Chapter 206: The Higher Dragon
The tranquil beauty of Stonehaven Grove was undeniable—yet it carried an undercurrent of anticipation that Su Tianhao felt the moment he stepped into the basin.
Su Mei gestured toward the scattered cottages. "There are several thousand cottages in the Stonehaven Grove. Each one is similar yet distinct in its own way—which is why disciples are allowed to choose."
She glanced at him knowingly, a smile forming as she watched his interest sharpen. "Unlike the Wildbamboo Grounds, the living conditions here are considerably better. Every cottage has sound-proof formations to block sound in both directions—in and out, anti-probing arrays to protect privacy, and a personal kitchen, bathroom and toilet."
Su Tianhao's expression carried no particular change. From the moment he first laid eyes on the formation seals above the cottage doors, he had already known what they were for. His inscription knowledge and razor-sharp perception had mapped the hidden formation circles surrounding each structure before Su Mei had said a word. Those perks he had expected.
What had truly caught his attention was the other thing she said.
"We are allowed to choose?" His golden eyes sharpened with anticipation.
Su Mei swallowed under the weight of that stare and quickly averted her gaze, nodding. Her heart was beating faster than it had any reason to.
'What was that?!'
But before she could examine the feeling, Su Tianhao's voice arrived again.
"How?"
The word came out less like a question and more like a quiet demand for answers. Su Tianhao himself hadn't noticed the shift—but ever since he had begun cultivating the Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art and awakened his Dragon Veins, his bloodline had been growing more dominant in ways that were subtle and consistent. It coloured his bearing. It changed how others responded to him without either party fully understanding why.
Su Mei answered without quite meeting his eyes. "The sect ensures that disciples continue striving for excellence even after leaving the Wildbamboo Grounds. Any disciple—new or old—may challenge the current occupant of a cottage they want. The occupant has no choice but to accept. If he loses, he must pack up and find another cottage, then challenge its occupant in turn."
Su Tianhao frowned slightly. "Isn't that disadvantageous to the occupant? If they can't refuse, what stops someone from challenging them every week? They'd have no time to cultivate—and even if they did, exhaustion alone would eventually break them."
Su Mei finally looked at him directly and exhaled. "The sect considered that. Three rules govern the system to keep it fair and functional."
She raised a finger. "First—a defeated challenger cannot issue another challenge to the same occupant until a full month has passed. Each defeat resets that countdown."
A second finger. "Second—an occupant is only required to accept three challenges per month, and those three must come from three different people. Any additional challenges beyond that can be dismissed outright."
She paused briefly before continuing. "Third—and this one favours the occupant directly. Since the cottages are fully sound-proof in both directions, you cannot shout through the walls. Also, forcing an entry is strictly forbidden. The only permitted method of issuing a challenge is a written note slid under the door. The occupant is free to ignore every note that arrives—but the moment they step outside, they are immediately bound to accept the oldest pending challenge."
Su Tianhao's lips curved slightly. "So the cottage becomes a sanctuary. A safe zone."
"Exactly. Which leads to the obvious question—can an occupant simply never come out?"
"Can they?"
Su Mei's smile turned mischievous. For a fleeting moment Su Tianhao went still, something catching in his chest without permission. A flash—Su Mei at sixteen, playful and light, nothing like the composed and careful woman she had become. He was quietly glad that part of her was still alive somewhere underneath.
"...and that is precisely how the sect ensures no one abuses the privilege."
"Huh?"
Su Tianhao blinked. He had caught the closing words of a sentence he hadn't followed and realised, for the first time in longer than he could remember, that he hadn't been paying attention.
Su Mei's eyes narrowed. "What were you thinking about, junior brother?"
He shrugged without guilt. "Explain again."
Su Mei sighed. "Occupants cannot stay indoors indefinitely. The sect's monthly allowance requires disciples to collect it in person—they must physically leave their cottage to receive it. Hiding does not stop the world from moving."
Her gaze sharpened as she watched him to confirm he was listening this time. "And even if someone chose to forsake their allowance entirely, disciples are required to complete at least one mission per month. Going three months without completing a single sect mission carries serious consequences—up to and including exile. So the longer an occupant hides, the worse their situation becomes. Challenges accumulate. Missions accumulate. By the third month, if they cannot complete three outstanding missions within the allotted time, it is simply over."
Su Tianhao's eyes widened with genuine appreciation. "Such wisdom. The sect truly lives up to its reputation."
Su Mei laughed softly. It was rare—even when he was a child, genuine awe from Su Tianhao had always been something worth noticing.
"So." She exhaled lightly. "Which cottage would you like?"
Su Tianhao turned toward the basin. Calm. Unhurried. His golden eyes moved across the scattered structures with the patience of a hunter reading ground for tracks.
He wasn't looking for beauty. He was looking for quality and position.
Some cottages sat too close to the main paths—too much foot traffic, too much passive exposure. Others were buried too deep in the basin's lower folds, where the stream mist would collect against the walls and make the spiritual energy sluggish. A few sat beneath trees too young, their canopies thin, their root systems too shallow to anchor the ground properly in heavy rain.
None of them were wrong.
But none of them were his.
Then he saw it.
One particular cottage stood out from the rest. Unlike the others that felt as though nature itself had shaped them gradually over time, this one looked refined—deliberate. It sat closer to the Ironpine tree line than any other, half-sheltered by the outstretched canopy of an ancient broad-leafed tree whose crown formed a natural roof of layered green above the stone. The walls were the same grey mountain rock as every other cottage in the grove, but they carried the particular density of a structure that had absorbed years of concentrated cultivation energy—the stone darkened slightly at the base, the way a whetstone darkens with long use.
It was bigger. Wider. With larger windows and reinforced doors. The backyard opened directly toward the Ironpine Woods, separated from the tree line by nothing more than a low stone boundary and a heavy rear door most cottages didn't have.
No paths led straight to it. No disciple would pass by without clear intent.
"That one."
He said it firmly, without pointing. He didn't need to. His gaze was already fixed—sharp, settled and decided.
"This—" Su Mei hesitated.
"What is it?" He turned to her.
"The occupant." Her brows drew together. "He's different. The strongest individual currently living in the Stonehaven Grove."
"Oh?" Su Tianhao's interest sharpened—not with wariness, but with something closer to amusement.
"I am serious!" Su Mei's gaze hardened and she looked up at him with an expression that left no room for dismissal. "His name is Torin. No one here knows his family name or where exactly he comes from—only that he is a foreigner from a secluded tribe somewhere in Grenmoor Country. His origins have always drawn suspicion and controversy. But his strength? That has never once been in question."
Her lips twitched as she watched the faint smile still playing on Su Tianhao's face. He wasn't concerned at all. She took a quiet breath and decided she was going to make him understand before he made a decision he couldn't walk back from.
"Listen carefully, junior brother." Her voice rose slightly. "In the four years since Torin joined this sect, he has never once been defeated by anyone within the same realm. He is currently a Peak-stage Martial Adept—and he has earned the title: Invincible Within the Martial Adept Realm."
Su Tianhao couldn't help it. A short laugh escaped him. "Invincible within the Martial Adept Realm? How amusing. There is always a higher dragon in the sky."
Su Mei shook her head, her expression unmoved.
"This Torin is different—and he has proven it more than once. He once fought three Peak-stage Martial Adepts simultaneously and walked away without losing. He challenged a 1st level Martial Core Realm disciple and forced a draw. He takes the most dangerous missions available—bandit extermination, beast suppression, deep wilderness contracts—and has returned successful every single time." She paused. "The Outer Court disciples call him the Rampaging Warlord."
Su Tianhao's smile widened. "You sound like one of his admirers."
Su Mei's expression darkened.
Su Tianhao noted how she didn't deny it and let his amusement settle. When he spoke again, his tone was even and genuine.
"I'll admit—Torin is a remarkable warrior. Drawing against a 1st level Martial Core Realm expert is no small feat."
He knew that better than most. In the Verdant Mist Forest he had faced grade four beasts operating at an equivalent level—creatures capable of projecting ranged spiritual energy attacks and amplifying their physical strikes to twice the output of a Peak-stage Martial Adept. The gap between the Martial Adept and Martial Core Realms was not merely a matter of numbers. It was a fundamental shift in what combat looked like.
There was a well-known saying in the cultivation world: "Before the Martial Core Realm, all those below are but prey upon the chopping block."
For Torin to have forced a draw across that divide—that meant something.
Su Mei exhaled with visible relief. "So you're reconsidering?"
Su Tianhao turned to her. His golden eyes caught the light—luminous, unhurried, pulling at something in her chest she couldn't immediately name.
"Now why would I do that."
Her breath caught.
His smile widened slowly.
"Torin is a worthy opponent. Which means I am even more certain." His eyes lit with the particular intensity of someone who has found exactly what they were looking for. "There is no way I am losing."
He turned back toward the cottage at the tree line.
"I am that higher dragon."