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.

Spirit Sense focused on the Lightning

his answer would decide

Should he lie?

wouldn't even

that he had the skills to lie in front of a

for the beast's

a good reason, this

the responsibility of the decision to the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was much older and much more powerful

give

you want to know what I would do, what someone else should do, what the village should do, or what the morally correct thing to do is?"

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

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

didn't show

collectively raise the beast to

Emperor

for what a normal person would do, it would depend on their ambition. Is it worth the risk to nurture it for the eventual payoff?

Lightning Emperor's interest, but he let Shang

as for what I

would let

reason?" the

its existence has no impact or

the Lightning Emperor said with

be the strongest,"

have any shot at reaching my goal. Even more, the beast's growth might even

it turns out that the beast is stronger than me, it means my goal was impossible to achieve from the

means I might as well kill myself right

Silence.

Shang with a

tell me to kill myself?" he

you what I would do. I know that my own goals and priorities are not in line with most

"You are not me."

I might make that choice in your case, it doesn't mean that you should make that

a bit extreme. Is your goal really that important

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

are so many people in this world. Geniuses might be rare, but among billions, trillions, quadrillions,

from those geniuses, how many of them are

left from one trillion people, that is still a thousand people that I have to defeat

stops them from being