Chapter 359: Criminal

How could it possibly be that being handsome would make Scorpio take a liking to him?

The only possibility is that she wants to turn her own development into her subordinate, that is, a new Zodiac Apostle.

Jiang Xia hasn't done much these past two days, although on the first night he spent the whole evening playing games in his room,

but while he was gaming, he was also siphoning the cosmic energy above Tianzhichuan High School, colloquially called "stealing electricity."

Anyway, this group of Twelve Constellations' Zodiac Apostles only uses that energy for evil deeds, so it might as well give it to him to satisfy his cravings.

Thus, merely using a basic cosmic switch is enough to boost an ordinary Orion Star Disciple's power to its ceiling.

Moreover, he noticed the flaw in this power: relying on a normal human physique, it can at most evolve to the level of the Twelve Constellations.

If one absorbs even more power, even someone who has long bathed in that strength will have their body collapse within a short time.

This power from the cosmic starry sky and the so‑called human self‑evolution of Ao Fei Yi Nuo are essentially the same; ultimately the body will collapse and die.

This is the price most powers demand: a body undergoing rapid evolution cannot endure such speed, leading to its utter disintegration.

The more one exploits the cosmic power, the faster the body collapses.

A long lifespan, an ultimate body, great power—that's an equilateral triangle; missing any side makes it impossible.

But for a Scorpio Star Disciple, it's still too early, because her combat power isn't strong yet; she's only reached the threshold of the Twelve Constellations.

If she truly wants Jiang Xia to wish upon the stars, that wish might end up swallowing her whole.

After a brief wait, the queen election finally began, and Ruyue Xian Tairan and Ge Xing Xian Wu finally arrived.

"Teacher, we…" Ruyue Xian Tairan began to speak, but he saw Jiang Xia raise his forefinger to his mouth, signaling silence.

Ge Xing Xian Wu lightly patted Ruyue, gestured toward the teachers and classmates watching the election, and Ruyue Xian Tairan nodded, obediently lowering his voice by several pitches.

"Please sit."

Jiang Xia pointed to the empty seat beside him, and Da Shan Zhongtai, who had just spoken with him, left because Yuan Tian Sha Li Na withdrew her gaze.

"Ruyue, go backstage; Youmu will need assistance later," Jiang Xia said.

"Understood."

"Teacher, did you have the Star Disciple reason you let Youmu enter the competition?" Ge Xing Xian Wu asked softly.

Jiang Xia continued to watch the performance, not answering Ge Xing Xian Wu's question but replying with a counter‑question:

"What results did you find?"

"The Star Disciple's goal is to select the contestants, have Youmu join the competition and smoothly draw out the Star Disciple; that's your plan, right?"

Ge Xing Xian Wu voiced the conclusion he had reached in his mind.

Although using Youmu as bait to lure the Star Disciple and then capture it in one net is a solid plan, even he agreed to it.

Or rather, this is the optimal solution he could think of, and he is confident he can protect Youmu's safety.

Thus, when he heard Jiang Xia nearby, he felt at ease, because with the teacher's combat power, Youmu's safety can indeed be guaranteed.

But when Youmu actually stepped onto the stage as bait, he no longer wanted to witness that scene.

Even if Jiang Xia sat below the stage, even if safety seemed assured, what if? What if this unknown Star Disciple gets hurt? So he felt a bit angry inside, not at Jiang Xia, but at himself.

Jiang Xia still wore a faint smile, but his eyes held no mirth; he said, "No, Xian Wu, I'm not so incompetent as to let my own student become bait. Why do you think that?"

"But you did have Youmu enter the competition," Ge Xing Xian Wu asked.

"Does entering a competition necessarily mean being bait?" Jiang Xia retorted.

Isn't that so? Before Ge Xing Xian Wu could finish his sentence, he saw Jiang Xia's temperature‑less eyes hidden behind his lenses.

He was momentarily stunned; that icy gaze was nothing like the previously gentle, smiling teacher.

It gave him a shiver, as if an ice block were thawing.

What exactly is wrong—did I misjudge? If, per the teacher, entering the competition isn't to attract a Star Disciple, then why did the teacher have Youmu join the competition?

In an instant, a myriad of thoughts swirled in his mind, countless possibilities surfacing at once.

But even as he panted, sweat streaming from his forehead to his chin, his sky‑blue school uniform already damp, he still couldn't figure out why. He looked up in confusion, unable to find an answer; after all, the Star Disciple's target is a girl who excels in every aspect.

If the Star Disciple's target is the champion, it would attack the contestants, so Youmu could only serve as bait? Yet the teacher just told him he wouldn't use a student as bait, and when Ge Xing Xian Wu saw the teacher's cold eyes, he sensed the teacher's displeasure toward him.

So why exactly did Youmu go on stage?

And that question finally found an answer the moment Ge Xing Xian Wu looked up, as he heard the surrounding mocking voices that snapped him out of his mental storm.

People around were shouting various jeers, laughing nonstop—laughing at whom? Ge Xing Xian Wu jerked his head upward.

Of course, they were laughing at Chengdao Youmu, the first to perform on stage.

Because she clearly wasn't there to compete, but to attend a masquerade.

Chengdao Youmu wore a hat made of waste paper, stepped into a cardboard box linked with transparent tape, and the box's top sides bore handmade wooden pieces resembling satellite thrusters.

"Is that the Peregrine?" Ge Xing Xian Wu murmured, looking at Chengdao Youmu's costume.

The Peregrine is a manned spacecraft, reflecting Chengdao Youmu's dream of becoming an astronaut.

As the performance continued, the audience's patience waned, and they began waving the fans bearing Fengcheng Meiyu's portrait, frantically fanning Chengdao Youmu on stage in an attempt to blow her off.

Fortunately, they didn't throw any vegetable leaves or rotten eggs, and as students they couldn't commit such insulting acts.

However, Chengdao Youmu herself seemed unfazed by the audience's remarks and insults, continuing actions that were almost comically absurd to the viewers.

"Could it be that..."

"Xian Wu, seeing this, do you think Youmu can draw out that Star Disciple?"

Jiang Xia watched as Ge Xing Xian Wu seemed to understand and began questioning.

"No."

Ge Xing Xian Wu licked his parched lips, having realized his mistake, and said:

"A performance this terrible doesn't need the Star Disciple to eliminate Youmu; the audience would never vote for her, so Youmu isn't bait, because the Star Disciple wouldn't attack a contestant who has no chance of winning." "I'm sorry, Youmu. I liked your performance, but it didn't win the classmates' favor. To test my hypothesis, I apologize," Ge Xing Xian Wu thought silently.

After grasping this, Ge Xing Xian Wu's line of thought suddenly opened up.

"Continue," Jiang Xia said, his expression softening.

Having figured it out, Ge Xing Xian Wu confidently spoke to Jiang Xia: "Those who were attacked a week ago are actually students with the ability to compete for the queen; the Star Disciples, in order to be able to smoothly enter the finals, eliminated them in advance."

"Why not attack Fengcheng Meiyu? As long as there are no mistakes, the students' votes will almost all go to her; she can be said to be the frontrunner for the championship." Jiang Xia raised another question.

"Because the time hasn't come yet, their performance hasn't started; if Fengcheng Meiyu gets injured now, she would lose points due to missing a member, since they are a team, and the queen's competition format adds the scores of two events and one together; if one item is missing, the probability of winning would greatly decrease."

So who is the culprit?

"Sakuma Tamie." Ge Xing Xian Wu affirmed.

Sakuma Tamie, one of Fengcheng Meiyu's followers.

"Why not Fan Ye Chun?"

Another follower.

Ge Xing Xian Wu thought for a moment, recalling the information he had seen about the queen's election, and then said slowly:

"Because Fan Ye Chun is third in their group; although she doesn't lag much in the first event since the team scores don't differ greatly, she falls far behind the other two in the second event, the speech competition."

"Moreover, the runner-up is always more unwilling than third place; furthermore, Fan Ye Chun likes sweets and won't maintain her figure, so she poses no threat."

"So, the culprit this time is Sakuma Tamie; her goal is to replace Fengcheng Meiyu as queen, and her attack targets are not the contestants in the queen's election, but rather, aside from Fengcheng Meiyu, anyone who could potentially surpass her in score."

"That's right, that's the correct answer." Jiang Xia, after listening to Ge Xian Tu's analysis, expressed agreement.

"Phew!" Ge Xian Tu exhaled, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and this time it was finally correct.

"Teacher, we should now prepare to act; Sakuma Tamie likely has the Constellation Switch on her, and we must not let her successfully become a Star Disciple."

After Ge Xian Tu finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Xia, waiting for his decision.

"If we act here, do you want everyone here to know that the so-called monster is a student transformed, causing panic among students, or that these spectators will be caught in the battle between the Star Disciples and Fourze?"

"Let's wait until the performance ends; there'll be something interesting to see later." Jiang Xia said lightly.

"Could there still be something missing?" Ge Xian Tu asked.

"What method do you think Sakuma Tamie will use to defeat Fengcheng Meiyu in the second round?"

"Excluding attack or intimidation, I really can't think of a way to win."

Ge Xian Tu immediately ruled out the option of using force, not because of any data or reasoning, but because if force were used, the teacher wouldn't have asked the question.

"Here's a hint: the method that can guarantee to take down Fengcheng Meiyu is called arrogance." Jiang Xia said softly.

At that moment, Chengdao Youmu's performance ended amid the audience's jeers, and the next to appear was Fengcheng Meiyu and her three-person team she led.

Even at the end of Chengdao Youmu's performance, not everyone was overjoyed.

Besides Ge Xing Xian Wu and Jiang Xia, among the audience there was also a girl wearing a disheveled sea-urchin-like headpiece, with heavy dark circles made up like a medieval witch, her face full of reluctance and resentment.

That resentment even made people feel that her dark circles looked even thicker.

However, her resentment alone obviously wouldn't affect anything; Chengdao Youmu still walked into the backstage wearing that ridiculous getup made of cardboard bound into the Peregrine Falcon.

In the backstage, from start to finish, Ruyue Xian Tairan, eyes brimming with hot tears, spoke to Chengdao Youmu: "Youmu, you worked hard; I'm really moved."

He was indeed moved, moved by the Peregrine Falcon, and also moved by experiencing Youmu's love for the Peregrine Falcon and her dream of flying to space.

Although Ruyue Xian Tairan is thick-skinned, his empathy and ability to understand people are top-notch; that's why he can make friends with many people, because he truly cares about things.

As for his shortcomings, we just need to make his approach more steady; the rest doesn't require much thought, and he's not far from reaching max level.

"Hmm, those people can't possibly understand the advantages of the Peregrine Falcon, so their opinions don't really matter." Chengdao Youmu said with a smile.

"Huh?" was the sound of Ruyue Xian Tairan's confused voice.

"Actually, this performance was for you, Xian Wu, and the teacher to watch." Chengdao Youmu lightly poked Ruyue Xian Tairan and continued:

"Originally, this was prepared for a performance in the Kamen Rider Club, but the teacher suddenly called saying he wanted to watch, and then assured us you'd definitely come, so I performed here; although I wasn't fully prepared, it's not embarrassing."

"Oh, I see, Youmu, I really like it." Ruyue Xian Tairan gave a thumbs up.

"Thank you; I just saw the teacher and Xian Wu seriously watching my performance, so I know I did well, and of course I won't be upset."

Chengdao Youmu smiled, then reached out her hand, and Ruyue Xian Tairan also understood what that meant.

At such an important moment, of course we should renew our friendship pact.

Handshake, fist bump, all-in-one service.

But just then, Fengcheng Meiyu beside them spoke:

"Kamen Rider Club, what a ridiculous name; knights should serve under the queen, and a club with such a name actually has an instructing teacher—don't joke, your teacher is surely just as weird as you guys."

"Our teacher is certainly not some weird guy; he's the best." Chengdao Youmu retorted to Fengcheng Meiyu.

"Having the best teacher and yet students like you—still truly laughable."

"What did you say!"

"Youmu, Youmu, don't—don't." Seeing Chengdao Youmu's action, Ruyue Xian Tairan shouted, "Uh-oh!"

Subsequently, with quick eyes and hands, he grabbed Chengdao Youmu's hand and pulled her away; if he hadn't, she would have gone up to punch and kick.

"Let go of me, Xiao Xian, she's really too hateful."

Chengdao Youmu, pulled apart by Ruyue Xian Tairan, still felt indignant about Fengcheng Meiyu's words.

"Next, let you see how a true queen performs." Fengcheng Meiyu glanced at the pulled-apart Chengdao Youmu, gave a light laugh, then stepped onto the stage.

(End of chapter)