"The first bud has blossomed!"
"Not just his; everyone's first bud over there has blossomed!"
An uproar erupted from the side filled with the noble kids; every single one of them voiced their shock. Only the girl with the surname Gloove remained serene. She hadn't opened her eyes; she kept her hands placed firmly on either side of the pot holding the plant.
Her long, black hair cascaded from her shoulders, brushing the desk where she rested her arms. A solemn expression was carved onto her face.
On the side filled with commoners, there was total silence. They stared at the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchids in front of them with eyes reflecting pure bewilderment.
"Division Head, how could something like this happen?"
Unable to understand what was going on, the young Master turned to the Head of the Botanical Division, looking for a logical explanation for this event.
"Louise, what is the most important trait of those of us who study the Botanical Arts?"
When the young man found his question answered with another question, he fell into thought; he was treading carefully in front of the crowd of trial candidates.
"Allow me to explain, rising star Louise!"
The speaker was Cantankerous Hanry; grinning with pure insolence, he sprawled in his armchair. Even when the Division Head, wearing an expression of deep calm, turned toward him with a stern gaze after those words, Hanry didn't change his attitude.
"Botanical Masters share the exact same energy dimension with plants; they radiate energy on the exact same frequency. When you were spewing your arrogant boasts a moment ago, these kids found the courage to step up. As a result, the emotional energy of the youths on this side surged, letting them make their first buds bloom!"
Hanry shifted his eyes between the fully blossomed buds and Louise from where he sat. His attitude forced the Division Head sitting in the middle to take a deep breath and jump in.
"Senior Master Hanry speaks the truth; as the emotional intensity of these young friends swelled, the dimension of the energy they fed to the plants surged with it!"
Once the event was explained, everyone calmed down. Mel, who was the last one to make a bud bloom on the side with the commoner kids, also let out a breath of relief.
His eyes were locked on the boy sitting next to him; throwing his hands open in joy, the boy's blood was flowing faster. Leaning slightly to the side, Mel whispered to the boy who was tearing his own hand apart.
"Don't let your blood flow for nothing; let the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid feed on it!"
The boy with short, blond hair furrowed his brows under his unevenly cut hair and glared at Mel; he looked completely unable to understand why someone would say something like that.
Then, his ugly face twisted in pain; only then did he realize he had clenched his hand so hard that he had torn his own flesh. Seeing this, Mel repeated his plea.
"Don't bleed for nothing; feed your plant!"
The boy did it; soaking the soil of the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid with his blood, he stroked the blossomed bud.
"Division Head, the second bud has blossomed!"
The ticket to salvation for the cornered Louise came through the girl from his own family; ignoring everything happening around her, Maria kept at her task with unbroken focus.
"This is exactly what is expected from the little prodigy of my lineage; she shines like a radiant star amongst the rest!"
The young master praised the candidate from his own bloodline exclusively, totally dropping the distinction between noble and commoner. Just as the Division Head opened his mouth to reply, another crazy thing happened.
The second buds of every single Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid on the commoner side blossomed all at once.
"Speak, my young friend, speak!"
Cantankerous Hanry had stopped laughing and was now practically neighing. Throwing away all the dignity that suited his age, he bounced in his seat, slapping his knees over and over. The sour look he had on his face just ten minutes ago was gone without a trace, and his joyful laughter bounced off the walls of the single-story building.
"Hanry, aren't you crossing the line?"
The Division Head gave his first warning about his two subordinates fighting with each other, but the target of his warning didn't care at all.
"What's wrong with hyping up a colleague?"
Before closing her eyes again, the girl with the surname Gloove scanned the row right across from her from end to end, making sure everyone was at the exact same stage as her.
A faint smile appeared on her face; it was obvious the girl took this as a direct challenge.
"We can't do it, my old friend. We can't cut off their energy flow. The eyes of the old master with the long beard have been locked on us for a while, and the younger one keeps scanning us with his energy. We can only help the ones on this side; trying to do more would definitely expose our secret!"
The tree with crimson-emerald leaves wanted to steal the energy from the plants in front of the noble candidates, but Mel shot that down right away. True to his nature, he had drawn attention again, and pushing it too far would mean going against Grandpa's advice.
When the ten-minute mark passed, one candidate from the noble ranks and every single candidate on the commoner side were trying to make the second bud bloom.
"My young friends, the hardest trial is getting past the first and second buds. Having achieved this, you no longer need to fear your connection with the plants being broken. Keep doing your absolute best!"
The Head of the Botanical Division spoke to boost the morale of the noble disciples who were falling behind; even though his words sounded like they were for the commoners too, he couldn't hide his real goal.
"My old friend, the old master is going to watch even closer. Leave the girl to me; as the others progress, slowly raise the ones on our side to match their level. Don't raise them all at once, and once the seventh bud opens, cut off all help!"
Master Louise had accidentally taken the blame for the first two buds blooming, but from now on, the young man might watch things a lot closer. Knowing this, Mel gave his orders to his partner and put all his focus just on himself. His deep concentration caught Cantankerous Hanry's eye.
"This brat looks a little slow in the head, but he managed to make two buds bloom along with the rest. Maybe he isn't as stupid as he looks!"
Muttering to himself, he reached for the herbal tea sitting on the small table next to him. Just as he was about to bring the smelling brew to his lips, he froze.
"Louise, you forgot to make an announcement this time; I guess I'll have to do your job for you. Division Head, the third bud has blossomed, and the one who did it comes from a bloodline nobody even knows!"
During the first half of his sentence, Hanry had a look of total shock on his face. In the second half, he copied the young master's tone. After that, he took a sip from his tea and leaned back. His eyes were glued to the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid sitting in front of Mel, which now had three fully bloomed flowers.
When his voice echoed through the building, every single candidate, without exception, turned to look at Mel; among them was the prodigy of the Gloove lineage.
The young girl's eyes shined, but they snapped shut a second later. Twenty seconds later, the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid sitting in front of her made its third flower bloom.
"The youths are proving very competitive; if these two can push each other's drive like this, it'll be good for both of them. A worthy rival on the path of cultivation always drives a person to their absolute limits!"
The Division Head thought the rivalry between the two candidates—one noble, the other a commoner—was very useful; with his words, he put the two figures on the exact same level.
"The Division Head speaks the truth, but for two people to be true rivals, their skill has to be almost the same. I don't believe this boy can ever reach the level of our lineage's prodigy!"
Being put on the same level as a commoner was like having mud thrown in his face. Master Louise, carrying the surname Gloove, was not going to take that kind of insult. But right at that moment, a burst of laughter erupted; everyone knew where that reaction came from.
"You speak the absolute truth, my colleague! How could someone who has only opened the third bud ever compare to someone who made four flowers bloom!"
It was Hanry who spoke, but the one whose victory let him say those words was Mel. The Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid sitting right in front of the young boy was blooming its fourth flower.