Chapter 4: Nine Immortal Technique

Words : 1972 Updated : Jan 8th, 2026

Crack! The fat man screamed. His face split open with bloody cuts, and he stood there stunned. The rest jolted back and retreated in a hurry, too scared to move. Salvatore Casson plunged in like a tiger into a flock. In a blur, bones snapped and limbs gave way; not one of them left in one piece. "Get out!" he barked. After the beating, the men clung to each other, groaning as they hobbled out of the Casson Residence. Once they were gone, Salvatore asked, "Mom, Dad, do these people come bully you often?" Paulina Yare sighed. "Yes. Not just him-Liam Lapwood too. After you went missing, your father and I went to your school to ask around. Your classmates said you went out with your girlfriend, Ruby Showyer. We went to find her, but she claimed you stole jewelry from the Showyer family worth several million dollars and fled overseas with it. We refused to believe you'd steal, so we argued with her. We didn't expect her to be so ruthless-she sent people to beat us the very next day. Your dad's arm was broken and still hasn't healed." "We didn't give up and kept going to demand our son. But the Showyer family had power and influence. They often sent people to threaten us and even carried off our belongings. They warned that if we made trouble again, they'd have us arrested and thrown in jail." Paulina wiped at her tears. A simple housewife, she had lived through a stretch filled with fear and despair. Salvatore's chest burned. Ruby Showyer. Harry Hauk. He would not let them off. He drew a long breath. "Mom, it's over. It's fine now." Ivanka Yale stepped in then and greeted them politely. "Hello, Uncle, Auntie. I'm Ivanka Yale, Salvatore's friend." The couple froze at the sight of the pretty girl, then hurried to invite her to sit. After a few words, Ivanka helped Salvatore tidy the yard. Much of the household had been smashed, and anything valuable had been hauled off. The rooms sat bare. Once they finished, Ivanka excused herself. Salvatore knew she needed to go back and use the Ganoderma to treat her mother, so he saw her to the door. Before getting into the car, Ivanka handed him a bank card and smiled. "There's $200,000 in it. Take it." Salvatore blinked. "Why are you giving me money?" Ivanka said earnestly, "If not for you today, I'd be dead at the bottom of that abyss, and we wouldn't have found the Ghost-eye Ganoderma. Do you know how much a single piece costs? At least $100,000, and money doesn't always buy it." "The Ghost-eye Ganoderma is that expensive?" Salvatore was stunned. "We picked six pieces. Once my mom's illness is cured, I'll sell the rest. Whatever they fetch goes to you." He really was short on money. He thought for a moment, then took the card. "I know a bit of medicine. When I have time, I'll take a look at your mom-maybe I can help." Ivanka's eyes lit up. "Great. When are you free?" "The day after tomorrow. I have something to take care of first." "Okay. I'll head back to Jalder and wait for you!" Jalder was the capital of Jenos and its most developed city, a newly minted first-tier metropolis. As he saw Ivanka into the car, she smiled. "Salvatore, don't call me Ms. Yale anymore. Call me Ivanka." He laughed. "Alright, Ivanka." After seeing Ivanka off, Salvatore closed the door and checked his parents' injuries. Nixon Casson's broken arm had set well, and Paulina Yare had only superficial wounds, which eased his mind. He offered a few reassuring words, then settled down to cultivate. Harry Hauk had connections. For someone like him with no backing, revenge was a pipe dream. So he had to master the earth-shaking techniques his master left him-let his fists do the talking. In Samuel Looske's legacy were memories of the martial world. There truly were supreme experts in this world, as lofty and revered as high officials. His path was to become one of them. The core art Samuel passed down was the Nine Immortal Technique, with nine tiers. If one trained it to the ninth, they could ascend in broad daylight. Salvatore had Immortal Energy in his body, and his meridians were already open. After only half an hour of cultivation, he completed the first tier of the Nine Immortal Technique. A pale glow haloed his body as Sunborn True Energy coursed within him. A casual palm strike drew a dull thunderclap from the air. It was only the first tier, yet more than enough to handle ordinary martial artists. Harry Hauk, I'll make you taste the most vicious methods in the martial world. With a heart full of hate, Salvatore began training an extremely venomous dark art-the Poison Shadow Technique. Salvatore was born with an Immortal Bone and had inherited Samuel Looske's Immortal Energy, so the Poison Shadow Technique posed no difficulty. In less than half an hour, his true energy surged, able to drive seven kinds of sinister force at once. Once he struck, regardless of where he landed the blow, those seven forces would each attack a vital spot in the body, leaving the victim begging for life and death-a vicious art. After training, Paulina cooked a pot of egg noodles and fried two dishes. His constitution was extraordinary, his appetite surging. He polished off three big bowls of noodles and both dishes, yet only felt half full. Paulina laughed. "Salvatore, how long has it been since you ate? You're starving." I haven't eaten in a month, Mom, he thought. After the meal, he returned to the yard to practice a footwork art-the Flying Immortal Step. The Flying Immortal Step was profoundly elusive. Once deployed, one's trace became hard to find, uncanny and ethereal, like a drifting immortal. It had four foundational forms: cross step, crouch step, bow step, and subtle step. Each was difficult to practice. To learn the Flying Immortal Step, one had to master those four first. He started with the cross step and discovered the tiny meridians in his legs weren't fully open, making practice brutally hard. His legs throbbed with ache. Fortunately, as he kept at it, those meridians gradually opened, and the movements flowed. Two hours later, he could slide sideways about eighteen inches without bending his knees or shifting his feet-like compressing the ground beneath him. It looked uncanny. While he drilled the cross step, the front gate flew open with a kick, and a bald middle-aged man barged in with a few thugs. The man stood over six feet, thick with slab muscle. It was the village's notorious bully, Liam Lapwood. In his youth, he'd been stabbed three times and lived. People started calling him Liam Lapwood after that. Ever since, the village feared him. He grew arrogant and vicious, preying on decent folks while everyone fumed in silence. Spotting Salvatore practicing as soon as he entered, Liam paused, rubbed his bald scalp, and jabbed a finger at him. "Weren't you missing, punk? When did you come back?" Nixon Casson and Paulina Yare ran out from the house and stood in front of Salvatore. Paulina burst out, "Liam Lapwood, we've found our son. We won't cause trouble. Stop smashing our things!" Salvatore understood. The one who had come earlier and wrecked the place during the phone call was this Liam Lapwood. He narrowed his eyes. "Why did you smash up my home and hit my mom?" Liam licked his lips and grinned. "I smash whatever home I want. I hit whoever I want. I don't need a reason." Salvatore's gaze sharpened. "Yeah? Then try hitting me." Liam barked out laughter and stepped in, swinging a punch straight at Salvatore's face.

Chapter 4: Nine Immortal Technique

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