# The Burning God
Author:: R. F. Kuang
## Highlights
> But the fact that his life was at stake lent an edge to her fighting. It made her sharper, warier, less likely to take risks and more likely to strike hard and fast when she could. She no longer fought from pure rage. She fought to protect him—and that, she had discovered, changed everything. ([Location 268](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B084VP8KNB&location=268))
> Maybe no one was truly a beast. Maybe that was just how murder became possible. You took away someone’s humanity, and then you killed them. At Sinegard, Strategy Master Irjah had taught them once that during the heat of battle, they should regard their opponents as objects, abstract and disparate parts and not the sum, because that would make it easier to plunge a blade into a pumping heart. But maybe if you looked at someone as not an object but an animal, you could not only commit the murder without flinching, you could let yourself take some pleasure in it. Then it felt good, the same way kicking down anthills felt good. ([Location 345](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B084VP8KNB&location=345))
---
Title: The Burning God
Author: R. F. Kuang
Tags: readwise, books
date: 2024-01-30
---
# The Burning God
Author:: R. F. Kuang
## AI-Generated Summary
None
## Highlights
> But the fact that his life was at stake lent an edge to her fighting. It made her sharper, warier, less likely to take risks and more likely to strike hard and fast when she could. She no longer fought from pure rage. She fought to protect him—and that, she had discovered, changed everything. ([Location 268](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B084VP8KNB&location=268))
> Maybe no one was truly a beast. Maybe that was just how murder became possible. You took away someone’s humanity, and then you killed them. At Sinegard, Strategy Master Irjah had taught them once that during the heat of battle, they should regard their opponents as objects, abstract and disparate parts and not the sum, because that would make it easier to plunge a blade into a pumping heart. But maybe if you looked at someone as not an object but an animal, you could not only commit the murder without flinching, you could let yourself take some pleasure in it. Then it felt good, the same way kicking down anthills felt good. ([Location 345](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B084VP8KNB&location=345))