My Wife is a Hidden Big Shot

Chapter 458 - 420: Guardian Assembly (2)

Caleb Winslow’s gaze was utterly devoid of warmth. He let out a cold snort.

With a shout of "The match is over," the crowd of Guardians below returned to the front of the high platform.

"Challengers from all continents, step forward and select your opponents."

The Regulator on the far right had just finished speaking when Howard Winslow loudly announced a change to the competition’s rules.

"Hold on. Everyone has just finished fighting. Let’s give them a day to rest first."

"Lord Winslow, that hardly seems appropriate," Merck Gold immediately interjected.

In previous years, once the ten victors were determined, they immediately challenged the Regulators. This was intended to increase the difficulty for the new Guardians.

"But two of them are in no condition to challenge us right now..." Howard Winslow said, feigning concern as he pointed to a pair of Guardians below who looked unwell.

"Then give those two a few hours of rest. The others can start their challenges now!" Kael Miles replied with a smile. He even turned to the man on his left. "What do you think, Lord Linton? After all, people like us can’t stay in Esteros for too long."

Morgan Linton, the most powerful among them, glanced at Kael and gave a slight nod. "True. I can’t be away from the penitentiary for too long."

Howard Winslow’s face turned livid as the three of them ganged up on him.

"The competition will continue. Please select your opponents..."

Aurora Sinclair was the first to speak, her voice ringing out. "Which of you is the head of the International Martial Arts Bureau? I challenge him!"

Howard Winslow froze, stunned. He had assumed Aurora would challenge Caleb Winslow, never expecting her to target him right from the start.

Kael Miles was also taken aback for a moment, then he grinned at Howard Winslow. "Lord Winslow, do be gentle with her."

His face livid, Howard Winslow shot Kael a glare before taking a step forward, his hands clasped behind his back.

Aurora looked at his face and suddenly asked, "If I defeat him, do I get to take his position?"

The question was a blatant slap in the face. Howard Winslow was so incensed that he flung his sleeves and turned away. Kael Miles chuckled. "My dear grand-disciple, this isn’t child’s play. Every position is decided by the Advanced Supervisors of the Holy Mountain."

"How does one become an Advanced Supervisor?"

Howard Winslow sneered. "Hmph... Why don’t you try asking again when you’ve reached the realm of a Great Martial Venerable?"

"Oh, is that right..."

Suddenly, an apocalyptic Power of Heaven and Earth began to gather, causing everyone’s faces to pale in terror.

’This is the pressure of a Great Martial Venerable...’

Just then, Quinn Winslow’s voice drifted down from the mountain. "Young friend, I ask that you be merciful."

The pressure immediately subsided a little.

The Members of the Winslow Clan on the high platform had eyes filled with sheer terror.

Howard Winslow and Caleb Winslow, in particular, felt their hearts leap into their throats.

’When did she reach the Great Martial Venerable realm?’

’At this rate, how can the Winslow Clan possibly contend with her?’

"Shall we begin?"

To Howard Winslow, her voice sounded like a death knell, making his legs feel like jelly.

The Basic Supervisor who had been acting as the announcer flinched and hastily shouted, "Let the match begin—"

The announcer didn’t even give the other nine challengers a chance to pick their opponents. Not that any of them noticed; they were all staring with wide, fascinated eyes at Howard Winslow on the platform.

He glared down at Aurora, his expression hideous. If looks could kill, she would have been pierced by a thousand arrows.

"Lord Winslow, if you please—" Aurora gave him a perfunctory fist-and-palm salute, ready to strike.

"Wait... I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a black shadow flickered in front of him. A series of sickening cracks followed as bones dislocated. Howard Winslow, utterly powerless to resist, was sent flying off the high platform by Aurora’s kick.

Immediately after, a surge of power strong enough to destroy his entire cultivation shot toward his Energy Sea Acupoint.

But because Aurora had already dislocated his jaw, no agonizing scream could escape his lips.

The crowd was horrified by Howard Winslow’s wretched state. They hadn’t expected this female Guardian to be so vicious.

The smile on Kael Miles’s face froze solid. He never imagined Aurora would use the Bone Shattering Hand to cripple a Martial Lord!

"Announce the verdict," Aurora said, her gaze sweeping coolly over to the announcer.

The Basic Supervisor swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Ch-challenge... successful..."

Aurora then leaped off the platform, landed in front of Howard Winslow, and struck him again. The horrifying sound of cracking bones echoed once more.

"Young friend..." Quinn Winslow’s voice rang out again.

Aurora replied coolly, "Don’t worry..."

As she finished, Howard Winslow was finally able to scream.

He curled into a ball, writhing on the ground in agony.

"There..."

Everyone gasped. ’Did she... cripple him, only to then put his body back together?’

"Get... get Howard Winslow... out of here..."

By now, Quinn Winslow had descended from the mountain. He grabbed Howard Winslow’s wrist and began to examine his condition.

His bones and sinews were back in place, but the flow of meridians within his body seemed to have been altered.

Quinn Winslow gave Aurora a complicated look. When he met her returning gaze, his heart clenched.

Finally, he said with resignation, "Thank you, young friend, for your mercy!"

Aurora gave a slight nod, then leaped back onto the high platform with her hands behind her back. She began walking slowly toward Caleb Winslow, who stumbled backward in fear.

However, she walked right past him and approached Kael Miles instead.

Kael Miles asked with concern, "Is Lord Winslow okay?"

"He’s fine. The pain will pass in a few days."

Kael Miles finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as his life wasn’t in danger, that was all that mattered.

***

After a period of silence, the challenges in the valley finally resumed.

This time, however, the other Guardians all chose to challenge the Basic Supervisors.

Of the remaining nine challengers, only three were successful.

Next came the challenges among the Regulators themselves, with Basic Supervisors challenging the Intermediate Supervisors.

Nearly every Intermediate Supervisor was challenged by a Basic Supervisor from below. The only one nobody dared to challenge was Kael Miles.

With a grand-disciple as powerful as his, they didn’t dare risk offending him.

Kael Miles and Aurora looked on like outsiders as the others competed on the stage.

"Dawn," Kael said, "this is the true reshuffling of the Martial World..."

Aurora pursed her lips as she listened, her gaze fixed on Caleb Winslow below. She subtly crooked a finger. Caleb’s body froze for an instant, and his opponent, a Basic Supervisor, landed a heavy blow square on his chest.

No one noticed Aurora’s subtle interference. Everyone simply assumed Caleb Winslow was still rattled by Aurora and wasn’t in the right state of mind to fight.

Caleb Winslow was demoted to Basic Supervisor, while the one who defeated him was promoted to Intermediate Supervisor.

"The matches are concluded—"

The crowd gazed at the people on the high platform, now rearranged according to strength. All eyes, filled with a mixture of emotions, fell on the girl at the very end of the line.

She was poised to be the greatest variable in the Martial World.

「The following day, the new promotion and position announcements for the Continent of Esteros arrived.」

To everyone’s astonishment, Aurora was only promoted to Intermediate Supervisor. Her new post in the Mundane World was to replace Morgan Linton as the head of the International Penitentiary. Meanwhile, Morgan Linton was directly promoted to Advanced Supervisor and would be entering the Holy Mountain.

Everyone simultaneously turned to look at Aurora, a flicker of pity in their eyes.

With her level of power, she should have been the one promoted to Advanced Supervisor, the one entering the Holy Mountain to focus on her Martial Cultivation.

Unexpectedly, both Aurora and Kael Miles accepted the arrangement cheerfully, without a single question.

Only when they were leaving the Continent of Esteros did Kael finally say to Aurora, "This is a political trade-off. Your power makes them wary. To keep you from entering the Holy Mountain to cultivate, they had to give you a seemingly important position. In reality, it both prevents you from focusing on your cultivation and weakens your influence in the Martial World."