Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

"Is this the desolate region where the Destroyer Clan resides?"

Looking at the beautiful scenery around them, Miriel was somewhat surprised: "This doesn't fit the personality of the Black Dragon Clan's ancestors, who described them as a clan that destroys its own destiny."

Looking at the surrounding scenery, Li Zheng was also a little confused: "Has the Black Dragon Ancestor not seen the Destruction Clan for too long? Have they moved away and stopped living here a long time ago?"

There are signs of biological activity about five kilometers ahead; perhaps we could ask someone for directions.

Preys' Eye provides a hint.

"Let's go," Li Zheng called to Miriel and said, "Let's look over there."

The two walked side by side into a small path.

Feng Yue walked behind, following closely, rarely making his presence felt.

Xiaoying was left in the outer city by Li Zheng and entrusted to Zhan Zhouzhou, who was tasked with supervising Xiaoying's daily training.

The little guy protested vehemently, but Li Zheng ruthlessly rejected his protest.

She made a fuss for five minutes, but when she saw that Li Zheng was determined not to take her, she resigned herself to her fate.

"It's so beautiful here." Miriel nestled next to Li Zheng, her face serene, clearly enjoying the atmosphere.

This path is clearly well-maintained; the surface is very smooth, and the sides look like they've been meticulously repaired by obsessive-compulsive disorder. No matter which point you measure it from, the width is accurate to two decimal places.

Flowers and grasses grow on both sides of the road, and they are carefully cared for, growing very well and having a kind of inexplicable beauty.

Just like every flower, every blade of grass, every green leaf, even the petals blown away by the wind, they all rightfully belong in their place; moving them even slightly would disrupt the harmonious beauty of the place.

"The person who manages this place must be a perfectionist, a perfectionist with severe OCD," Li Zheng muttered to himself. Even intelligent humanoid housekeeping robots couldn't be this rigid.

Feng Yue said quietly from behind the two of them, "As far as I know, the Destroyer Clan would never do something so utterly boring to them. In their hearts, there is only the desire to destroy everything and destroy all the beautiful things in the world."

This desire is innate, it's human nature, and it cannot be changed.

"Therefore, the beings living here have absolutely no connection with the Destruction Clan!" he asserted with certainty and absolute certainty.

"That's not necessarily true." Li Zheng had a different opinion: "Every race has some rather eccentric individuals. Maybe the one who's protecting this place is the one who's destroying the race?"

These unconventional individuals are commonly referred to as "mentally ill," "crazy," or "psychotic."

That being said, Li Zhengyi thought of the Destruction Clan member he had encountered in the Gluttony Sin Domain, and the other party's frenzied state and his tendency to kill each other at the slightest disagreement, and he became somewhat unsure of what he had just said.

If all the Destroyers were like that, how could his kin be the ones we see now... who seem almost too normal?

Five kilometers isn't a long distance, but the scenery along those five kilometers was exactly the same!

Li Zheng once thought he was walking in place on that path. If it weren't for the Eye of Preys indicating that the target was getting closer and closer, he would have really suspected that he had fallen into some kind of powerful illusion that even he couldn't see through.

The "creature" mentioned in Lao Pu's tip was in the roadside flower bushes. Li Zheng stood by the roadside and looked at it. It was a girl wearing a green straw hat with a woven flower wreath around her neck.

The young girl had a graceful figure, wearing a plain white dress, and her exposed skin had a lustrous sheen like fine jade, though upon closer inspection it appeared slightly bluish.

"Excuse me..." Li Zheng began, and the girl, who had been bending over tending to the flowers and plants, straightened up and turned around when she heard him.

Beneath the straw hat was a young girl's face with a bluish complexion, whose beauty was no less than that of Miriel and other beauties Li Zheng had ever seen.

The girl recognized Li Zheng, her pale gray pupils narrowed slightly, and she smiled charmingly: "You've come."

She greeted Li Zheng warmly, as if they were childhood sweethearts: "Wait for me there, I'll be done here soon."

As she spoke, she bent down again and trimmed away the excess leaves and flower buds from several flower branches.

Li Zheng asked in surprise, "Are you the Saintess of Destruction?"

The girl replied, "I am the only surviving saintess of the Destroyer Clan, but not the saintess you mentioned."

The only remaining saintess...

This way of describing it is so strange.

"Does the Destroyer Clan have multiple Holy Maidens?" Li Zheng wondered.

Feng Yue whispered behind him, "All female members of the Destruction Clan who remain virgins after reaching adulthood are called Holy Maidens. It is said that they place great importance on reproduction. Holy Maidens are not allowed to easily unite with men. They must wait until the triennial clan competition to decide who will take a Holy Maiden away to contribute to the reproduction of the Destruction Clan."

"besides……"

At this point, Feng Yue glanced at the saintess's back and lowered his voice even further: "I heard that in order to strengthen the bloodline of the Destruction Clan, they do not exclude other races from participating in the competition. As long as you can win the competition, you can marry a saintess."

"This kind of thing was popular in the outer city many years ago, but for some reason no one mentioned it anymore."

"Because most foreign races are reproductively isolated from our race, mating with them will not only fail to strengthen our bloodline, but will also make it more difficult for our race to reproduce. Therefore, except for some races that are not reproductively isolated from our race, our race no longer accepts foreign races to participate in the competition." After finishing her work, the Holy Maiden carefully examined her masterpiece for a moment, nodded in satisfaction, and stood up to continue Feng Yue's words.

"Moreover, our clan has not held a competition for many years."

"Since some races don't have reproductive isolation, why did you just say you were the last saintess of the Destroyer Clan?" Li Zheng was even more puzzled. Weren't there any girls among those mixed-race individuals?

"I am the pure-blooded Saintess of Destruction." The Saintess said calmly, lifting her skirt as she gracefully stepped out from the flower bushes. To Li Zheng's astonishment, she naturally took his other arm: "Let's go, I'll take you to the camp."

Feeling a slight softness, Li Zheng quickly pulled his arm away: "Holy Maiden, please have some self-respect. I already have a family. This is my wife, Miriel."

The saintess didn't mind, and smiled freely, looking Miriel up and down: "So the succubus race beat you to it? You must have been to the territories of the Blood-Patterned Black Dragon and the other two races to get here, right? So I'm the last one."

For some reason, Li Zheng could sense the frustration in the saintess's tone.

His expression shifted, and he asked, "Is the agreement between the Destruction Clan and me... that senior made the same as the other clans, requiring the entire clan to relocate to the outer city, on the condition that I must marry a member of the Destruction Clan?"

“That’s not the case,” the saintess said softly. “Our clan’s conditions are simpler than theirs. All you need to do is pass the competition and bring a saintess from the Destruction Clan away from the wilderness.”

"You just said that the Destroyer Clan hasn't held a competition for many years..." Miriel understood: "Is it to preserve you, their only saintess, so that Li Zheng can come and take you away?"

The saintess went over and embraced Miriel, saying affectionately, "Sister is wise."

Miriel was a little uncomfortable and pulled away from her: "Saintess, don't address me like that. I'm not necessarily older than you." "My name is Mudala, and I'm seventy-nine years old. And you, sister?" Mudala blinked and looked at Miriel with an innocent expression.

Mirrell was immediately somewhat discouraged: "I'm already eighty years old this year... but strictly speaking, I'm not even an adult yet!"

Mudala asked, "Did my sister use another succubus's menarche to reach adulthood early?"

“Yes…yes.” Miriel seemed a little flustered.

“That means you’re an adult now,” Mudala laughed. “Sister, you truly live up to your succubus bloodline. You have such a great figure and such firm breasts. I’m ashamed to admit that I can’t compare.”

“You…you’re not bad either.” Miriel became even more flustered, inwardly annoyed: “How can she speak so blatantly? She’s more like a succubus than me!”

Mudala looked slightly pleased with herself and came to Li Zheng's side again. This time, she didn't forcefully take Li Zheng's arm, but pointed to the scenery along the roadside and asked, "Aren't these views beautiful?"

"It looks good," Li Zheng said honestly, "but it's too rigid and lacks a spiritual beauty."

“I think so too,” Mudala said with deep agreement. “I take care of these flowers, and I put my own emotions into them whenever I’m dealing with them.”

Li Zheng frowned slightly, feeling that there was something more to Mudala's words.

Mudala continued, “Look at these flowers. I make them grow the way I want them to. I make them pollinate with whomever I want them to. They have no right to choose at all. Isn’t that pitiful?”

Before Li Zheng could answer, she continued, "They are indeed pitiful, but who cares whether they are pitiful or not? In the end, their fate is in my own hands."

Li Zheng could easily tell that Mudala was using metaphor to protest his own experience.
To be honest, he also disliked the feeling of having his life's major events arranged by others.

Two months have passed since the three clans entered the outer city, and Li Zheng has seen his three nominal wives only a handful of times.

It should be noted that it took him less than two months from meeting Miriel to becoming husband and wife.

Although there was an element of emotional impulse involved, it could still be considered a natural progression.

If it weren't for Xiaoying, Li Zheng would never have agreed to the three clans' demands to take in those three cheap wives.

Now all we can do is hide if we can.

Li Zheng looked at Mudala and felt a sense of shared suffering with her. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then he didn't know what to say and finally closed his mouth again.

The group soon arrived at the Destroyer Clan's encampment, which was located in the very center of a sea of ​​flowers, with only a simple wooden house and a field planted with some crops.

Li Zheng looked around but didn't see anyone else. He asked, "Weren't we supposed to have a competition? Where are your people?"

“They’re all here.” Mudala walked to the opposite side of Li Zheng and opened his arms, his smile tinged with loneliness: “Besides me, everyone else moved away more than 30 years ago. Now I’m the only one left in the entire Destruction Clan’s territory.”

Li Zheng was silent for a moment: "You've lived here alone for over thirty years?"

“That’s right,” Mudala said. “Our ancestors taught that no matter how our descendants develop, a pure-blooded saintess must remain here to wait until you come to fulfill the agreement, or… the agreement will be void when the last saintess dies.”

“This…” Li Zheng suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Mudala.

He has lived here alone for over thirty years.

How lonely that must be...

“Since you’re the only one here, does that mean the competition doesn’t need to continue?” Miriel asked.

“Tribal customs must be observed.” Mudala glanced at Feng Yue, who was left alone at the rear, and said, “If your followers have no intention of participating, then I will be your only opponent in this competition.”

Li Zheng asked, "What if I lose?"

“I will stay here. Come back in three years. I will stay until you defeat me and take me away.”

What if I lose and never come back?

"Then I can only grow old alone here."

"Ok."

Li Zheng took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I will use all my strength to defeat you, not to possess you, but to free you. After you go to the outer city, if you want to leave, I will grant you your freedom."

Upon hearing this, Mudala showed no joy, but instead said calmly, "Let's talk about it after you beat me."

"Start now?"

"Do you need to prepare?"

"Need not."

"I don't need to, so let's start now."

Before she finished speaking, Mudala leaped into the air, her skirt fluttering, and with a flick of her wrist, removed the flower wreath and straw hat from her head, then tossed it toward Li Zheng.

call out!
The straw hat emitted a whistling sound as it hardened, and a sharp aura gathered at its edge!
Knowing he couldn't take the attack head-on, Li Zheng unfurled his Thunder Wings and flew upwards to dodge the straw hat's attack.

However, Mudala seemed to have anticipated his response. He flew over with the straw hat and kicked forward repeatedly, aiming at Li Zheng's throat, chest, abdomen, and three inches below his navel. He was extremely ruthless.

Li Zheng focused intently, employing the increasingly refined techniques he had honed during his matches with Zhan Zhouzhou. He formed a palm with one hand in a defensive stance, while his other hand formed a sword-finger gesture, aiming at Mudala's outstretched foot.

Mudala sensed the danger lurking beneath the sword and changed her move on the spot. She turned and pulled her legs back, the view under her skirt briefly visible before disappearing in an instant.

She swiftly attacked Li Zheng with both hands, her skills and techniques were no less than his, and she even seemed to be in a dominant position!
Li Zheng also changed his tactics, using all his skills, including knife palm, sword finger, spear fist, whip, claw, and other techniques he had mastered, to fight Mudala to a standstill.

Feng Yue was dazzled by the sight and exclaimed, "As expected of the Destruction Clan, she has such strength at such a young age. I'm afraid even Zhan Zhouzhou might not be able to defeat her!"

“They didn’t use weapons. If they had used weapons, Li Zheng would have been no less skilled than her,” Miriel said. “Li Zheng has only been practicing his unarmed skills for the last two months, but he has been practicing his weapon skills for much longer, so his skill level will only be higher.”

boom!
With a muffled thud, the two combatants were separated.

"I lost."