Damned Healer
Chapter 207: Most Important Tournament

Chapter 207: Most Important Tournament

It was early in the day when Veyle, Darian, and the twins headed out with Leander toward a central region of the capital. That was the day when all the top rookie Spiritual Guardians from the past four years would be tested.

Leander and Matteo had been through something similar before. It was pretty much the same across all empires. This selection event always happened a few months before the Rookie Tournament, since the empires did everything they could to keep their talents hidden.

Everything would happen behind closed doors, inside the empire, with only top clans and important figures present. But the whole thing would be recorded.

Exactly one day before the Rookie Tournament started, all empires would broadcast their selections to the entire population. That way, everyone could see the new talents and find out who would be representing the empire in the tournament.

It was important for everyone to watch, because soft power was one of the empires’ weapons. It wasn’t enough to be strong — they had to look like powerful people were being born all the time. The talents who stood out in the tournament would be remembered and adored by regular humans.

During the selection, no one could use supreme artifacts to avoid revealing anything too early. With just one day until the tournament, the other empires wouldn’t have time to build countermeasures against the participants’ blessings, making things fairer.

On the way, Leander explained how the last tournament had gone. Even though it was broadcast to the whole empire, Darian and the twins didn’t remember it. That’s because... it happened around the same time their mother died.

But that wasn’t the real reason they didn’t recognize Leander or Matteo. Very few people even remembered them. They had been part of the selection where 15 out of 20 rookies were picked, but they didn’t stand out at all and got knocked out in the first round of the main tournament.

In the end, only the strongest — or those from major clans — were remembered.

"You’ve probably heard that the New Arcadia Empire ranks third on Earth, right?" Leander asked, sighing. "Don’t be fooled. The difference between us and the other four below the top is tiny. There’s been a lot of back-and-forth in the rankings, but ours never changed. It’s honestly a miracle we’ve held onto third place this long. And that’s all thanks to the Red River Pact clan — they’ve always managed to go toe-to-toe with the best."

Darian nodded. The vice leader of that clan was a bastard. And the leader, Anbon, had turned a blind eye to all the crap his vice had done — which made him just as guilty. Still, they were strong.

Anbon was well-known and respected across Earth. Not just because of his powerful blessing or his many rings — he was crazy disciplined and never slacked off, training day and night.

He wasn’t exactly an idiot. He founded the clan himself and built all kinds of training methods for anyone who wanted to get strong. He did that because he wanted to, and it helped the empire and Earth a lot. Of course, it wasn’t pure altruism — leading a powerful clan gave him a kind of influence his own strength couldn’t.

His training methods were effective, but they were also known for being brutal. Those in his clan who managed to survive his training usually became top-tier across Earth.

"Another thing that helps keep our empire in the top is that our Seven Elemental Star Physique shows its full potential the moment we get it. That gives us a huge edge, since in other empires, their extra potential only shows up once they reach two or three rings. But even then, it’s pretty shallow. It’s only at six rings that their full power really kicks in."

Darian nodded again. He had watched Rookie Tournaments before, but had never noticed the extra powers of the Spiritual Guardians. Now it all made sense. The Star Physique was passive, while in other empires, stuff like that barely existed — most participants only had up to three rings anyway.

Leander looked at Darian seriously and added:

"I mentioned five empires earlier. That’s because in every Rookie Tournament, the competition is always between the five right below the top empire. Second place has never even come close to challenging the Solar Federation Empire. They’re insanely strong because of the *Emperor’s Mark*. Even though they only get a tiny piece of its real power, that’s already enough to put them on top."

Lucy and Lucius scoffed, unimpressed. During that special mission, every rookie from the other empires — even from the number one — got wiped out easily by the natives.

They only had two rings and couldn’t even use those powers. It just proved those rookies from the Solar Federation were only strong because of that Emperor’s Mark — not because they were actually skilled or well-trained. They were like chickens painted gold... still just chickens.

The car stopped more than half a kilometer from a massive arena. The entire area was heavily guarded by the military. Everyone had to stop and show ID, and only pre-approved people were allowed in. It was all to make sure no info about the rookies leaked to other empires before it was time.

This tournament wasn’t just about rookies. Along with other events held on Earth, it was one of the main things that decided the empires’ rankings on the planet.

Those rankings determined who got first pick of the missions Earth received. The empire ranked number one got first dibs on the hardest — and usually most profitable — missions. Of course, there was a set limit, so with some luck, plenty of good missions would still be left for the other empires too.

The five of them walked calmly toward the arena.

Inside, the place was still mostly empty. The stands, which could hold nearly 100,000 people, had only a few dozen figures — all from the empire’s top three clans or elite military.

Leander spotted the leader of the Amazon Sentinels clan and waved. That clan was really close to Rhea and considered an ally — they held the spot of the third biggest clan in the empire.

The second biggest clan was the Temple Wardens. Based in the central region of the continent, they usually kept a more neutral stance toward the others.

The five of them headed over to a small group, made up of about a dozen people.

Nayara was there with three young folks. One of them was a calm, average-looking guy wearing clothes with her clan’s crest on them. The other two were a couple who stayed really close to each other, but they didn’t seem to have any direct connection to her clan.

Nayara stepped forward with a light smile and called the three over. They’d be participating in the selection along with the others.

"You finally made it. Right on time. These are—"

She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed something happening at the center of the arena.

Everyone turned to look. A tall soldier had just stepped calmly onto the massive martial stage. He had white hair and deep eyes — a very well-known figure across the whole empire.

He stopped in the center and looked over all the groups spread throughout the arena.

His voice was calm but firm:

"It’s time. Let’s begin the selection for the most important tournament in centuries. No point wasting time. After all, every day lost is one less day for you to prepare for the main event."