Sword God in a World of Magic

Yet, even though the Lightning Emperor understood Shang better now, the problem still hadn't been resolved.

Naturally, the metaphor the Lightning Emperor had given couldn't completely cover all the aspects of the problem.

For example, while the beast in the metaphor could help the person become more powerful, Shang couldn't possibly help the Lightning Emperor become more powerful. 

The Lightning Emperor was already at the peak of what he could achieve. Even if Shang became a Warrior Emperor and even if he decided to help the Lightning Emperor with everything, what would that accomplish?

At most, the Lightning Emperor would become the strongest Emperor after Shang, but that didn't make much difference to him.

Not everyone was like Shang, and the Lightning Emperor was fine with the power he had. 

He could do what he wanted, talk with whomever he wanted, and go wherever he wanted.

Becoming the strongest Emperor wouldn't change that.

As for reaching Lucius' power, that was impossible. The Lightning Emperor knew that much.

Sure, Shang could become an incredibly powerful Warrior King, which would boost the Lightning Manor's prestige and soft power.

But then what?

They would have a bit more power for 100,000 years, and then Shang would die, and everything would return to normal.

And if he hadn't died by then, it meant that he had become an Emperor, in which case every other Emperor needed to fear for their lives.

There was nothing positive about supporting Shang.

"Your goal is to become powerful?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

Shang nodded.

"Powerful in what sense?" the Lightning Emperor asked. "Do you want to rule over others?"

"No," Shang answered.

"Do you want the freedom to do whatever you want?"

"No."

"Do you want to use your power on others?"

"No."

"Then what do you want with that power?" the Lightning Emperor asked with furrowed brows.

Everything Shang had said up to now was in tune with the world, which meant that he wasn't lying.

Yet, exactly that confused the Lightning Emperor so much.

Power was not a goal, but a means to achieve one's goal.

It was a tool.

When one was the most powerful, one could do whatever one wanted without having to fear anyone else.

Yet, it seemed like Shang only wanted to have the power without actually having a reason to use it.

It was like he was trying to hoard the most powerful weapons in the world and then just… 

Look at them?

Have them?

"Why do you want to have power?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

"Because I want to be the strongest," Shang said.

"So, the status?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

Surprisingly, Shang didn't immediately answer.

"No," Shang answered after two seconds.

The Lightning Emperor blinked a couple of times.

"Alright, so, assuming there were no people or beasts in the entire world, would you still chase after power like this?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

"Yes," Shang answered.

"You don't care about the others?"

"No."

"What if the strongest humans are at the Third Realm and you are at the Fifth Realm, and it is completely impossible for anyone else to even reach the Fourth Realm? Would you still dedicate your entire life to searching for an illustrious Sixth Realm?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

"Yes," Shang answered. 

"Why?"

"Because I want to be the strongest," Shang said. "I don't expect you to understand. I don't know why I want to be the strongest myself. I just want to."

"I feel like this is why I exist."

"It feels like this is what I am supposed to do, and if I can't achieve it, nothing else matters," Shang explained.

The Lightning Emperor was completely ignoring his tea at this point since he was too enraptured by this enigma of a personality.

"That doesn't sound like an ambition," the Lightning Emperor said. "It sounds like mind control."

"Mind control?" Shang asked.

"Yes, mind control. Humans do things because they have reasons to do these things. You can question every conscious action of a human with a why, and you would always get an answer, assuming the other party is honest."

"You want power, right?"

Shang nodded.

"Why do you want power?"

"Because I want power."

"Exactly that's the problem," the Lightning Emperor said. "Your action is self-referential. The reason for your action is your action, and your action is your reason."

"It exists because it exists."

"While there may be things in this world that might actually have this reason for existing, a human's action definitely isn't one of these things."

"There's always a reason, and even if you don't know the reason, you can be assured that it is still there."

"Just because you don't know that something exists doesn't mean that it doesn't exist."

"Okay," Shang said. "Then, what's my reason for wanting power?"

"I don't know since I haven't seen your life," the Lightning Emperor said. 

Then, the Lightning Emperor sighed. "I think we have strayed too far from the actual topic. Let me ask you some more questions."

Shang nodded.

"Assuming you became a Warrior King and you reached the top of your Realm, what would you do next?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

"Find a way to become an Emperor," Shang answered.

"Okay, assuming you are an Emperor, what would you do then?" he asked.

"Find a way to become a God," Shang answered without any hesitation.

"Is there a specific reason why you want to become a God?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

At that moment, some things shot through Shang's mind.

These things were all related to Shang's interactions with the God.

The way the God had toyed with Shang.

The way the God had shown that Shang was nothing more than mere entertainment.

Shang realized that his goal had once been to kill the God for exactly these things, and for that, he needed power.

This had once been his goal.

This had once been the reason why Shang wanted to become powerful.

But then, after going through so much suffering and shit, the God's actions had become almost negligible.

Yes, the God's power over Shang made him feel insignificant and suppressed, but compared to all the things Shang had done to become powerful, the God's antics just seemed so unimportant.

It was like Shang was thirsty and there was a bottle of water on top of a mountain of swords and blades.

Sure, Shang wanted that water, but that bottle of water wasn't worth this perilous and painful journey.

It would be better to just walk away and find water somewhere else.

After climbing the mountain for so long, Shang had completely forgotten why he was climbing the mountain in the first place.

He was just climbing.

Why was he climbing?

Because he wanted to reach the top.

Why did he want to reach the top?

He didn't know.

He just wanted to.

Why didn't he just stop and turn around?

Metaphorically, Shang looked back at the trail of blood he had left behind.

It was a trail of destruction, suffering, torture, and fear.

Then, he looked at the top of the mountain again.

He had already come so far.

If he turned around now, wouldn't that make all his suffering for nothing?

And then, Shang remembered the bottle of water on top of the mountain of swords and blades.

It didn't really matter, but since he was already here, he might as well grab that bottle.

And after that?