Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

Shocks surged forth like a tidal wave, making everyone's eardrums throb. Zhuo Lianshan's face turned pale and then red, and he gritted his teeth, wanting to fight again, but before he could take a step, Chen Tao had already stepped forward.

"Bang!"

With a punch landing, Zhuo Lianshan felt a sudden tightness in his chest, then spat out a mouthful of blood. His body staggered back several steps uncontrollably, finally stopping with his heels brushing the boundary line.

He stared at Chen Tao, his eyes filled with resentment and fear, and finally, all that remained was a breath he couldn't swallow.

In the end, he clasped his hands in a fist and bowed his head, saying, "I admit defeat."

The officer in charge of the martial arts examination called out the names loudly:

"The winner is Chen Tao!"

On the high platform, the proctor raised his eyes and placed his vermilion pen on the roster.

Those in the stands who had initially just been watching for the spectacle now had a change in expression.

The battle to determine the top ten is still ongoing, but the flavor changed the moment the golden bones were revealed.

Someone went up to the stage to pay their respects, but upon meeting the subtle pressure emanating from him, his Adam's apple bobbed, and half his breath deflated. He managed to withstand one move, but before he could unleash the second, his legs began to falter, his face turned pale, and he simply clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"I admit I'm no match for them."

The audience was initially in uproar, but then became even more excited. This was not a narrow victory; it was a victory that left people breathless on the stage.

The gongs rang out one after another, but Chen Tao didn't throw a second punch.

Finally, the voice of the Martial Arts Examination Official struck like a bell:

"The martial arts exam rankings are over. First place goes to Chen Tao!"

The crowd exploded, shouts reaching the sky.

Some cheered, some were envious, and some secretly plotted.

The happiest of all was the Canglong Martial Arts School.

Xue Wuzhu looked at the figure on the stage, unable to suppress his smile: "With Golden Bone winning the championship, Azure Dragon will surely become famous this time."

He turned his head to look at Xue Chan, and casually mentioned, "Ye Xiao, whom you always mentioned before, does have some talent. But no matter how fast he is, he still has to face reality in front of the Golden Bone."

Xue Chan didn't immediately refute, but Ye Xiao's image flashed through her mind, and she said softly, "What you see is the present, what I see is the future."

"Senior Brother Chen Tao is indeed remarkable, but given time, Ye Xiao might catch up."

"He's been with the martial arts school for less than six months. If you don't take him as your apprentice, you'll regret it sooner or later."

Xue Wuzhu smiled and shook his head. He doted on his only daughter and didn't take her words to heart.

……

At the same time.

Northern Furnace.

The dark red furnace opening panted like a wild beast, and waves of heat slapped against his face from afar. Ye Xiao stood by the furnace edge, his breathing barely changing.

The noise outside couldn't get in; only a few words occasionally drifted in: the martial arts exam was over, and Jin Gu had won first place.

Ye Xiao seemed not to hear, continuing to focus on swinging the shovel.

"clang."

With a shovel, heat waves slapped against the face like a wall, iron slag crackled and popped, and sparks flew around the edge of the anvil like a circle of red dots.

Winning the martial arts exam is for show.

He just needs to hone himself until, the next time he hears the words "golden bones," it's not that people look up to him, but that others look up to him.

The furnace wind seeped out from the cracks, carrying miasma and ash, like countless fine needles pricking the skin.

"clang."

Ye Xiao didn't even blink as the iron slag was turned over again.

The movements were not fast, but perfectly precise, as if every breath and every exertion was timed to a fixed point, neither too much nor too little.

What he wants is not to fight for a short time, but to continuously grow and become stronger.

The character "光" in the destiny chart floated briefly in the hot mist, as if it had sprung out of a fire.

【Crimson Blood Stake - Perfection】

【Dingyue Pillar - Complete】

[Breaking the Sky and Piercing the Heavens Stake - Mastery: 20/1200]

Ye Xiao didn't stop, nor did he look a second time. The sound of shoveling continued, each shovelful striking his ears like a hammer pounding into his bones.

He could feel that the changes from his intense training during this period were not as simple as "becoming a little stronger," but rather that his entire body structure was tightening to another level.

The first thing to change is the skin.

He used to stand by the stove, and when the heat hit him, his skin felt like it was being licked by flames, stinging and burning. When he sweated, his skin felt dry and salty, like salt rubbing against his wounds.

Now that the two projects are complete and the third is finished, the same heat wave is pressing down on him. His skin only tightens slightly, and his pores open and close as if there is an invisible layer of 'closure'. Iron slag splashes onto the back of his hand, burning him and making him frown, but it is no longer the kind of drilling pain that burns into the flesh. It only jumps on the surface of the skin, and the red spots are quickly faded by the blood.

The pain is still there, but it hasn't penetrated deeply.

Further inside, there are changes in the muscles.

In the past, after standing in the stance for a long time, the back of my legs would feel so tense it felt like it was about to break. Even though the energy was still there, the muscles would soften first. Now, that feeling of the muscles softening first is gone. The muscles feel like they've been pounded again, becoming tighter and more elastic. It's not stiffness, but rather that it can hold its tension and recover quickly.

When you exert force in your shoulders and back, the muscles under the skin won't twitch randomly, nor will they all rush to one spot to cause pain. Instead, they're like a fully drawn bow; when force is applied, the entire muscle tenses up simultaneously, and then immediately relaxes back down without leaving any residual tremor.

Another noticeable change is that when working close to the fire, the meat is no longer afraid of the heat.

Previously, when a heatwave hit, his muscles would instinctively stiffen, contracting as if afraid of being burned, and his movements would become distorted. Now, when a heatwave hits, his muscles only tighten a little more, and his movements become more stable. That stability isn't achieved through willpower alone; it's because his muscles can truly withstand it.

Changes in the bones are the most tangible.

Although it hasn't yet turned into golden bones, and there's no visible change in the appearance of the bones, the sound of the joints has changed. Before, when the furnace wind pushed, the joints would make a soft "clunking" sound, like wood being squeezed and groaning.

Now, when the same pressure comes down, the bones don't crack or pop. Only at the moment of impact, the ankle, knee, hip, and spine feel as if they've been struck by a piece of iron, making a very soft "sinking" sound.

The bones are denser, the joints are tighter, as if there is an invisible tenon and mortise between each bone, fitting together perfectly.

With a flip of the shovel, the edge of the furnace trembled, and his feet trembled as well, but the tremor did not reach his knees or waist. Before the impact could climb up, it was swallowed up by his lower body and skeleton.

Finally, there are changes in Qi and blood.

The amount of Qi and blood has not increased dramatically, but it is more robust. In the past, Qi and blood were like a blazing fire, which came on fiercely and went away quickly. Now, that fire is no longer a wild flame, but like a dense red glow in a charcoal stove, burning more slowly, more steadily, and more deeply.

The skin is more heat-resistant, the muscles are firmer, the bones are denser, and the blood is thicker.

Now he is like a knife that has been repeatedly tempered; its edge is not yet at its sharpest, but the blade is already incredibly sturdy.

The North Furnace is still the same North Furnace, the furnace wind is still the same furnace wind, the heat wave still hits the wall like a slap in the face, and the miasma still seeps into the lungs.

They just couldn't hold him down anymore.

But this also made him feel a sense of crisis.

If things continue like this, by the time he truly develops his golden bones and wants to push his stance training to its maximum speed in extreme environments, he may have to move to a different location.

He still can't think of a place that can achieve the desired effect.

Half an hour later.

Footsteps sounded again at the foot of the stove.

It was light, yet familiar.

It wasn't the foreman, nor one of the veteran workers.

Yan Quan entered, first clasping his hands in a fist salute, his voice extremely low:

"grown ups."

Ye Xiao didn't stop, the shovel still turning over the slag, uttering only one word:

"explain."