Published: February 12, 2025
“Isn’t it a bit too eager to meet him today?”
His wife placed the prepared dishes on the table, and opposite her, Yao Han Su paused as he reached for his utensils.
“Is it?” Yao Han Su smiled and began to eat, “We have to meet eventually, so it’s better to do it sooner and save ourselves the worry.”
“By acting this way, you still give everyone the impression that you are very concerned or unwilling to give up. This will have an impact on your future leadership of the entire clan.”
Yao Han Su chewed slowly and replied, “In the history of the Su Clan, while there has never been a time when the clan leader held exclusive power, when it comes to the future of the entire clan, whether the leader can decisively stand against opposition and address problems in a timely manner requires immense courage and determination.”
“But is there really any crisis concerning the future of the Su Clan right now?” His wife didn’t understand her husband’s thoughts. She felt that the emergence of the adaptable formation had inflated his ambitions and awakened his desire for power. As his wife, she felt it was her responsibility to remind him.
Yao Han Su fell silent for a moment, then said, “Don’t you think that the stagnation of the Su Clan itself is a crisis?”
“The stagnation of the Su Clan coincides with the overall decline of other clans. Isn’t that a different kind of progress?” His wife was not the type to ignore the outside world; she was very aware of many things and had her own judgments.
“While the overall situation may indeed be regressing, the strength of the super clans, even the large clans, is actually improving. My judgment is that two factions have already reached a tacit understanding; they are going to shuffle the deck and eliminate those races and lives they consider burdens, in order to gain more resources and living space. Once they succeed, they can flexibly choose whether to counterattack the Slave Clan or abandon the conflict altogether and seek a new planet to settle on.”
What Yao Han Su saw was entirely different from what his wife perceived.
“And our Su Clan, while still a super clan, has not moved from the last place in the overall ranking since we fell there. Yes, it may seem like we’re doing fine, as one of the leading races in the three major factions, but look at the large clans behind us—aren't the gaps between us becoming smaller? This is just the visible data; what about the real situation? Besides the adaptable formation, it seems we have nothing to hide, and even the data may be a bit exaggerated, but other clans are hiding their true situation. What if it’s worse than any of us could imagine?”
Yao Han Su had been the leader of the Su Clan for many years and rarely argued with anyone, much less expressed his thoughts so clearly. But today, he was facing his wife, and he hoped to gain her support.
“Besides ourselves, the races under our banner are also too weak. If war were to break out, their help would be minimal. We would have to handle everything ourselves, and even provide protection for them, while the two other factions have several powerful clans under them that can stand on their own. The disparity in strength between us and them is simply too great.”
“In this situation, as the leader of the Su Clan, I have to think of every possible way to address these issues. Even if I cannot completely ensure the Su Clan's safety, I must at least make some efforts. That way, even if it ultimately proves fruitless, I won’t have any regrets.”
The leader of the Su Clan had stopped eating. His voice was deep, and his expression was serious; clearly, these were his true thoughts.
His wife lowered her head in silence, not speaking until she finished her meal, then softly said, “But your plan to cultivate Jie Su, even wanting him to become your successor, is still too dangerous. It could cause internal divisions within the Su Clan.”
Yao Han Su waved his hand and didn’t say anything more.