It wasn’t long into their journey when the wagon was ambushed by a group of men covered in dark clothing. It was still midday and their clothing did nothing to camouflage them. If it was night and they did not have eyes that reflected light, they might have been able to blend into the darkness enough such that cultivators who literally train their whole lives could not see them. But it was not night and they did have eyes. And yet, those eyes could not recognize Mount Tai.

“Stop right there!”

“Hand over your goods”

Two of the men shouted at the same time making it tough to understand.

Mi Rang was itching for a fight. This was what he was looking for. Gong Chang was aggrieved that they had to stop on their journey, especially so close to their sect. Mei Ahn was reading a book on formations and did not care for grown men in black clothing. Ju Daiyu was meditating and did not care either. Unexpectedly, the senior brother, lying on the floor of the wagon, got out and looked at the men. And then everyone felt a Unity Realm aura press down on them.

The disciples felt a calm pressure where it was not forceful but ever present. They could feel the power behind it though. This made them get off the wagon to better understand the situation.

Ju Daiyu realized even she had underestimated the strength of this senior brother. She had thought he was in the Late stages of the Nascent Soul but it was clear he was in the Unity Realm. This was unheard of. In the Empire. To be more specific, she had never heard of someone reaching the Unity Realm at her senior brother’s age.

Mi Rang was not surprised. He thought it was only right that his senior brother was this strong. It was just a shame that their attackers were not strong enough to force his senior brother to use his sword. It was also a shame he wouldn’t get to use his own swords.

Elder Fang and Elder Wei were both surprised by the aura released from Elder Fei’s senior disciple. From what Elder Wei could remember, this disciple had released a Transcendent Realm aura in the past. And as a cultivator in the Unity Realm, something about this aura did not feel right. He did not know a better word for it but it lacked something. Elder Fang was dispirited that someone could be so handsome, so talented in many different fields, and also have reached the Unity Realm at such a young age. What she lacked, it seemed this senior disciple did not.

Gong Chang was surprised this junior disciple was even more powerful than some of the elders. He was ashamed that he had thought his junior disciple was unprepared for this journey. With strength like this, there was no one who could match the Plum Tree Sect in the competition. But he was aggrieved that Tian Lu had hid his cultivation for so long in the mountains and never gave advice to his junior disciples.

Mei Ahn noticed something was off but couldn’t quite place it. The strength of heaven’s chosen son made her feel much safer going into the competition with her Foundation Establishment cultivation.

They looked at their ambushers. The dark-clothed men were kneeling on the ground in fear.

Tian Lu put an arm behind his back and took out a fan. Where he hid the fan, no one but Tian Lu would know. The fan came to his face and stopped. He started waving his fan to look domineering. He had seen this before in his past life, and if he said he was second best at imitation, no one would dare say they were first.

The ambushers numbered five and they were sweating, kneeling, and their uncovered eyes were red. The barely-a-man in front of them was waving a fan while they toiled under the pressure. It was like this that they waited for judgment.