No one knew about her birthday outside of the prince and the godchild. It seemed that they came prepared.
“I had no idea.” One youth lamented.
“I didn’t prepare anything.” Another smacked his forehead with regrets. If he knew about this, he would have done everything to prepare a unique and priceless birthday gift for the maiden.
The sentiment permeated the crowd, especially the geniuses. A good gift might be enough to win her grace on top of their status and influence.
Their mind ran amok with thoughts of how to prepare a gift in the shortest time for her.
“What a coincidence. Should I prepare a first-meeting gift for you too?” Li Qiye smiled at her.[1]
“Well…” She didn’t know what to say. Today was indeed her birthday but she would never ask for a present from Li Qiye.
Just meeting him was the best possible present. Nothing in this world could be more precious. This was a defining moment in her life, the luckiest day. She couldn’t ask for more.
Some stared at Li Qiye with contempt after hearing him.
“He thinks he can give an acceptable gift to the maiden? Hmph.” One quietly said.
Very few could actually present a worthy gift to the maiden because she had seen plenty of treasures given her status.
Giving her something ordinary would only invite embarrassment. She might become displeased as well. That’s the reason why everyone was trying their best to come up with something special. Otherwise, it would be better not to give anything. Thus, they thought that Li Qiye was overestimating his abilities.
On the contrary, Qing Shi became very curious because he saw Li Qiye in action before. The guy casually gave a priceless hatchet to Shi Wawa. In his opinion, the maiden’s gift was going to be something incredible.
“I was in a rush and didn’t bring a present. However, I successfully asked Elder Shi for a pill to be your present.” The prince took the initiative before Li Qiye.
He opened a medicinal box. A medicinal fragrance made everyone comfortable as if they were being purified.
“Stoneheart Empyreal Pill.” Someone recognized the type and became startled.
“Is that what it is? The divine medicine of the Shi.” Many have heard of its fame.
This pill could double one’s cultivation speed for a period, improve one’s physical constitution, remove impurities, and consolidate. This could be considered a panacea.
The Shi had very few of these pills. Even a big shot from there might not have one.
“Rumor has it that they produce five or so every generation. I wonder if that’s true.” One spectator said.
“This pill can’t be bought with money.” A knowledgeable cultivator added: “It has been centuries since one was up for auction. It sold for an insane price after a fierce competition by great characters and sects.”
Others had a hard time obtaining one yet the prince did it. This was indicative of Skylight’s power.
“That’s a country with two dao lords for you.” People started praising.
“His Highness is going all out too, I don’t think anyone else can give away something so precious.” Another envious soul added.
After all, this pill could fetch a crazy amount. Using it as a gift was something else.
The prince was feeling complacent after hearing the reactions. Very few were aware of the maiden’s birthday but he kept it to heart. Now, the maiden might be moved enough to start liking him.
He was fully aware of the pill’s value. He spent plenty of effort and materials on top of exhausting his connections for it. He was confident that no one else could top him.
“For this joyous day, I brought a specialty from Firmaments.” The godchild didn’t want to lose and also took out a box.
He opened it and released a blinding light. The spectators had a hard time keeping their eyes open.
It contained a necklace made from pearls connected by a string. Each pearl was unique in terms of color and effect.
One of them exuded cold energy that was actually beneficial for health. Another one had a gentle glow with a defensive affinity. One more was resplendent and capable of subduing evil…
Someone counted and found that there were twelve pearls.
“This necklace was made from the pearls found in Algid Pond, unique to our sect. It is a small token of my appreciation for you, please don’t laugh.” The daochild said.
“Pearls from Algid Pond?!” One expert nearby blurted out.
“You know your stuff, Fellow Daoist.” The godchild naturally enjoyed this development.
“Algid is a divine pond in Firmaments Gate. There is a unique clam there that produces one pearl every fifty thousand years. Each pearl is different. For example, one came out and froze a radius of ten thousand miles. Another caused the water to boil. Then there’s one that exuded dao lights…” This expert stared at the necklace and elaborated on the history.
Everyone got a clear idea of how precious the necklace was after this. Moreover, these pearls were extremely useful as well.
Just creating this necklace required 600,000 years. It was definitely a top treasure from Firmaments. Thus, this gift from the godchild was impressive indeed.
The pill and the necklace stopped the crowd from bothering to try. Initially, they thought about gifts that could impress her.
Now, it became exceedingly difficult to beat these first two treasures. The ones present didn’t have the means nor the audacity to do so. Therefore, they exchanged glances and gave up.
Any gift they could muster would be inferior to these two. That would be inviting public humiliation.
1. First-meeting gift is a thing in Asian culture. I’m not sure if this is prevalent in Western culture; it's there but not as expected or part of the cultural awareness. There's housewarming or occasion/holiday gifts, not a first-meeting gift. This is usually from an adult to a child