Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament

The **Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament** is a triannual martial arts tournament held in the capital of the Oyashiman Empire, Akihito. It is put on at the expense of the Imperial Family, and is simultaneously a recruiting ground for the best warriors of the land, a religious festival dedicated to the spiritual improvement of the self through combat, an opportunity for gaining prestige and wealth or the participants and their families, and a riotous piece of public entertainment.

### Format

The tournament is structured into four blocks: unarmed, armed, magical, and anything goes. Each participant that wishes to enter the tournament is first given a basic combat test to defeat a minor elemental spirit summoned by tournament organizers. If one is unable to defeat a lowly spirit, they are not considered worth bothering to organize into the four block's brackets.

Within each block there are randomly assigned numbers given to each participant, resulting in pairs facing off. #1 battles #2, #3 battles #4. If #2 and #3 win their matches, they face off against each other next. This process continues until only 4 participants from each block remain. The unarmed category is usually the most popular grouping, and thus has more fights to whittle down to the final four. If someone kills their opponent in these preliminary battles, they are immediately disqualified.

The final tournament is made up of sixteen combatants. The only determining factor of pairing up is that no member of the same block faces off in the first match, otherwise the matchups are randomly determined. These battles take place in the Ryu Stadium over the course of two days, and are watched by enormous crowds. Unlike the preliminary battles, the final tournament allows participants to kill, but it is considered dishonorable to kill an opponent without their consent or in the heat of combat. The majority of the participants force an opponent into an unwinnable position and force them to surrender. If the defeated participant refuses to give in, it is considered honorable to kill them. Note that while these norms are present, there is nothing in the rules that forbids a participant from simply killing their opponent in a single strike, though they risk the social condemnation of the crowds, and will likely provoke no sympathy from later combatants.

The winner receives the title "Strongest Under the Heavens", which they hold until the following tournament and are referred to as such in all public proclamations or social addresses. They also receive a small fortune in gold, silks, amber, and finely crafted weapons and armor. Also, the winner is given immediate right to enter the final sixteen of the following tournament (taking one of the seats from the block they originally signed up under), though they are not required to do so if they would prefer to sit out of the potential risks, or have aged beyond the desire for further wealth or glory.

### Winners of the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournaments

* 37 ASR: Harumi Takahashi
* 40 ASR: Disputed due to the Demonic Invasion of Akihito. Remaining combatants before the premature cancellation of the tournament were Rocco Brightmane, Karrthus Dragonborn, and Judix Grigallu.