How to get to both Holy and Evil cities?

[Ichmkami]

So I have reached the point where I can do the valley quite simply but I dunno where to go from here. I have read about the holy and the evil cities while doing my research on the wiki and stuff but I dunno how to get there, any help?

[Darnavir]

New areas require clearing previous areas and (afaik) certain guardians. I'm not confident about what area needs what guardian, most likely each area requiring the next guardian.

Holy City: Valley Village and Arbitrator(?)
Evil City: Holy City and Creator (I vaguely remember not having the guild quest before killing the guardian; might have been Holy City though)
Dragon Village: Evil City and Dominator.

[JayXan]

Yeah I think the guardians are the keys to unlocking the new areas.

[Acaykath]

You also need to get to a certain level in the tournament in the academy city. Each level of (Quarter/semi/etc) finals unlocks something.

[Darnavir]

Any details?
I never saw the tournament blocking an area with a fightable boss, only story relevant actions/areas (smith's village, frozen lake). However, I usually clear tournament as far as I can so I could be missing something there, especially with Fenia and orphanage (never diverged from ED5 guide when there).

[Synthar]

Originally posted by Acaykath:

You also need to get to a certain level in the tournament in the academy city. Each level of (Quarter/semi/etc) finals unlocks something.

those unlocks have nothing to do with HC/EC/DV, they are only relevant in academy city
beating t6 is neccesary for iari, t10 is neccesary for fenia, everything else is not mandatory for any ending
well the cooking thing is necessary for unlocking the recipe, but thats it