A bandit group in the area noticed a group of travelers while they were scouting their domain. The bandit group called themselves the Six Stars. They were feared in the Wulong Mountain. Nearby villages would cower at the sight of their rough exterior and the stories of their deeds. They didn’t care. As loose cultivators, they did not adhere to any sect or clan. They weren’t bound by rules. Rules were for the weak. They were strong.

The leader of this bandit group, Nian Zhen, had been slowly building up his strength. His teeth were crooked, his eyes drooped, and he walked with a limp. He wore loose clothing which made him look extremely thin. It was difficult to imagine he was a Nascent Soul Cultivator. And one so brutal. His savage nature had instilled fear and respect in this group of bandits. The weakest of them being Foundation Establishment.

He had heard that to truly conquer the mountain, he would have to face the Plum Tree Sect. However, the sect up in the mountains never deigned themselves to deal with a small bandit group like them. Just like Nian Zhen had hoped. He had planned to grow his bandit group into a small but formidable elite unit and take over the sect and all its resources. He may get his opportunity sooner than he thought.

The Six Stars had only been around for a few years. Nian Zhen was a soldier. A runaway. The Six Stars were him and the brothers he made in the Empire’s military. His five brothers were at the Core Formation stage, made possible through ill-gotten gains during their time in the military. They feared the repercussions of their actions and escaped the army. They were outlaws, wanted men. They hid away in this mountain range and recruited men to become bandits. To become brothers. They succeeded as their Six Stars became 20 and now 36 but they kept their name.

Tao Sheng, an original Six Star, had noticed that beasts were congregating to a single location and then dispersing for the past few days. As he followed the beasts, he noticed the wagon pulled by two horses. He also noticed a much larger horse to the side carrying a bald man. However, the thing he paid most attention to was the robes the youths in the wagon were wearing. The symbol for the Plum Tree Sect. Tao Sheng motioned his scouting group to retreat and remain quiet as they went back to their camp.

“Brother Nian, the Plum Tree Sect were the ones dealing with the mountain beasts. There seems to be an Elder accompanying them. He is at least at Nascent Soul, we did not get much closer to find out. I count three women. Heh.”

Tao Sheng had a weird smile on his face, his breathing got heavier. His wild, short hair matched his wild, unruly nature. He had small eyes. He was a big, tall man, but he wasn’t fat. He wore brown leather armor, and his short-ax never left his side. Of the six original brothers, he was most known for his terrible nature with women.

“I don’t know if it’s time to face them. We should gather more strength, wait for Brother Nian to reach the Unity Realm before we start something with the Plum Tree Sect. We’ve seen what sects can do.”

The one who spoke was Fan Liu-yuan. He was cautious by nature. Callous by nurture. He was an orphan, abandoned by the ones who were supposed to protect him. Now, the ones protecting him were these brothers. And those parents of his, he made sure they couldn’t abandon anyone ever again. He looked very much like a scholar, with his long hair tied up and his thin but lithe frame. He was as smart as he was cruel. His hook swords did not let any one of his grudges go. And he was a man with many grudges.

“Hmmph.” A man of few words, Guo Daxian. He was a mountain with huge arms. His weapon was his hands as he had on a pair of strange metal gloves.

The man with a limp walked slowly to his brothers. Nian Zhen was a man of action. Those actions led him to where he was now. The leader of a small bandit group with enough strength to pester a sect of some repute but not enough to defeat them in a head on clash. He weighed the pros and he weighed the cons. He liked the pros. However, he was a leader and a leader listened to his people.

“Brother Fan makes a good point, as he always does.” He said as he looked around at his brothers. He had five and that five became so much more. His eyes stopped at one of his original brothers, Cai Mingli.

Cai Mingli was a short man with medium hair that stopped right at his eyes. He was also the youngest of the brothers. His deed might have been the worst of them and it was the reason why Nian Zhen felt it was time to run away from the army. Cai Mingli had stolen an important artifact from a general in the Empire. And this artifact was important enough to have Unity Realm experts searching for them. It was how Nian Zhen had gotten that limp. But it was also why they were able to become much stronger. As the saying went, men died for treasures.

“However, we should see how strong the Plum Tree truly is. Brother Mingli is the fastest of us and can escape anyone. How would you like to see if we can cut that tree down?”

Cai Mingli was sure of his speed and his hands. He was a thief, he couldn’t help it. If he could take something, why shouldn’t he? He deserved it, he achieved everything through his own means. After all, it was only fair. He grew up with nothing, while so many of these cultivators had sects, had resources, and even had special bloodlines that made them so much stronger. If he had those too, he knew he would be even stronger. That’s why he took the artifact, it was his right.

“I’ll rob them of all they have, and I’ll come back richer. We shall feast on plums tonight.” He said.

“Good, go with brother Cheng. Come back soon.” Nian Zhen had lost brothers before. A bandit’s life was one with peril and one with loss. He felt pain for each brother he lost and he had lost a few. However, these two brothers were survivors. If the worst came, he had no doubts they would survive.

Cheng Xiaobo was a normal looking man. It was difficult to say he belonged with this group. The scholar-looking Fan Ling-yuan and Cheng Xiaobo were similar in that they didn’t look like bandits. Cheng Xiaobo was a spearman. Besides his skill with the spear, everything about him was average. His hair length was short, his face was indistinguishable from the average man and he was of average height. He was also an original member of the Six Stars. His crime was that he was always at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was tough to believe. He guessed that he was just unlucky. However, he always survived. Even after being found sleeping with a daughter of a scion from the Empire. He didn’t even remember it, but when he awoke, he was lying next to her. Her brother, a young master, came in, saw them and immediately tried to execute the average Cheng Xiaobo. He didn’t know how any of it happened. He just attributed it to his poor luck. Now he hoped this wasn’t one of those times.

“Of course.” Cheng bowed to his brothers and left with Cai Mingli. They took a few of the stronger bandits with them and went off to face off against the cultivators from the Plum Tree Sect.

At the same time, the cultivators from the Plum Tree Sect were still traveling on the mountain’s path. They would occasionally stop to battle beasts and eat and rest. Tian Lu would randomly pull out an instrument and play it on their journey. It was strangely appealing to some of them, this lifestyle. Mi Rang was raised in a forest among beasts. He only knew battle and survival. This was different; this was battle, with his family, and this was fun.

“I sense people. It must be the same ones who were watching us earlier.” Ju Daiyu said in a quiet voice. Tian Lu was asleep and strangely he had been sleeping for a while.

Elder Zhang was surprised that this young disciple was able to sense someone so far away. Then he thought about his rival’s disciples and thought it actually made sense. They were the elites of the sect and their strength could not be understood by normal cultivators. His only job was to protect the sleeping boy so he slowed his pace.

“Elder Chyou and I are not to interfere in your matters unless it is life threatening. Handle this matter yourself.”

“Get ready for battle, everyone.” Gong Chang said as he pulled out his Jian swords of different length. He was a dual wielder and a good one at that.

Mei Ahn tried to take a sneak peek out of the wagon as Elder Chyou told her to stay with her sleeping senior brother. She had suspected this could be another illusion but the seriousness of her master’s voice told her it was not. So, she stayed behind and prepared herself for what might follow.

The bandits finally arrived in front of their wagon. Cai Mingli realized they had been noticed so he didn’t even think about attempting to ambush them. It didn’t matter, this was just to probe their enemy and return.

“Good to see some new faces on Wulong Mountain.” He said.

“This stranger’s surname is Cai and might I ask if you are all members of the Plum Tree Sect?”

As the oldest disciple, Gong Chang took the lead to respond.

“This one’s name is Gong, and indeed, we are cultivators from the sect. Might I ask what this senior wants by stoppin us?”

“Hand over your goods. And your women. Oh, and your life!”

The bandits attacked the Plum Tree Sect.