arrays in some way."

"You can’t measure the value of arrays by Cultivation alone."

Jiang Man understood. Arrays had broad applications and produced remarkable effects.

They were tools.

But Cultivation was personal—it belonged to the one wielding the tools.

Therefore, Cultivation was still more important.

But if two people of equal strength were to fight, and one of them knew a powerful array, that person would win.

This meant it wasn’t enough for his Cultivation to be merely on par with others; it had to surpass them.

He was enlightened.

Being invincible within the Same Tier wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was crushing opponents with the advantage of a superior Cultivation.

He had to work even harder to improve his Cultivation.

"Have you decided which you’d like to learn?" Meng Qiewei asked.

"Is this considered illicit learning?" Jiang Man asked.

"No." Meng Qiewei shook her head.

’Illicit learning means you can learn it, but you can’t use it. If you do, you’ll get caught.’

Jiang Man nodded. "I’ll learn the Mountain and Sea Array Pattern."

He had no particular reason for his choice.

If he had to give one, it was because it focused on life force. That way, at least Old Huang wouldn’t be left with no grass to eat.

He’d been terrified of starvation as a child.

If one day he was beaten so badly that he lost all his Cultivation, he could still use this array to get by.

Although, as an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, he was destined to walk a path toward an unforeseeable summit.

But youth always left openings for others.

It didn’t hurt to be a little more prepared.

After that, Meng Qiewei had Qing Dai begin teaching Jiang Man.

"The Mountain and Sea Array Pattern is centered on the life force of the earth and the growth frequencies of all living things..." Qing Dai began earnestly. "To find this, you must use the Three Element Array to identify it."

"Then, you can truly invoke the mountain and sea patterns."

Jiang Man listened for a moment before finally asking, "Can you explain that in simpler terms?"

Qing Dai was a little surprised. ’The Young Master didn’t understand?’

’That shouldn’t be possible.’

However, she didn’t press the issue and re-explained the concepts in a more straightforward way.

But soon, Jiang Man spoke up again. "What I mean is, can you start from the very beginning?"

"I did start from the beginning," Qing Dai said, looking innocently toward Meng Qiewei.

Jiang Man clarified, "From scratch."

At his words, Qing Dai exclaimed in shock, "From scratch? Young Master, you don’t know anything about arrays?"

"I haven’t had much exposure to them," Jiang Man replied honestly.

Qing Dai was suddenly at a loss for how to teach him. She had never taught anyone without a foundation in the subject.

In her mind, a person like the Young Master had to be extraordinary. She never imagined he would have zero understanding of arrays.

This was a dangerous gap in his knowledge.

When fighting against outsiders, arrays were essential.

If one was ignorant of them, getting trapped in a large-scale array would turn into a hopeless struggle if one couldn’t break it through personal strength.

Meng Qiewei took a sip of hot water. "I’ll teach him."

She slowly closed the book and said, "We’ll start with the fundamentals. Arrays are divided into two main categories."

"First are Death Arrays, which are defined by their physical form. Second are Living Arrays, which are defined by intent."

"Death Arrays rely on their physical structure and are difficult to move. They are prone to malfunction if the terrain shifts."

"Living Arrays draw upon the mountains and rivers, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and all living things. Regardless of how the terrain changes, the array will shift and adapt automatically."

"For both types of arrays to reach a high level of proficiency, they must overcome a single great challenge: creating a self-sustaining cycle."

Meng Qiewei spoke unhurriedly, her voice clear, pleasant, and tinged with a smile.

Jiang Man listened intently. ’Since I can’t practice my Cultivation right now, I can’t waste this time. I’ll absorb as much as I can about arrays.’

He quickly began to grasp the concepts.

The essence of an array was to use finite power to invoke infinite might, to use minuscule strength to command the very laws of power that governed the world.

Furthermore, the very "existence" of all things in the world leaves behind "patterns" between heaven and earth. The art of arrays is the art of resonating with these "patterns."

Once he understood the basic logic, Meng Qiewei began teaching Jiang Man the Basic Array Patterns.

Array Patterns were a kind of language for communicating with the world’s underlying patterns.

One could use Array Patterns to make the world’s patterns block light, or to form a cascade that guides chaotic Spiritual Qi downward.

No matter the array, one had to rely on the language of Array Patterns to instruct the mountains, rivers, and earth on what to do.

"There are sixteen books in total on Basic Array Patterns. You can look through them first. After you’re done, you can try setting up a Basic Formation, which is a type of Death Array also known as a Form Array." Meng Qiewei took the books out and placed them on the table.

"Young Master, would you like some tea? I can brew some for you and bring some snacks," Qing Dai offered.

’Snacks?’ Jiang Man was a bit stunned. ’Steamed buns?’

Still, he nodded.

Qing Dai then left to prepare them.

’The Young Master has no foundation at all,’ she thought. ’It’ll probably take him several months just to read through these sixteen books.’

’And that’s just reading them. Applying the knowledge will take even more time.’

’Normally, you wouldn’t start by having someone read all these books, but I don’t know the normal way to teach, either.’

’I’ll just do whatever Miss says.’

’As for today, the Young Master probably won’t get through more than a few pages.’

After taking some time, Qing Dai had the tea and snacks ready.

When she returned to the courtyard, she was surprised to find that the Young Master had already flipped through a good portion of the first book.

’So fast?’

’She wasn’t even sure if the Young Master was actually understanding what he was reading.’

"Young Master, Miss, please have something to eat," Qing Dai said, placing the refreshments on the table.

Jiang Man glanced over and saw that they were exceptionally beautiful pastries, the likes of which he had never seen.

’They aren’t steamed buns?’

’So how do I eat them?’

’I’ve never had anything like this. How do I eat it so I don’t look like I’ve never had it before?’

Some of the pastries were wrapped in leaves, and others had a thin film over them.

’Do you eat those parts, too?’

He was considering just saying he wasn’t hungry.

Just then, he saw Meng Qiewei reach out and take one.

Then she delicately placed it in her mouth and took a bite.

Jiang Man copied her movements exactly, even picking up the same type of pastry to avoid any mistakes.

The moment he bit down, Jiang Man felt his teeth sink into what seemed like a warm cloud. The soft, sticky rice cake gently enveloped his teeth, creating a delicate, chewy sensation as he pulled away.

The cake carried the faint, fresh fragrance of lotus leaves, a flavor that lingered delightfully even after he swallowed.

He froze, having never tasted anything so delicious in his life.

"Young Master?" Qing Dai noticed Jiang Man’s stunned expression and asked, "Is it not to your liking?"

Snapping out of his daze, Jiang Man shook his head slightly. "I’ve just never tasted anything so delicious."

"Thank you, Young Master," Qing Dai said with a smile, simply assuming he was paying her a compliment.

Meng Qiewei, however, looked at Jiang Man as if a thought had occurred to her. "What did you eat before?"

"Coarse steamed buns," Jiang Man answered truthfully. "I could only eat one a day. They were incredibly hard, so it was best to eat them with water."

Meng Qiewei’s expression remained unchanged. "And after that?"

"Later, I joined the Yunqian Bureau. I could eat three a day. That was when I started living the good life," Jiang Man said with a smile.

Qing Dai froze for a second. ’What is the Young Master talking about?’

’Coarse steamed buns?’

’What do those even look like?’

She then used her power to investigate.

And was horrified by what she found.

’Is that something a person is supposed to eat?’

’And he called *that* living the good life?’

Suddenly, she became very curious about the Young Master’s past. She decided she would investigate it.