Inspired by the great scholars in the comment section, Jiang Xing felt thoroughly encouraged. He didn't keep people waiting for long before posting a new update.
The theory of Beauty had already been fully developed and published when the evolution requirements of the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling were revealed.
People were already familiar with the concepts of Base Beauty and Additional Beauty.
As such, Jiang Xing's new post was mainly intended to introduce the specific rules of the Contest.
First, the overall format of the Contest would be modeled after existing Pet Beast battle competitions. Small-scale Contest events would be held across different regions of China, with champions receiving trophies, prize money, and a special Contest Ribbon as proof of their achievement.
Participants could stop there and return home carrying their small-tournament trophy.
Or they could use their prize money to enter small Contest events in other regions and earn additional Contest Ribbons.
As long as they obtained three Contest Ribbons, they would qualify to advance from the regional events and participate in the future Contest Grand Competition.
The competition itself would be divided into three stages.
The first stage would evaluate a Pet Beast's base Contest Appeal. A preliminary selection round would eliminate Pet Beasts that were not sufficiently "appealing."
The second stage would be the Pet Beast performance segment. Through moves, items, and various presentation methods, contestants would display the highest possible level of Beauty, with judges scoring their performances and determining who advanced.
The final stage would be a Contest showdown similar to a Pet Beast battle.
Various props would be placed throughout the arena. Beast Tamers and their Pet Beasts would work together, making use of props, terrain, and moves to perform their respective Contest routines. They could also disrupt their opponent's moves and interfere with the opponent's performance.
The only restriction was that direct attacks against the opponent were forbidden.
Well, knocking your opponent unconscious and then declaring yourself more beautiful might technically fit the concept of the beauty of strength, but that was still a bit too bizarre.
Since the Contest was open to all participants, many purely ornamental Pet Beasts would be taking part. It was better to keep things harmonious rather than turning everything into a fight.
Besides, being unable to attack the opponent directly didn't mean battle-hardened powerful Pet Beasts wouldn't have an advantage.
As long as a Pet Beast possessed sufficient strength, high move proficiency, and exceptional control over extraordinary powers, it could still completely suppress its opponent and prevent them from successfully executing even a single complete move.
That, too, was a form of Contest Appeal!
In addition, to encourage participants to focus on "how to raise their Pet Beasts to be more appealing and more powerful" rather than simply "how to dress them up to look prettier," Jiang Xing explicitly stated that item-based scores would carry less weight, while original moves and newly created moves would be given greater importance.
Overall, although it was technically a "beauty pageant," Jiang Xing wanted the emphasis to be placed not on "appearance and decoration," but on the beauty of nurturing a Pet Beast to fully realize its potential.
As soon as the post was published, it immediately sparked some controversy.
Many people had been looking forward to the Contest with the mindset of participating in a beauty competition.
The third stage proposed by Jiang Xing clearly went against their expectations.
There was actually going to be battling involved?!
You could use moves to leave your opponent covered in dust and dirt and interfere with their performance...
Stop right there—that wasn't a beauty pageant at all!
However, while some people expressed dissatisfaction, the majority accepted the rules Jiang Xing had announced and became even more excited about the Contest.
After all, every human in the Beast Taming World possessed the ability to contract Pet Beasts.
Who didn't have the heart of a Beast Tamer?
Including Jiang Xing himself, many people kept saying they weren't going to be Beast Tamers this time around, yet they still occasionally battled others and even went to Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium to participate as masked battlers.
The problem was that ordinary battle competitions were too dangerous. Serious injuries were common.
For untrained Pet Beasts, participating in Beast Tamer battles meant not only risking defeat but also potentially suffering lasting injuries.
Most people were unwilling to send their own Pet Beasts into a fight simply to satisfy their desire to play Beast Tamer.
But the Contest was different!
There was no need to attack others, nor any need to worry about being attacked, yet you could still participate in a unique form of "Beast Tamer battle"!
You could take part in a beauty competition while also experiencing what it felt like to be a Beast Tamer.
Wasn't that the best of both worlds?
As for the actual Beast Tamers, they gave the format unanimous praise.
They had never been particularly interested in a simple beauty pageant.
So what if a Pet Beast was beautiful? Even if it could use Seduction to lower an opponent's strength and defense, could it really defeat an opponent through beauty alone?
Take the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, for example. It might hesitate to attack a cute girl acting spoiled, but a truck was still a truck—it would still run you over all the same.
Now, however, things were different.
The Contest wasn't just a beauty competition—it was also a battle!
In fact, because direct attacks were forbidden and contestants could only interfere with each other through moves, it might place even greater emphasis on a Beast Tamer's command strategies and the quality of their Pet Beast training.
In a sense, it was even more fair.
Take the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling again. In a normal battle, it could keep getting back up no matter how many times it was knocked down. In a Contest battle, why not try that again?
No one was even attacking it!
By removing some of those absurd talents and Species Tiers that relied on overwhelming stats, the format instead allowed certain Pet Beasts to fully showcase the results of their training.
As a result, many Beast Tamers who had initially shown no interest became eager to participate.
However...
If they wanted to reach the third-stage Contest battles, they first had to pass the first two "beauty pageant" stages.
...
Competitions were different from academic conferences. They attracted more participants, had broader influence, and required far greater investment.
Naturally, the potential profits they generated were also much larger.
Many companies, major families, and even Pet Beast breeding centers quickly recognized the Contest's potential.
With popularity this high, wouldn't adding a few advertisements be enough to generate enormous profits?
Waving stacks of cash, they were eager to contact Jiang Xing and sponsor his Contest, willing to pay a hefty price for the opportunity.
However, before any of them could act, Jiang Xing had already found a partner.
"A beauty competition on a scale comparable to the National Championship..." Zheng Xiao sighed. "You really do find new ways to surprise us every single day."
"Can it be done?" Jiang Xing asked expectantly.
After all, when it came to organizing large-scale competitions, who could be more suitable than the government?
For years, China had never stopped holding various battle competitions. Every day, dozens of tournaments of all sizes were taking place, and nearly half of them were organized directly by the government.
If Jiang Xing had to handle everything himself—from venues, sponsorships, funding, judges, and registration to all the other details—he would be overwhelmed.
But if the Chinese government took over, all they had to do was modify the procedures used for ordinary battle tournaments and assign a group of organizers.
Within a few days, the entire event could be prepared and ready for registration and preliminary rounds.
"Get in touch with Xiao Chang later and have him handle it."
Zheng Xiao agreed readily, tossing the task right back onto Chang Feng's shoulders.
As a Legendary Beast Tamer, he hadn't come to meet Jiang Xing in private to discuss trivial matters like this.
He was here for something far more important.
"Now that you've become an official researcher, you can choose one Mythical Tier Pet Beast and receive its blessing."
"Have you decided which one you'll choose?"