Genbu is an immortal monk of the Genbari tribe as well as the physical embodiment of the Northern Guardian, one of the 4 spirits of a forgotten natural order descended from the stars that represented the cardinal directions of Kudao. Over a thousand years ago, Genbu was once a deity of much more divine strength back when the north grew cold and the howls of the wind drew from him from the very top of the tallest mountain. But during his peak, he was brutally slain— severing his divine form in two, his spirit, and his body, both with a mind of its own. Genbu's spirit quickly fled across the southern mountainsides, bringing the godlike essence of the north along with him. Genbu's body, however, was almost destroyed. The transcendent power within him had abandoned him, leaving him to die. 

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After a few years of being a corpse at the bottom of the mountain, Genbu's body slowly awakened—it seemed a small portion of his spirit still lingered. The cold tundra of the north he once ruled has turned into a scorching desert. Limping, the lone black tortoise wandered forth, searching for his lost long spirit that held his former godhood, but he could not find him. He saught to climb to the top of his mountain himself and return to his title as a god, but the mountain denied his ambitions. The amount of damage Genbu has suffered has rendered him almost mortal. Enraged, he recognized the weakness of his former godlike powers and cursed its name. 

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Genbu has denied the former divinity that protected him, and through tremendous pain, he forcibly tore his shell from his skin, damning it an armor unworthy of wearing. Without his divinity, or his shell, Genbu was on the brink of death, Genbu gazed at the night sky, and was approached by a celestial being. Genbu, mistaking the deity for fate, was aggressively urged to stand back up with all the strength left in the black tortoise. With great effort and pain, the celestial being had saved Genbu with no power nor force but with raw encouragement. For decades, Genbu was taught to adapt to the freezing environment through trial and error. Forcing his body to endure the severe pain the mountain had to offer, until the mountain had no more to offer. Genbu sought to reclaim his godhood, only to find it within. After reaching the very top of the sixteen-mile high peak, the deserts ceased, and the cold essence of the north returned. Genbu cast out his pride and decided to share his wisdom to humanity, teaching them that no suit of armor, no matter its thickness, can match the potential of a mortal's bones. This ideology gave birth to the Genbari tribe, a group of monks and tribesmen who worship the Black Tortoise and thrive to master Endurace, the second principle of strength. Genbu, capitalizing on this principle, puts his pupils through the most brutal of tests, even if it means to endanger their lives, which happens to be a common outcome. 

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