The final group challenge was a head-to-head.

Selene had divided the formation grid in half. Two sides. Two teams. A line of energy nodes glowing along the center, evenly spaced.

"Capture drill," she said. "Each team starts on their side. The nodes in the center are neutral. To claim one, a team member must reach it and channel energy into it for five seconds without being disrupted. Claimed nodes glow your team’s color. The team with more nodes at the end of three minutes wins."

She looked between the two groups.

"You may block, redirect, or outmaneuver the other team. No direct strikes. No intentional harm. But pressure is allowed."

Her eyes moved to Kaelen, then to Ren.

"Pressure," she repeated. "Not violence."

She activated the grid. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

— • —

Team One took their positions. Iris immediately began giving instructions, her voice low and quick.

"Valis, take the center nodes. You’re fastest in tight spaces. Moonwhisper, support from behind — stabilize any node he claims so they can’t flip it. I’ll handle the flanks and watch their movement."

Ren nodded. It was a solid plan. Iris had clearly been thinking about this since the team assignments went up, probably running scenarios in her head over dinner. That was the Blackthorn training showing — not just skill, but preparation.

Lyra nodded too, her hands already steady. She was getting better at this. The nervous energy from the first day was still there, but she was learning to work around it instead of fighting it.

Across the grid, Team Two was arranging differently. Kaelen stood at the center of their side, Lin Yueying on the left, Cassian on the right. There had been no discussion. Kaelen had simply taken the center position and the other two had adjusted.

Cassian caught Ren’s eye across the divide and shrugged, as if to say: Sorry, man. Team orders.

Ren almost smiled. Almost.

The timer started.

The first thirty seconds were tactical. Both teams moved toward the center nodes carefully, spreading out to cover ground without leaving gaps. Ren reached the nearest node, knelt, and began channeling energy into it. Five seconds of steady output and the node flickered, then glowed with his team’s color. One down.

On the opposite side, Kaelen claimed a node at the same speed. No wasted motion. Cold efficiency.

The middle nodes were contested. Ren and Kaelen reached the same one at the same time.

That was where it started.

— • —

Kaelen didn’t speak. He just stood on the other side of the node and started channeling. His energy was heavy and cold — the kind of output that came from years of expensive materials and elite training. The node flickered between their two colors as both of them poured energy into it.

Ren couldn’t match Kaelen’s raw power without blowing his cover. So he went the other way — cleaner energy, tighter control, less wasted force. Efficiency over strength.

The node kept flickering. Neither side could hold it. Kaelen’s eyes met his across the glow, and Ren could feel the pressure coming off him — not an attack, just the constant weight of someone who expected to be the strongest person in any room.

’He’s not just competing,’ Ren thought. ’He’s testing me.’

He held his channel steady and kept his energy clean. Around them, the rest of the drill went on. Iris claimed a flank node with quick, precise channeling. Lin Yueying took one on the right side, her hands guiding energy into the formation with her usual calm. Cassian and Lyra were fighting over a far node — his raw output against her careful control, both too stubborn to give ground.

But nobody was watching the flanks. Everyone was watching the center, where Ren and Kaelen stood two meters apart over a flickering node, pouring energy into the same spot and refusing to be the one who stepped away. Selene stood at the edge of the grid with her arms folded, watching them both without expression.

— • —

A minute in, Kaelen pushed harder. The cold pressure thickened around them both, and Ren’s jaw tightened. Part of him wanted to push back with everything he had. His seed was almost buzzing with it, responding to the challenge the same way it did when he faced real beasts in the realm.

Kaia pulsed sharply. Careful.

’I know,’ Ren thought. ’I’m not going to.’

He held steady. Clean energy, tight control, no escalation. And slowly the node began to shift. Kaelen’s raw output was higher, but Ren’s energy was cleaner — less wasted as force, more actually reaching the node. The formation cared about what it received, not what was thrown at it. The node flickered one more time, then settled blue. Ren’s color.

Kaelen looked at the node, then at Ren. His expression didn’t change much, but Ren could see the recalculation behind his eyes. He hadn’t expected the node to flip.

"That shouldn’t have worked," Kaelen said quietly.

"It’s just energy control," Ren said.

"No. It isn’t."

Kaelen held his gaze for one more second, then turned and moved to contest another node. His movements were sharper now. Faster. Whatever had been cold between them was starting to heat up.

— • —

The drill ended at three minutes. Team One won by two nodes. The margin was narrow.

Yuelan, watching from the evaluator position, had her arms folded and one eyebrow raised. She looked between Ren and Kaelen like someone who had just seen something she wanted to be part of and was slightly annoyed she couldn’t be.

Selene posted the results without comment. The group scores reflected it — Ren’s individual marks in the head-to-head were higher than any of his solo trial scores. Not by a dramatic amount. But enough that the pattern was visible.

Iris noticed. Of course she did.

"You perform better under direct pressure than you do alone," she said as they left the grid. "That’s unusual. Most people are the opposite."

Ren said nothing. She was right, and they both knew it.

Kaelen left the training hall without speaking to anyone. His posture was the same cold composure as always, but something in the way he walked was different. Tighter. The controlled stride of someone replaying a result they hadn’t expected.

Lin Yueying followed him with her eyes for a moment, then turned away. Her expression gave nothing away. But her gaze lingered on Ren for just a fraction too long before she left.

Cassian fell into step beside Ren in the corridor.

"You know he’s going to come at you harder now," Cassian said quietly.

"Yeah."

"You’re not worried?"

Ren considered that.

"Not about the competition."

Cassian looked at him sideways. "About what, then?"

Ren didn’t answer. He just kept walking.

What bothered him wasn’t the drill or the node or the competition. It was what he’d felt during it. Kaelen had pushed him with raw, cold, personal pressure, and Ren had felt his own answer building up inside him like water behind a cracking wall. He had held the line today — barely — through technique and discipline and Kaia’s quiet warning. But for one long moment in the center of that grid, he had wanted to stop holding back and hit Kaelen with everything he had.

That was the real problem. Not Kaelen’s pressure. Ren’s reaction to it.

’I need to be more careful,’ he thought. ’If I lose control like that during a real confrontation instead of a drill, the cover is done.’

The ember pulsed quietly. Alert. As if Kaia understood the stakes even better than he did.

Tomorrow the friction would be worse. He could feel it coming. And he wasn’t sure the line would hold.

---------------------------------------------------

Thank you so much for reading "Bloodline Plant Lord."

I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to start this story and follow Ren’s journey. This is only the beginning, and there is still a much bigger world, deeper mysteries, stronger enemies, and many powerful bloodline plants waiting to be revealed.

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Thank you again for your support.

See you in the next Chapter — Ren’s journey has only just begun.