The Obligations of the Elderly - Chapter 24

Qiu Xia carried out the stack of books he had borrowed from the Academy Library, placing the thick pile on the floor. The two brothers immediately buried themselves in their studies.

Dong Chun was in charge of keeping Ah Ji company. He was still young, only seven years old. Even though he knew that his little brother was an even more powerful Vessel than himself, he just thought it was “cool” and didn’t really understand the significance.

“The most suitable parties for Form Contract are those who are evenly matched, that is, the Vessel’s capacity is just enough to contain all of the User’s Energy. Only in this way can the User fully utilize the Vessel’s abilities,” Qiu Xia read aloud from one of the books he was holding.

“You can think of this process as putting on clothes. Only when you wear clothes that fit can you move freely and look good. If you wear clothes that are a size too big, they’ll be loose and you might even trip over them. If they’re a size too small, you might tear them,” Gong Si summarized.

“That’s exactly right.” Nodding, Qiu Xia continued flipping the pages.

“Vessels are divided into nine levels: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. Each level is further subdivided into ‘-‘, ‘standard’, and ‘+’. Among them, SSS-Class is also called Legendary-Class. Currently, most of the Vessels in the world are below A-Class, accounting for 99.5% of all Vessels. Those at A+ and above make up the remaining 0.5%, and are extremely rare.” Qiu Xia read, glancing at his two younger brothers in front of him, and said in awe, “So few people are at that level.”

“Didn’t they tell you about this?” Gong Si glanced at his second brother.

“Not much. I’m still catching up on knowledge about Users,” Qiu Xia replied, lowering his head in embarrassment at being questioned by his older brother.

When it came to academics, he had never let his brother down!

“Compared to the finely graded Vessels, the classification of Users is much rougher. The lowest level is simply called ‘User’, followed by ‘Controller’, ‘Dominator’, and ‘Ruler’. The Energy values within each level can vary greatly, but they are grouped together based on the highest level of Vessel they can use.”

“Among them, ‘Ruler’ is also called ‘Feudal Lord’ level. They can use S-Class and SS-Class Vessels. Above that is ‘King-Class’, which corresponds to SSS-Class Legendary-Class Vessels.”

“Just as high-level Vessels are rare, the higher the User’s level, the rarer they are.”

“In general tests, the highest level of User that can be detected is usually ‘Dominator’. Only in very rare cases does a ‘Ruler’ appear. The vast majority of ‘Rulers’ are promoted from ‘Dominator’ after forming a contract with a high-level, development-potential Vessel.” Qiu Xia finished reading the key points.

“I have an idea.” At this point, Gong Si propped his face with his left hand and snapped his fingers with his right. “Can you Form Contract with Ah Ji?”

“Of course, it would be best if you could Form Contract with Dong Chun as well. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about Ah Ji, or you and Dong Chun.” The more Gong Si thought about it, the more he felt it was a good idea.

Then he saw Qiu Xia’s face turn red.

“What? Why did your face suddenly turn so red?” Gong Si shivered a little.

“You can’t!” Qiu Xia’s voice, for once, was a little shy and annoyed. “Vessels and Users who are related by blood are generally not advised to Form Contract.”

“Why not?” Gong Si raised his left eyebrow.

“Because Form Contract is a kind of Soul Contract. The feeling of forming the contract, and even the feeling when cooperating later on… um… it’s very similar to a relationship between husband and wife! Brothers absolutely can’t do that!” Qiu Xia finished quickly and quietly, stiffening his neck and refusing to say another word, looking as if he was thinking, “I’ve said all I’m going to say, and nothing can make me continue.”

That would have been the end of it, but his fair face was now completely red.

“Is… that so? Well, if you say it’s not allowed, then it’s not allowed. I guess I’ll have to drop that option,” Gong Si said. He still didn’t quite understand, but trusting his second brother, he decided not to ask further.
“Keep looking at the relevant regulations,” Gong Si instructed his younger brother.

Neither of them were poor students, but Gong Si knew that he was simply diligent-he only studied hard for the sake of scholarships, which was why his grades were good. Qiu Xia was different. Qiu Xia was naturally intelligent; he could get good grades without studying seriously, and if he did put in effort, Gong Si couldn’t hope to catch up. For tasks involving “getting started quickly” or “mastering everything at a glance,” Qiu Xia was much more suitable than himself.

Picking up the next book, Qiu Xia continued his research.

“So, the most suitable User for S-Class and SS-Class Vessels is ideally a ‘Ruler’-level, followed by a Dominator with exceptionally outstanding potential; the person’s ability attribute is best as Water Type, and if not Water Type, at least a type that can run parallel to or merge with Water Type; finally, the person’s age should be about the same as Ah Ji, or else very old and close to passing away?”

After a whole night of studying the basics of Form Contract, even though Gong Si wasn’t the one mainly reading, he still felt his liver burning from exhaustion.

“Yes, because once a Form Contract is made, it can’t be easily dissolved. Usually, the least damaging way to dissolve the contract is for one party to die naturally. Any attempt to break the contract midway will cause serious harm to both parties, and in severe cases, may even endanger their lives. The party initiating the dissolution suffers even more,” Qiu Xia explained. “So, when finding a Form Contract partner for Ah Ji, the other party should either live as long as possible, or as short as possible. That’s what’s most beneficial for Ah Ji.”

“Also, the other party must have power and influence-at least more than those people outside.”

His eyes were red as well.

But looking at his two younger brothers sleeping soundly wrapped in blankets, he gently pulled the covers up for them.

“Aaaah! Where am I supposed to find a powerful, influential, Water Type Ruler who’s about to kick the bucket for Ah Ji?!” Gong Si cried out in frustration.

He flopped backward, shutting his eyes tightly.

“Eldest Brother, for some reason, the way you put it sounds a bit shady…” Qiu Xia covered his brother with a blanket as well, then lay down beside him.

“It sounds a bit like a young wife scheming to marry an old, wealthy man,” Qiu Xia said, closing his eyes.

“Tsk~ Qiu Xia, I can’t believe you’d use such an improper analogy.” Gong Si couldn’t help glancing at his second brother-after all, he was always so proper and upright!

“But you’re right. That’s exactly the kind of person we’re looking for,” Gong Si said, staring at the ceiling.

“We need to pick the most powerful and influential person among those outside,” Gong Si wasn’t stupid. The fiasco that afternoon had made things clear: with just their own strength, they couldn’t protect Ah Ji. Not only Ah Ji, but he might not even be able to protect Qiu Xia and Dong Chun. Who knew what those people would do to Qiu Xia and Dong Chun, who were just as outstanding, when trying to snatch Ah Ji?

Because of this, he could only choose the strongest among them and borrow that person’s power to protect them.

“Then, find the oldest among those people,” Qiu Xia whispered beside him.

“Yeah, we can do it. Isn’t it usually the case that the older someone is, the more savings they have? We’ll definitely find that person,” Gong Si said confidently.

“Let’s sleep for now. We need a good rest. Starting tomorrow, every day will be a battlefield,” Gong Si said, reaching out to cover his brother’s eyelids.