Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

After changing Xiaoxue's wet cloth, Ye Xiao reached into his pocket and found a piece of dry biscuit that hadn't hardened completely. There were originally two pieces; one was given to Lin Yan outside, and he hadn't touched the remaining one the whole way.

He broke the cake in half, put the slightly larger half into his mother's bowl, and the other half into Xiaoxue's bowl.

He left nothing behind.

His mother turned her head away, avoiding his gaze, her voice hoarse: "Your second uncle said that Ye Chong is sixteen this year, with potential and talent, and is the hope of the whole family. The Martial Arts Examination Office will hold a Level 3 Martial Arts Examination in the lower city in a month and a half, and the registration fee is quite high."

The third-level martial arts exam is the lowest level.

In the eyes of the people of the upper town, that wasn't even considered an "exam," but merely a "screening."

But for the people of the lower city, this was the road that most resembled a road.

Ye Xiao felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about the food supplies at home. The grains were almost enough to last for a few days, and they were still being fleeced.

The mother swallowed hard before finishing her sentence: "Grandma has spoken, saying that our branch of the family... also has to do its part."

Try your best.

He had heard those two words for many years.

He and Ye Chong were only half a month apart. Logically, he should also have had the opportunity to stand on that path.

But when he was a child, the old lady cut off his chance with a single sentence: "Ye Chong has better aptitude."

Ye Xiao lowered his eyes, his fingertips tightening little by little on the corner of the blanket. The oil lamp's light flickered in the wind, making the room seem even colder.

The mother clutched the hem of her clothes, her voice hoarse: "Xiao'er, it's all my fault... Grandma's words aren't without reason. Your father passed away early, and our branch of the family... can only listen to what's said."

Ye Xiao didn't blame his mother.

He understood that she was afraid that one day she really couldn't hold on anymore, and at least her grandmother and uncle would still remember their family.

Ye Xiao's gaze, however, was involuntarily drawn to several cracks in the wood inside the room. The wood chips hadn't been completely cleaned up, as if deliberately left there to remind everyone who was in charge here.

"Has anyone else been here?"

The mother paused for a moment, then whispered, "Zhang Tu."

The air in the room seemed to suddenly become heavier.

The mother gripped the hem of her clothes until it turned white, and spoke even softer, as if afraid of disturbing something: "He didn't curse or really lay a hand on anyone, he just had his men smash some things. He just stood at the door, tapping the door frame with a bamboo stick. The taps weren't loud, but each one felt like a blow to the heart."

She swallowed hard and continued, "He said too many people have died in the Silent Alley recently, and the brothers are working too hard keeping watch, carrying corpses, and managing the scene... so they need to charge more for the alley."

Ye Xiao's voice deepened: "How much do you want?"

The mother bit her lip, as if she had held the number in her mouth for a long time before spitting it out: "Three strings of cash within ten days. If you can't come up with it, I'll force you to work as a laborer."

A living contract is not a dead contract, but it is still equivalent to selling oneself into servitude.

Those who were captured and forced into labor in the Silent Alley either died outside or were thrown back insane.

Ye Xiao had seen it before. Last month, the skinny guy who worked in the alleyway came back with empty eyes. He couldn't even remember his own name and would just laugh at the wall in the middle of the night.

Ye Xiao worked in the workshop and earned only thirty coins a day.

Three strings of cash is the wages for one hundred days of work... and you have to pay nothing.

Ten days is simply impossible.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside from a neighbor; their conversation was hushed, yet every word was piercing:

"Zhang Tu arrested people again. Some tried to resist, but were beaten... After beating them, he laughed and said, 'Don't make a fuss, it'll be hard to deal with if you cause any trouble.'"

"He was the most disgusting. He didn't yell or shout, but used a bamboo stick to point at people's names, counting them one by one, like he was herding livestock."

"I heard that the Ye family kid from the third alley has also been implicated. If the debt isn't paid within ten days, he'll be forced to pay it off."

The words were gradually carried away by the wind.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Tu's voice suddenly came from afar, broken and intermittent, torn by the wind. It wasn't a roar, but more like an account being recounted in the street, slow and deliberate, yet sending chills down one's spine:

"That kid from the Ye family? From Third Alley?"

"Make a note of it."

"If you don't see the money within ten days, take the person away; it's a live contract."

The mother's face was deathly pale, and she huddled in the corner, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Xiaoxue, who was delirious with fever on the bed, suddenly whimpered:

"Brother...please don't abandon me..."

There was a slight movement in the blankets.

Xiaoxue's tiny toes peeked out from under the blanket, trembling as she touched Ye Xiao's knee. The touch was so weak it was almost imperceptible, like a small animal lost in the dark, instinctively seeking warmth.

The moment she touched it, she quickly pulled back, her toes almost frozen.

Ye Xiao's chest tightened little by little.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that if he were really captured and forced into a life contract, not only would he be finished, but Xiaoxue would also be discarded by the world.

Ten days.

We can't delay.

Something has to be done.

Even if we manage to collect three strings of cash this time, what about next time, and the time after that?

As long as the Silent Alley exists, and as long as the Green Owl Gang continues to collect money from the alley, this kind of thing will not stop.

Ye Xiao recalled the manual of stance training that the old craftsman with the broken leg had casually tossed to him in the workshop yesterday.

The old craftsman's gaze seemed to be stung by something, turning imperceptibly cold for a moment before returning to normal, his eyes fixed on him as if he were looking at a bone that would break sooner or later... but there was interest hidden in his eyes, as well as malice.

Practicing stance training requires both physical constitution and proper nutrition. If you lack talent or don't get enough nutrition, the more you practice, the faster you'll collapse.

But now, he has no way out.

Ye Xiao clenched his fist, his knuckles aching slightly, as if something deep inside his body was rebelling.

Training to the point of failure is death, not training at all is also death.

Ye Xiao raised his head, his gaze hardening gradually in the flickering lamplight:

"Mother, I'm going out for a bit."

His mother grabbed him suddenly: "It's so cold outside, don't..."

Ye Xiao gently pried her fingers apart, said nothing, and simply placed the hand back under the blanket: "I'm fine, you can watch over Xiaoxue."

As soon as the back door opened, a cold wind rushed into the room, causing the oil lamp to flicker violently, almost extinguishing the flame and casting a large, trembling black shadow on the wall.

The room was too small, with a broken bed and a broken table squeezed into the corner, and a small brazier. Even turning around was risky, as it might knock it over. Even if one could barely stand, one had to stand hunched over, making no noise whatsoever, so as not to wake up Xiaoxue who had a fever.

He had no choice but to go out.

The cold wind in the backyard was like a knife, seeping out from the cracks in the broken wall and sticking to his skin, instantly cooling his still-warm blood.

Ye Xiao took a deep breath of cold air, the cold air pressing into his sternum, causing pain, but he did not back down.

The tattered cotton-padded coat was too thick; it would fall apart if I tightened it at the shoulders and elbows.

He took off his tattered cotton-padded coat, leaving him only in a faded, thin exercise shirt with visible bone lines.

Toes turned inward, knees slightly bent, waist relaxed, shoulders relaxed and elbows drooping.

Pile in.

The chill seeped into my bones from the soles of my feet.

My cracked soles were pressed against the frozen ground, burning and stinging. My knees were trembling and numb, my fingertips were so cold they were turning blue, and I could barely clench my fist.

The cold wind blew in and out, like a knife being sharpened on my chest.

A faint sound came from inside the house: the mother coughing, and Xiaoxue sobbing.

Each sound was softer than the last, yet like stones, each one struck my heart.

Only ten days.

He knew very well that once he fell, he would never be able to get back up.

Mother will die, Xiaoxue will die, they will be dragged away wrapped in gray cloth, just like the corpses in the alley. No one cares about the life and death of ordinary people in the Silent Alley.

That slight panic almost surged up.

Ye Xiao immediately pressed his breath down, continuing to follow the breathing method in the stance training, gradually drawing the breath to his lower abdomen, forcefully suppressing the panic.

We must not act rashly.

In chaos, everything is truly lost.

He dug his feet deeper into the frozen ground, as if driving them an inch into the earth. His cracked soles were pressed into the ice, and the chill crept up his bones, but he didn't retreat an inch.

At that very moment, a slight tremor ran deep within my sternum.

It's not hot.

It's not light.

It doesn't seem like a hallucination at all.

It was just a faint, almost imperceptible tap, as if an invisible knuckle had touched him through the bone.

The next moment!

The wind suddenly stopped.

Even the faint whistling sound from the crack in the broken wall was suppressed, as if the entire backyard and the whole alley were holding their breath.

A faint yet undeniable line of light appeared in my field of vision:

[Destiny: Heaven rewards diligence; one testimonial will be eternal]

All your efforts in cultivation will not be in vain.

The realm you have attained, Heaven and Earth bear witness, will never be reversed.

Immediately afterwards, another character representing destiny appeared:

【Crimson Blood Stakes - Beginner Level: 1/300】

Ye Xiao felt a slight sinking sensation deep within his chest.

My previously pounding heartbeat seemed to be calmed down by something, and my breathing unconsciously became deep and even.

The pain persists.

The chill lingers.

But the most piercing point felt as if a layer had been thinned out.

He looked down at his feet; the cuts were still bleeding, but the blood was no longer seeping out in gushes, as if it had been contained by something.

This is not a dream, it's real.

Ye Xiao slowly exhaled a breath of white air. As the white mist dissipated, the metallic taste in his throat remained.

There are plenty of people practicing stances in the Silent Alley, but they all ruin their lives without even getting to the basics.

But he has now become one.

They could even squeeze forward one more step.

He lowered his waist further, his shoulders relaxed more, his spine seemed to be straightened, and his breathing also adjusted accordingly.

My body found the most correct and effortless angle on its own, and my knees stopped shaking so badly they felt like they were falling apart.

My legs were still trembling, and my chest was still cold, but deep inside there was a faint warmth.

After a long time.

The character "光" (light) in one's destiny chart jumps:

【Crimson Blood Stakes - Beginner Level: 2/300】

The pent-up anger in Ye Xiao's chest finally cracked open.

As long as prices can rise.

As long as we can move forward.

Ten days... doesn't necessarily mean death.

Ye Xiao gritted his teeth and continued to stand.

At the same time, try your best to steady your breathing. A person lives on a breath; only by stabilizing your breath can you calm your mind.

The night grew darker, and the wind grew colder.

The moon was gnawed away by the clouds, leaving only a thin, knife-like corner. That pale light couldn't penetrate the courtyard; it only illuminated a sliver of frost on the wall, making it feel even colder.

In the backyard, that slender figure stood steadily.

Like a tiny, almost invisible flame in the darkness, it swayed precariously in the wind, yet it never went out.

I don't know how much time has passed.

The night seemed to have been torn open from the middle. Cold air rushed in through the crack, pulling people out of their drowsiness.

Ye Xiao was awakened by the cold.

He gasped sharply, as if someone had pulled him out of icy water. A thin layer of frost covered the ground in the backyard, and he lay frozen stiff on it.

The frozen soil was hard and crumbly, its edges like extremely fine knife blades, embedded between his fingers. As he braced himself, the blades sliced ​​into his flesh.

He didn't die.

With a slight shift in vision, the character "光" (light) from the Destiny Chart quietly appeared:

【Crimson Blood Stakes - Beginner Level: 5/300】

Last night, Ye Xiao stood until his vision went black, and he thought he would never wake up again.

But now... although my chest hurts terribly, deep within that pain, there is a very faint, very weak warmth, like a place that has been frozen all night and is beginning to thaw.

He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

A piece of paper, folded extremely thin, was slowly pushed in through a gap in the fence.

There were no footsteps, no warning whatsoever. The corner of the paper brushed against the dust of broken bricks, as light as a piece of dead skin.

There was only one word on the paper.

The black ink wasn't dry, and it was crooked and uneven...

Nine.

There was also an owl-patterned inkpad pressed on the back of the paper. The inkpad was wet and shiny, as if it had just been pressed out from someone's fingertips, coldly nailing the days to the ground.

It's not a reminder, it's a verdict.

Ye Xiao stared at the owl-patterned mark, his knuckles slowly tightening.

He swallowed the breath he had just released.

From this moment on, ten days became nine days.