Emperor's Reckoning

Under the bright sun up in the sky, cultivators gathered from all regions in the First Layer Heaven to watch one of the most anticipated events.

The Rookie Heaven Tournament.

The point of the tournament was to extract the cream of the crops from the young generations. Everyone was allowed to participate a maximum of two times in their entire lifetimes. They usually used the chances quite well. The first was for experience while the last was for the win.

However, most of the participants came from powerful families or backing and left little to no chance for outsiders and nobodies. The blatant abuse was apparent, but fixing it would not yield a favorable result for any.

The tournament was held in a neutral area. None of the four kingdoms that currently ruled the First Layer Heaven was allowed to occupy the landscape. The place was picked as the neutral area because it was located at the center between the four kingdoms. Daring to break the law meant the destruction from the other three.

The area was called Afurnae. The place was not as majestic as one might think. The city was surrounded by fresh grassland with empty trees. It was small compared to Nostria but it could host a lot of people.

The four kingdoms agreed upon erecting their own inns inside the place with a variety of prices. The market was also occupied by their respective merchants, outsiders were not allowed to make their own stand without a special license.

The face of the four kingdoms was advocated by the goods that they sell and the services that they provide. Every single one of them was relentless and competitive not willing to show weakness to the others.

The festiveness of the city was to be expected as Afurnae was filled with cultivators from different regions even the vagrant ones. The nobles and the royals from lesser kingdoms already made their appearances with their luxury carriages. The cheers from the commoners were not lacking as they all smiled and waved at them.

However, in the midst of the festive atmosphere, some of them had heard something about the preliminary.

"Hey, have you heard about the preliminary?" said one of the cultivators with a whisper.

"Yeah I've heard it, they seem to have cut off the spot for outsiders to five, can you believe it?" said another.

"That's right, it's unbelievable, this is just plain abuse don't you think?"

"What can we do? The Rookie Heaven Tournament is for the nobles and royals."

"But that's not fair, don't you think?"

"The tournament was never meant to be fair, it's called the Rookie Heaven Tournament, not the Fair Rookie Heaven Tournament."

"But even so, this is just blatant abuse at this point!"

"Shh! Lower your voice down, the four kingdoms are ever watching!"

A guard was walking past them with a glare but the two of them only nodded with a smile. The former paid no heed as he kept his pace steady and resumed to patrol the area.

After watching that the guard was several meters away from their standpoint. The two cultivators resumed.

"I've heard that Sir Hezar was on the move."

"What?!"

The cultivator narrowed his eyes before his friend nodded, "Sorry."

"I don't know what he is planning to do but sources had said that he went toward the preliminary."

"Do you think that they are directly linked? The spot reduction."

"Doubt it," said the cultivator as he shook his head. "Great and powerful he may be, he is still someone's lap dog."

"Hey!"

The cultivator immediately froze as his back was no longer arched. The jolting sensation made his heart skip a beat as his life flashed before his eyes. "Y-Yes?!"

"It's Princess Hilde!"

The crowd immediately surrounded the luxurious black carriage. The grand carriage was adorned with a crest of a spear bequeathed by the sun on the door. The window was curtained and no one could see the figure inside.

The guards were quick on the move as well. They immediately pushed out the people that were getting too close.

"Back up! Back up!"

"Move back or I will have to draw my sword against you!"

The threatening words work like a charm as the situation immediately died down but the cheers were relentless.

They are cheering the name as the black luxurious carriage went to the inn it was designated to. The inn had the same crest as the one adorned on the carriage. No ordinary cultivator dares to approach them at this point.

The cultivator let out a sigh of relief, "I thought I was dead there."

"If you were lynched I would have accompanied you."

The cultivator was surprised hearing his friend's words, "Really?"

"Well yeah, I mean I'm here with you, so of course I will get dragged into your mess."

"Oh," he immediately made a dejected face.

"Enough of that, one of the prominent figures is here."

"Princess Hilde, she was placed third last time, but the top ten is forbidden to partake in the tournament once more."

"It's maybe that case again."

"Yeah, she is probably on the look to recruit the new champions."

"Hah," the cultivator let out a sigh, "It's a shame though, last time there was Ivy."

"Ah yes, the Ice Flower of Mortal. She was cut short finishing the eleventh place. Though it is amazing from our point of view, for her, it must be devastating."

"Yeah, I bet she will come back for more."

The conversation was interrupted with the door of the carriage being opened by the driver.

The moment she stepped out of the carriage, Afurnae was enthralled. Her exact figure was hidden under her beautiful battle dress that allowed her movement to be free yet still look gorgeous in every movement. She was taller than an ordinary female cultivator. She had jet black eyes and sharp eyebrows that made her always look serious but the bearing that she held was that of royal and bravery. Her hair was as black as her eyes and tied up to a simple ponytail. Under the graceful sun, she was adored by many cultivators from different backgrounds.

"Welcome, Princess Hilde," said one of the staff for the inn with a bow.

Hilde paid no heed to the man in front of him but instead looked around, "Am I the first one here?"

"Y-Yes," the staff answered.

Hilde smiled. "Good, I will take a stroll then."

"Eh?Eh?! P-Please do not do that princess, you will cause unnecessary roadblocks if you do," said one of the staff.

Looking at the worried staff she contemplated for a second.

"Hah," she let out a sigh before she complied. "Whatever, I'm here to relax and find a new promising subordinate anyway."

She entered the inn before going to her room without paying attention to the rest of the staff or the layout of the inn.

The staff let out a sigh of relief, "Hah, that was close. I would be in trouble if she took a stroll."

Meanwhile inside her room. She summoned some peculiar items from her spatial ring. Her lips pointed upwards, "Heh, I know it would come in handy."

"Early birds get the worm," she muttered with a smile before she swallowed a pill.

She immediately looked at the mirror before seeing her hair had shifted its color to a brighter hue of gold. She turned up a bright smile after noticing the seamless result. She pulled the rubber that was knotting her hair into a ponytail and let it drape around her shoulder.

"Now then, with some minor adjustments, I will be nothing but a regular noble cultivator."

She changed her iconic clothing to something more subtle and common.

"Right, all set, now it's time to step out!"

It was effortless for her to escape the inn even under the watches of everyone's eyes. This was due to her prior knowledge of the layout. By exploiting the least-watched area inside the inn she found herself already mingling with the crowd.

As she walked normally on the street she had heard her name mentioned a couple of times.

"Princess Hilde sure is on time."

"I wonder why did she not come with her parents though, the king and the queen will come as well don't they?"

"Of course they would, not coming would offend the face of the three others."

Hilde smiled as she thought it funny. The people didn't realize that the one they talking to was walking right beside them.

"Did you know that the outsiders were cut in half?"

Her eyebrows immediately furrowed as she heard those words. She got near enough to eavesdrop on them.

"Y-Yeah I've heard it too, but it's not like it would change anything, I bet we would see Ivy once again."

"True that."

Hilde tugged their elbows before she show a bright smile, "Hey, can you tell me more about it? I love some juicy rumors."

The two cultivators looked at her beautiful smile before a blush of red hue appeared on their cheeks.

"S-Sure."

The two of them didn't hesitate to share what they knew and made her eyebrows arch.