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

that his answer

Should he lie?

even attempt

doubted that he had the skills to lie in front of a

for

reason, this would

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

give a neutral

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

answered as he drank more

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

Emperor didn't show

raise the beast to

Emperor

would depend on their ambition. Is it worth the risk to nurture it for the eventual payoff? The

Emperor's interest, but he

what I would

would let it

your reason?" the Lightning

existence has no impact

Lightning

to be the strongest,"

I want to have any shot at reaching my goal. Even

it turns out that the beast is stronger than me, it means

means I might as well kill

Silence.

looked at Shang with a bit

you just tell me to kill

know that my

"You are not me."

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

eyebrow. "That sounds a bit

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

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

many of them are

one trillion people, that is still a thousand

them from being the