Chapter Thirteen: The Primordial Martial God Emerges

“Bull God?”

As Mu’s consciousness was fading, this call jolted him awake. Unfortunately, his body was broken and battered; he could not get up.

Lozu, who was communicating with his spirit, was equally stunned by his response.

Bull God? Wasn’t the totem of this tribe the Bull God?

Lozu’s mind was quick. At once, he guessed the possibility: in his current dazed state, Mu must have mistaken Lozu’s summons for the bellowing of a bull.

Mu—Moo—

There was a difference, surely. But Lozu would not simply let this misunderstanding slide. Distinction was necessary; otherwise, his original plan would require revision.

“Mu, I am the God of Martial Valor!” Lozu disregarded Mu’s muddled thoughts and pressed on.

“God of Martial Valor?”

A raspy, sibilant sound escaped Mu. Thoughts stirred in his mind, but his tongue had been cut out at the root and the wound tended. His survival was thanks only to his martial prowess.

“Mu, you have discovered my golden body and awakened my will. I can release you from your current bondage,” Lozu, playing the God of Martial Valor, persisted with his efforts—revealing just enough information, withholding some, leaving room for contemplation.

Once people start to ponder, the world becomes interesting.

After these words, however, Lozu realized his actions were not entirely appropriate. As a creator, he ought to remain hidden, not display his power openly.

It should be the smallfolk of humanity who gradually discovered him, filling in the blanks with their imagination—after which he could realize or refute their conjectures.

Only in this way could the minds of the smallfolk be expanded, rather than making them follow a preordained “script.”

Still, when circumstances called for guidance, Lozu could descend as a deity, if only once.

“Only by immersing oneself in the game can one truly understand it,” Lozu realized at that moment.

Yet insight aside, once the plan had begun, there was no turning back; he pressed on.

“God of Martial Valor… the one on the mountain…?” Mu’s mind labored, thoughts sluggish from grievous wounds and starvation. It was a struggle just to think.

But Lozu did not answer. His silence drew Mu into further silence, yet the boy’s heart, once full of resentment, now shifted away from such thoughts, pondering instead his relationship to the God of Martial Valor and how he might leverage this connection to escape.

“Can you not help me leave this place? I wish only for you to kill the Bull Chieftain.” The steadfast youth’s heart was once again filled with hatred.

The pain in his body ceaselessly reminded him: hatred, anger, destroy them all.

“This you can achieve yourself,” Lozu replied.

“But I am a cripple, imprisoned here—how?” Mu answered.

Lozu tempted him further: “I can impart to you the Way of Free Cosmos, a martial art I created through my understanding of the heavenly order.”

“With this skill, you can escape and avenge your wrongs.”

Listening to his own words, Lozu felt awkward. He was being too blunt—at least those who peddled miraculous martial arts did so with subtlety, perhaps charging a few coins. Here he was, offering it outright, which would arouse suspicion in anyone.

But these were simpler times. People were innocent, untainted by the endless tales that would later fill their minds. So when Lozu finished speaking, the youth’s heart was already ignited with hope.

“Can I do it?” Mu voiced his final doubt.

A single affirmation from Lozu would win his faith completely.

“How can there be a rainbow without enduring the storm? How can one become the God of Martial Valor without overcoming hardship? Mu, you can do it.” Lozu uttered words so awkward he wished to cringe.

Yet, the boy believed.

And that was enough.

This Way of Free Cosmos was a martial art Lozu had fashioned by combining his healing miracles with breathing techniques. With his understanding of healing and his study of human martial arts, creating such a method was a simple matter.

But Mu was no prodigy—otherwise he would have achieved greatness long ago, rather than remaining a mountain woodcutter.

Given his current state, hoping for him to master martial arts was wishful thinking.

However, Lozu could heal him first. During his recovery, Mu could lay the foundation for the Way of Free Cosmos.

Seven days passed in this pocket world.

During this time, people brought food and water, but no one noticed the changes happening within Mu.

His broken arms and legs gradually healed; even his blinded eyes began to recover, and his ears, mouth, and tongue were restored.

Gradually, Mu sensed the flow of energy and blood within him once more.

The energy of the Way of Free Cosmos coursed through his body.

“Transform the cosmos nine times, roam free and unfettered,” Mu had been repeating this phrase throughout these days.

This was the central tenet of the Way of Free Cosmos, which Lozu told him was inspired by the heavenly order.

Now, in this pocket world, human martial arts were no longer limited to the first form of blood and breath; hundreds of martial techniques had evolved. Of these, five arts were considered peerless by the world.

What is a peerless art? The pinnacle of martial skill, the summit of humankind—that alone could be called peerless.

The five who had mastered these arts were revered as the Five Paragons.

Each of the Five Paragons was said to have the strength to face a hundred warriors alone, holding a status in the Human Tribe Alliance higher even than the chieftain.

Mu had heard their legends and once yearned for their position. But as he grew older, he felt the limits of his talent, unable even to circulate energy through his limbs, and so became a solitary woodcutter, shunning others, enduring loneliness and monotony.

Now, having practiced the Way of Free Cosmos, he broke through years of stagnation, finally circulating his blood and energy through his hands and feet, reaching the first realm of martial arts—the Meridian of Hands and Feet.

This realm had four minor stages; when both hands and feet were fully connected with energy, one reached great completion and could pursue the second realm, the Meridian of the Five Viscera. The Five Viscera Meridian had five stages. Mastering it, the whole body except for the head was suffused with energy, able to withstand many attacks and unleash powerful strikes from afar.

Beyond the Five Viscera Meridian was the final realm: the Meridian of the Whole Body. When energy coursed through every part, one developed a shield of blood energy as tough as bronze.

The chieftains of the alliance’s tribes were at this stage. As for the Five Paragons, rumors held that they had broken through the Whole Body Meridian and reached the legendary Great Unity of Body.

Body and the world in perfect harmony—this was the Great Unity, the realm all warriors had sought for a century, yet never attained.

Thus, the world named this stage after the Five Paragons.

After practicing the Way of Free Cosmos, all of Mu’s former doubts vanished.

The God of Martial Valor was indeed divine.