Golden Rectangle, Part Two

Returning to the Star Dou Great Forest felt almost like coming home to Jodio. He had visited roughly once a year for the past three years: once to hunt for a Spirit Ring at level ten, again at level twenty, and once more to help Ma Hongjun and Oscar hunt for theirs. This was his fourth trip.

Even so, it was nothing compared to how often he had come here in the future. After he and Tang San had first clashed, Jodio had thrown caution to the wind and made plenty of trips to the Star Dou Great Forest to recruit allies. But Gu Yuena simply refused to take the bait. She would not help him, no matter what he tried. What else could he do? He was his side's strongest fighter, and even he lost more often than he won. A direct confrontation was harder still.

As for that old geezer Mu En, he had been a terror in a fight against his own side, only to lose his nerve as soon as they made peace. Damn it, he had hit Jodio hard enough before. Just because he suspected Jodio had bad intentions toward Little Huo, he had gone straight for killing blows. Well, Jodio had had bad intentions, so he could hardly blame him.

But what Mu En did later was harder to stomach. When it came time to fight Tang San, he had contributed less than that old black dragon. The dragon had dared to go all out. He was not part of the Sea God's Pavilion, after all, so he had fewer scruples and used every vicious move he had. Oh, forget it. Mu En had fought beside Jodio until he died. There was no need to rake him over the coals afterward.

At that thought, Jodio fell silent, the light fading from his eyes. If only he had possessed Crazy Diamond back then. Even Gold Experience would have done. Old Mu, your temper was awful. You treated Little Huo like your own grandson and treated me the way Shendu treated his son Drago. But at least you were willing to help me to the very end. Just wait. Just wait!

"This is the true path," Jodio said, gazing with renewed resolve toward the vast forest in the distance.

"Hm?" Flender looked down at him.

"The secret of Stands lies within it. Obsessing over power only traps you. True strength is hidden in the most precious arrangements and combinations. The Saint's Corpse. Heaven's Secret..." Jodio murmured to himself.

"Jodio, what kind of Spirit Ring are we hunting this time? Another healing one?" Flender asked. Gold Experience might not match Jodio's other two abilities in a fight, but its secondary uses were genuinely excellent. Flender had changed his mind again. Healing was the way to go!

"Let me see..." Jodio focused his spiritual power inward and sought an answer from his martial soul, the Stand Arrow. When the haze cleared, what appeared before him was, unexpectedly...

"Sharp teeth and claws, with a will that soared like a rainbow," Jodio said without thinking.

"Teacher, look for a horse-type Soul Beast or a snail-type one. An armadillo or a pangolin would work too," Jodio said.

"What, planning to focus on defense?" Flender asked jokingly.

"Teacher, have you heard of the secret of the circle?" Jodio asked, raising a finger.

"A circle? Do Teacher Shao Xin's sugar beans or Teacher Lu Qibin's Star Luo chess pieces count?" Flender asked curiously.

"Then have you ever seen an absolute circle?" Jodio asked with a smile.

"Silly boy, there's no such thing as an absolute circle. Even I know that," Flender said with a smug laugh. People on the Douluo Continent might not be keen on studying, but Flender did have a habit of collecting old odds and ends and reading old books. Over tens of thousands of years, at least a few scientifically minded people had written something down, and Flender had managed to read and understand it.

"Then what about a perfect circle?" Jodio asked.

"A perfect circle?" This time, Flender had no answer.

"Look. In this shape, the rotation can continue inward without end. It grows smaller with every turn, but never disappears or stops early because the shape becomes unstable. It's a shape that rotates infinitely. I call it the Golden Spin."

Jodio used Stone Free to sketch the general shape of the Golden Spin for Flender. Flender knew just enough mathematics to barely follow his explanation, but he still did not understand why Jodio had brought it up. Did the Soul Beast they were about to hunt, and the Spirit Ring it would grant, have something to do with this circle?

"They do. The Spirit Ring I'm after is closely tied to circles. Teacher, there are no restrictions on the Soul Beast's attribute this time. Anything with some connection to circles will do. Of course, the more circular qualities it has, the better. A ranged attack would be ideal too," Jodio explained.

"Even a hundred-year one?" Flender asked teasingly.

"A thousand-year one would be better. You know everyone would laugh at me if my third Spirit Ring were only a hundred-year ring," Jodio answered honestly. The effect would be much the same, though its power and six stats would be weaker and take longer to develop. But if his third Spirit Ring were yellow, everyone would mock him—especially his peers!

"Jodio, with a martial soul that powerful in your family, surely you can't be the only one left? Some of them could have survived by seeking the protection of another great clan," Flender said.

Flender had wondered about this for a long time, but he had never felt comfortable asking. He was afraid the question might upset Jodio. Yet the boy seemed unusually resilient and broad-minded. He appeared not to care about the subject at all and even cracked some startlingly dark jokes with Ma Hongjun and the others. That was why Flender's curiosity had finally got the better of him.

"Oh, that? We crossed someone ridiculously powerful," Jodio said, referring to Father.

"Someone ridiculously powerful?" Flender's expression turned grave. He was thinking of a Titled Douluo.

"Yeah. Incredibly powerful. He wiped out almost the entire Joestar bloodline in one fight," Jodio said with a helpless shrug. Father's Made in Heaven had been a Stand on an entirely different level. Then again, fate had played a cruel part in it too. If it had been Jotaro from Part Three, he probably would have beaten Father into a second DIO before time resumed.

"What a bastard," Flender said. How could a Titled Douluo be cruel enough to prey on such a decent, kindhearted family? Well, Jodio's own conduct was not always exemplary... But at least the boy respected his teachers, cared for his classmates, and was generous to others.

"Oh, there's a Rainbow Snail over there!" Jodio said, pointing toward a pool.

"That's a hundred-year Soul Beast. Besides, it's actually an Illusion Fox." Flender took one glance and looked away. The Rainbow Snail was a remarkable Soul Beast said to live only in the deep sea. According to legend, it lived alongside the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts known as the Abyssal Sponge, the Giant Voracious Starfish, and the Noise Octopus, and was exceedingly rare. It was also said to produce a Spirit Bone without fail, though that was only a legend. After all, who could reach the giant pineapple in the deep sea?

The Illusion Fox, meanwhile, was a Soul Beast that liked to mimic other Soul Beasts. It was so useless that hardly any Soul Master would hunt one; only someone as absurd as Shi Nian would bother. Clearly, Jodio still needed to work on his eye for Soul Beasts. Battle-hardened Flender had plenty left to teach him.

"And you know what, Teacher? The Golden Rectangle is a discovery that could turn the entire continent upside down. Soon you'll be cheering its arrival and marveling that you taught a genius among geniuses, a king among kings," Jodio said with a grin.

"Haha! Then I'll look forward to it!" Flender replied with a hearty laugh.

To be continued...