The Qi Gathering Array isn't really much to look at, it's all official equipment, just follow the instructions to assemble it.

But in fact, not to mention grandmother, even Qinghu has never carefully observed the Qi Gathering Array.

The official information in this area is heavily obscured, and most supremes, even if they've heard of it, only know the general situation.

The female supreme initially expressed indifference, "It's just the most ordinary type."

However, as she said this, she was very interested in the installation and debugging process of the Qi Gathering Array, frequently asking questions.

Qu Jianlei didn't mind explaining to her, as he was always open to technical exchanges.

Unexpectedly, the two became more chatty, Qinghu turned out to be quite the tech enthusiast.

However, there were some things Qu Jianlei couldn't explain clearly, so he simply took out some corroborative materials.

When Qinghu learned that these materials came from a farmer, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"An A-level can study so much about the Qi Gathering Array, that's quite commendable—didn't expect him to die at your hands."

Qu Jianlei replied earnestly, "It wasn't me who wanted to kill him, it was he who troubled me first, I was just defending myself!"

He didn't want to be seen as a murderous type.

Of course, he couldn't just provide answers; knowledge exchange should be mutual.

After introducing the Qi Gathering Array, he asked about the "Ion Purification Armor."

In this area, Qinghu's expertise far surpassed Yuanyuan's.

Generally speaking, this is not knowledge suitable for disclosure, but considering how generous an A-level was, how could she be stingy?

In fact, although Qinghu had met some like-minded Awakened, in-depth discussions were rare.

For example, Buckingham also liked to do research, but his research focused on pharmacology and some alchemical concepts.

The two could communicate on a superficial level, but deep discussions were impossible.

However, Qu Jianlei was deeply studied in this field, no matter what questions she threw, he could handle them.

Not all topics have correct answers—that's just unrealistic, but being able to handle them is already quite impressive.

Many of Qu Jianlei's answers could make Qinghu fall into deep thought and then try to refute them.

Conversely, if the female supreme expressed certain views he disagreed with, he usually refuted them quickly.

This meant that he had deeply considered many issues.

But there were also some issues where he provided insights without giving explanations.

Qinghu could perceive that it wasn't that he didn't understand, rather it touched upon certain fields of knowledge that he didn't want to disclose.

This realization made her a bit annoyed, I'm earnestly providing answers, and you're withholding?

However, it didn't take long for her to realize another problem: her knowledge reserve was no match for his.

What she said, he could handle, but his words often left her unable to respond, even falling into contemplation.

This left Qinghu feeling utterly incredulous: Who are the people behind you that can grasp such broad and profound knowledge?

Plus, she was often inspired by his words, so even though he concealed some things, she couldn't mind.

The bottom line was insufficient knowledge accumulation on her part; if her accumulation far exceeded his, she might also hold back some knowledge points.

This isn't about hiding one's skills, the key is many pieces of knowledge... you simply don't qualify to obtain them yet!

In other words, she wasn't yet qualified to know the more profound knowledge!

This feeling was quite rare and unfriendly for her, a supreme.

However, she was not in a position to complain; both were professionals, who was capable or not could be judged in a few sentences.

Qinghu felt the frustration of being technically inferior, sometimes speaking with an unavoidable hint of fire.

However, Qu Jianlei didn't mind this at all.

He was originally not good with words and was especially insensitive to tone during technical exchanges.

Moreover, what he didn't want to elaborate on involved the relatively core concepts within the Daoist Sect, wasn't it normal for the other party to feel intrigued?

Yuanyuan and her grandmother listened to their conversation, feeling like they were listening to a heavenly book.

Yuanyuan was slightly better off, having researched the Ion Purification Armor, she could understand a part, whereas her grandmother was completely in the dark.

But she could perceive other things, for example, that Qinghu supreme would sometimes speak with emotion.

During a particularly intense argument, she proactively spoke up to ease the tense atmosphere between them.

"There's even a third layer of defense, did you set it up?"

"Of course," Qu Jianlei nodded, especially emphasizing, "The third layer has two Defense Arrays, one for each of us."

You're still saying I'm interested in your granddaughter... please take a closer look!

The grandmother felt a bit uneasy; she came worrying that her granddaughter might meet the wrong person.

Now it seemed the other party was more than worthy of her granddaughter, but the bad news was, he didn't seem to have that intention at all.

She nodded with a face of reassurance, "That's also good, it can reduce mutual influence."

Initially, Qinghu didn't pay attention to the Defense Array; she wasn't very proficient with arrays, and the second layer was a bit large, making it hard to analyze.

The third layer's array was smaller, more conducive for her perception and judgment, so she inevitably asked again about the Defense Array.

Because this wasn't her area of expertise, her gains were more substantial, but the conversation remained relatively superficial.

For the same reason, the topic of the defense array wasn't discussed for long.

When Qinghu learned that the defense array was derived and completed independently based on fragmented diagrams by the other party, she offered a suggestion.

"I can help you publish it in an internal journal and apply for the relevant patent."

She didn't mention anything about credit, to which Qu Jianlei curiously asked, "Isn't there a need to verify qualifications?"

He regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth, realizing he had probably shown his ignorance in the exhilaration of the conversation.

However, Qinghu responded proudly, "Others might need verification, but the people I recommend certainly don't."

This showed that array research remained fairly restricted, with even the more prosperous Star Realms adhering to certain conventions.

The impact here was relatively minor, thanks to the significant influence of the Supreme lady.

Qu Jianlei thought about it and still shook his head, "Forget it, I used to have some interest, but now I'll pass."

His grandmother saw it as an opportunity and couldn't help but say, "Why refuse something that brings both fame and fortune?"

Qu Jianlei smiled faintly, "Since it's all about fame and fortune, disputes are naturally abundant; I'm really not interested."

Qinghu nodded in agreement with his sentiment, but also expressed,

"Publishing more of this research could help spark everyone's interest; there are too few people involved in this research."

Qu Jianlei didn't expect her to have such a sentiment.

However, in the context of a technical exchange, he reflexively retorted,

"The key issue with the lack of participation in research is information monopoly. You should address that with the military."

Qinghu pursed her lips in frustration, "You're arguing again... isn't it enough already?"

This was the attitude they had during exchanges—quite casual, yet not even close to quarrelsome.

Qu Jianlei ignored her comment and instead brought up another topic.

"Supreme One, as a Sand Attribute, you now lean towards Earth Attribute. Are you also experimenting with Elemental Unity?"

This topic just happened to pique Qinghu the Supreme's interest, and she replied seemingly casually.

"It's related to my own cultivation, which theoretically I shouldn't disclose, but since I'm in a good mood today..."

"The Sand Attribute indeed slightly leans towards Earth Attribute. So far, my attempts have been relatively successful."

"Just a pity, currently only the Earth Attribute is compatible, whereas others remain quite challenging."

Despite saying so, her continuous speech showed no signs of "regret" whatsoever.

Qu Jianlei nodded upon hearing this, "So, after advancing to Supreme, it's possible to be compatible with all attributes?"

"That's merely theoretical," Qinghu shook her head, answering with certainty.

"Even making one attribute compatible is quite difficult and takes a considerable amount of time."

"If full attribute compatibility were possible, advancing beyond Supreme would be much easier, but the problem is, who has that much time?"

Qu Jianlei raised a thumb in admiration, "You're the first Supreme I know who has managed to be compatible with other attributes. Impressive!"

"You don't need to find reasons to compliment me," Qinghu shook her head, responding casually, "I'm not the only one attempting this."

"After achieving Supreme, most people need to strengthen their Spiritual Power, which is also an attempt to become compatible with the Spiritual Attribute."

Qu Jianlei nodded upon hearing this, thinking to himself that the cultivation path of a Superpower Warrior is indeed not easy.

He brought up this topic not only to understand some cultivation ideas within the Awakened System but also with other intentions.

Namely, after advancing to Supreme, whether attributeless or all attributes would become relatively normal.

He had this hypothesis before but didn't know whom to ask, and now he found Qinghu's situation to be just right.

The answers provided by the Supreme lady were also quite satisfying to him.

It seems that after advancing to Supreme, he wouldn't need to hide his "attributeless" nature too much.

During their exchange, an entire afternoon passed without them realizing it.

Dinner was cooked by Qu Jianlei himself, and Yuanyuan even specifically took some food to the four gatekeepers.

The Supreme lady and his grandmother were generally nonchalant in their praise of the meal.

However, Qu Jianlei didn't mind this at all.

At their age, their tastes must have already become quite fixed, and he couldn't possibly cook something that would please everyone.

After dinner, Qinghu continued discussing various cultivation ideas with him until late into the night, when they finally retired to their respective rest.

Early the next morning, the Supreme lady came looking for Qu Jianlei again.

Qu Jianlei thought she wanted to continue yesterday's topic, as it's not easy to find someone with common interests.

However, to his surprise, Qinghu's first question was, "Did you two set up the Qi Gathering Array here to aim for Supreme?"

Qu Jianlei was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, "That's the plan, but now... it's hard to say."

As he said the latter part, he couldn't hide his look of regret.

Though they communicated very well yesterday, wishing to chat for a few more days, this couldn't make him feel very secure.

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