Primordial Era: The Witch Clan's Dog-Headed Strategist

Outside Phoenix Perch Mountain, Pan Xuan stood under a phoenix tree, feeling the vibrations of the laws of humanity being formally established in the primordial world.

He turned around, facing the direction of Mount Buzhou, and with the authority of the Lord of the Divine Path, sent a message to all the righteous gods of the Divine Path.

Humanity was born, and the human way was established, thus completing the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

From this day forward, the Shinto system will be based on the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, working together to face the challenges of chaos.

Deep within the Heavenly Dao space, Hongjun also sensed the establishment of the Human Dao Law.

A complex glint flashed in his usually calm eyes.

With the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man in perfect harmony, his supreme position at the core of the Heavenly Dao was completely shaken.

When humanity was first born, the heavens and earth trembled.

One hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred beings with innate Dao bodies gathered at Phoenix Perch Mountain, with countless rays of light and auspicious energy soaring straight to the heavens.

The twelve Great Luo Golden Immortals sat cross-legged on the ground, their bodies radiating Daoist energy, which reflected the patterns of the Heavenly Dao's laws in exquisite detail.

The three hundred and sixty-five Taiyi Golden Immortals are hidden in the number of the heavens, resonating endlessly with the stars and constellations.

The rest of the human race are at least at the Xuanxian realm, and the Jinxian realm is as numerous as carp crossing a river.

Such a starting point is unprecedented in history.

The news spread, drawing attention from all corners of the land.

Even when the demon race established the Heavenly Court and the witch race established a great clan, there was never such a well-organized and powerful ethnic group.

It should be known that each of these 129,600 beings possesses an innate Dao body, and each carries the aura of the rebirth of humanity.

The divine system is imbued with the boundless creation of the Qiankun Cauldron, the Nine Heavens Breath Soil, and the gourd vine.

It was through the integration of Nuwa's Great Dao of Creation and Panxuan's millennia-long plan that this extraordinary race was born.

They are the complement of the Heavenly Way, the echo of the Earthly Way, and the most important piece laid out by Panxuan to leverage the entire primordial chess game.

Pan Xuan stood atop the clouds, looking down upon these newly born creatures.

With their innocent yet clear eyes, they looked up at the sky, bowed to Nuwa and called her "Mother," their voices gathering into a tide that echoed between heaven and earth.

Nuwa accepted the gift with a smile, but there was a hint of tears in the corners of her eyes.

Pan Xuan knew that from this moment on, humanity was no longer just an empty concept, but had flesh and blood and roots.

"Although the innate Dao body is strong, it is like a rough jade that has not yet been polished."

Pan Xuan said to the gods, "Supernatural powers are innate, but mental strength needs to be cultivated."

The primordial world is dangerous; without guidance, these humans will eventually become mere pawns.

The task of spreading the word is urgent and cannot be delayed.

Thus began an unprecedented grand undertaking.

Pan Xuan personally presided over the meeting, mobilizing all the gods of the divine path to transform into different forms and infiltrate the human race.

He forbade the gods to reveal themselves in their true forms, nor to use their authority to oppress people.

They were simply made to conceal their divine light and transform into ordinary teachers, each establishing their own doctrines to educate humanity.

The gods of the divine path received the command and each displayed their abilities.

The Western Buddhist lineage's Jieyin and Zhunti transformed into ascetic monks.

He preached the doctrines of "dependent origination and emptiness, all phenomena are empty," advocating the breaking through of attachments and the attainment of enlightenment, thus passing on the teachings of emptiness to humankind.

The lamp-burning lamp transformed into a venerable elder who upheld propriety, established the rites for marriage and funerals, and set forth the principles of loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness. It transformed the funeral rites that Pan Xuan had established for his father into a magnificent set of human ethics and rituals.

Zhen Yuanzi transformed into a hermit in the mountains, preaching "the earth's veins give rise to life, and the unity of heaven and man," and passing down the principles of observing the stars and the qi, and following the natural order.

Hongyun transforms into a carefree hermit, discussing "governing by non-action and embracing simplicity and humility," teaching humanity to contend without fighting and to overcome strength with gentleness.

Even Nuwa occasionally transformed into a kind and gentle woman, teaching mending and the ways of procreation and marriage.

As for the Three Pure Ones, they each established their own sects.

Taiqing Laozi transformed into an old man with white hair, wrote books and established doctrines, and spoke of "Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things", nurturing all living beings through non-action.

Yuqing Yuanshi sat upright on the lecture platform, emphasizing etiquette and the distinction between superiors and inferiors, and advocating "self-discipline and restoration of propriety, and education of all people".

Shangqing Tongtian is a master of swordsmanship, advocating "education for all and seizing the secrets of heaven," and accepting disciples from all walks of life.

In an instant, various theories arose among the human race, and a hundred schools of thought contended.

Some speak of benevolence, some of universal love, some of utilitarianism, some of magic, some of diplomacy and strategy, some of yin and yang and the five elements...

The disciples each held their master's views and debated in markets, mountains, and ancestral temples, their heated arguments never ceasing.

Humans are born strong and their intelligence far surpasses that of ordinary people. For them, such a clash of ideas is not chaos, but rather a baptism of the mind.

In just a century, the human race has gone from the very beginning of ignorance to the emergence of a galaxy of schools of thought, encompassing everything from etiquette and law, Taoism, military strategy, diplomacy, yin and yang, medicine and divination, to agriculture and sericulture.

Pan Xuan, on the other hand, established a separate lineage among the human race.

He knew that the various schools of thought in ancient China talked about "principle," "way," and "mind," but ultimately lacked "power."

In the primordial world, the strong prey on the weak; having ideas without martial prowess is ultimately just a castle in the air.

Therefore, Pan Xuan personally went to the human race, took the essence of the Wu tribe's martial arts, removed its barbarity and retained its essence, and created a cultivation method, martial arts, specifically tailored for innate Dao bodies.

He uses "body refinement, qi refinement, intention refinement, and Dao refinement" as the four realms, but no longer uses strange phenomena to replace the primordial spirit.

Instead, it allows humans to use their own blood and energy as a catalyst and their innate Dao body as a furnace to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper themselves.

The martial arts of the Witch Clan emphasizes physical immortality, while the martial arts of the Human Clan emphasize the unity of body and mind, and the simultaneous development of blood, qi, and spirit.

The first stage of body refinement makes the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones as refined as steel forged through a hundred temperings.

The second stage is Qi Refining, where Qi flows throughout the body and connects with the breath of heaven and earth.

The third realm, Refining Intent, allows one to direct their will wherever it leads, and their spirit to follow their heart's desires, thus enabling them to condense their will into weapons.

The fourth realm of cultivation is where one's body becomes the law, and every gesture aligns with the Dao.

Pan Xuan erected a martial arts monument in the heart of the human race, inscribing the general principles of martial arts and the mental techniques of the four realms on the monument. He also set up a martial arts lecture hall and personally instructed the human race's elites.

He imparted to the Wu tribe all the combat wisdom, formation coordination, and killing techniques they had acquired over thousands of years of warfare, through his words and deeds.

Humans are born extraordinary, and with this martial arts inheritance, they are even more powerful.

The twelve Great Luo Golden Immortals were the first to step into the realm of refining intent, faintly touching the threshold of refining the Dao.

The 365 Taiyi Golden Immortals also made progress, incorporating the changes of the stars in the heavens into their fist and foot techniques.

From then on, the human race possessed both the "principles" of various schools of thought and the "power" of martial arts.

Cultivating the mind with reason and protecting the Way with strength, only when the two are combined can the foundation of humanity be truly solidified.

This commotion naturally could not escape the notice of Hongjun's will within the Heavenly Dao Space.

He sensed that the human realm's fortune was at its zenith, seemingly on par with, or even surpassing, the heavens and earth, which made him feel uneasy.

They could only watch helplessly as Pan Xuan gradually pushed humanity to the center of the game.

Pan Xuan looked up at the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of celestial curtains, meeting a pair of deep, dark eyes in the Heavenly Dao space.

He smiled slightly and murmured, "Hongjun, you use the Heavenly Way to scheme against all living beings, so I will use the Human Way to break your scheme."

A hundred schools of thought contend, martial arts are passed down through generations; the day humanity truly matures will be the day this Heavenly Dao changes its master.

The wind howled, and the first spark of human civilization was spreading like wildfire across the primordial wilderness.