Color drained from Westley’s cheeks, then flooded back wine-red. “Nonsense! The method of resonating divine markings, as recorded in our texts, is the supreme technique for blending divine soul and spiritual energy. You clearly failed to comprehend a single glyph, how dare you judge it?” retorted.

“Oh? The method of resonating divine markings?” Jared lifted one brow, curiosity flickering like lamplight in his eyes. “Well… Let me guess… You disturb your own mental energy while inscribing divine markings, then push your spiritual energy to mimic that tremor. If that is the whole secret, the technique is antiquated beyond words.”

Jared paused before raising his voice. “A divine marking is nothing more than the laws of nature given shape. True resonance is never forced, your divine soul must dissolve into the pattern itself, the way water parts around a stone without command. Clinging to rigid diagrams only shackles spiritual energy. That is chasing the shadow and discarding the substance.”

The insight seemed almost casual, yet it pierced straight to the craft’s rotten core. Even Yuliana, watching from the stands, allowed a flicker of surprise to gleam behind lashes. Scarlet flushed beneath Westley’s cheekbones.

“Nonsense!” barked. “Celestia has guarded this magecraft for millennia. Who are you, an outsider, to slander it? If we are so ignorant, show us your superior wisdom!”

Jared chuckled, turning slowly in a full circle so every student felt his eye upon them. “Depth isn’t in memorizing many tomes, it lies in mastering a single truth…”

“A moment ago, I watched a student with divine power tear open space with brute strength, never considering the principle of folding. Set your divine soul as a mirror, reflect the wrinkle of the void, and a whisper of spiritual energy will pry open a massive corridor, far easier than ripping fabric with your fists.”