Chapter 247: A Beauty with Scholarly Grace

Chapter 247: Chapter 247: A Beauty with Scholarly Grace

Wang Chenning had put about thirty percent of his strength into that hook.

It not only neutralized Li Chengchang’s speed but also sent him straight back to his original spot.

Anyone with a sharp eye could see that the two were in completely different leagues when it came to strength and speed.

After taking a heavy blow to the stomach, Li Chengchang crumpled like a giant shrimp. He twitched on the ground for a moment before going still.

Nearly all the South Korean students were horrified. Several South Korean referees rushed from their seats to help Li Chengchang.

Li Chengchang’s face was deathly pale, his hands clutching his stomach. Even after being helped into a chair, he couldn’t stay seated.

Wang Chenning’s expression remained placid. He waved to his teammates, the faintest of smiles on his face, showing no particular pride.

’This victory feels cheap,’ Wang Chenning thought. ’It’s like a seasoned martial artist beating a toddler. We’re not even in the same league. But I wanted to teach the South Koreans a lesson, to stomp their pride into the dust.’

Wang Chenning was certain that if he hadn’t stepped up, Li Chengchang would have done the exact same thing to any other Huaxia student, beating them to a pulp.

He felt he had already shown Li Chengchang enough respect by only using one hand or one leg for each move.

About five or six minutes later, Li Chengchang finally came to his senses.

The South Koreans breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw he was okay.

The outcome was, naturally, a foregone conclusion. As thick-skinned as the South Koreans were, they wouldn’t dare try to weasel out of this one. They had no choice but to declare Wang Chenning the victor.

The applause in the venue was sparse; the clapping of forty-odd people couldn’t build much momentum. The members of the Huaxia delegation, however, were all beaming with joy.

Even Zhao Xiao’an and Yang Xiaofu, who couldn’t stand the sight of each other, high-fived in celebration of Wang Chenning’s victory.

The second event was the tea ceremony.

When selecting a representative for this event, Wu Jingyi had bravely volunteered to represent Huaxia and compete against the South Koreans.

To win everyone over, she had even shown them a video of one of her past tea ceremony performances.

The video had won over everyone present.

Tea ceremony competitions originated in the Tang Dynasty. Known as "tea battles" or "tea wars," they were a pastime for scholars and gentlemen, often livened up by the presence of beautiful women.

Huaxia is the homeland of tea. Out of a billion people, at least eight hundred million enjoy it, and the art of the tea ceremony is highly refined.

After learning the tea ceremony from Huaxia, the pretentious South Korean nobility quickly became engrossed in it. People of status are obsessed with appearances, and since the elite of their suzerain nation, Huaxia, were fond of the art, they pursued it with endless enthusiasm.

Eventually, it became a part of South Korean culture.

In traditional tea competitions, contestants would bring their own tea, but the quality of the leaves could heavily influence the outcome. For today’s event, all the tea was provided by the South Koreans.

Wu Jingyi had no objections.

Everything was ready. The venue fell silent as all eyes were fixed on the stage, ready to watch the two beautiful women perform.

South Korea’s representative was a woman named Jin Dingjia, who entered wearing a traditional Korean dress with very distinct features.

Upon entering, she gave a graceful bow to the audience before gliding elegantly to her station.

Her elegance drew a round of applause and cheers from the entire crowd, with many members of the Huaxia delegation clapping for her as well.

Wu Jingyi wore a Hanfu so beautiful it made many people stare in awe. A few simple, jeweled pins held up her long hair, revealing her delicate features and slender neck.

Wu Jingyi was considerably taller than Jin Dingjia, by at least five centimeters, and her beautiful Hanfu was far prettier than the Korean national dress, which was tied high on the chest.

However, the entrance of such a beautiful and elegant young woman was met with jeers from many of the South Korean students.

To everyone’s surprise, Jin Dingjia, who had already taken her place, stepped forward as Wu Jingyi approached. She gave a graceful bow and, in fluent Chinese, said something that made many in the audience blush with shame: "Miss Wu, I am so sorry. I had no idea our junior students would be so impolite. Please, don’t let it bother you!"

The venue fell silent as the two women exchanged bows, and most people heard what Jin Dingjia said.

The students who had been jeering were instantly embarrassed, while the members of the Huaxia delegation immediately began to applaud her.

"Thank you," Wu Jingyi replied, returning the bow.

Soon, the tea ceremony competition began.

The South Koreans provided a pre-Qingming green tea from the previous year. It was a bit of an awkward time to be drinking green tea, as the new harvest wasn’t yet on the market. Using old tea for a competition lowered its prestige somewhat.

’If I were organizing this,’ Wang Chenning thought, ’I definitely wouldn’t have chosen green tea. I’d have gone with black tea or Pu’er, which aren’t so time-sensitive.’

Fortunately, the Koreans hadn’t used tap water; they had provided mountain spring water.

Using tap water would have degraded the quality of the competition by another third.

True tea connoisseurs almost never use tap water.

One could glean as much from the classic masterpiece, *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

The fire used for boiling the water is also crucial in a tea battle. As the Tang Dynasty’s "Tea Sage" Lu Yu wrote in the *Classic of Tea*: "For boiling tea, the best fire is of charcoal, followed by strong kindling." Furthermore, in a tea ceremony performance, water and fire must be perfectly harmonized to produce tea of exceptional quality.

The ceremony unfolded: warming the cups and pot, the "Black Dragon Enters the Palace," rinsing the leaves, and then the most spectacular part of the tea battle—whisking the tea, frothing the liquor, and sealing the pot.

A key detail in the performance is the "Phoenix’s Three Nods," where the brewer must fill the pot in three distinct pours, then use the teapot lid to sweep away the tea dust.

Then came the final step: portioning the tea into cups.

The quality of the final brew was intrinsically linked to every single step of the process.

Both beautiful women were masters of the tea ceremony. Their every movement was so graceful and exquisite that they captured the full attention of the audience.

Hardly anyone made a sound, afraid they might ruin the tranquil atmosphere.

Wu Jingyi had been a little nervous when she first took the stage, but once seated, she became perfectly composed, her every motion graceful and poised.

Jin Dingjia, however, seemed wary of her opponent. She glanced over at Wu Jingyi a few times during the process and, as a result, lost her own rhythm.

Wu Jingyi’s movements were so beautiful they could only be described as being as smooth as flowing water. Jin Dingjia felt the pressure mounting.

They portioned the tea almost simultaneously, then rose, holding the cups to be presented to the judges.

Jin Dingjia’s expression changed drastically when she saw the seven cups of tea Wu Jingyi had prepared.

"I have lost," she declared, withdrawing from the judging. "Miss Wu’s skill in the tea ceremony is far superior to mine. From the brewing process to the final product in the cups, she is on a level I cannot hope to match. I hope I might learn from you in the future."

With that, she gave Wu Jingyi another graceful bow.

This sudden turn of events stunned the entire audience.

Jin Dingjia poured out her tea, then bowed in apology to the entire audience. "I have disappointed you all. My skills were not up to par. If you get the chance, I urge you to watch the replay of our competition. Miss Wu’s artistry with tea is far superior to my own!"

After her speech, Jin Dingjia bowed to Wu Jingyi one last time and departed with great elegance.