As he felt the pull change, Chen Cheng still could not understand the array right away, but he had roughly guessed some of its principles.
If he had to compare it to something, the array felt rather like the radio-wave jamming used in the military electronic warfare he had learned about in his previous life.
It analyzed the magnitude of the Magic Energy someone generated, gathered, and controlled, then jammed it across every channel.
Ordinary electronic warfare targeted enemy radar and other electronic information equipment. This acted directly on people who used magic.
And because Magic Energy objectively existed and could directly affect reality, the interference could also produce something like reflected damage.
Now that he had worked that out, Chen Cheng naturally wanted to test it.
Chen Cheng held out his palm again. This time, instead of forming Magic Runes for a spell, he used his will like an oar at sea, gently stirring a chaotic mass of Magic Energy.
The next moment, to the Scarlet Fish Emperor's disbelief, a tiny flame appeared in Chen Cheng's hand, followed by a thread of lightning, a shard of ice crystal, a small drop of water, and more.
Chen Cheng withdrew his hand, a delighted smile spreading across his face.
"Just as I thought. The principle behind electronic deception works."
Chen Cheng had not used magic just now. He had merely gone with the flow and made use of the array's already chaotic Magic Energy.
Matter was Magic Energy made manifest. The array could not disrupt things that already objectively existed, or the place where he stood would have been a void.
In today's popular slang, he had played dumb first, then pulled a fast one on the array, using its own power to turn Magic Energy into matter.
Chen Cheng rose