“Hand seals.” He muttered silently.

The book in the library described hand seals as effective ways to cast techniques swiftly; in addition, they were quite easy to master and execute; the major problem lay hand seals were specific; in other words, one had to have the correct stances to cast a technique, any incorrect variation and a backlash was certain.

Another problem was that casting hand seals took a large amount of essence every time it was cast. Just like Old Kai said back then in the mines, objectively, it was not only those who had forged a spirit source that could use essence arts and techniques; each attack depended on the amount of essence that was used to cast it.

This was why someone who did not have a spirit source and a large Essence reserve could not use most techniques.

The attacks rained upon Tylen like an avalanche, but the seal stayed steady.

“Zabel!” His shouts were becoming more desperate.

Even though the Falcon leader attacks were becoming much more dangerous because it was getting closer, it was much more vulnerable than before. This position of the Falcon provided a better aim, and Zabel didn’t waste the opportunity.

Letting loose another arrow with killing intent, the midsection of the leader was hit. The spiritual bird backed off a bit as the streams of blue blood flowed.

Ju could see the shimmering of the half-formed core; his body displayed endless longing. Every group member had greed in their eyes. Even if it was not completed yet, this was a precious resource that could set them on the path of an Essence artist.

The spiritual feeling of its injury started to retreat, its minions shielding its escape.

“Oh no, it's getting away!” Oberon struggled to say. His side of the formation was already dissipating. All his nodes were already drained; all the team members were exhausted.

Ju still had some essence left. The light from the tempering formula still flickered in his right arm node, but that was strictly for his safety; he could not use it to fuel the formation.

“Zabel, just one more good shot; time is almost up,” Aron said between deep breaths.

A tinge of blood appeared on the girl’s mouth as she formed the last arrow; behind her, the formation was already fading out of existence, and the Falcon leader was already gaining altitude; in a few seconds, it would be out of sight.

The bow inscriptions shone even brighter, so she arched her back. Letting out a low cry, she shot the last sun-chasing arrow.

The Falcon leader could feel the life-of-death threat. It desperately tried to dodge, but it had been weakened due to the previous confrontations, making it a little too late for the beast to dodge; almost immediately, its head exploded mid-air in a blast of fiery light.

Its enormous body slowly spiraled around in the air and crashed down. There were about eight Falcons left. They became even more bloodthirsty after seeing their leader die and rushed towards Tylen.

Everyone was already on their knees. Tylen could not even maintain the seal anymore. Seeing the remaining spiritual birds approaching, beads of cold sweat formed on Tylen’s head. But suddenly, a figure flashed by his side. It was Ju.

Ju brought out his dagger. The spiritual birds shot blasts towards him. Ju's single eye shrank as he rapidly dodged. His last Spirit node shone with a brighter light.

“There is a difference between the Essence of the tempering formula and the one I had previously. “

This one in his forearm sprit node felt purer, more potent.

Swiftly, Ju buried his dagger into the head of one bird. Meanwhile, his left leg vibrated with power as he twisted his body and launched a vicious kick at the falcon beside him. Ju's single eye moved as he felt two falcons coming at his sides. In a split second, he freed his dagger from the slain spiritual bird and threw it into the midsection of the falcon on his left.

His hand shot forward, grabbed the falcon's mouth by the right, and clenched! The falcon's head exploded immediately. In less than a few seconds, Ju had destroyed the eight birds.

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Ju had never felt anything like this. The Essence felt much better, and he could feel the flow intimately.

“The meditation technique's results are already showing, and this was the basic tempering formula that circulates around.”

The teenager didn’t know that most people usually only raise one tide when using this mediation technique. Ju had raised three tides on the first night and gone through more than a few cycles. Ju's pain tolerance seemed to be very much, much larger than that of the average Essence user.

By enduring more, the benefits were better, and Ju had access to a relatively purer, more robust Essence.

“I have to practice seriously and awaken another node.”

Meanwhile, Tylen and others were also astonished by Ju's sudden burst of power. Although they all still reserved some power, Ju was so energetic that he quickly slain the remaining spiritual birds.

Uneasy expressions appeared in Tylen, Aron, Zabel, and Oberon. Would this young boy turn on them since they were weakened after all? Ju himself seemed…unaffected by the previous fight.

“I would keep watch; you guys should try to regain some strength,” Ju said indifferently, acting as if he didn't see their wary faces.

For a split moment, Ju actually did consider attacking them and taking all the loot for himself, but after debating internally, he decided the risks were not worth it. Ju didn't believe they had used all their trump cards in the last battle.

“Thank you, Brother Ju. You are full of surprises to think you have robust reserves like that. Have you opened another node?” Tylen said curiously.

Ju shook his head.

“Almost, it's… hard.”

“Yes it is, for the past 5 years I have been trying to open my 5th node to no avail.” Oberon sighed

Ju's eye flickered. Oberon had four nodes open, yet Ju had only two.

"Tylen, Aron, and Zabel would also be like that; three to five nodes had opened already, yet I could roughly match them in strength."

It may have revealed that the teenager had more battle experience. Now, with the tempering formula, Ju felt he would gradually eclipse them in power.

Sometime after, the group members recovered. It was time to divide the loot.

As the group looked at the falcon leader without its head on the floor, mixed feelings floated around. This was perhaps the most powerful being they had ever encountered, and its value was impressive. For a beast of that caliber, even without the half-formed core, it could sell more than a thousand gold coins and, with the core, up to tens of thousands.

“I will be straightforward. I want the half-formed core. The rest can be divided without me,” Tylen pondered and said straightforwardly.

The other members were silent. Without Tylen's methods, they would have never slayed the beast, so his request was not unreasonable. However, it wasn't easy to let go of such an item.

Sensing the hesitation of the others. Tylen gritted his teeth and offered.

“I would also add 600 gold coins for each of you.”

“Since Brother Tylen wants it…I accept your proposal.”

Ju said decisively. Although he regretted the half-formed core, it was no use dragging the matter out. The benefits he received were quite enough.

“I also accept your term, Tylen.” Oberon waved his hand.

Zabel also nodded as she stood aside. Aron's expression remained unwilling, but he eventually sighed and moved backward.

Tylen beamed a brilliant smile as he put the core away.

A few minutes later, the rest of the loot was divided. Ju took the bulk of falcons he had killed alone, while Zabel settled for just the Falcon leader. Oberon and Aron shared the rest.

“I feel we should take a few days to rest before we hunt again, at least to digest our gains. I will give you all your proceeds tonight. Let's meet at the restaurant again.” Tylen happily said.

Ju calculated the amount he would soon have, already more than 1,000 gold coins. The youth felt surreal.

He had learned that the Essence Artist rarely used gold coins to transact; rather, spirit stones were used, and bits of the earth veins were filled with Essence.

The usual exchange rate was 1000 gold coins for one spirit stone, but it was rare for anyone to trade a spirit stone for gold coins. Ju had never seen a bonafide spirit stone, even in the mines where they could occasionally be obtained, and he had never seen the purification process.

With the amount he had made, Ju thought of going to the library's second floor. The first three floors of the library were open to anyone with enough money, but the third and fourth floors required special requirements.

"But the most important thing right now was to open another spirit node." The young boy reasoned.

The group agreed to disperse and meet later, and Ju swiftly went on his way. Aron had an odd look on his face as he watched Ju’s back slowly fade.

“What do you think of him?”

“Definitely the most talented individual I have seen; I didn’t even know what a fight was at that age. Yet he has such a warrior instinct. But then, in this environment, potential means nothing without backing.” Oberon crossed his arms and calmly stated.

“Meanwhile, his nature… I can't place a finger on it. On the outside, he seems like a typical teenager, but he never acts on impulses and makes sure not to talk so much. One never really tell what he is thinking. Zabel added.

“Either way, he is a good addition to our team. For now, let's see how things go, " Tylen concluded.