Pioneer Camp was a small base situated deep within the territory of magic beasts.
These camps were widely distributed across remote forests and mountains, providing adventurers with a place for supplies and rest.
As the surrounding magic beasts were gradually cleared out, small villages and towns would eventually form around them over time.
Even though it was still called a camp, its scale was already quite large.
Shu Yue clutched the hem of her long robe tightly to wrap it around her body, hurrying through the camp gates.
Several guards at the entrance recognized her.
Although they did not stop her, they tossed a crude remark her way.
“Yo, little Luna is certainly getting prettier by the day. Where’d you run off to, and who’d you have your fun with?”
Luna was, of course, a disguised identity…
Shu Yue did not bother to acknowledge them.
Whether it was a righteous warning or a fierce threat, it would have no effect on people like them.
Instead, it would only further incite their filthy desires.
Adventurers were not exactly a repressed lot.
Even in this camp, there were many women who earned money as secret prostitutes, and some female adventurers even did it as a part-time job.
However, they had experienced too much and lacked Shu Yue’s temperament.
Moreover, they didn’t have her delicate skin.
Shu Yue had even been the target of their burning jealousy.
‘I, Shu Yue, am a boy—well, at least I used to be!’
She ran back to her cramped dwelling.
Just as she was about to change her clothes, a hand suddenly pinched her ear.
“Ow!”
Shu Yue frowned in pain and looked at the woman standing beside her.
The woman was dressed in gray-black clothes and a set of light leather armor.
Her burgundy hair was tied in a ponytail that bobbed behind her head.
Her tanned skin was slightly rough, and her appearance was quite ordinary.
If she changed into common clothes, she would look like any other village girl.
Currently, she was staring with displeasure at Shu Yue, who was putting on a pitiful expression of weakness.
“Where did you run off to last night?”
“…”
It wasn’t that Shu Yue wanted to run out.
Ever since she absorbed the first drop of **Dragon Blood**, the power of the lineage within her body would automatically activate every night of the full moon.
This forced her to hide outside until the bloodline power was mostly exhausted and she returned to her original form before she could come back to the camp.
She had never told the woman about this.
The girl pursed her thin lips and said softly, “Sister Anna, I just went out for a stroll.”
“A stroll that kept you out all night?”
“…”
“If I didn’t know you were a boy, I would have thought you…”
“I would never sell my body!”
Shu Yue said righteously, while simultaneously hugging herself tightly.
Anna frowned as she listened to Shu Yue’s voice.
“Wait, what’s wrong with your voice?”
“I… I caught a cold breeze. My throat is a bit uncomfortable.”
“…”
“…”
The two remained silent for a moment.
Anna sighed softly, released her grip on Shu Yue’s ear, and rubbed her head.
“I believe you wouldn’t do anything foolish. You have your own thoughts. But you must be careful. This is Pioneer Camp—a place where no laws hold sway.”
“Mhm.”
Shu Yue nodded.
She didn’t quite know how to explain to Anna that the younger brother who had lived with her for several years had turned into a younger sister.
For now, she would stay quiet and wait for a better opportunity.
Anna’s tone suddenly shifted, and her expression became serious.
“Change your clothes and come with me.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Shu Yue was a bit confused about what they were going to do, but she trusted that Anna had no intention of harming her.
After all, they had lived together for so many years; she felt their bond was equal to that of real siblings.
Returning to her small room, she used bandages to bind her chest flat and then changed into her usual men’s clothing.
She kept the long robe on, as it could conceal her overly slender and graceful figure.
After leaving the room, the tall Anna hooked an arm around Shu Yue’s neck and whispered into her ear.
“We’re sneaking out. Don’t let anyone notice.”
Shu Yue nodded.
The two followed a hidden route, concealing their presence as they slipped out of the camp.
Afterward, Anna led Shu Yue at a brisk pace through the mountain forests for nearly 2 hours.
On the way, Shu Yue asked curiously what they were doing, but Anna told her she would find out once they arrived.
When they reached their destination, Shu Yue saw a sturdy man waving at them.
That was their companion, Mondo.
He was tall and muscular, but his face looked a bit dim-witted.
The three of them stepped out of the woods and reached the base of a steep cliff.
Shu Yue caught the scent of blood permeating the air.
She instantly became alert and soon spotted the source of the smell.
It was actually a carriage that had tumbled down from the cliff, reduced to a pile of wooden splinters.
Plenty of blood and chunks of flesh were scattered across the ground.
When they arrived, carrion birds were pecking at two horse carcasses, eating happily and ignoring the approach of the trio.
Anna led Shu Yue to the body of a young boy.
Not understanding the situation, Shu Yue looked up at Anna.
“Take a look at this.”
As Anna spoke, she handed an opened letter to Shu Yue.
Shu Yue took it and pulled out the parchment.
As she scanned the contents, her eyes narrowed.
In short, the letter instructed this illegitimate son who had been raised in a rural town, Liya White, to go to Graypine City to be knighted as a noble and obtain his rightful status, power, and wealth.
The dead person before her was likely that Liya White.
Anna’s hand pressed onto Shu Yue’s shoulder.
The hand was trembling slightly, though it was unclear if it was from excitement or nervousness.
“Shu Yue, this is an opportunity!”
“…”
Shu Yue didn’t understand what she meant.
Anna took a deep breath, her voice trembling.
“With my disguise techniques, I can make you look like the person in this letter. As long as you take his token, you can replace this illegitimate son. When the time comes, Shu Yue, you will be a noble!”
“But…”
“There are no ‘buts,’ Shu Yue!”
Anna interrupted her.
“Do you really want to be an adventurer for the rest of your life like me and Mondo? Learning my low-level assassination arts just to steal and rob?”
“I, Anna, am a thief, and Mondo is a fool, but you are different, Shu Yue. You are a genius!”
“By staying here as an adventurer or a pioneer, you will never have access to high-level magic. **Tier 2** is the limit here. But as long as you become a noble, everything will be different. You can reach higher social classes. With your talent, you can definitely go further and higher!”
Anna became more excited as she spoke, her grip tightening until Shu Yue’s shoulder hurt.
As someone born in the new century, Shu Yue was not only indifferent to the noble system of this world but felt a deep-seated disgust for it.
They exploited, oppressed, brainwashed, and tamed the commoners, calling themselves a noble upper race while demoting commoners to lowly, natural-born slaves.
Seeing Shu Yue’s lowered eyelashes, Anna naturally knew what she was thinking.
She suppressed her excitement and spoke soothingly.
“Shu Yue, I know you don’t like nobles, but this is a great chance—a chance to escape our current situation. You can become a noble, and Mondo and I can follow you to live a high-society life. No more sleeping in the wild, no more being damn adventurers in this godforsaken Outer Realm, risking our lives every single day. We can live well… and live comfortably!”
“I…”
Shu Yue hesitated.
She knew she shouldn’t agree to Anna’s plan.
What if someone found out she was a fraud?
Anna continued to persuade her.
“You know my disguise skills. Besides, don’t you have that miraculous alchemy? You can refine his magic and make it your own to use as proof. Furthermore, if you become a noble, you can get a recommendation letter to the Vallamud Academy. Wasn’t that your dream?”
Vallamud Academy gathered the most powerful academies in the world; it was a place people yearned for.
If a commoner could go there to be refined, even nobles would treat them with respect upon their return.
Shu Yue had wanted to go there before, but she was too young, and the qualifications were almost entirely monopolized by the nobility.
She didn’t even have the right to participate in the examinations, let alone enter the academy city.
Mentioning this caused Shu Yue to waver.
She knew deeply that without power, one would only become meat on a chopping block.
If her secret were exposed and she lacked the ability to protect herself, her end would surely be miserable.
Her body would be cut open for research, and her soul would be searched for memories over and over again.
Thinking of this, Shu Yue bit her lower lip.
She knew Anna was right; this was their opportunity.
“Alright, Sister Anna. We’ll do as you say.”
“Good child,” Anna sighed in relief.
“I’m so glad you agreed. And if we get caught, we’ll just run away immediately, just like that time we secretly sold the alchemical potions.”
“Mhm…”
Shu Yue nodded gently and looked at the dead boy.
Replacing an identity was not something they were doing for the first time.
Last time, Shu Yue had replaced an old alchemist to sell her brewed potions.
Later, they were exposed and pursued by nobles, which was why they fled to this Pioneer Camp.
The camp was a mix of all sorts of people, making it a perfect place to lie low.
Shu Yue knelt beside the body.
She lowered her eyes to look at the boy, who had died with his eyes open.
If he hadn’t died, he would have become a noble, enjoying the glory and wealth brought by his status, massive cultivation resources, marrying a noble girl, and taking countless beauties as concubines to build a massive family.
On that carriage, he must have been thinking about his upcoming extravagant noble life.
But he was dead, and everything had become a phantom dream.
She placed her hand 10 centimeters above the boy’s corpse.
Her fair, delicate palm seemed to glow under the sunlight, creating a sharp contrast with the broken body beneath it.
The moment Shu Yue closed her eyes, a ripple of magic power radiated from her, and she silently chanted an incantation.
**[Star Tempering Art]**…
The corpse began to crack inch by inch, and silver-white flames peeked through the fissures.
Soon, the fire surged frantically.
*Whoosh!*
The silver fire completely consumed and incinerated the boy’s body.
A yellow stream of light slowly took shape beneath Shu Yue’s palm, flowing toward her chest and merging into her body.
Shu Yue felt a heavy blow to her head, but she quickly recovered, though beads of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead.
The refined magic technique placed a significant burden on her soul.
She had to give up some basic spells to make room for this technique before she felt slightly better.
She closed her eyes to sense it, confirming she had mastered the technique and could use the abilities within it.
**[Firefly Rank · Earthbound Body]**?!
Under her control, several stones levitated.
When she silently cast the Stone Pierce Art in her mind, the stones shot out, slamming into the rock wall with a loud bang.
Anna and Mondo’s eyes widened.
Shu Yue looked down at her palm and murmured to herself, “Does this count as stealing his life?”