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

that his answer

Should he lie?

wouldn't even attempt

that he had the skills to lie in front of

he argue for

reason,

the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was much older

give a neutral

what I would do, what someone else should do, what the village should do, or what the

the Lightning Emperor answered

Shang said. "If you can't do that, nurture it and

didn't show

village is to either collectively raise the beast to

Lightning Emperor

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

interest, but he let Shang

what I would

let it

reason?" the Lightning Emperor

existence has no impact or relevance," Shang

the Lightning Emperor said

goal is to be the

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

than me, it means my goal was impossible to achieve from

might as well kill myself right

Silence.

Shang with a

tell me

my own goals and priorities are not in line with most people's goals

"You are not me."

your case, it doesn't mean that you should make that choice or that it

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

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

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

from those geniuses, how many of them

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

them from being the