A wave of relief washed over those gathered. Chen Wentian and Long Yifei looked at each other and shared a smile. There were still many uncertainties to follow but at least they had managed to step over the first hurdle. Long Yifei had done her part and now it was his turn.
Someone started clapping and soon others joined in. It wasn’t clear if they were commending Yang Gehu’s conduct or simply happy that this ridiculous argument was finally over. The only ones displeased were the four abbotesses aligned with the Seven Potentates.
“Abbotess Li!” Yang Mengshi hissed, “You shouldn't have made such a decision without a vote from the whole council? Are you trying to go against us?”
Li Shishi giggled and waved her hand, “Why are you so angry? Mengshi, see how I protected Yang Gehu’s honor. Look how they are clapping for him. Isn’t this the best outcome?”
Yang Mengshi’s expression darkened even further and she replied with dripping sarcasm. “Abbotess Li’s grace is overwhelming. The Yang Clan thanks you for your efforts. But remember that the outcome of all challenges is determined by the full council and not by the head abbotess.”
“Are you afraid that Yang Gehu will fail?”
“Impossible!”
Li Shishi left it at that and addressed the crowd which had quieted down, “Let us proceed to the main event, the challenge. Yang Gehu has made a serious accusation. Since this is the Gift Giving Ceremony, we will let gifts decide. Whether or not Chen Wentian is too poor and cannot adequately provide for Long Yifei, it should be determined with a classic Gift Duel."
Everyone knew what a Gift Duel was. It was a part of the Order's history, where two men competed for a Sacred Daughter's affection using gifts instead of fists. Each side would present several gifts which would be compared one by one. One gift could only be used for one round of the duel and the one who won the most rounds would be the winner. This prevented anyone from winning with a single expensive gift. It also prevented a large number of inferior gifts from winning.
She glanced at the two men in front of her and then at the abbotesses beside her, "Does the council agree?"Six hands rose into the air as one.
She also raised her hand and spoke loudly, "Does everyone agree?"
A roar of agreement reverberated around the grand banquet hall. After a long and tedious evening, there was now a Gift Duel. Everyone was excited to finally see some action regardless of how they felt about the participants.
"Good!" Li Shishi clapped her hands.
Two stone plinths appeared out of thin air and landed before the two men. Soon after, the tops of each plinth were covered by large opaque spheres of white spiritual energy, making them seem like peculiar lanterns.
Li Shishi continued, "Tonight's Gift Duel shall have the following rules. First, gifts must be something the Sacred Daughter can use to cultivate, it cannot be something far surpassing her realm, ability, or natural affinity. Thus, gifts at the Spirit King Realm are not allowed as Long Yifei will not be able to use such a gift until she reached the immortal realms.”
“Second, there will be five rounds and one gift per person per round. Quality is always better than quantity. A pile of cheap gifts can never compare to a few exquisite ones, just as ordinary women cannot compare to Sacred Daughters of the Order. Whoever wins three out of five rounds shall be the winner."
"To maintain fairness, in each round, the challenger and the acolyte will reach their hands into the spheres, bring out their gift from their spatial bag, and place it onto the plinths. These shields of spiritual energy will hide your gifts from each other so that neither side can gain an advantage over the other.
"Third, the executive council will vote on each round and determine which side wins. We shall take into account all factors such as the market price of the item, difficulty of obtaining it, and suitability for the Sacred Daughter based on what we know after two months of schooling. Our judgements should be fair and reasonable. We cannot let biases and personal feelings affect our judgement and sully the solemn nature of this challenge.”
"Does the council agree with these rules?" She asked in conclusion.
The council all affirmed the rules.
"Good, do you both understand the rules?”
“I do.” Chen Wentian and Yang Gehu replied together.
“Very well, let us begin.” Li Shishi said.
Chen Wentian and Yang Gehu both walked forward, stuck their hands into the white spheres, and retrieved their gifts.
The audience looked on in anticipation, wondering what kind of gifts would come out. Everyone already assumed that all of Yang Gehu's gifts would priceless and exquisite. He was a young master of the Yang Clan of Great Waves so this was to be expected.
On the other hand, Chen Wentian was just an independent immortal. No matter how rich a single person could be, it was difficult to compare with the resources of a Spirit Emperor Realm sect like the Yang Clan.
To those experienced with gift duels, the worst case for Chen Wentian would be if he had only mediocre gifts. Then, there was no chance he could win a single round against Yang Gehu. The best case for him would be if he had the foresight to concentrate on three expensive gifts and two cheap ones. That way, he might be able to win one or two rounds or even three if he was really lucky.
However, even the base case scenario for Chen Wentian still came down to luck. There was no way to ensure he could win the Gift Duel unless he had five top-tier gifts that were all better than Yang Gehu's and there was no one who believed he could pull that off.
Li Shishi spoke up again after both of them stepped away, "Great. As the challenger, Yang Gehu, you may present your gift first.”
“Thank you, Abbotess Li. This is my first gift.” Yang Gehu said.
The white sphere of energy around his plinth fell away, revealing a familiar stone tablet. Chen Wentian recognized it. It was the same one that he had lost to Yang Gehu at the Golden Basin Auction House.
Yang Gehu continued speaking, “Esteemed members of the Order, this is an artifact from the ruins of the Huan Dynasty. The archeologists named it ‘Hymns from a Wintery Flower Orchard’. Properly translated, it contains six complete songs that are well suited for Long Yifei. Please take a look.”
The plinth rotated, allowing all the abbotesses to get a good look. Those aligned with the Seven Potentates immediately began a spirited discussion, praising the quality of the stone tablet.
“An excellent artifact from the past. The Huan Dynasty was the founding power of the Martial Brilliance Continent. Although their demise remains a mystery, their power was undeniable. Although these songs are at the lesser realms, they are all extremely profound.”
“That’s right. Such an artifact is difficult to find and even more difficult to obtain. An excellent gift.”
“That’s not all. Long Yifei’s chosen classic is in song and dance but her background is an ice-attribute Dao. These songs that contain mysteries of ice and snow will fit her perfectly!”
The praises poured in from the abbotesses on Yang Gehu's side while the others and Li Shishi remained silent. If one didn’t know any better, they might have assumed that this tablet was a heavenly treasure. In reality, it was just a piece of barely legible rock with some minor benefits.
“Alright, Chen Wentian, your turn.” Li Shishi said after hearing enough.
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