The Path of Prudence

The Dragon Abyss Dungeon. Its teleportation entrance was situated atop a towering peak, where the surrounding landscape was utterly devoid of life. On the barren summit, only the shimmering teleportation circle remained.

Just then, two figures, remarkably disparate in appearance, emerged to shatter the tranquility of the mountaintop.

“So many mountains…” Li Jia murmured, gazing at the endless mountain ranges, profoundly struck by their grandeur.

This was her first time entering an S-rank dungeon, yet it didn’t seem much different from a regular one, merely a vast expanse of ordinary mountains.

“Don’t get complacent!”

At that moment, Aya Tone had already changed into his platinum ceremonial attire, his staff fully unleashed.

The instant he stepped out of the teleportation array, his cold, measured voice softly emerged.

“Repulsion Barrier (Active Protection)”

A pure white light shield enveloped both of them, an invisible repulsive force warping the surrounding space.

Yet, upon a second glance, the distortion seemed like an illusion, as if it had never been there at all.

This was no newly emergent dungeon; the monsters within had long known of this spatial nexus intertwined with the mundane world.

The monsters in the dungeon would evolve, and even if humans regularly entered to clear them out, there would always be some that slipped through the cracks.

These escapees were often far more cunning than the newly spawned monsters.

One might wonder why adventurers weren’t stationed here permanently.

This was because…

While humans could absorb energy from dungeons to strengthen their bodies, they couldn’t remain for extended periods.

In high-level dungeons, a special fluctuation was constantly generated, affecting all living organisms.

Humanity’s life-level was too fragile; those with weaker strength, if they stayed too long, would explode.

This was a wisdom gained through bitter experience, a lesson learned through much bloodshed.

Therefore, guards were usually stationed outside the dungeon.

They constantly observed the status of the teleportation array to understand the dungeon’s condition.

“Aya Tone, do you know Guild Master Ao?” Li Jia’s voice rang out from within the Azure Dragon Armor.

She could sense that the Azure Dragon Guild Master’s relationship with Aya Tone was far from superficial.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have lent such precious scaled armor.

From the moment the Azure Dragon Armor enveloped her, she could clearly feel an endless surge of power strengthening her own.

It was incredibly powerful; simultaneously, a protective force shielded her, making the immense pressure of the S-rank dungeon feel like nothing at all.

How miraculous!

In her current state, she felt she could easily incapacitate her former self with a single punch.

And what’s more… after donning the Azure Dragon Armor, she seemed to…

Following an instinct, Li Jia extended a dragon claw, gently tracing it through the empty air.

In an instant, a spatial rift manifested along the tip of her claw.

“Holy hell, take it easy!”

Seeing the spatial rift, Aya Tone had no mind to answer, quickly stopping Li Jia’s claw, which was poised to continue its dangerous experiment.

The monsters here were already extremely agitated by the spatial fluctuations emanating from the Dragon Abyss; her actions could easily attract them.

He certainly didn’t want to start a fight the moment they arrived.

They were here to reap rewards, not to destroy the dungeon.

Quietly getting rich was the ultimate strategy.

The dragon claw paused, and the spatial rift was quickly smoothed over by the immense power of space, restoring everything to tranquility.

But that faint spatial fluctuation still alerted the monsters lurking in the shadows.

“Rumble…”

High above the mountain, several sudden claps of thunder roared, and Aya Tone’s expression stiffened.

‘Still, we were discovered?’ he thought.

‘It seems quietly getting rich is no longer an option.’

‘But it doesn’t matter. As long as we eliminate the witnesses, our infiltration won’t be a failure!’

And so, his grumbling words abruptly shifted, “Li Jia, go!”

Most of the monsters here were newly spawned after a previous clear; having had little time to mature, they wouldn’t be overly powerful.

At most, they would be at the entry-level S-rank.

Li Jia looked in the direction of the sound.

In the distance, mist swirled through the mountains. A colossal python, a hundred zhang long, rapidly slithered down from the mist-shrouded peak. Wherever its massive body passed, trees bent and rocks tumbled.

Its entire body was covered in dark green scales, which shimmered with an eerie glow under the gloomy light. A pair of vertical pupils gleamed with a chilling light, emitting a terrifying aura.

The giant python flicked its forked tongue, emitting a hissing sound. The howling wind seemed like its roar, instantly shattering the tranquility of the mountain forest.

The young beasts in the forest were startled by this sudden commotion, scattering in panicked flight.

In mere seconds, it had descended from the mountain, charging towards their location with extreme speed.

Li Jia took the silver staff from her pocket, poised and ready.

This giant python, though its presence seemed terrifying, was, in fact, truly monstrous.

Its girth was considerably wider than that of the Hundred-Ton King.

‘Is this what S-rank dungeon monsters are like!?’ Li Jia thought, secretly alarmed. Her dragon claw lightly scraped against the staff, producing a faint sound, revealing her inner turmoil.

The next second, she turned and wrapped her arm around Aya Tone’s slender waist. The staff in her hand glowed with a faint silver light, and a teleportation magic array instantly enveloped them.

“Nige rudayo!”

By the time the giant python attacked, they had already vanished.

Its massive body crashed heavily onto the barren peak, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

“Hiss!!!”

Its prey, moments from its grasp, had suddenly escaped. The giant python opened its blood-red maw, letting out an enraged hiss.

It had observed them for quite some time, found no trace of that terrifying human, and only then had it confidently made its move.

Two mere human girls had actually managed to escape its grasp!

This was an utter, shocking humiliation!

“Noisy!”

Suddenly, from within the teleportation array, an Azure Dragon’s claw, wreathed in lightning, pierced through space, striking directly at the giant python’s head.

Before the giant python could even react, the dragon claw abruptly tightened, its five talons burrowing deep into the python’s brain.

With a sickening ‘thump’, its massive head abruptly exploded. A rain of blood immediately poured from the sky, staining the entire mountaintop crimson.

What was eerie, however, was that the chunks of flesh mingled with the blood vanished the instant they touched the ground.

And the blood itself seeped into the mountain at an incomprehensible speed.

The entire peak exuded an intense sense of eeriness.

The python’s headless body, its immense vitality preventing it from dying immediately, writhed in agony.

After a period of agonizing thrashing, it slowly came to a halt.

****

Outside the dungeon.

“Go retrieve the items; we can’t let them go to waste,” Ao Yu calmly ordered, wiping his blood-stained right hand.

“Yes, sir!” The black-robed man’s figure flickered, vanishing from the spot.

Ao Yu’s gaze was profound. “Isn’t it better to be alive?” he mused.

****

From within a thicket, Li Jia poked her head out, cautiously surveying her surroundings. After confirming the giant python hadn’t followed, she finally let out a breath of relief.

That giant python was clearly beyond her ability to handle; escape was the optimal solution!

Aya Tone remained speechless.

He opened his mouth, utterly astonished by Li Jia’s maneuver.

The teleportation magic had been executed with such practiced ease, and in her escape, she hadn’t forgotten to cast a spatial barrier around them.

A genius of the ‘Path of Prudence’!

If she were in the cultivation world, she would grasp the essence of the ‘Path of Prudence’ in minutes.

Aya Tone also realized that Li Jia seemed to have been protected too well by him, lacking even the most basic desire to fight.

To think of escape the moment danger arose…

‘This won’t do!’ he thought.

Aya Tone’s eyes gleamed with a profound light.

‘Those old men won’t allow an adventurer without the will to fight to consume an S-rank spatial fruit!’

‘Don’t mistake the higher-ups’ lax management and the lack of punishment for the destruction of a developed S-rank dungeon as leniency.’

‘That’s entirely because he’s always available, someone who truly dares to act when needed.’

‘If Li Jia doesn’t shoulder that responsibility, the Li Corporation will also be implicated.’