Chapter 59: Reputation? A New Clow Card Appears!

Sakura felt inspired upon seeing Yehui's painting and resumed her own artwork.

Once Yehui finished coloring his piece, he set off to inspect the other artworks on display.

He gazed intently at a certain painting that emitted a brilliant radiance.

[Powerful seal detected. Decryption failed. You have discovered a valuable item belonging to another.]

[You may gift this valuable item to gain Reputation Points. Undergoing appraisal... Appraisal failed. This map is not yet unlocked. You cannot perform gifting actions...]

"What? So this golden glow isn't some secret divine treasure after all??"

Yehui was left gaping in utter astonishment.

He had originally thought this place was some high-level dungeon instance, but as it turned out...

Was this merely a showroom for luxury valuables??

Damn it all!

He had gotten excited over nothing!

Even though the map was not yet unlocked, Yehui could already guess what kind of place this likely was.

The game featured a built-in reputation system.

If a player participated in enough major events, they would earn world reputation.

Similarly, completing quests and participating in events within a sect would activate sect reputation.

"However, it seems there are exceptions?"

Yehui looked over the various paintings once again, leading to a new discovery.

"So, not all golden lights are created equal."

He noticed that the golden glows tinged with a metallic luster all belonged to showy yet useless luxury items.

Meanwhile, the light radiating with the exact same hue as the runes on the many books in Fujitaka's study was the real deal—genuine, high-quality goods.

It was just that the seals guarding them were far more powerful as well!

"If I possessed the capabilities of a Grandmaster of Array Mastery mentioned in the system log, I should be able to break through these," Yehui thought to himself.

Unfortunately, that remained mere wishful thinking.

When it came to arrays, knowledge was the core component, unlike artifact crafting and talisman drawing, which relied excessively on external spiritual objects.

Yet, that very knowledge acted as a strict limitation.

Without breaking through to higher tiers, his understanding of arrays was limited.

No matter how many clever ideas he had, he could not bridge that gap.

After all, he was not a true cultivation genius capable of deducing a hundred things from a single fact.

Now that the map was locked and he knew this was merely a place for grinding reputation, Yehui lost all interest.

He turned his attention back to Tomoyo and Sakura.

Just in time, he saw that Sakura had finished her artwork and was currently reviewing her own creation.

Tomoyo stood close by, her eyes brimming with a gentle smile.

"Oh, that's drawn quite well!"

Yehui praised softly.

Sakura blinked her eyes and muttered in a lowered voice as well, "Don't think I didn't see it, Yehui-kun—you drew much better than me..."

[Kinomoto Sakura Emotion Value +6]

Yehui scratched the back of his head and chuckled dryly.

He simply felt that, from the perspective of an elementary school student, Sakura's drawing skills were indeed quite impressive.

Of course, Yehui himself could not possibly compare.

He was using cheats!

Sakura pouted slightly.

She simply couldn't compare to Yehui-kun.

Tilting her head, she glanced over at Tomoyo's painting instead.

At that single glance, she felt utterly depressed!

Tomoyo drew even better than Yehui!

And by a margin so vast it defied description!

Yehui had mentioned that his grasp of light, shadow, and three-dimensional perspective was merely average, and that turned out to be entirely true.

Sakura had merely thought his drawing was good.

Yet upon seeing Tomoyo's artwork, she felt as though she were gazing upon the work of a deity!

The play of light and shadow was completely natural, possessing an incredible sense of depth.

It looked precisely like a real, tangible sculpture.

Sakura's mouth fell open in awe: "Sugoi!"

At that moment, Chiharu waved from afar, calling out to greet Sakura.

Sakura turned back, waved in response, and looked somewhat tempted to go over and take a look.

"Tomoyo, since we've both finished painting, why don't we go check out the atrium next!"

Tomoyo smiled and replied, "I haven't completely finished mine yet, though. I need to wrap up this painting before I can go over..."

"Ah, is that so? Then I'll go take a look by myself first, then～" Sakura stood up.

Hearing this, Yehui's eyes lit up instantly.

"The Magical Girl taking independent action... This is... the scent of a quest! By the way, where on earth are the Clow Cards hidden?"

After pondering for a brief moment, he spoke to Tomoyo.

"I'll go have a look around as well, since my painting is finished anyway."

Tomoyo lifted her head in surprise, tilting it slightly as she gazed at Yehui.

Sakura was going to hang out with her three girlfriends, which was why she wanted to head to the atrium.

Yehui didn't have many familiar classmates here—what could he possibly be going there for?

Tomoyo paused for a brief second before offering a faint, gentle smile.

"Alright, I understand."

Lowering her head once more, she resumed her painting.

That serene posture...

Yehui swallowed hard.

Wasn't this scene itself a living work of art?!

Yehui casually snapped a few photos of Tomoyo.

After a moment, he finally put away his camera and walked alongside Sakura toward the atrium...

"Oh? As expected, following Sakura allows me to pass the fortune checks within the dungeon and trigger events!"

Yehui's eyes brightened.

He had already spotted a young boy not far away, creeping stealthily toward a painting.

The object in the boy's hand emitted a faint metallic sheen...

"What do you think you're doing! Why are you trying to damage the artwork?!"

Within the quiet art gallery, a voice suddenly rang out.

A security guard rushed over eagerly.

Upon discovering the boy's actions, the guard lunged forward and grabbed him in a firm hold.

Sakura was startled and looked over.

Yehui, however, stepped forward ahead of the others.

Given his current attribute stats and strength,

even if that kid were holding a knife, it wouldn't be enough to scratch him.

However, by the time he approached, the young boy had already been dragged away.

Yehui paid it no mind, choosing instead to study the painting the boy had attempted to vandalize.

"Hmm? The golden light on this one is quite rich, yet it completely lacks any metallic luster..."

A realization dawned upon Yehui.

Since an event had triggered, and this mysterious treasure wasn't one of those showy, useless luxuries...

Then this... must surely be a Clow Card!

Yehui directed his gaze at the painting.

It depicted a female figure with long white hair, her high-collared garment concealing most of her face.

Her right arm crossed over her chest, head lowered with eyes closed, and her pointed ears seemed as though they were listening intently to music...

"Hmm, why does she look so much like a female version of Kakashi Hatake?"

Yehui's mouth twitched slightly.

At that moment, the young boy being dragged away shouted out,

"That's my dad's painting! Dad originally wanted to paint me, but someone messed with the canvas and turned it into that woman! I wasn't trying to destroy it..."

Naturally, the security guard paid no heed to such claims.

Yehui narrowed his eyes.

Casting his gaze back onto the artwork, he felt convinced that there was indeed more to this story than met the eye.

What the kid said was likely the truth.

"Could this newly altered painting actually be the manifestation of a Clow Card?"

Yehui mental traced back through the original plotline.

Loud noises were strictly forbidden in the art gallery.

The boy was swiftly and thoroughly escorted away.

Presently, there were quite a few visitors in the gallery, all of whom had noticed the commotion and begun whispering among themselves.

Many of them were casting curious glances toward Yehui's direction as well.

Attempting to capture a Clow Card in the middle of a crowd like this was out of the question.

He would simply have to wait and make his move tonight.

Yehui approached Sakura, intending to fill her in on the situation.

"This time it actually made me wait half a month before encountering a Clow Card event. The quest hadn't triggered at all until now!"

Yehui also happened to want to use the Clow Card to test his current capabilities.

After half a month of rigorous cultivation, combined with the synergy of artifact crafting, talismans, and array formations, plus the refinement of his skills and divine abilities...

Yehui felt exceptionally strong right now!

Strong enough to crush a giant roach with a single punch!

"I should definitely be able to achieve a speedrun record this time!"