Soul Tools had become commonplace in later generations. The Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools had rendered the Tang Sect's specialties useless, and the sect had promptly fallen into decline. By the time Jodio was active, only Tang Ya and Bei Bei remained. It was hard to imagine that Tang San had founded the sect with the goal of making it the greatest on the continent.
And its succession requirements were absurd: the heir had to possess a pure Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. What could Blue Silver Grass even do? The thing Tang the God King wielded was the Blue Silver Emperor! Did he not know how weak an ordinary Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was? He had not even granted his descendants an upgrade. The Blue Silver King would have been decent, at least. But no—and they were supposed to thank him for it? Forget that.
The sect's signature techniques had been outclassed by Soul Tools, and its leader possessed a worthless Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Oh, there was a hidden Blue Silver Emperor trait too, but what could anyone expect from a trait that stayed hidden? Generations of the sect had poured money and resources into raising leaders with that Martial Soul. It would have been stranger if the sect hadn't declined.
That was how Jodio had complained to Huo Yuhao back then. Sure, honoring his teacher and proving his theory that there were no worthless Martial Souls was filial of him. But why had he not simply made his teacher a divine official and brought him to the Divine Realm? That was his sworn godfather!
As the saying went—or rather, as Jodio knew from experience—people in the countryside sometimes took a stone roller as a godmother or godfather. If Jodio ever became a god, he would not leave even his stone-roller godmother behind. He would give her sentience and take her to the Divine Realm as his mother. At the very least, he would turn her into a top-tier, stone-shaped Spirit Beast. Even grass and trees could inspire affection, so how could people feel nothing? Someone born in a feudal age ought to understand that better than Jodio. What was going on?
When Jodio had discussed all that with Tang Ya, she had completely broken down. Her faith had shattered so thoroughly that she had joined him on the spot. Sometimes people knew the truth but chose to lie to themselves. Once that lie was exposed, though, they could no longer believe it.
Even worse, when Tang San confronted him, he had used that as grounds to accuse Jodio of corrupting his descendant. Oh, come on! How was that Jodio's fault? Recounting what Tang San had done, exactly as it had happened, counted as corruption?
Fine, fine. Tang San was a god. He made the rules. Jodio would submit—if Tang San let him become a god too. What, no? Then there was nothing to discuss. Jodio would not merely corrupt Tang Ya; he would make her his confidante and have her raise her blade against Tang San. Tang San himself had called Jodio evil, so he could hardly complain if Jodio acted even more evil.
Sigh. I wonder how Little Huo and the others are doing. On his 457th day in the world of ten thousand years ago, Jodio missed them.
Jodio gathered his thoughts and focused on absorbing the Spirit Ring. The arrow pulsed within his mind, as though it had sensed the trace of a new Stand. He reached inward, yearning for one thing alone: that decisive Stand.
"Gold Experience!"
Jodio opened his eyes and saw his new hairstyle reflected in the pool. Three "doughnuts" sat in a row along his hair, giving him a lively, playful look.
"How did it go?" Flender opened his eyes and looked over. He was curious about Jodio's Martial Soul and his new Spirit Ring ability. A search through old texts could at least point him toward answers about Little Ao's and Hongjun's Spirit Rings and Martial Souls, but Jodio's was too novel.
"One moment, teacher. I'll activate it."
Jodio summoned the Stand Arrow again and lightly drew it across his fingertip. This time, he did not need to drive it deep the way he had to activate Stone Free. Giorno Giovanna had awakened naturally at twelve because of his father; a little prompt should be enough to bring out the Stand. Oh, man. What if I go for King Crimson or Killer Queen? I'd really have to stab myself hard for those. That would hurt.
"Gold Experience."
Jodio struck Giorno Giovanna's classic pose, tugging his collar with one hand and planting the other on his hip, and successfully summoned Gold Experience. It was a golden humanoid with a rounded head like a cauliflower. Purple ladybug emblems adorned its joints and chest, and cloud-shaped emblems marked its shoulders. Overall, it looked rather frail.
"Why does it look weaker than Silver Chariot and Stone Free?" Flender finally asked after studying it for a while. He was not looking down on the Stand. It genuinely looked weaker than the other two.
Silver Chariot had the look of a medieval knight; its strength was obvious at a glance. Stone Free was packed with muscle and looked imposing. But this one...
"You guessed it, teacher. This one's for support, not the main damage dealer." Jodio snapped his fingers and smiled. Giorno Giovanna might have used Gold Experience's C-ranked power to send a car flying, but that did not mean Jodio could. How did a C in power send a car flying anyway? Was that not supposed to be about the limit of an ordinary human? What ordinary person could punch a car away?
Then again, it might be possible in this world. For one thing, the world's density seemed a little inconsistent, as though parts of it were incomplete. For another, Gold Experience's C rank was measured relative to Jodio's level. At level ninety, punching a car away might genuinely count as a C—or even a D.
"Show me its ability. Is it healing?" Flender asked eagerly.
"Watch closely, teacher. Gold Experience!"
"Muda!"
At Jodio's call, Gold Experience punched a nearby stone. Flender watched in astonishment as the stone twisted and changed shape, becoming a living frog.
"This!"
Flender felt as though his entire understanding of the world had been smashed to pieces. What was this—creation? Was there a Spirit Skill like that? Plant-type Spirit Skills could make plants grow, at most. He had never heard of one producing an animal!
"This is Gold Experience's ability. He can create life, though only for a short time," Jodio explained with a distinctly Jojo-like air.
"That's incredible—but wait! Can he create Spirit Beasts?" Flender had been about to say the ability had little use when a possibility struck him. If Jodio had found so many elaborate uses for Stone Free's threads, surely he could make Spirit Beasts with this!
"Could it be?" Flender's face lit up. He seemed to have glimpsed a boundless opportunity. No way. That would make so, so much money!
"In theory, yes. But Spirit Beasts created by Gold Experience wouldn't last that long, and making them would consume far more of my Soul Power." Jodio smiled and spread his hands.
"Teacher, you should be thinking about his power of creation instead. Why do you think I called him a healing type?"
Currently available information:
Level 20 Stand: Gold Experience User: Jodio Joestar Spirit Ring: Yellow—210-year Dragon Horse Beast Destructive power: D; speed: B; range: D; stamina: D; precision: D; developmental potential: A+ Stand ability: By striking inanimate objects, Gold Experience can turn them into living things. The user can choose what type of object to transform, but in the original work, Gold Experience only created animals and plants. It is not yet known whether he can create fungi or other kinds of life. If the created life-form breaks down or dies, it reverts to the original object. Creatures born in harsh environments may develop resistance to those conditions, but an environment that is too extreme will simply prevent an object from becoming a living thing. Shortly after the Stand ability awakens, before the user has fully mastered it, creatures created by Gold Experience may protect themselves by reflecting any harm done to them back onto the attacker without alteration. This ability disappears as the user's mastery of Gold Experience develops. Gold Experience can turn objects into body parts and use them to repair injuries. The treatment is essentially surgery, however, so it is painful and cannot cure illness or poisoning. Antivenom or similar substances obtained from animals can be used to treat poisoning, and unlike Crazy Diamond, Gold Experience can heal his own user. The nature of Gold Experience's life-creation ability allows him to distinguish living things from nonliving things and detect life precisely. In addition, life created by Gold Experience appears inclined to "return to where it was born." Injecting excessive life to cause a berserk effect (not yet unlocked)
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