The rules established were simple. Since the basis of the slight Artist Norris faced was on his skill and, by extension, capacity to teach a student, the theme of the competition was covering the basics. The two were assigned an hour, within which they only had access to a sheet of paper, black ink, and brushes. They had to use these tools to produce a completed work within the time limit regardless of its content, composition, and so on. The goal was to determine who could display a greater mastery of artistic technique given hard limitations on what tools and resources they could use.
Jo Way didn't show any opposition to these propositions. In fact, his unusually nonchalant expression indicated that he was unwaveringly confident in his victory, which gave a few of the observers some pause, especially Artist Norris. At this point he was expecting the man to at least whine, grovel, or complain.
