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

his answer would decide his

Should he lie?

even

he had the skills to lie in

he argue for the beast's

good reason,

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

he give a neutral

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

answered as he drank more of

it out of the village," Shang said.

Lightning Emperor didn't show any

smartest choice for the village is to either collectively raise the beast to make it follow everyone's orders or

Lightning Emperor

nurture it for the eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the village. Maybe, they could

Emperor's interest, but he let

for what I

would let

your reason?" the

no impact or relevance,"

the Lightning Emperor said

is to be the

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

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

I might as

Silence.

Lightning Emperor looked at Shang

you just tell me to kill

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

"You are not me."

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

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

left," Shang said. "I sacrificed everything

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

how many of them are extremely

is still a thousand people that I

stops them from