There was a lot that went into preparing for a birthday party—not the least of which was buying a suitable gift. And since a person’s sixteenth birthday was the only one anyone ever celebrated, it was especially important that the gift be as extravagant as possible.
Sixteen was the most important birthday in a person’s life. Not only would someone at this age be officially considered an adult, but this was when a cultivator’s meridians and dantian activated. If a person didn’t activate them when they turned sixteen, they would never be able to cultivate. The meridians and dantian would wither a few weeks after a person turned sixteen and become unusable.
For a clan that relied on cultivators to build their powerbase, someone who couldn’t activate their meridians and dantian was a disgrac
