Chapter 745 – Follow Me
"This spine is yours now," Mo Hua said generously.
Ouyang Mu was caught completely off guard by this sudden kindness and quickly shook his head, flustered. "I can't accept it…"
"You don't want it?"
Mo Hua waved the wolf spine in his hand back and forth.
Ouyang Mu's eyes were glued to it, following its movements, clearly reluctant to look away. But he gritted his teeth and stood firm:
"I do want it. But… I didn't hunt the beast myself. I can't accept it."
Mo Hua said, "Your brother, Senior Brother Feng, once looked after me. I'm just returning the favor by helping you now. It's fine—take it."
Ouyang Mu still shook his head. "I can't take a reward I didn't earn."
Mo Hua was a little surprised, and his gaze held a trace of admiration.
This Little Blockhead might be a bit rigid, but he had a solid heart, stuck to his principles, and wasn't the type to take advantage of others.
"Hmm." Mo Hua nodded. "If you don't want it, then never mind."
He made a show of about to put the Fire Demon Wolf spine away.
But as the spine was just about to be taken out of reach, Ouyang Mu panicked a little.
After a long struggle, he blurted out, "Senior Brother Mo—can I buy it with merit points?"
"Merit points?" Mo Hua gave it a little thought, then nodded. "Sure. But based on the usual market rate, a Fire Demon Wolf spine like this goes for 800 merit points. Do you have that?"
"Eight… hundred?!"
Ouyang Mu froze, then his face turned a little red. "I… I don't have that much…"
"How many do you have?"
"Just… three hundred…" Ouyang Mu mumbled.
Although he was from the main line of the Ouyang family, once inside the sect, everything had to follow sect rules. He had to rely on himself.
Those 300 merit points were painstakingly earned from forging and reforging weapons for others.
He'd already used some before, so now that's all he had left.
"How about I sell it to you for 300?" Mo Hua offered.
Ouyang Mu shook his head quickly. "No! I can't let you take a loss, Senior Brother. I…"
He hesitated for a moment, then softly asked, "Can I owe you the rest and pay you back later?"
Mo Hua rubbed his chin, silent for a moment, thinking about something.
Ouyang Mu thought Mo Hua didn't believe him, so he quickly promised:
"I swear I'll pay you back!"
"And how will you do that?" Mo Hua asked with a meaningful look, gently nudging.
"I'll work hard to earn more merit…"
Mo Hua sighed. "Merit's not that easy to earn, is it?"
Ouyang Mu's expression turned a bit gloomy.
It really wasn't.
The good missions were snatched up fast. If you couldn't grab one, you were stuck with low-level chores that earned scraps.
And the sect had endless ways to spend merit: cultivation techniques, spells, refining blueprints, pills, spiritual artifacts…
Merit accumulated like sand but spent like water.
Most disciples were always short.
By mid-Foundation Establishment, disciples were allowed into the Demon Refining Mountain. If they learned quickly and had good experience, killing beasts and collecting materials became a reliable way to earn.
But if you were slow, failed repeatedly, and lacked skill, it only got worse. You'd earn less and less merit.
Ouyang Mu had no confidence in his beast hunting.
And those 300 points had taken him forever to save…
If he bought the spine, he'd owe 500 points.
Just slowly grinding that much back with low-level jobs? Who knew how long it would take?
And beast hunting was risky. If something went wrong and he couldn't repay Mo Hua, that would make him a man who breaks his word… and would mean Mo Hua suffered a loss because of him.
Ouyang Mu looked down, his expression flickering—caught in hesitation.
Seeing this, Mo Hua smiled gently and said, "If you can't repay the merit, you can help me with something instead."
Ouyang Mu was startled. "I… what could I do?"
After thinking a bit, he slowly said, "If you don't mind, I could do some refining… sword forging too…"
Mo Hua's eyebrows arched. Finally the offer he was waiting for.
He nodded immediately. "Deal!"
Ouyang Mu looked unsure. "But… I'm not very skilled yet…"
"No worries," Mo Hua encouraged. "No one starts out perfect. You'll learn and improve."
Being from Tai'a Sect, with formal forging training, he was bound to be better than Mo Hua, Master Gu, or any of the Great Void disciples.
Besides, Mo Hua could tell that while Little Blockhead was a bit slow, he was honest and had a good temperament.
A good heart could be trained into skill.
But great skill with a bad heart? That wasn't worth cultivating at all.
Character could not be fixed if rotten.
Ouyang Mu was visibly encouraged. He nodded seriously. "Senior Brother Mo, don't worry. I won't let you down!"
Seeing his solemn little face, Mo Hua couldn't help but laugh. "Just do your best. No pressure."
"Mm!"
Ouyang Mu nodded earnestly.
Mo Hua thought a moment more. "You owe me 500 points. How about this—forge me a spiritual sword to cover 100 points. I'll supply the materials."
It was a fair price.
In the sect, refining a second-grade spiritual artifact typically cost 50–80 merit points due to the time involved.
Spiritual swords were pricier—100 was standard.
Of course, that's for ordinary swords.
Those engraved with formation arrays—true "heritage swords"—were far more expensive, but regular disciples couldn't forge those anyway.
Ouyang Mu was only mid-Foundation Establishment and still in training. Tai'a Sect wouldn't teach them formation swordsmithing yet.
Mo Hua didn't need a heritage sword either. A normal spiritual sword would do.
But Ouyang Mu shook his head.
"What? Too low?" Mo Hua asked.
"No, no!" Ouyang Mu said quickly. "I usually only charge 40 for artifacts and 60 for swords. A hundred's too much! I'm not skilled enough to be worth that."
He looked a little sheepish and said, "Senior Brother Mo, I'll charge you 60 like everyone else. I'll forge 8… no, 9 spiritual artifacts to pay off the debt."
Mo Hua blinked.
He'd haggled plenty, but this was the first time someone tried to talk him down on a price. He wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Alright then—8 swords!"
Mo Hua grinned.
He stuffed the Fire Demon Wolf spine into Ouyang Mu's arms, not giving him a chance to refuse.
"It's settled. Keep the spine. Next rest period, come find me in the mountains. I'll tell you what kind of sword I want."
With that, Mo Hua waved and left.
Ouyang Mu stood there alone, holding the still-warm spine, the lingering heat of fire beast energy in his hands—his heart just as warm.
Senior Brother Mo… what a good man!
Ouyang Mu watched Mo Hua's silhouette fade into the woods, eyes filled with gratitude.
...
A ten-day cycle passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was rest day again, and Mo Hua made another trip to the Demon Refining Mountain.
As expected, Ouyang Mu was already there waiting for him.
Now burdened with a "debt" of five hundred merit points, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. More importantly, he didn't want to let down the kindness Mo Hua had shown by gifting him the Fire Demon Wolf spine. So, he was eager to do something in return.
"Senior Brother Mo, what kind of sword do you want me to forge?"
Mo Hua handed over a sword blueprint he had prepared in advance.
Ouyang Mu took it and, with just a single glance, said, "Senior Brother Mo… this sword is kind of strange… It's not the standard design for spiritual swords, is it…"
Mo Hua thought to himself: As expected of someone from Tai'a Sect—he noticed it at once.
"This sword is indeed a little different," Mo Hua nodded.
Ouyang Mu examined it as he muttered, "The exterior is normal, but the internal structure is unusual…"
"The materials are a bit cheap—not very sturdy."
"There's space left inside for a formation, but this doesn't seem like the usual reinforcement or edge-sharpening formation used in spiritual swords?"
He gestured with his hands as he studied the blueprint, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise:
"…This is a sword array!"
"Sword arrays aren't sealed inside the weapon—they're open-source!"
…
Ouyang Mu's expression fell as he muttered, "Senior Brother Mo… I can't forge this kind of sword…"
"What's wrong?"
Ouyang Mu explained, "This isn't a conventional spiritual sword. It uses a sword array, not standard formations."
"I haven't learned sword arrays yet. Only after entering the inner sect and signing a life contract will the sect start teaching them."
"Right now, what the elders and instructors teach is the non-array aspect—the pure weapon-refining portion of the 'Tai'a Sword Forging Art.'"
"No problem," Mo Hua said. "You don't need to worry about the sword array. Just forge the sword itself."
"Oh."
Ouyang Mu nodded.
He wasn't sure how Senior Brother Mo was planning to handle the sword array part.
As far as he knew, the Great Void Sect didn't have a specialized sword array inheritance.
And even if they did, there's no way they'd teach it at this stage.
Still, Ouyang Mu was polite and didn't ask further.
If it was just the forging, not involving the array, even if the design was a bit strange, making it wouldn't be too difficult.
Ouyang Mu examined the blueprint a few more times.
Mo Hua, watching him carefully, suddenly asked, "Little Blockhead, what do you think of this design?"
Ouyang Mu blinked. "Think what?"
"I mean," Mo Hua clarified, "How's the quality? Any areas that could be improved?"
Ouyang Mu was about to answer, but hesitated and cautiously asked, "Senior Brother Mo, who designed this blueprint?"
Mo Hua blinked and replied vaguely, "I asked… a Foundation Establishment junior brother in the sect who knows a bit about refining…"
Ouyang Mu relaxed and offered his honest opinion:
"It's a total mess."
Mo Hua's heart… cracked just a little.
He had poured over countless spiritual sword diagrams, referenced multiple sources, and painstakingly fused them with sword array compatibility to come up with this "masterpiece."
And now, it was being called… "a total mess."
Oblivious to Mo Hua's inner pain, Ouyang Mu continued, "The designer's probably an amateur—or maybe not a full amateur, but more like half-baked…"
Mo Hua's eye twitched. He took a deep breath. "Then what do you suggest we fix?"
The moment the topic turned to sword forging, Ouyang Mu's whole attention locked in. He immediately pulled out pen and paper and began sketching on the spot.
"First off, the materials for this spiritual sword are subpar."
"Spiritual swords align with the Metal element, so it's normal to use metal-type beast materials. But these specific materials here? Poor fusion properties, and bad spiritual energy conduction."
"Also, in the Five Elements, there's not only 'overcoming' but also 'generating.'"
"For metal-element swords, it's not always necessary to go full-metal. Since Earth generates Metal, adding some earth-element beast materials can really enhance the final result—make it pop."
"That's the materials. Next, the design."
"This sword's structure is kind of conflicted."
"If the sword is meant for close-quarters killing, then the materials need to be tough, the edge razor-sharp—able to cut hair or slice iron effortlessly."
"But if it's geared toward sword aura techniques, the blade should be lighter, and spiritual conduction more efficient."
"This sword is heavy, but the materials are weak and not hard enough. The spiritual conduction is poor too…"
"Then there's the sword array slot. Even though it's open-source, the embedded formation media layer shows that this sword array has zero compatibility with the sword body."
"The sword is just a sword. The array is just an array. They don't connect at all."
"That won't do. Only when a sword is tailored for its array can it truly unleash the full power of sword techniques…"
…
Usually so quiet and wooden, Ouyang Mu became animated and fluent the moment the topic turned to sword forging.
Everything he pointed out was stuff Mo Hua hadn't even considered before.
Truly, expertise makes a world of difference.
Even though weapon refining and sword forging were technically the same field, their sub-disciplines were vastly different—like separate mountains.
Mo Hua watched him with growing respect in his eyes.
This… this is professionalism!
As expected of a core disciple of the Ouyang family from Tai'a Sect.
Partway through, Ouyang Mu noticed Mo Hua's piercing gaze and grew embarrassed again. "I… was just speaking casually. If I said something wrong, please don't take it to heart, Senior Brother Mo."
"No, no—it was great."
Mo Hua smiled and nodded, though he thought to himself, Even if you were wrong, I wouldn't have noticed…
Mo Hua gave Ouyang Mu another appraising look and asked, "Do you want to be a swordsmith in the future?"
Ouyang Mu's expression turned a little complicated at the question. He finally sighed and said, "My father won't allow it…"
Mo Hua was surprised. "Why not?"
Ouyang Mu replied, "My father believes that Tai'a Sect's reputation suffered in the past because it focused too much on sword forging."
"The ones who shine are always the sword wielders—not the ones who forge them."
"Tai'a Sect only started improving once the elders decided to build on the foundation of sword forging by promoting Tai'a's sword techniques—and gradually developing them into the sect's main strength."
"Now, all disciples with talent are expected to study swordsmanship."
"Only those who can't practice swordsmanship end up learning to forge swords."
"I'm from the Ouyang family's main branch. Everyone watches me. I'm expected to be like my brother—excel in swordsmanship and serve as a role model."
"If I take up sword forging… my father will be disappointed."
At this point, Ouyang Mu's tone turned a little sad. "But… I'm far worse than my brother in every way—spiritual roots, cultivation, comprehension, presence, reputation in the sect, interpersonal skills… I fall short in everything…"
The more he spoke, the smaller his voice became.
Mo Hua let out a sigh.
With such an outstanding older brother, it was no wonder Little Blockhead felt so much pressure.
The two brothers truly lived up to their names—Senior Brother Feng was like a tall, steady, and radiant maple tree.
Whereas Ouyang Mu, thin and quiet, was like a small sapling yet to grow.
The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
"So… do you want to become a swordsmith?" Mo Hua asked.
Ouyang Mu nodded, "I'm not good at anything else. I'm not good at speaking, I'm average at swordsmanship, clumsy at beast hunting… Only when I'm forging swords do I feel a little happy."
Mo Hua encouraged, "Then stop worrying about others—learn what you want to learn."
Ouyang Mu looked clearly troubled. "But my father…"
Mo Hua asked, "And now that you're learning swordsmanship—is your father happy?"
Ouyang Mu shook his head. "He says I'm terrible at it. He's still not happy."
"Exactly." Mo Hua said, "Whether you learn swordsmithing or swordplay, he's not happy either way. So what does it matter?"
"If that's the case, why not pick the one that actually makes you happy?"
Ouyang Mu froze.
His little brain turned several times in circles before he suddenly realized—
Senior Brother Mo's words…
actually made perfect sense.
Whether he chose swordsmanship or swordsmithing, his father wasn't going to be pleased.
So why was he even hesitating?
That said, even if it sounded logical, he still felt some anxiety and uncertainty.
Mo Hua didn't expect him to have an epiphany right away. He reassured him gently:
"Don't overthink it. Just focus on forging the spiritual swords you owe me."
After all, even if Little Blockhead was supposed to learn swordsmanship, he still needed merit points.
But his sword skills weren't strong enough to earn any.
So for now, forging was still his only path to earning merit.
All Mo Hua had to do was keep nudging him down the righteous path of swordsmithing.
What's so great about swordsmanship anyway? Mo Hua thought privately.
In this whole Dry Heaven Province, sword cultivators are a dime a dozen—no one's missing one more Little Blockhead.
Besides, the guy clearly has no talent in sword arts. His temperament isn't even suited for killing. Forcing him to cultivate sword techniques is just a waste of potential…
Such a promising swordsmith, and Tai'a Sect doesn't even treasure him…
Mo Hua shook his head.
Ouyang Mu came back to his senses and nodded. "Alright."
Whatever the case, the first step was to finish forging those eight spiritual swords for Senior Brother Mo.
"Oh right," Mo Hua pointed at the blueprint in Ouyang Mu's hand, "Help me… I mean, help that mediocre-forging junior brother from the Great Void Sect—revise this sword design according to what you said earlier."
Ouyang Mu, still lacking confidence, hesitated. "Is… that okay? Isn't it a little inappropriate to revise someone else's design…"
Mo Hua nodded seriously. "Perfectly okay! Don't hold back—just revise it!"
Under Mo Hua's passionate urging, Ouyang Mu indeed took it seriously and revised the sword blueprint with great care and precision.
After reading the new blueprint, Mo Hua was shook.
He hadn't realized how bad his own design was until he saw the comparison—it was like putting a mud pie next to a piece of fine jade.
Without a word, he crumpled his original sword diagram and shoved it deep into his storage pouch.
"Use yours!" Mo Hua said firmly to Ouyang Mu.
"Okay, Senior Brother Mo!"
Even though he didn't really understand what was going on, having such a seemingly powerful and capable Senior Brother trust him so much boosted Ouyang Mu's confidence immensely.
Back at Tai'a Sect, he put everything else aside and focused solely on forging swords for Mo Hua.
Eight days later, the next rest cycle arrived.
In the forests of the Demon Refining Mountain—
Ouyang Mu solemnly handed a freshly-forged golden spiritual sword to Mo Hua with both hands.
This was his first time forging this type of sword, and since he wasn't confident in the results, he had only made one to let Mo Hua inspect it.
Mo Hua took the sword—and felt a jolt of surprise in his heart.
The blade wasn't heavy, but it gleamed with a restrained luster. Its internal structure was intricate, its form sharp, and the crafting far more refined than before.
Even without any array carved onto it, he could already sense faint traces of sword aura.
Compared to the flying swords he'd used before, this was clearly on a whole new level.
Mo Hua was delighted and decided to test it.
In just a few swift moves, he inscribed the Broken Gold Sword Array onto the blade.
He moved so fast, and the array's pattern was so intricate that Ouyang Mu didn't even catch what he had drawn.
After finishing the inscription, Mo Hua walked into an open area, looked up at the sky, and spread out his divine sense to search for prey.
Before long, a fierce hawk-like demon beast soared across the clear sky.
Mo Hua sat down where he was and placed the golden sword in front of him.
Then he held his breath and focused his mind, activating the Broken Gold Sword Control Art, using his divine will to control the sword and his divine sense to locate the enemy.
Suddenly, the golden sword burst into brilliant light.
Gold light flared—and vanished in an instant.
A golden streak shot into the sky, targeting the savage hawk demon overhead.
In a mere flash, blinding sword light exploded.
Sharper than ever before, the sword aura erupted all at once, blooming like golden lotuses.
It engulfed the hawk demon, slicing its flesh and feathers into bloody fragments.
The hawk demon was utterly shredded by the Broken Gold Sword Aura.
It died instantly—without even hitting the ground!
What terrifying sword control!
Mo Hua looked utterly stunned. Then he turned to the equally stunned Ouyang Mu, slapped a hand on his shoulder, and declared with dominance:
"From now on, you're with me!"
(End of Chapter)