My Substitute CEO Bride

The Array Canon!

Nash looked at the tome about array patterns, which was a hefty ten centimeters thick. He could not help the twitch in his mouth. "Even the Oxford Dictionary isn't this thick, is it?" he commented. Flushing with embarrassment, Tatiana replied, "Array patterns are a profound and complex study. They're mysterious too! Of course, the topic would be complicated!"

When she was clinging onto Nash moments before, she felt a dizzying, almost drunken sensation. Now, her pants felt sticky while a numbness coursed through her body. "Tatiana, you don't seem quite yourself. But you don't look sick either," Nash said with a slight frown when his piercing dark eyes picked up her shy demeanor.

"I'm... fine," Tatiana mumbled, her head even lower now.

Softly, Nash asked, "You were trembling a bit when you were holding onto me just now. Could it be..."

Tatiana panicked and exclaimed, "Ah! Shut up, shut up!" She hastily covered Nash's mouth with both hands, eyes filling up with resentment. She almost wished she could bite him to death.

A rich milky fragrance wafted into Nash's nose. Such an exquisite scent! Who could resist a woman with the scent of milk?

Nash smiled and said, "Let's focus on studying the array patterns."

Tatiana placed the thick tome in Nash's arms and said softly, "This is for you to read. I know you know arrays, and you also have an extraordinary talent for cultivation. Once you learn these patterns, you'll reach new heights in your mastery of arrays!" Her family had arranged a marriage for her with someone from a renowned array family. They were the strongest among the three great array families, the Thoran family.

The head of the Thoran family was a master of arrays and also a peak expert in the Mystique Loyalty Realm. Even her grandfather had to serve him with utmost respect. This visit was to retrieve the lost Thousand Illusion Array Disc to secure her freedom.

If she failed, she would have to marry into the Thoran family unless... she could find a man whose skills were that of the level of an array master.

Nash raised an eyebrow and said, "Stop joking. I've never touched any of these array patterns before. It would take forever for me to learn all this!"

"I spent six years only to remember

three pages worth of patterns. If you want to stay here forever with me,

then I'll just learn it myself!" Tatione

said with a cunning smile. She was teasing him, but she also wanted to test his affinity for arrays.

"Six years for just three pages?" Nash scoffed. "What exactly do you keep in that head of yours?"

"Only you, maybe?" Tatiana blinked her big, mascara-framed eyes.

"Cheesy, but I love hearing it. I'll try to get through this book, then," Nash said, opening the first page of the tome. [The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

[The Path gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things.

[There are 3,000 paths, all leading to sainthood. Everything under heaven and earth can become an array.]

Nash turned to the second page and found it covered with various array patterns that were subtly unique yet strikingly similar. "I take back what I said. It's impressive that you were able to master 12 pages of array patterns in six years."

He felt a wave of discouragement as he realized the tough work ahead of him. Each page featured 108 patterns, each differentiated by single stroke so subtle that they were almost indistinguishable. It made this task a hundred times more complex than the Path's compendium of talismans.

"What should we do?" he asked, overwhelmed.

"I triggered the killing array precisely because I couldn't fully recognize those patterns!"

Tatiana exclaimed as she set up a folding table and chairs. She then placed some snacks and drinks on the table. The two of them sat across from each other, and Nash sighed in resignation. "I'll try my best to learn them."