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

that his answer

Should he lie?

wouldn't even attempt

doubted that he had the skills to lie in front of

argue for the beast's

reason, this

decision to the Lightning Emperor? After all, he

give a neutral

what the village should do, or

the Lightning Emperor answered as

do would be to send it out of the village," Shang said. "If you can't do

Lightning Emperor didn't show

choice for the village is to either collectively raise the beast to make it follow

Lightning Emperor remained

ambition. Is it worth the risk to nurture it for the eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the

piqued the Lightning Emperor's interest, but he let

as for what

let it

reason?" the Lightning

no

Lightning Emperor said with

be the strongest,"

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

beast is stronger than me, it means

I might as

Silence.

looked at Shang with

tell me to kill myself?" he

do. I know that my own goals and priorities

"You are not me."

make that choice in your case, it doesn't mean that

raised an eyebrow. "That sounds a bit extreme. Is your goal really that important

have left," Shang said. "I sacrificed everything else, and I

in this world. Geniuses might be rare, but among billions, trillions, quadrillions, or however many people there are, there have to be lots of

many of them are extremely

trillion people, that is still a thousand people that I have to defeat if

stops them from