Jared’s smile deepened. “Divine markings mirror the laws of nature, yes, but what stirs them is mastery of spiritual energy, not bloodline. Though I’m not one of the celestials, I can still draft charms that suppress divine markings.”

A flick of his finger and an Exorcism Charm bloomed in mid-air. Runes glimmered along its edges, emitting a golden pulse that muted divine markings.

Jared, after all, had studied under both Divinus and Hellion. For Westley to parade divine markings before was like teaching a fish to swim.

Westley’s pupils contracted. “Then explain Compendium of Ten Thousand Arts, it says that cultivation must advance step by step, leaping realms courts disaster. Will you call that false as well?”

“Steady progress is the foundation, not an iron shackle,” Jared shook his head. “When the first human patriarch faced annihilation, pierced two cultivation levels overnight and rose from earthly immortal to heavenly immortal. Was that textbook protocol? Cultivation is rowing upstream, sometimes you must burn the boat to find the hidden current.”

Quoting ancient records and history alike, peeled apart every argument Westley hurled, until each page lay metaphorically in tatters at their feet.

Students drifted closer, heads nodding, eyes alight with new possibilities as Jared’s words unsettled beliefs they had never dared question.