Fenghua Hall was a very exquisitely decorated and luxurious dining hall. After entering, it gave people the illusion of traveling through time and space. They were in a modern, technologically advanced place one moment ago, and the next second it seemed like they had entered the ancient times.
At this moment, in addition to them, there were guests from other countries in the hall. People of all skin colors were there, standing in a room decorated in traditional Chinese ornaments. Some foreign guests took out their phones and took a selfie with the calligraphy and painting in the hall.
Of course, there were also some guests who held their chins high, as if there was nothing here that was worthy of appreciation. Their standing here was already a gift to the others present. Unfortunately, others couldn’t care less about their attitude. In this hall, it was easy to distinguish which countries had a good relationship and which were not on good terms with each other.
As the host of this exchange, the staff treated everyone equally, at least in terms of etiquette, there was no preference for anyone, and no one was left out in the cold.
But in general, the masters from the east and the west were clearly distinguished, and they usually pinched each other a lot in private. Only in the confrontation between the east and the west, no one held the back.
When Qi Yan, dressed in a black Han robe, appeared in the hall, he quickly attracted the attention of many people. Competitors from each country had their own set of uniforms. The Chinese representatives wore black Han robes, and women wore red pleated skirts, making it easy to tell which country they were from at a glance. In the past, the youngest people from China would be in their thirties. But now, a young man suddenly appeared, which surprised the representatives of Western countries.
In their opinion, Qi Yan with a baby face might just be an underage boy.
“My god,” a middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes raised his arrogant chin and said to his companions, “they have terrible human rights laws. Even minors were allowed to participate in the competition.”
His companion smiled awkwardly and did not answer because their country also had a 16-year-old master. If he agreed, he would be laughing at his own country.
For the sake of his country, no matter how profound the friendship was, it was necessary to take precautions.
Fortunately, the blond man didn’t care. He took a sip of champagne and walked towards Qi Yan with a glass of wine.
“Hello, young gentleman, I’m Riels Richard from Luoshang, you can call me Riles,” the blond man walked up to Qi Yan and raised his glass to him, “Beautiful boy, would you like to have a drink with me?”
“No, I don’t drink,” Qi Yan raised the goblet in his hand, the liquid inside was crystal clear, it was actually just soda. “You may have misunderstood, I am twenty-two years old and not a boy anymore.”
This man named Riles Richard had sexy eyes, thick hair, and was handsome when he smiled. He was a man who could be very attractive to both men and women, but unfortunately Qi Yan was not interested. Besides, he had a better man beside him.
“This is my partner, Cen.”
“Cen?” Riles turned to look at Cen Baihe next to Qi Yan, and at a glance saw that this man named Cen was not ordinary.
“Partner?” Riles raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly, “you two are a good match.”
“Thank you.” Cen Baihe nodded slightly at him, looking reserved and majestic.
Qi Yan snorted coldly in the bottom of his heart. Since the two of them looked so good together, why didn’t he see that they were a couple from the beginning?
“Excuse me, I just saw a friend.” Qi Yan had no intention of chatting with this man. He could see that Riles was a playboy. If one owed too much debt in love, it would turn into bad energy.
Then, it might become fatal. Qi Yan did not have a good impression of such a person.
“Please go ahead.” Riles smiled and took a step back. After Qi Yan and Cen Baihe walked away, he turned around and whispered to another team member, “go check out this new master from China, I think he is not ordinary.”
After the teammates left, Riles’ blue eyes swept across the audience, and he saw a beauty in an evening dress. Both of them gazed at each other.
Most of the eastern masters were more reserved. When they chatted, they were very careful to avoid controversial topics, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. After Qi Yan appeared, it also aroused the curiosity of many eastern masters. When they found that there was a Chinese man in a suit beside Qi Yan, they were even more curious.
This man in a suit was not a staff member. Looking at the clothes he wore,, he did not look like a master participating in this competition. Could he be…
The masters were allowed to bring their partners to such exchanges, provided that the partners were credible. At each exchange meeting, there were many people with partners, including same-sex partners, but China had never had a master with a same-sex partner, and this was the first time.
No matter what the other masters thought, they were very polite to Qi Yan. Even those who disapprove remained polite after seeing him talk to the other masters from different countries.
When all the guests were here, they served Chinese cuisine.
After a series of exquisite and delicious Chinese dishes, even the most arrogant people relented because the food was too delicious. The chefs seemed to have magical hands that could turn any ingredients into delicious food.
During the meal, some people talked about the origin of certain ingredients in their country, and that China could only create these dishes because they imported these ingredients.
The organizing staff did not say anything. Most of the contestants from China were well-respected masters, and of course they would not shy away from arguing over this trivial matter.
“Yeah, we knew how to sail as early as a thousand years ago, so we brought culture to the people in those lands, and got seeds in return,” Master Qian’s second apprentice said sarcastically, “this is a win-win situation for us, and it is also the promotion of culture. We should drink to these delicious foods instead of investigating their origins. Just like the paper, compass, gunpowder and other items that everyone is using now were invented in China, but we would not keep emphasizing that they came from us.”
The guests who were still talking about the origin of the ingredients looked a little embarrassed, but what he said was the truth.
Thousands of years ago, the Chinese had crossed the strait and went to many unfamiliar lands, but their ancestors still lived a backward and poor life. Just a piece of Chinese porcelain would amaze them for a long time.
If a country with thousands of years of cultural heritage became a soaring dragon again, it would be terrifying to others.
So they didn’t want this dragon to soar and become stronger.
Qi Yan picked up the cup and took a sip. He couldn’t help but glance at Master Qian’s second apprentice. Although he had a lot of problems, there was nothing wrong with what he just said.
Noticing that Qi Yan was looking at him, the second apprentice glanced at him coldly, and his eyes were not friendly at all.
The atmosphere was tense, and there were several countries that were not very friendly to each other. Qi Yan noticed that they did not talk at all, but they looked like they wanted to fight each other.
“Get used to it,” Master Zhao said in Qi Yan’s ear. “Every exchange meeting is like this.”
Qi Yan thought of Master Qian again, and nodded. “Yes, no matter how capable one is, everything goes back to its origin.”
When Master Zhao heard that, he also thought of Master Qian. He held up his glass and clinked with Qi Yan, “this is the law of nature, and everyone has their own fate.” He looked at Cen Baihe and continued, “there is nothing sad about dying, nor happy about living. One could only hope to live a life with no regrets.”
Qi Yan smiled. “You are right, as long as there are no regrets.”
Master Zhao smiled. “As expected of Master Qi, with such a state of mind, it is no wonder that you have such strong spiritual power.” They had cultivated their bodies since young, but the more important thing was to cultivate their hearts. If their hearts were not in the right place, they would never be a true master.
Master Zhao looked at the two with a smile, “although I have limited ability to tell fortune, I know that fate has brought the two of you together. Don’t let it down.”
After the meal was over, all the masters returned to their rooms. Riles looked at the quaint building and said to his team members, “don’t go easy on China. They dared to detain our people, which shows that they didn’t take us seriously at all. Let’s show them our strength.”
“Riles,” said one of the team members, “it is rumored that the young master is very good, and some people even hope that he can make a comeback for China.”
“A young man in his early twenties?” Although Riles was somewhat interested in Qi Yan’s looks, he was still skeptical about his ability. “Do you think he has such ability?”
“Whether it’s true or not, it’s better to be careful,” the team member said. “I heard that there is another master in their team who has a bad relationship with Master Qi. We might as well let them fight internally and wait for them to break each other. Then, we’ll take the prize.”
“This would be best,” the smile on Riles’ face looked evil, “I am excited to see how this goes.”
