Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

Ye Xiao stopped at the threshold of the pharmacy, not going in immediately.

He scanned the area first.

There was only one outer sect student in the room, squatting in the corner with his knees drawn up, drinking his medicine. No one looked up.

After confirming that everything was alright, he stepped inside and called out softly.

"Senior Brother He."

He Lin shuddered, looked up abruptly, and paused for a moment after seeing who it was.

"Is it you?"

As soon as he said that, He Lin seemed to realize something was wrong and added, "I didn't see you for the past few days, and I thought something had happened to you at the North Furnace. You know that place, death is all too common."

Ye Xiao said calmly, "I won't die for now."

These few words were so soft that you could hardly hear any emotion in them, yet they sounded like someone had life and death under their feet.

He Lin sized him up a few times.

The clothes were faded from washing, the cuffs were torn, the veins on the back of the hands were bulging, and the eye sockets were deeper, as if they had been roasted by fire again, making the lines hard.

"Did you need something?" He Lin asked.

"I want to ask about the medicine," Ye Xiao said.

"What kind of medicine do you want to take?" He Lin asked in a low voice. "Were you beaten? Or are your injuries serious?"

"Neither."

Ye Xiao shook his head. "I've been practicing stances and boxing since before and after the furnace was set up, but recently my recovery... seems a bit off. I wanted to ask, how do martial artists obtain the medicine they usually need?"

He Lin raised an eyebrow.

"What level are you at now?"

"Muscles," Ye Xiao replied truthfully.

"You've got muscles all built up, and you're still going to the North Furnace?"

He Lin raised an eyebrow and said in a low voice, "Were you forced to take the blame, or did you owe something? Given your current situation, as long as you focus on your training at the martial arts school, you have a chance to reach the Bone Forging stage. Once you enter the inner sect, your path will be much easier."

Ye Xiao didn't explain exactly what stage he had reached, only answering with two words:

"I'm short of money."

The two simple words carried a heavy weight, as if they were pressing down all the things that couldn't be said.

The wages for working on the furnace are several times higher than those for ordinary workers in the workshops.

He had no choice back then, and now that Chen Ye of the Green Owl Gang has his name on his tab, he still has no choice.

He Lin rummaged through the table, picked up a paper packet from beside the medicine jar, and handed it over: "This is what I gave you the other day. It's just some healing medicine that my master prescribed, nothing too precious. Logically speaking, in a place like Beilu, this medicine would at most prevent you from collapsing immediately... You're really lucky to be alive."

"Good luck," Ye Xiao murmured softly.

He took the paper package and rubbed it between his fingertips.

The formula doesn't matter; what matters is that the medicine's effects can compensate for the energy he's expended, preventing him from completely draining himself during practice.

But the really good medicine... he couldn't even find out the price outside.

Not to mention those items in the martial arts school that are for inner disciples and geniuses.

"I understand," Ye Xiao said. "Let's start with common medicines."

He Lin looked at him, his brows furrowing even more: "Are you going to work at the furnace again?"

"I don't need to work these next two days," Ye Xiao said. "The foreman is worried that I might fall and die from exhaustion, which would be difficult to explain to the accounts, so he wants me to catch my breath before starting again."

"Then you should use these few days to solidify your foundation." He Lin breathed a sigh of relief. "Let me give you a piece of advice: don't be too greedy. Martial arts training isn't something that can be rushed. You have to take it one step at a time to go the distance."

Ye Xiao lowered his head.

"Senior brother is right."

But he knew very well in his heart that he had no right to take his time.

Money, food, training time, and the occasional whispers from the Green Owl Gang...

If either side loosens up, it could poke a hole in his head.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Ye Xiao stood up. "I understand about the medicine."

As he turned to leave, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of an outer disciple drinking medicine in the corner…

His face was sallow, his eyes were dark, and his stomach was churning with the taste of medicine, yet he still dared to swallow that unpleasant mouthful.

People who can take medicine are already the envy of countless others.

……

It was afternoon.

The sounds of fists flying from the outer gate grew louder and louder.

After Chen Tao announced the "Outer Sect Assessment," the entire outer sect seemed to be set ablaze.

Some people kept asking about the rules, some were demonstrating the moves, and some were huddled in a corner discussing betting strategies...

Ye Xiao stood at the very edge.

Dingyue Stake.

Each breath, deep and shallow, falls like a pendulum, striking the heart.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

……

Sixty breaths.

My shoulders felt like they were being crushed by iron plates, my lumbar spine felt like it was being pierced by thick nails, the pain in my legs kept intensifying, and the pain in my feet seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper.

The bluestone beneath their feet sank slightly.

Not far away, someone lowered their voice:

"Who should we bet on to make the top three?"

"Who else can we bet on? Senior Brother Wang, Senior Brother Lu, Junior Brother Tang... aren't they just these few?"

Their gaze swept across several prominent spots in the room, without glancing at the corners at all.

For them...

The group of people in the corner were just there to make up the numbers.

The crowd dispersed, and the noise subsided.

Ye Xiao remained where he was, suppressing his anger inch by inch.

【Dingyue Stance - Beginner Level: 150/300】

[Collapse Mountain Fist - Minor Mastery: 300/500]

The numbers flashed by.

Ye Xiao's eyes remained calm, as if he hadn't seen anything.

The bluestone was a layer deeper.

That layer was the life he fought for to move forward.

As the tremors subsided, the training ground was once again filled with the sounds of punches and heavy breathing.

Ye Xiao did not continue to sink into the pile.

Mountain Collapse Fist.

The force flowed along the arm bone, deep, steady, and fine as twisted silk.

When a punch rises and falls, the aim is not to make a loud noise, but to ensure that every inch of force lands where it should.

He brought his fist to his waist, his breathing steady and powerful.

A group of outer disciples were still discussing betting nearby, completely unaware of him; Ye Xiao didn't even glance at them, like a polished iron blank, repeatedly throwing punches along the force line.

"Your talent in boxing... isn't bad."

Xue Chan appeared beside her at some point.

She watched him throw and finish his punch, and said calmly, "You've only been in the school for less than half a month, and you've already mastered the Bengyue Fist to a minor level. It's just that your stance training isn't progressing fast. Don't put the cart before the horse... While the fist technique is important, stance training is fundamental."

"Understood," Ye Xiao said.

Of course he understands.

There are some things that can't be said... If you say them, it's like handing over to others where you've been and what you've done these past few days.

Xue Chan glanced at him, but didn't press further, leaving only one sentence:

"For you, this opportunity to train here is hard-won. If you really want to learn martial arts, don't disappear without a trace again."

She walked to the corner of the corridor, paused for a moment, but ultimately did not turn back.

……

As we left the martial arts school, it was getting dark.

The streets of the inner city were more crowded than during the day, with stalls lit and a cacophony of voices. Ye Xiao kept his hands in his sleeves, walking at a moderate pace, deliberately trying to appear as usual.

As he walked past a tea stall, he heard someone whispering.

"The Green Owl Gang members have been acting strangely these past two days, running around everywhere."

"The Tiger Tooth Gang is wiped out, now they should be busy taking over new territory."

"Even if the groundwork is located in the north furnace and the workers' quarters, surely it doesn't have to be there?"

Ye Xiao didn't stop walking, as if he hadn't heard, only his half-shadow flashed by in the firelight.

But a thin line of tension slowly tightened in his heart.

Even if it's just a few words, he understands immediately.

The danger was far from over.

Someone is investigating!

He had thought that once the "facts" were settled by the Green Owl Gang's higher-ups, the matter might be over.

But now it seems... it's not that easy.

The scene from that night flashed through his mind: the blade slicing through his trachea, Zhang Tu clutching his throat and kneeling down, blood seeping through the cracks in the brickwork.

Clean.

It was clean from beginning to end.

It would be almost impossible for anyone to follow the clues to find him.

But his habitual caution still prevented him from putting his mind at ease.

That feeling of being "targeted" is like a thorn hidden in the fog... unseen and intangible, yet impossible to ignore.