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.

Sense focused

answer

Should he lie?

even

doubted that he had the skills to

for the

a good reason,

the decision to the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was much older and much

he give a

do, what someone else should do, what the village should do, or what the morally correct thing to do is?"

the Lightning Emperor answered as he

village," Shang said. "If

Emperor didn't show

for the village is to either collectively raise the beast to make it follow everyone's

Lightning Emperor remained

eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the village. Maybe, they could even

Emperor's interest,

as for what I

let

your reason?" the Lightning

has no

elaborate," the Lightning Emperor

to be

reaching my goal. Even more, the beast's growth might even give me the incentive to train even harder than

that the beast is stronger than me, it means my goal

as

Silence.

at Shang with a bit of

just tell me to kill myself?"

my own goals and

"You are not me."

doesn't mean that you should make that choice or that it is the correct

"That sounds a bit extreme. Is your

is all I have left," Shang said. "I sacrificed

in this world. Geniuses might be rare, but among billions, trillions, quadrillions,

those geniuses, how many of them are

trillion people, that is still a thousand people that

them from being the