The world had shifted, but Jiang Xuan moved with it silently—unseen, unshaken.
From the moment he awakened his system, A.S.T.R.A., he had devoured the world with observation. What others studied, he dissected. What others feared, he analyzed. At age nineteen, he was already a peak God of War-level existence, though the city knew him only as a reserved, bright high schooler.
He sat beside Luo Feng in class, slouched like a bored teen. Nobody suspected a thing.
But under that calm exterior burned a secret far deeper than strength.
Her name was Fa Er.
She was a Planet-level warrior of the HR Alliance, known for her icy calm and devastating combat efficiency. Most feared her. Many admired her. But none knew she had met Jiang Xuan three years ago—alone in the wilderness, where the remnants of a beast horde had nearly broken through.
He had appeared without a signal, dressed in dust and torn travel gear, hands bloody from clawing his way through five kilometers of mutated terrain. She had dismissed him at first glance—until he'd analyzed her footwork mid-fight and corrected it while dispatching three Lord-level beasts with surgical strikes.
She stared, stunned. "Who are you?" she had asked, breath misting in the cold air.
He smiled slightly, wiping blood from his cheek. "Someone who pays attention."
What began as suspicion evolved into quiet conversations beneath shattered stars, sparring sessions laced with tension, and eventually… a single night where she let her walls fall. Since then, their relationship had remained hidden—a delicate bond buried beneath duty and danger.
No one knew—not the HR Alliance, not her peers, and certainly not Jiang Xuan's classmates.
At Jiang-Nan Secondary School, Jiang Xuan wore his uniform with perfect creases. His expression was mild, never too interested, never too aloof. Teachers loved his precision. Students forgot he existed unless he answered a question with surgical clarity.
He and Luo Feng had grown closer over the years—not due to fate, but Jiang Xuan's quiet design. He admired Luo's drive, his defiant ambition in the face of physical weakness. It reminded him of himself—before he awakened.
They ate together often, and Jiang Xuan lent him battle theory notes "he found online." Luo never knew they were custom-tailored simulations from A.S.T.R.A.
Every weekend, Jiang Xuan vanished.
"Family errands," he'd tell his classmates, or "extra lessons" if pressed. In truth, he slipped past Base City's walls, beneath the surveillance grid, through wilderness routes mapped by his system down to the thermal signatures of passing insects.
There, in the battered ruin of a sunken dojo west of the Yangtze Wastes, Fa Er waited.
They trained. Sparred. Slept—sometimes in separate tents, sometimes not. She taught him nothing he didn't already simulate—but she challenged him emotionally, intuitively. And in return, he offered her something she'd long forgotten:
A moment where she didn't need to be a weapon.
One evening, lying beneath the canopy of cracked stars, she whispered:
"If they knew… they'd call me a traitor. You're still just a boy to them."
He touched her hand gently.
"To me, you're the only one I've ever lowered my guard for. I don't care what they think."
Her fingers tightened around his.
"Someday… we'll be on the same battlefield."
"We already are," he replied. "I'm just fighting in shadows."
As if prompted by some shared feeling, they both leaned towards each other, their lips meeting in a fierce display of affection, reason giving way to more primal and lust driven actions. As the kiss deepened, Jiang Xuan let his hands fall down, tracing the supple curves of her well honed physique, coming to rest on her perky backside, squeezing and molding them into a variety of abstract forms. Gently he used his weight to press her unto her back, releasing her buttocks, his hands commenced the return journey back up her body groping and pinching gently on the way. Then with dexterity and skill showing familiarity Jiang Xuan swiftly undressed faer and himself. With utmost precision and practiced ease the two figures intertwined themselves, settling into a steady rhythm, the meeting of flesh and the squelching of fluids could be heard as Jiang Xuan, thrust himself into Fa er's depths with such ferocity, as if he wished to bury himself permanently inside her. Fa er two contributed to the passionate encounter with sweet moans and sloppy kisses, as both lost themselves to their union, continuing on into the night.
By morning, the fire was low, and so were their defenses. But as always, they parted with silent discipline—no goodbyes, only glances.
Back at school, Jiang Xuan remained aloof, distant. He rarely spoke during lectures, never joined clubs. But when Luo Feng signed up for the annual combat aptitude test, Jiang Xuan joined his group quietly.
"I didn't know you were interested," Luo said, surprised.
Jiang Xuan shrugged. "You'll need backup when the others underestimate you."
Luo grinned, accepting the rare moment of camaraderie.
During the test, students were tasked with defeating simulated beast holograms. Luo performed admirably—quick on his feet, fierce in execution. When Jiang Xuan stepped up, the instructor rolled his eyes—expecting another academic trying to play soldier.
But Jiang Xuan didn't "try." He moved like a whisper through grass, analyzing the simulation's frame rate, angle shifts, and AI behavior in real time. He delivered surgical strikes—non-lethal, disabling, elegant.
The instructor blinked. "That… that's Wargod-level precision…"
"Lucky break," Jiang Xuan replied with a blank face, already walking off the stage.
Luo Feng caught up, breathless.
"You've definitely trained before. What kind of dojo—?"
"Private," Xuan replied. "Just an old teacher. Likes tea more than combat."
No one questioned it further.
Late one evening, while reviewing a medical anatomy book under dim dorm light, a soft buzz ticked through Jiang Xuan's earbone transmitter. A secure channel. Her channel.
Fa Er.
He opened the line with a blink.
"There's been movement near the Himalaya front," she said, voice steady. "HR scouts are noticing beast migration patterns we didn't predict."
"You want me to analyze?"
"I want you to stay out of it."
Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow.
"That's new."
"You're too important now. And they're watching. Harder than before. If they catch a whiff of what we are—what you are—it won't be mercy they send."
There was silence between them for a breath. Then, softer:
"I miss you."
He closed the book.
"I'll finish the data tonight. You'll have the predictive paths by sunrise."
"Jiang—"
"I miss you too."
Back at school, news broke: a new virtual training league was being formed, and scouts from the Dojo of Limits and Thunder Dojo would be watching. Students buzzed with excitement. Luo Feng was particularly fired up.
"I'm going to push myself harder," he said to Jiang Xuan one morning, eyes gleaming. "I don't care if they laugh—I'll show them."
Jiang Xuan smiled faintly. "Good. You're meant for more than they can see."
Analyzing: Luo Feng's neural stress patterns—54% overclocked. Recommend rest within 48 hours.
He ignored the alert. Some fires weren't meant to be doused. They were meant to forge something stronger.
There were those who noticed oddities. A visiting Thunder Dojo instructor whispered to another during a sparring demonstration:
"That boy's balance—it's… unnatural."
But when questioned, Jiang Xuan's scores were "normal." His energy signature "average." His records: clean, flat, shallow.
That was the point. A.S.T.R.A. ensured any scan of his body displayed the exact expected output. His pulses, reactions, breathing rhythms—all randomized within median range.
And Fa Er, still active in interstellar missions, defended him in silence. She removed reports. Redirected investigations. And when questioned about recent absences during patrols, she simply said:
"Strategic redeployment."
No one questioned her.
That evening, Jiang Xuan stood on the roof of the school dorms, watching the cityscape buzz. Below him, cars blinked across roads, hovercraft pulsed quietly, and Base City's high walls gleamed with anti-beast cannons.
He took a deep breath.
"A.S.T.R.A., progress report."
[BODY]: Cellular optimization 92.4%.
[MIND]: Neural pathways exceed average human by 487%.
[SKILLS]: Combat styles integrated: 3,024
[PROJECT: CONCEALMENT]: Active. Undetected.
[PROJECT: FA ER]: Secure. Emotional state: fluctuating. Love depth index: 91%.
He smiled softly. "I'll tell her… someday."
Behind him, a light footstep. Luo Feng, panting.
"I thought I saw you sneak up here."
"Couldn't sleep."
"Me neither," Luo said, grinning. "Sometimes I wonder if you're secretly stronger than you let on."
Jiang Xuan gave a small laugh, the stars above them vast and eternal.
"What would you do if I was?"
"Probably ask you to teach me everything."
"Maybe I already am."
Luo blinked, confused, but said nothing.
They stood in silence under the stars.