Junior Brother asked everyone to take care of him, so just do so.
What’s more, the Tai’a Sect and the Taixu Sect already share a connection. Friendly exchanges between disciples are not a bad thing, and they don’t reject it either.
The Taixu Sect disciples cupped their hands and said:
"Greetings, Brother Ouyang."
Between sects, the hierarchy of seniority among disciples is first determined by their cohort year.
Those in a higher cohort are Senior Brother or Senior Sister; those in a lower cohort are Junior Brother or Junior Sister.
If they’re from the same cohort, it’s usually determined by age.
The older one takes the title of Senior Brother or Senior Sister; otherwise, the dynamic is up to context.
Ouyang Mu, being thin and young-looking, naturally came to be called "Junior Brother."
Ouyang Mu’s dark, expressionless face flared red all of a sudden, and he stammered:
"H-hello... everyone."
He had never been stared at by so many people at once before.
Nor had he ever been addressed as "Junior Brother" by so many at the same time; for a moment, he felt completely flustered.
Mo Hua then said, "In the future, if your spiritual artifacts get damaged and need repairs, you can find Junior Brother Ouyang."
"Understood!"
The Taixu Sect disciples answered in unison.
Their spiritual artifacts were typically either inherited or custom-made, purchased from the Gu Family Store in Taixu City under the recommendation of Junior Brother.
But when these artifacts broke, repairing them was a hassle.
Especially spiritual swords, their repairs were costly and intricate.
Having a professional Sword-Casting Master to handle repairs would be ideal.
Letting Little Wood make an appearance was essentially an initiation of sorts; Mo Hua’s intentions had been partially achieved. With a wave of his hand, he said:
"It’s getting late; let’s go hunt some monsters."
"Yes, Junior Brother."
Some disciples dispersed.
Others, who had matters to discuss with Mo Hua, approached him in small groups and asked:
"Junior Brother, about the Monster Hunting Formation you taught yesterday, I’m still not very proficient with it. Isn’t it activated using Divine Sense?"
"Is my Divine Sense too weak? I can’t seem to control it..."
"Junior Brother, can you free up some time to tell me how to kill a Black Bear Demon...?"
"I want to forge a pair of Meteor Hammers, using bear claws as the hammerheads."
"Junior Brother, is there a Taoist Robe that can counter Earth-series demonic power, or any custom-made artifact for armor-breaking? I asked the Gu Family Store, but they had no answers..."
"Junior Brother, later we plan to kill a Burmese Python. Its blood is quite rare. Should we save some for you...?"
...
Mo Hua patiently answered each query.
Having received satisfactory replies, the disciples went their separate ways.
On the side, Ouyang Mu watched, inwardly astonished.
Only now did he realize that Brother Mo’s status within the Taixu Sect was far higher than he had imagined.
Even his elder brother, with remarkable talent, exceptional temperament, and prominent prestige among his cohort within the Tai’a Sect, couldn’t match such influence...
Ouyang Mu glanced at Mo Hua, whose gaze remained clear and unpretentious, his demeanor relaxed, like a simple and innocent youth. For a moment, Ouyang was slightly lost in thought.
"What’s the matter?" Mo Hua asked.
Ouyang Mu smiled faintly, "Oh, nothing..."
...
In the days that followed, Ouyang Mu became even more diligent and conscientious.
The spirit sword in Mo Hua’s hands underwent several optimizations under Ouyang Mu’s suggestions.
With each optimization, its power grew.
However, over time, the quality of the spirit sword reached its limit.
The power of Mo Hua’s Sword Control also hit a bottleneck.
"Brother Mo, utilizing materials from a Primary Rank, First Grade monster to stabilize the sword array under specific conditions can only enhance this much power for now," Ouyang Mu said.
"If you want to improve further, you’ll need materials from at least a Middle Stage, Second Grade monster."
"But these materials are difficult to smelt, and with my current cultivation level, I’m not capable of utilizing them properly..."
"Alternatively, there’s the sword array itself..."