Becoming a god starts with one certificate becoming eternal.

Yan Quan didn't even look at her, only saying indifferently:

"You are not qualified to ask."

He turned to leave, but stopped abruptly at the door, as if remembering something. He turned his head and softly tossed out a sentence:

"Some people don't step forward, not because they're soft-hearted."

"It's because I feel you're not good enough for me."

These words, though not harsh, were like extinguishing the last spark of fire in the room.

My second uncle's lips turned pale, and suddenly, as if he had figured something out, he squeezed out two words:

"Ye Xiao!"

The moment the name was uttered, everyone in the room felt as if they had been choked.

Ye Chong's eyes trembled suddenly. He was stunned at first, then the resentment and hatred surged up, only to be suppressed by a deeper fear.

He then realized that the shouts they made outside Qingshi Lane tonight were not to demand an explanation.

It severed the last vestiges of affection, and even more so, it was a death sentence...

The old woman's fingers trembled as she gripped her cane; she wanted to curse, but couldn't utter a sound.

The room was deathly silent.

The flickering oil lamp flame illuminated a series of pale faces.

Only then did they realize that Ye Xiao had already taken possession of the debts they owed outside, waiting for them to commit the same offense again so that he could use the rules to end their lives.

The wooden bed outside the door creaked as it scraped the ground, as if it were scraping away the bones of the family.

……

Qingshi Lane was unusually quiet; even the wind seemed to be suppressed, only brushing against the window paper lightly.

The stone surface gleamed under the moonlight, and no lights were lit inside the Ye family's house.

Xiaoxue didn't sleep soundly; her hair was messy, but her little eyes were bright and alert.

She sat on the edge of the bed, holding the faded rag doll, the loose threads sticking out, which she twirled with her fingers. It was something her brother had found, and it was her most treasured possession.

Whenever she feels uneasy, she hugs her stuffed animal for a sense of security.

She spoke so softly it was almost inaudible:

"Mother...it's been quiet outside for a long time, is everything alright now?"

The mother didn't turn around, only gave a soft "hmm," as if she had swallowed all her words.

After a moment, she moved the wooden stick behind the door to a more convenient position and whispered, "Lie down and don't think about it."

Xiaoxue buried her face in the doll and nodded.

……

Northern Furnace.

The dark red furnace opening sounded like a wild beast panting, and the heat waves hit our faces from a great distance.

In the shadow of the stove foot, the man clasped his hands in a fist salute and announced in a low voice:

"Sir, Brother Yan has finished."

"According to the rules, the accounts will be settled, but no one will move, and all roads will be blocked. Starting tomorrow, they can only go to the Silent Alley."

Ye Xiao didn't stop rummaging through the scum.

"clang."

Iron slag fell, sparks flew.

He replied with only one word, as if he had heard something trivial:

"it is good."

I didn't ask for details.

He simply continued standing on the stake and turning over the slag.

The firelight cast his shadow.

The shadow was small, but it resembled a knife, firmly fixed on the fire.

Some people think that by touching his weak spot, they can gain benefits.

But they didn't know that he had already prepared everything; as long as someone dared to reach out, the knife would fall.

"clang."

Iron slag falls again.

Ye Xiao pressed his breathing even deeper, as if he were pressing all his emotions into his bones.

……

Time flies like an arrow; a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The wind in the North Furnace is still the same...

Hot, dry, and pungent, it felt like crushing ash and stuffing it down your throat. The furnace mouth was dark red, looking from a distance like a wild beast panting, its breath carrying the smell of rust and tar, sticky and astringent when it hit your face.

"clang."

Iron slag churned up, sparks flew.

When Ye Xiao practiced standing meditation, his breathing was as deep as compressed charcoal... not strong, yet not extinguished; his blood and energy did not radiate outwards, yet it was so thick that it made people's hearts tighten.

The same furnace wind could only rub against his skin a couple of times now, unable to penetrate his muscles, let alone his bones.

His qi and blood circulated within his body, steady and heavy, as if he were pressing them inch by inch into his spine.

The character "光" (light) in the destiny chart suddenly emerged from the hot mist:

【Crimson Blood Stake - Perfection】

【Dingyue Pillar - Complete】

[Breaking the Sky and Piercing the Heavens Stake - Mastery: 1111/1200]

Ye Xiao didn't even glance at it, and picked up the next shovel as usual, his movements perfectly steady.

But just then, a figure appeared in the shadows at the entrance to the furnace area.

The foreman's expression changed, and the words he was about to say stuck in his throat.

He could clearly sense the aura emanating from the other person—an aura that only those who had seen blood, risked their lives, and treated rules as a joke possessed.

The foreman swallowed hard and immediately growled:

"Back off! All of you, get back to the outside of the stove! Don't come any closer if you don't want to die!"

The veteran workers recoiled as if burned. Some hid behind piles of iron, while others crouched against the wall, but their eyes were all fixed on that shadow.

His cloak was tattered, his shoulders broad, and he held a long knife in his hand, the blade of which did not gleam in the firelight.

"He's Mad Shark!" someone whispered, their face pale. "I saw him at the docks!"

"Mad Shark?!"

Another older worker's lips trembled: "The leader of the Giant Shark Gang... he's not dead?"

The foreman glared at him fiercely, but sweat was also beading on his forehead. The name "Mad Shark" was enough to make people afraid to go out at night at the docks.

Mad Shark grinned, a grin that resembled both a smile and a toothy grin.

He didn't look at the others in the North Furnace first, but only looked up at the edge of the furnace, his voice low and hoarse, as if it were being ground from bone:

"Ye Xiao".

"You caused the destruction of my Giant Shark Gang, and today this score... should be settled!"

Ye Xiao stuck the iron shovel into the edge of the furnace and asked casually, as if confirming something:

"You didn't go to Qingshi Lane?"

Mad Shark's smile grew even colder: "I still have questions to ask. If you answer them to my satisfaction, I'll kill you, and perhaps the people in Qing Shi Alley will still be spared."

He licked his chapped lips, the taste of blood seeping from between his teeth: "But if your answer doesn't satisfy me... after you die, none of your family members will live."

He slightly raised his long sword, the tip pointing at the foot of the stove, his tone like a pronouncement:

"The rules of Qingshi Lane keep others out."

"You can't stop me, or my knife."

The entire furnace area fell silent instantly.

They never imagined that the conflict between Mad Shark and Ye Xiao would be a matter of life and death.

Ye Xiao didn't say anything more and went straight down to the edge of the furnace.

He walked to the foot of the furnace, stopped, and his expression was as indifferent as the iron at the furnace opening: "Since you're here, then don't leave."

"Pretty arrogant, huh?" Mad Shark took a step forward, his eyes flashing with ferocity. "Then let me see just how hard your fists are!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved.

It's not a test.

It's a pounce.

He stepped into the ashes at the furnace foot, the ashes splashing like water. His old wounds had long since scabbed over, but the impact still made his chest feel tight. But he didn't care about the tightness; all he wanted was to tear the person apart.

"Whoosh!"

The blade flashes upwards; the first strike goes straight for the throat, forcing you to raise your head and lose your breath. The second strike follows the momentum, slicing at the ribs, forcing you to shrink your chest and lose your balance. Only the third strike presses down on the line and pierces the heart, killing you on the spot.

The three slashes were executed in one fluid motion, so ruthless that the only path left was to kill.

Ye Xiao did not back down.

His feet sank, the heat from the stove swirls up his calves, the ash slippery, yet he stood as if nailed to the ground. His vital energy didn't circulate outwards, but instead sank downwards, into his lower abdomen, into his spine, into the gaps between his bones.

Once the stake is placed, the blood and qi feel as if they are being bound by an iron hoop, becoming heavier and heavier with each press, to the point that even breathing feels like being hit by falling iron.

The first cut goes down to the throat.

Ye Xiao didn't raise his hand to block the blade head-on. Instead, just as the blade tip was about to reach him, he slightly shifted his body to the side. It wasn't a dodge, but rather a half-inch movement, with the inside of his forearm touching the back of the blade.

"laugh."

The blade grazed the flesh, drawing blood, but it didn't penetrate the throat. No matter how fast the blade was, it seemed it could only graze the skin.

The second cut is to the ribs.

Ye Xiao twisted his waist and abdomen, his stance remained firm, but his body sank slightly. This slump felt like it was pressing him into iron, forcibly deflecting the blade's path. The tip of the blade still drew a line of blood from his ribs, the blood sweetened by the furnace wind.

The third cut was to the heart.

This is what Crazy Shark wanted, and also what Ye Xiao and others were waiting for.

The blade went straight in.

At that instant, Ye Xiao took a step forward.

It's not about facing the knife, it's about seizing a position.

The weight on your shoulders and back is like a mountain pressing down on your wrists, while the pressure on your chest is like an iron wedge wedging the blade, preventing you from taking the path you want to take, no matter how fast your blade is.

The knife tip pierced the flesh!

But after only a short distance, it was as if it had hit a nail-locked door bolt, getting stuck in that one inch that he had locked.

The pain felt like a burning nail driven into his bone, but Ye Xiao's eyes remained calm, instead growing even colder.

What he wanted was never to avoid bloodshed... what he wanted was for the Mad Shark's hand to be unable to leave once the knife was inside.