As General Jing Yuan's name spread across the news feeds, curiosity over the fifth and final judge's identity reached a boiling point. The community's guesses ran wild, ranging from other Xianzhou Generals to high-ranking IPC executives—and even absurd suggestions like the Aeons Aha or Idrila, providing endless entertainment for the forums.
In the two weeks following the regional finals, the ripple effects of the event continued to ferment across the cosmos.
Nowhere was this shift more obvious than on the Xianzhou Luofu.
Thanks to Sushang and Guinaifen's brilliant routines, the unique culture of the Xianzhou had taken the galaxy by storm. Over the past fortnight, tourist arrivals on the world-ship skyrocketed, reaching numbers typically seen only during major traditional festivals.
Furthermore, these visitors hailed from far beyond the neighboring star systems, drawing travelers from every corner of known space.
Galactic discourse regarding Xianzhou heritage saw a massive surge. Realm-Keeping Commission Head Yukong hadn't stopped smiling since the resolution of the recent crisis, and the positive publicity earned her warm congratulations from neighboring flagship fleets, boosting her diplomatic standing significantly.
Local industries tied to martial arts, swordplay, and traditional acrobatics experienced an explosive boom.
Xianzhou youth who had once dragged their feet during daily drills were now begging their parents to enroll them in formal academies. Off-world tourists eagerly joined the classes, eager to learn the fundamentals of local martial forms.
For a brief period, the supply of qualified instructors was stretched to its absolute limit.
Yukong stepped in swiftly, requesting technical assistance from the Yaoqing and Zhuming flagships to send veteran instructors to help manage the influx, finally stabilizing the demand.
Sushang and Guinaifen gained massive personal followings. Online, fans launched viral video challenges attempting to replicate the champions' winning routines step-by-step.
While routines focused on grand visual staging were relatively easy for casual fans to recreate, imitating Sushang, Guinaifen, or Argenti proved nearly impossible.
The physical difficulty of the two girls' routines was staggering, demanding nonstop, high-intensity martial footwork. Without years of dedicated physical conditioning, even nimble athletes couldn't pull off the full sequence smoothly.
As a result, most fan attempts online were heavily edited, chopped, and spliced together—no one could complete the routine in a single continuous take.
It wasn't until Yukong organized official demonstrations featuring veteran Xianzhou martial artists that the first successful, single-shot replication videos appeared online.
These videos quickly racked up millions of views, granting the martial artists overnight fame and giving Xianzhou's cultural outreach another massive boost.
Argenti's routine, on the other hand, was impossible to replicate for a completely different reason: his unique, overwhelming aura.
That radiant, unshakeable sincerity was something even his fellow Knights of Beauty struggled to mirror.
For most devotees of Beauty, the pursuit of Idrila was an act of quiet reverence and longing. But for Argenti, Idrila was his salvation, his absolute faith, and the anchor of his pure, childlike heart. Emulating that level of spiritual intensity was simply beyond standard imitation.
Argenti's captivating presence attracted an enormous base of passionate fans who formed an organized fan group dubbed the "Argenti Knights."
They declared their mission was to learn the true meaning of Pure Beauty directly from him. A few overly eager supporters even tracked his movements across star systems, showing up right in front of him—giving the knight quite a headache.
In his eyes, these fans didn't seem interested in discussing philosophy; they acted more like predatory spirits eager to swallow him whole.
The rational fans kept their distance, but the ones bold enough to chase him across galaxies were anything but calm. Bound by his vows as a Knight of Beauty, Argenti couldn't bring himself to treat them harshly, leaving him with no choice but to lay low.
Aside from messaging Arceus Studio staff on his phone regarding stage setups for the Grand Celebration, he kept his location completely off the grid. Still, he maintained that he was genuinely touched to see so many souls paying attention to the path of Beauty.
Meanwhile, the official sponsors of the regional qualifiers enjoyed unprecedented global visibility. Brand recognition skyrocketed, consumer traffic hit record highs, and revenue poured in.
Yet corporate executives across those companies were almost in tears.
Their contracts covered only the regional qualifier rounds. If a mere qualifier generated this level of engagement, the upcoming Grand Celebration would be an absolute goldmine. They cursed their own hesitation for failing to lock down the main event's naming rights early—after all, next to these returns, a three-trillion-credit sponsorship fee was an absolute bargain.
The day before the Grand Celebration opened, the final judge's silhouette was unmasked, revealing Julian himself. The community accepted the news with collective nods of agreement.
Julian had been at the top of every prediction list. After all, figures whose galactic prestige matched or exceeded General Jing Yuan's were rare, and among them, the creator of the game was the most logical pick. As the mind behind the entire franchise, no one was better suited to sit in the center chair.
With the Grand Celebration hours away, the eight qualified finalists made their final preparations.
Sushang spent her remaining time alongside her parents, refining her martial techniques and conditioning her Pokémon's combat instincts.
Her artistic presentation was already locked in, but raw combat had always been her weak point—a area she had been working tirelessly to fix since winning her regional bracket. To sharpen her edge, she had even coaxed Guinaifen into running dozens of high-intensity sparring sessions with her.
Argenti, having confirmed every detail of his stage layout, spent his days traveling through the digital wilderness alongside his partners, spreading his message to every Trainer he met. His every movement exuded quiet confidence and composure.
He had never entered the tournament out of a desire for fame or trophies; all he cared about was showing the universe the true radiance of Pure Beauty. He felt no nervous tension—only a deep desire to give a performance without regrets.
March 7th and Asta finalized their stage layouts early, spending their remaining days undergoing brutal, high-intensity combat drills under Welt's direct supervision.
While Asta's baseline combat mechanics had originally trailed behind, both girls were now remarkably well-matched. March held a slight edge in real-world battle experience, which had allowed her to edge out Asta during their earlier training duels.
Thanks to Welt's bootcamp, that gap had virtually closed; victory would come down to who executed better under the stage lights.
Both girls understood their tactical weaknesses, explicitly asking Welt to push them through a relentless training regimen to ensure they stood a fighting chance against top-tier opponents like Guinaifen.
While the extra training didn't guarantee an easy win against veteran martial artists, it ensured they wouldn't be caught off guard. And given the unique scoring format of the Contest, taking the overall crown was well within their reach.
Guinaifen focused her final days on artistic polish, working closely with the traditional acrobatics master to ensure her high-difficulty choreography didn't restrict her Pokémon's movement options during the battle phase.
The remaining three finalists—Rappa, Angel Fetter, and Pasha—fine-tuned their routines based on their qualifier performances, reinforcing their tactical weaknesses while sharpening their visual strengths.
The preparations were complete.
Finally, the Universal Grand Celebration began.
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