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

his answer would decide

Should he lie?

even attempt

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

for the beast's

good reason, this

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

give

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

them," the Lightning Emperor answered as he drank more

morally correct thing to do would be to send it out of the village," Shang said. "If you can't do that, nurture it and

didn't show

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

Emperor remained

their ambition. Is it worth the risk to nurture it for the eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the village. Maybe, they could even leave the village and go someplace better

piqued the Lightning Emperor's interest, but he let

as for what I

let it

your reason?" the Lightning Emperor

its existence has no impact or relevance,"

the Lightning Emperor

is to be the strongest,"

be stronger than the beast if I want to have any shot at reaching my goal. Even more, the beast's growth

is stronger than me, it means my goal was impossible to

I might as well

Silence.

Emperor looked at Shang with

you just tell me

know that my own goals

"You are not me."

mean that

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

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

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

those geniuses, how many of them

that is still a thousand people that

from being the