Sword God in a World of Magic

Shang wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

For now, he decided to remain silent.

"Let me explain my conundrum with a metaphor," the Lightning Emperor said.

"Imagine you are a mortal and live in a village with 50 other villagers. You don't have any sort of real societal standards and norms, and the strongest person in the village is the leader."

"Now, imagine there is a council of five leaders since they don't want to fight each other for whatever reason, and you are one of them."

"One day, you find the offspring of a very powerful beast, which is far more powerful than any member of the council."

"You nurture it, and it follows you."

"Yet, it doesn't completely follow your commands, and you know that there is a chance that it might attack you and everyone else. After all, it is still a wild beast."

"But maybe, it will also help you."

"But also only you. What if it attacks any of the others in the village?"

"Right now, the beast is still a baby."

"So, what do you do?"

"Do you nurture it?"

"Do you kill it?"

"Do you ask the others?"

The Lightning Emperor drank another mouthful of tea.

"Everything about this beast screams risk at you. No matter what happens, it will be a risk. If it isn't one for you, it definitely will be one for the village."

"But you like the village. You live in the village. You are happy with the village."

"You don't want your beast to kill other villagers."

"But it very likely will."

"So, what would you do?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

focused on the Lightning

answer would decide

Should he lie?

even

to lie in front of

argue for the beast's

a good reason, this would feel

defer the responsibility of the decision to the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was much

give a

what someone else should do, what the village should do, or what the morally correct

them," the Lightning Emperor answered as he drank more of

it out of the village," Shang said. "If you can't do that, nurture it and trust that it won't

Lightning Emperor didn't show

raise the beast to make it follow everyone's orders or

Emperor

it worth the risk to nurture it for the eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the village. Maybe, they could even leave the village and go someplace better with the

Lightning Emperor's interest, but he

as for what I would

would let it

reason?" the Lightning

has no impact

elaborate," the Lightning Emperor said

be the strongest,"

any shot at reaching my goal. Even more, the beast's growth might even give me the incentive to

it turns out that the beast is stronger than me, it means

means I might as well kill myself

Silence.

Shang with a bit

tell me to kill myself?"

answered emotionlessly. "I told you what I would do. I know that my own goals and priorities are not in

"You are not me."

your case, it doesn't mean that

bit extreme. Is your

left," Shang said. "I sacrificed everything else, and I don't regret

Geniuses might be rare, but among billions, trillions, quadrillions, or however many people

how many of them

are only a thousand people left from one trillion people, that is still a thousand people that I have to defeat if I want to

stops them from being