Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

At night, the breeze in the alley seemed to still carry the heat of the daytime martial arts exam.

Outside, someone was shouting "Golden Bone Wins the Championship!" until their eyes were red and their voices were hoarse. But inside the Ye family's house, it was very stuffy. Once the door was closed, all the liveliness was shut out, leaving only a fire burning in their chests.

The oil lamp was lit, and the flame flickered.

There was a faint white layer on the window paper, as if it had been gently brushed by the moonlight.

The moonlight barely penetrated, only a sliver squeezing through the crack in the door to fall onto the ground, where it shone coldly.

The old lady sat at the head of the table, leaning on a cane. Her wrinkles resembled tree bark, but her eyes were sharp.

Second Uncle sat upright, his shoulders and back taut like a beam being held up. Second Aunt crossed her arms, her eyes red-rimmed, but her mouth remained stubborn. Third Uncle had a sullen face, while Third Aunt huddled by the door, glancing through the crack in the door every now and then.

Ye Chong sat at the very bottom.

He didn't say a word on the way back, his face was pale... The moment the roster was crossed out during the day felt like a knife cutting into his face.

No one inside the house was cursing him.

Scolding won't change the outcome.

My second aunt started by frying, but the fire didn't just rise up, it soared into the sky:

"Did you hear that? The crowd is chanting 'Golden Bones' like it's New Year's! What are Golden Bones? They're money, medicine, and connections!"

She slammed her hand on the table, her voice shrill and trembling:

"What's wrong with our Chong'er? He's wrong because no one is there to pamper him! If someone were to guide him and provide him with medicine, would he have been eliminated?!"

My second uncle's Adam's apple bobbed as he lowered his voice:

"Chong'er is still young, it's nothing to fail this time. There will be other opportunities next time, as long as she keeps trying."

When he said "there's still a chance," he clenched his fist on his knee, as if to encourage himself.

Uncle San finally spoke, his voice as cold as if he were spreading out an account book:

"Of course there are opportunities, but they don't come for free. Registration costs money, tonics cost money, and training food costs money. If the family has to pay, we'll have to sell our pots and pans."

The second uncle instinctively wanted to retort, "Don't discourage the child," but he swallowed the words back, his face darkening even more.

Third Aunt sighed softly and added in a low voice:

"With what we have now, even if we sold everything we own, we wouldn't be able to make ends meet many more times... but we can't just let our child's future end like this."

As if that was exactly what the second aunt was waiting for, she immediately turned her attention to the point with even greater precision and ruthlessness:

"Cut it off? Cut it off from anyone else, just not my son's!"

She raised her hand and pointed in the direction of Qingshi Alley:

"It's just money, isn't it? There's plenty over in Qingshi Lane!"

"Didn't you see? They live better than us now, and they're doing better than us. Where else would the money come from if not from them?!"

Ye Chong suddenly looked up, his eyes dark and sinister, as if he were spitting out the humiliation he had suffered during the day:

"That's right! If it weren't for that family causing us to lose all our money, I would have been promoted to the inner sect long ago!"

"If I'm one step ahead, I'll be ahead every step of the way! Once I enter the inner sect, I might just soar to the heavens!"

The room felt even more stuffy after those words were spoken.

Uncle San's eye twitched, and he finally couldn't hold back, coldly sarcastically remarking:

"When everyone misunderstood, why didn't you clarify that you weren't an inner disciple at all? The real inner disciple was Ye Xiao!"

If he hadn't already chosen sides, he really wanted to slap Ye Chong.

Ye Chong's face stiffened, as if someone had publicly exposed his sore spot. He quickly swallowed his anger, and his hatred only intensified.

"What kind of insider is he! He just got lucky!"

Auntie San whispered by the door, as if advising her, but also as if speaking to herself: "Didn't we all ask him? Ye Xiao uses that method of squeezing out potential. He's only good in the short term, but he's basically ruined in the future. Chong'er will definitely be more outstanding than him in the future."

Uncle snorted, as if he had finally found a reason to comfort himself:

"I was just saying that. Besides, in this family, who to support and how to support them is all up to Mother."

All eyes turned to the old lady.

The old woman didn't move, as if waiting for the fire to burn at its brightest.

After a while, she paused with her cane.

"Thump."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a hammer blow on an anvil, and the room immediately fell silent.

The old woman looked up, her voice not loud, but firm:

Crying is useless, complaining is useless.

"If you want to build a road, someone has to put in the effort."

Uncle whispered, "Mother, we really can't afford it anymore."

The old lady lowered her eyelids, as if she had already thought of this:

"If you can't get it out, then go ask for it."

Second Aunt's eyes lit up immediately: "Mother means...?"

The old lady spoke slowly, but her words were as if they were a settled matter:

"Didn't you just say that some people are living well...? Then let's go and ask Ye Xiao's family for it."

Auntie's face turned pale, and she whispered, "But Ye Xiao is now an inner disciple of the martial arts school, which is not something we can afford to offend. If we really push him too far..."

Second Uncle also frowned, suppressing his anger, and said:

"Sister-in-law is right. If the inner sect really starts fighting, we can't withstand it."

My second aunt gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with a mixture of fear and hatred:

"What's there to be afraid of? No matter how capable he is, he's still born of his parents!"

"We're not going there to kill or commit arson; we're going to demand an explanation! He finally made it big, how can he forget his roots? Shouldn't he be helping his own brothers?"

She spoke more and more fluently, as if she were wearing the word "family" as a protective charm:

"We are all his relatives and elders! His grandmother is the pillar of the family! It's only right that we ask for money to pave the way for the child!"

The old woman gave a cold laugh, as if she had crushed the fear in everyone's hearts with a single step:

"That's right. No matter how formidable he is, he still has to acknowledge this family."

She tapped her cane lightly on the ground and said slowly:

"We won't go into Qingshi Lane, nor will we confront him directly."

The second uncle was taken aback: "What does Mother mean?"

The old woman's eyes gleamed coldly:

"Making a scene at the alley entrance is enough."

"Standing outside lets people know... that we are relatives, elders, and people who have come to collect a debt from his brother."

"If he really dares to lay a hand on his elders, he'll be drowned in the neighborhood gossip."

The old lady paused, then emphasized her words:

"He's an inner disciple now, I don't believe he doesn't care about his reputation."

My second aunt immediately chimed in, as if she had gained confidence:

"Great idea! If he dares to lay a finger on us, he's bullying his elders and being unfilial!"

"Then everyone will see what kind of person Ye Xiao really is!"

My second uncle, his face grim, finally let out a long breath and said in a low voice:

"Okay, go!"

The old lady looked at her second uncle, her voice even colder:

"Go now... Remember not to cross the line, and don't actually step into Qing Shi Lane."

Ye Chong raised his head, the pent-up frustration in his eyes finally finding an outlet, as if he had forced himself onto a path:

"Good! We must make them cough up their money!"

"I should have been an inner disciple! With enough money, I could become an inner disciple in no time!!"

My second uncle seemed encouraged: "Let's go now!"

Second Aunt gritted her teeth, as if her words had been sharpened into knives:

"If they continue to pretend to be poor, let the whole neighborhood hear that our Chong'er's road is about to be cut off, and our family is barely surviving! They still don't care; they have absolutely no conscience!"

……

At the entrance of Qingshi Lane, the night was even deeper.

The stone surface at the alley entrance was clean, and the lamplight cast a cold glow. Two guards stood against the wall, long sticks in their hands, but their eyes were like nails, as if anyone who took a step inside would be nailed down.

When Ye Chong and his group reached the alley entrance, their steps instinctively slowed down by half a beat.

The second uncle steadied himself, stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and forced a gesture of reasoning:

"Gentlemen, we apologize for bothering you. We are here to see the Ye family in Qingshi Lane. We are their elders and have some family matters to discuss."

The guard glanced at them, his tone as flat as a stone:

"No announcements at night."

"If you need anything, come during the day."

Before the second aunt could finish her second sentence, she raised her voice, deliberately projecting it into the alley:

"We're looking for Ye Xiao's mother! We want to ask her... why, now that she's successful, she doesn't care about her own family anymore! Doesn't she have to pay back the debts she owed before?!"

The guard's eyes turned cold, and he lightly held his long stick horizontally, not hitting anyone, but clearly establishing the rules of the alleyway:

"No noise is allowed in Qingshi Lane at night."

"If you want to talk, come back tomorrow. Raising your voice any further is considered causing trouble!"