Chapter 1

The warm winter sun quietly enveloped the entire Luming Town!

In a corner of the main street, which was lined with various shops, an old and a young man sat on two stone stools that had endured countless storms.

The young man was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a delicate face and a pair of clear eyes that left a lasting impression. He wore a blue brocade robe, clearly not from a poor family.

The old man sitting opposite the young man, however, was dressed rather shabbily. Although he also wore a robe, it was so worn out that its original color was indistinguishable, and it was patched with numerous patches.

Although the old man had a somewhat ethereal and transcendent air, a closer look revealed that he was more malnourished.

"Guidance from a Sage!"

On a bamboo pole, presumably stolen from a nearby farm, hung a piece of cloth that could barely be identified as white, with the four large, crooked characters written on it.

"Master, I have a question and have come to seek your guidance!" The young man bowed to the old man and said solemnly.

The old man's eyes sparkled. He smacked his lips and tried to calm his trembling legs, which were cold.

"Second Young Master, please ask whatever you need. As long as this old man knows, I will answer you without reservation."

"Master, what is reputation?" The young man asked, his eyes fixed intently on the old man, as if he wanted to extract the answer from him right away.

"Reputation is mainly used to describe important people, such as your father, Lord Zheng Gongxuan, who is the most reputable person in our town!" The old man's voice was calm, giving him the air of a hermit, but he flattered the young man at the end.

Of course, he hoped that the young man would give him more divination money so that he could have a hot soup later.

"Does Master know how to gain reputation?" The young man's voice became more urgent.

The master pondered for a moment and then said, "Second Young Master, although reputation is a single word, in my view, it has two meanings."

"One is fame, and the other is prestige. Combining fame and prestige makes up reputation!"

"Many people are famous, but they may not have prestige, so they cannot be considered reputable. Take your father, Lord Zheng, for example. He has both fame and prestige, so the people in our town consider him the most reputable person!"

The young man's eyes became even brighter. He leaned closer to the master and asked, "Master, how can one gain prestige?"

"Prestige, of course, comes from high moral standing, like your father, Lord Zheng..." The old man bowed again, preparing to flatter the young man's father, but he saw the young man's face turn dark.

Although the young master was the most benevolent person in town, the master did not dare to anger him, as he had not eaten properly for two days.

"To gain prestige, besides having high moral standing, there is another way, which is to make others fear you!" The protest from his stomach made the master's head spin, so his explanation deviated from the prepared theme for a moment.

But it didn't matter. The master made a living by his tongue, so he quickly recovered and said, "Therefore, reputation means being famous and making others fear you!"

"High moral standing can bring reputation, and so can dominating a region and making others fear you. Moreover, reputation can be contested. When you defeat a reputable person, most of their reputation will be transferred to you!"

The young man was a bit stunned, and the master lightly wiped the sweat from his forehead, deeply admiring his own wisdom at that moment.

"Listening to Master, I understand!" The young man stood up from the stone stool, his eyes full of admiration.

The master, seeing the young man's expression, appeared calm on the surface but was inwardly overjoyed. Being able to deceive the second young master of the Zheng family was a significant achievement for him.

Perhaps in the future, he could even get a job with the town head.

"Master, I have another matter that requires your help!" The young man's eyes were filled with sincerity.

"Second Young Master, it's too much to ask. Whatever you need, just say it." The master waved his hand, full of generosity.

The young man looked at the master with some reluctance but finally made up his mind and said, "Since Master is so generous, I won't be polite."

As he spoke, the young man swung his fist and delivered a powerful punch to the master's frail body.

The master, who had not eaten properly for two days, was immediately knocked to the ground. The sharp cries of pain immediately drew the attention of many people around.

Although the young man's eyes showed reluctance, he did not retract his fist. He continued to punch the master in the fleshy parts, and in a short time, the master's cries became even more piercing.

"Master, are you afraid of me?" After three more punches, the young man asked the master solemnly.

At this moment, the master was not only in physical pain but also in mental confusion. He couldn't understand why the second young master, who had just been chatting with him like a kindred spirit, suddenly beat him so brutally.

He hadn't offended the young master, had he?

"Fear! This old man is afraid of Second Young Master!" The master, adhering to the principle that a good man does not suffer a loss, said repeatedly.

The young man pondered for a moment and then his delicate face showed anger: "You are insincere. If you are afraid of me, why doesn't my reputation value increase?"

As he spoke, the young man's fist struck the master again.

This time, although he hit the fleshy parts, the master clearly felt that the pain had doubled.

The master was bewildered. He understood the first two characters of "reputation value," but he had no idea what the last character meant.

Moreover, what the master found even harder to accept was why the second young master of the Zheng family thought that beating him would increase his reputation value.

However, in his confusion, the master became even more afraid of the second young master, who was known to the entire town as a civilized, sunny, and good young man.

Just as this fear appeared, the young man, who was swinging his fists, stopped. His eyes were filled with surprise.

"I'll buy you some food!" The young man threw a handful of copper coins and then strode away, his eyes full of joy.

"Hmph, that old Wu must have said something he shouldn't have. Otherwise, why would the second young master of the Zheng family beat him!" A man watching the scene commented.

The man's words were immediately echoed by others: "The second young master of the Zheng family is the best person in our town. Last year, when I had a stomachache and couldn't walk, he sent me to the clinic and even paid for my medicine!"

"That's right, the second young master of the Zheng family is the best person!"

"Old Wu, you bad man, what did you say to the second young master to make our town's best young man beat you?"

For a moment, the gossips joined in the condemnation of Old Wu. Although his fortune-telling was not very accurate, Old Wu was still a notable figure in Luming Town, but at that moment, he became a rat in the street.

With all his might, Old Wu finally escaped the mob and, in a dilapidated alley, he wept, speechless to the heavens.

Why?

Why did the second young master of the Zheng family, known as the best young man, beat him? Why, after being beaten, did those gossips still condemn him? Why?

And what is reputation value?

...

"Ha ha ha, reputation, damn it, I finally understand the true meaning of reputation! It turns out I've been stuck in a dead end all these years!" By the river outside Luming Town, the young man Zheng Ming raised his head and laughed.

Fortunately, there were no women washing clothes by the river at that moment, or people would have thought that the second young master of the Zheng family had gone mad.

Zheng Ming was not mad; he was very clear-headed!

The reason for his behavior was that he had finally figured out a problem that had been troubling him since he came to this world.

Reputation value!

Since coming to this world, Zheng Ming not only brought his memories from his previous life but also a deck of cards! A deck of hero cards that existed in his mind!

In his previous life, Zheng Ming was an orphan with no parents. Besides struggling for survival, his only hobby was playing card games like "Three Kingdoms Kill" and "Hero Kill."

However, even the best games can become boring. In his search for similar games, Zheng Ming found a small website.

A card game that surpassed "Three Kingdoms Kill" and "Hero Kill," encompassing all heroes from ancient, medieval, and modern times, both domestic and foreign, making you feel incredibly excited and thrilled...

Zheng Ming remembered the nearly thousand-word introduction clearly. But just as he entered the game interface, a welcome message popped up: "Welcome to the game. The system will give you 100 reputation points to activate the game." The ground trembled, and Zheng Ming found himself in darkness.

When Zheng Ming woke up, he had become Zheng Ming in this world, and the game that had not been activated came with him.

After studying the deck of cards, which claimed to include all heroes from ancient, medieval, and modern times, both domestic and foreign, Zheng Ming discovered that he could exchange the skills of all the heroes on the cards.

And the thing used for the exchange was reputation points!

Since coming to this world, where the strong were respected, Zheng Ming had been thinking about how to gain reputation points. However, in the first six years, he did almost nothing.

Because the first six years were focused on growing his body.

After being identified as having an ordinary cultivation physique and unlikely to reach a high level, Zheng Ming began his path to earning reputation points.

At first, he thought that reputation should be a good name, so he helped people take care of their children, assisted the elderly in crossing the street, and even led a group of children to fetch water and firewood for widows...

Zheng Ming did a lot of good deeds and earned the title of the best young man in town, but the reputation value that came with the deck of cards in his mind remained unchanged.

Believing that with enough effort, even an iron rod could be ground into a needle, Zheng Ming persisted in doing good deeds for seven or eight years, but his reputation value remained zero.

When he discovered that his maid, Ah Hua, had a reputation value of five, he was completely devastated!

This led to his search for the master to express his frustration.

The reason he chose the master was not only because he was the only fortune-teller in town but also because, through the reputation value table in his mind, Zheng Ming found that the master's reputation was the fifth highest in town!

The first, of course, was his father, Zheng Gongxuan!

Finally breaking through the zero barrier was a historic progress for Zheng Ming.

However, to activate the deck of cards in his mind and exchange the skills of the characters in the deck using reputation points, he still needed 99 more reputation points.

The master said that reputation points could be plundered, right? He had already beaten the master, so why did he only get one reputation point when the master had over 3,000?

After pondering for a while, Zheng Ming did not figure it out, but this was not a problem for him.

Since being a bad person and making others fear him could gain reputation points, he would have to become a bad person in the town!

To be a bad person, the first thing to do is to do bad deeds!

Thinking about doing bad deeds, Zheng Ming felt a small thrill in his heart!