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 on the

that his answer would decide

Should he lie?

even

the skills to lie in

he argue for

a good reason,

to the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was much older and much more

give a neutral

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

of 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.

Lightning Emperor didn't

to either collectively raise the beast to

Lightning Emperor

eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the village. Maybe,

the Lightning Emperor's interest, but he

for what I

let

the Lightning

its existence has no impact

elaborate," the Lightning Emperor said with

be the strongest,"

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

that the beast is stronger than me, it

means I might as well kill

Silence.

Shang

just tell me to kill myself?" he

what I would do. I know that my own goals

"You are not me."

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

sounds a bit

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

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

geniuses, how many of

that is still a thousand people that I

them from