"Who are you calling a loser?" Dai Mubai demanded angrily.
"You, obviously. Are you going to deny it?" Jodio replied without sparing his feelings.
"Your surname is Dai, and your Martial Soul is a White Tiger. Do I really need to say anything else?" Jodio went on.
Dai Mubai's anger suddenly caught in his throat. He realized Jodio was right. He was a loser—a pitiful coward with a lion in his eyes who acted like a frightened fool.
"Dai Mubai, do you know what makes someone a loser or a failure in my eyes?" Jodio asked, slowly approaching him again.
"Losing a fight, failing, being defeated—none of those things make someone a loser. In my eyes, only three kinds of people are true, utter failures."
"First, someone who lets an enemy beat every last bit of fighting spirit out of him. I, Jodio Joestar, have always believed that even if you lose a battle, you must never lose yourself. You can admit defeat, but you can never accept it as permanent. Your spirit must never crumble before your opponent. You must hold on to the will to win next time, right to the very end. The people I hate most are the ones who lose their will to fight the moment someone beats them!"
"Even if all you can do is hold a grudge or curse him bitterly, you must never surrender. Curse him from the shadows if you have to, but never accept that you're a failure before him. That is a defeat of the spirit no one should ever accept!" Jodio declared, his voice ringing out.
"Second, someone cast out of a group or faction. Even primitive animals and Spirit Beasts would mock and scorn such a failure. Someone completely expelled from his own group is the lowest of losers. That is a failure in society—another level of human failure."
"Third, someone who abandons his wife or lover and runs away alone. Even animals know they must fight for the chance to reproduce. Reproduction is essential to life. If you lose that chance because you were defeated, no one can blame you. But even animals—even animals—know to stand in front of their mates and protect them! Where's your lover? Where is she?!"
Jodio sent Stone Free surging forward again. Its heavy fist smashed into Dai Mubai's face, sending blood streaming from his nose and mouth as he flew into the rubble. He rolled several times before struggling back to his feet. His head rang, and for a moment he could hear nothing. It wasn't just the punch that had deafened him. Jodio's words had, too.
Jodio was right about all of it. Dai Mubai was even worse than Jodio had described. He fit the first point perfectly. As for the second, he had left his group of his own accord, which was even worse than being forced out after a defeat. And the third went without saying: he had practically abandoned his fiancée, his other half!
But who could understand? Who could feel Dai Mubai's heartbreak? The heavens did not understand! The sea did not understand! The earth was heartless, and so were the clouds! Ah! Dai Mubai's heart broke. Dai Mubai wept. Dai Mubai rose too soon. Dai Mubai drowned in grief and pain.
"You've already admitted you're a failure. What are you still struggling for?" Jodio swung another heavy punch, this time into Dai Mubai's shoulder. Dai Mubai staggered, nearly knocked to the ground.
"I won't tolerate cowardice!"
Jodio threw another heavy punch, a hook that knocked Dai Mubai flat. Jodio was already an absurdly powerful fighter with no equal at his level. Beating Dai Mubai, who was only level 26, was almost too easy.
"Ooooooh!" Dai Mubai sprang up as if he had gone mad, flailing his fists in an attempt to fight back. But Jodio's precision far surpassed his. Stone Free nimbly dodged a few blows, then hammered Dai Mubai's abdomen with a rapid series of punches and sent him crashing down again.
"Too slow! Too slow!" Jodio leaped beside Dai Mubai as if he had triggered a follow-up attack and drove another fist into his ribs. This time, Dai Mubai could only grunt in protest. Jodio glanced at the orchid behind him. He still had at least five minutes to spare. Was this really all Dai Mubai had?
"Your fists aren't fast enough, and they don't hit hard enough." Jodio rose and turned his back on him.
"Someone like you is nothing but a failure born into privilege."
"Yuhao, what should I give you and Xiao Dong as a wedding present?" Jodio, looking for all the world like Dio, asked from horseback. Huo Yuhao was reading beside him and nearly jumped out of his skin. Then embarrassment washed over him, and he had no idea how to answer.
"What do you think, Boss?" Huo Yuhao asked, turning the question back on Jodio.
"Well, education is the most, most, most important thing. Neither of you two has any experience raising children, and I happen to be a few years older. How about I teach your child to tell jokes? I guarantee they'll make you both laugh," Jodio said enthusiastically.
"Make us laugh..." Huo Yuhao fell silent.
"Sure. You two laugh plenty when I tell jokes, don't you?" Jodio asked, baffled. Telling jokes was nothing to be ashamed of. It could lighten the mood and help people connect—a vital skill for anyone traveling the world. Why did none of them seem to understand that?
"Well..." Huo Yuhao grew even quieter. If he could help it, he did not want his future child following him around telling cold jokes every day.
"Speaking of jokes, I've got another good one. Want to hear the joke I just came up with?" Jodio asked eagerly.
"Boss, how about we talk about your Ninth Spirit Ability instead?" Huo Yuhao asked with a strained smile, forcibly changing the subject.
"What's there to talk about? Spirit Skills are great, but jokes are better." Jodio tried to gather his thoughts, only to find his joke had vanished for no apparent reason—like a drizzle during military training, or a thought about the meaning of life that surfaced during late-night entertainment only to disappear into the dark. Damn that Ninth Spirit Ability. It had thrown all his ideas into disarray.
"Oh, right, Yuhao. What you did last time was right. Better than right, in fact." Jodio remembered something else and raised a finger.
"Protecting the one you love is the third most important thing, after holding fast to your will and caring for your family. You were right to rush forward and push Xiao Dong away before that damned old Tang could grab her. You got hurt pretty badly yourself, sure, but a man's wounds are badges of honor!" Jodio said enthusiastically.
"What would you have done, Boss?" Seeing Jodio getting worked up again, Huo Yuhao hurried to interrupt and steer the conversation elsewhere.
"Me? Your boss is the most perfect, outstanding, magnificent man alive—not to mention an Ultimate Lifeform, an Ultimate Douluo, and a Prospective God. Naturally, I don't need a wife." Jodio spread his hands.
"Though Xiao Wu is pretty much my type. How about I become your new father-in-law?" Jodio asked Huo Yuhao with a cheeky grin.
"JO! DI! O!"
An enraged shout swept down from the sky. Huo Yuhao went numb with dread, but Jodio burst out laughing—"Gurararara!"—then spurred his horse into a gallop toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Run, Little Huo! Your current father-in-law's furious! Hahahaha!"
Blue light swirled around Jodio's fingers. He looked at Dai Mubai lying on the ground but ultimately did not reach out to help him up. He was waiting for Dai Mubai to rise on his own and fight him again.
"Easy for you to say, bastard." Gritting his teeth, Dai Mubai pushed against the ground with both hands and feet and shakily raised himself amid the rubble.
"You didn't live through any of it! How can you judge me like that?" Dai Mubai roared.
Currently available information:
Level 30 Stand: Stone Free
User: Jodio Joestar
Spirit Ring: Yellow—400-year Great Rock Python
Destructive power: A, speed: B, range: C+, stamina: A, precision: C+, development potential: A (fully developed to its original extent)
Stand ability: The user can turn his body into thread and control it freely. The thread remains part of his body, so he is injured if it breaks, though he can recover gradually.
The thread has a wide range of uses. In humanoid form, the Stand's range is only about 1.5 meters, and its range rating drops sharply to D.
Now that the Stand has fully developed, its six attributes may improve further as its user's Soul Power rises. Its special abilities, however, appear unlikely to develop any further.
Before you continue