Chapter 365: Scorpio

Jiang Xia's hand pressed down in an instant; at that moment the stars glittered, a gale howled past, and the already crimson maple leaves fell like rain.

This time Jiang Xia's body vanished completely into the shadows, the dazzling constellation abruptly shifted, and the whole being merged with the stars in the universe.

He let out a deep howl, his body suddenly swelled and deformed, a ferocious visage protruding, the golden Star Disciple cloak slowly draped down, covering the cross‑shaped constellation beneath his body.

"How could such a thing be possible? Why is the Star Disciple produced by your Evolution… me?" Scorpio peered from the darkness and saw Jiang Xia's now ferocious form.

"The person who created the Constellation Switch really does have some… ability, being able to trigger my power."

A deep voice muffled the rising gale that howled past, massive bamboo claws spread to the sides, five blood‑red, eyeless compound eyes stared at Scorpio together, the ferocious mouthparts' sharp teeth slightly opened, exhaling emerald smoke, the white scorpion carapace snapped loudly into place, and when the huge crab pincers opened, the night stars suddenly flared brightly.

His power is what? Consumption, replication, transformation.

The Constellation Switch triggered the power within him, but he does not belong to the Twelve Constellations, being an outside existence.

Yet he can acquire any Star Disciple's appearance and abilities; few of those abilities are useful, but the most important is the ability to communicate with the universe anytime, anywhere, and to obtain ultra‑fast energy absorption for replenishment.

At this moment, the once ordinary Constellation Switch, with a black‑framed base and a white, eyeball‑like surface, had dramatically changed.

The white shifted to red, and the black plastic shell now gleamed like a ruby, its exquisite exterior seemingly containing the entire universe.

"I see, so this is your ability. Though I don't know which of the Twelve Constellations you are, you are now my equal, also one of the twelve Star Disciples," Scorpio said calmly to the now Jiang Xia, "Join the King's command together."

"Heh."

Jiang Xia let out a light laugh, and the iron‑blue ferocious iron claw instantly struck Scorpio's chest.

The golden robe on Scorpio's body was shattered, a sharp gust of wind breached its defense, the pale armor slowly cracked open to reveal white flesh, and blood dripped, splashing onto the yellow‑brown pebbles.

Joining the King's command—don't joke. Such petty material has no right to join; he has no affection for these rebellious Star Disciples. If it weren't because only four Star Disciples had been gathered, they would have long been devoured by Jiang Xia.

"Is this all the skill you have, Scorpio?" Jiang Xia slowly approached the Scorpio covering its abdomen with a hand, while it was retreating, the lingering blood staining its body red.

"Don't underestimate me; I ascended the Twelve Constellations long before you."

The constellation on Scorpio's body flickered violently, its right leg standing on one foot, the left leg bent backward like a Scorpion Tail, and with violent ferocity it kicked fiercely at Jiang Xia.

Scorpio's Star Disciple excels at kicking techniques; a scorpion survives in nature using its pair of pincers and a toxin‑infused tail, and Scorpio's attack treats its two legs alternately as a scorpion tail to strike the opponent.

If this move were performed by Yuan Tian Sarina before Scorpio's transformation, it would be as beautiful as moonlight in the sky; unfortunately she is now after the transformation, and worse, she faces a Star Disciple user stronger than herself.

When the toxin‑laden Scorpion Tail appeared, the battle was already over; the hooked Scorpion Tail shot out from behind Jiang Xia toward the Scorpio still trying to use its left leg as a tail.

The hook on the Scorpion Tail pierced deep into Scorpio's body, and the emerald toxin raced along Jiang Xia's Scorpion Tail, spreading rapidly within Scorpio's body.

At the instant of injection, it let out a painful howl, its compound eyes filled with ferocious malice; its right leg slammed onto the ground, the spike on its heel like a dagger, performing a reverse‑horse‑hook kick toward Jiang Xia's head. Ferocious, swift, perfectly matching a scorpion's nature, yet utterly meaningless.

Jiang Xia opened the Scorpion pincers in his hand, snatching the incoming right leg with even greater speed, applying only slight force, and a crunch of crushed bones echoed from Scorpio's body.

Whether Jiang Xia used the Scorpion Tail or synthetic toxin, both are advanced skills derived from Scorpio, abilities that the current Yuan Tian Sarina does not possess.

She only further tapped into Scorpio's power after receiving the Supernova granted by the Chairman, whereas Jiang Xia had already mastered these advanced moves the moment he transformed.

"This is the gap between us; your experience with power is too little, making you pitifully weak," Jiang Xia said slowly in a terrifying voice, looking at the upside‑down, struggling Scorpio Star Disciple hanging before him.

The constellations across his entire body lit up again, brilliant radiance burst violently from his form, and above his head the Scorpio stars swiftly aligned into a line, the overwhelming force striking the Scorpio Star Disciple's body head‑on.

A booming explosion erupted, containing Scorpio's true power, the complete power.

Undoubtedly, although the abilities of the Twelve Constellations differ, they are essentially on the same tier; the displayed might depends entirely on the wielder's skill.

The stronger the Switch user, the more cosmic power they harbor within, and it also inflicts indelible damage on the body; this is a trade for one's lifespan.

But Jiang Xia is different; he fully absorbs this power to drive Evolution, not only without injury, but also treating it as his food.

Jiang Xia launched his attack like a supernova explosion born from dying stars, the power accumulated over billions of years radiating like a galaxy, emitting a planet‑destroying boom that collided directly.

"Boom!"

The booming sound came from ahead, but the blast's impact was rapidly absorbed; the strike hit and successfully dealt with Scorpio, yet the fireworks bright enough to light the night sky vanished into the black void, leaving only a massive thunder‑like roar.

If Jiang Xia's attack was the glittering Milky Way water in the cosmos, what now stands before him is the ancient, unending darkness deep in the universe—a black hole that devours everything, a dark‑red vortex twisted to the extreme in the sky, clashing and grinding against the distant galaxy.

Snow‑white wings suddenly unfurled; it clenched the cherry‑red staff, the force piercing the black hole constantly locked in a stalemate, and a ringed shockwave erupted behind, hurling it several meters, while the dark‑gray stone slab beneath crumbled piece by piece.

Arriving is Virgo, who wields spatial power and can freely open twisted‑space portals for teleportation.

In the eyes of Virgo's Star Disciple, all this is absurd; it merely follows the Chairman's orders to investigate the newly awakened Twelve Constellations, not expecting a second Scorpio, and even beating the first to near death.

This doesn't seem like a replica; a replica can't be stronger than the original, at most half its power. The one before us has the Chairman's endorsement and is extremely strong; that recent strike even made me feel wary.

Better retreat for now; Virgo swung the staff, and the cherry‑red storm teleported the already unconscious Yuan Tian Sarina and itself away.

"Virgo's power, huh? Sometimes it's really convenient," Jiang Xia pressed the Constellation Switch in his hand, slowly reverting Scorpio back to human.

He looked up at the sky; the cherry‑red constellation and the emerald constellation were slowly glowing above his head.

(End of Chapter)