Soul Master Registration

After Tang Hao left, Madara did not immediately head out into the world. Instead, he focused on finding ways to improve his abilities as much as possible.

If he wanted to venture out, he needed to further increase his strength.

But Madara was also troubled by one matter: making a living. How was he supposed to eat?

Tang Hao had not left him a single coin when he departed. In his desperation, Madara could only solve the problem himself.

When Old Jack learned that Madara had become a Soul Master, he was overjoyed and often brought him things from home.

But relying on others for support every day was not a long-term solution. So Madara successfully inherited Tang Hao's trade in Sacred Soul Village—blacksmithing.

Although it was his first time doing it, Madara had previously observed and learned the force-generating techniques of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer through the Sharingan. He had only grasped the basics, but forging new farm tools for the villagers was no problem.

During these days, Madara's strength had not stagnated. He had been using every spare moment to study Soul Power and Chakra.

In his view, Chakra was energy produced by the combination of cells and spiritual energy, and Soul Power was much the same. Soul Power required a Martial Soul as a prerequisite. A Martial Soul was developed from the human soul and was an external manifestation of part of that soul.

It then combined with the energy within the body, thereby producing Soul Power. The creation of Chakra was similar.

He had even mastered the mutual conversion of Soul Power and Chakra.

Yet deep down, Madara still believed that Chakra was slightly superior to Soul Power. After all, Chakra had the more advanced Sage Chakra as a further evolution, while Soul Power did not.

Perhaps one day, he could fuse Soul Power and Chakra to create an even more powerful and terrifying Chakra Soul Power. Surely it would not be as simple as one plus one equaling two. Madara felt that his idea was rather fanciful.

But Madara shook his head again, feeling that his goal was somewhat out of reach.

He was still too weak!

Moreover, after so many days of forging, Madara's formerly pale and skinny body had begun to show muscle, and he had grown much stronger than before.

His forging skills had improved as well. At the very least, he had learned how to forge ninja tools himself, so he would not have to worry about being unable to replenish his Kunai and Shuriken.

Thus, day after day, Madara lived a repetitive and dull life that he nonetheless enjoyed.

Until one day, Su Yuntao returned.

"Have you thought it over? If you keep forging iron here, you'll spend your whole life with no prospects," Su Yuntao said after taking a sip of the tea Old Jack had brewed. "Do you want to join Spirit Hall?"

Madara continued hammering the farm tool on the anvil, one strike after another. But he opened his Martial Soul Sharingan, and a yellow soul ring appeared around him—a silent answer.

"You've actually already become a Soul Master? So quickly?" Su Yuntao's eyes widened in disbelief, and even his teacup fell to the floor.

He found it inconceivable. How had this kid obtained a soul ring? Sacred Soul Village did not have a single Soul Master.

But that was unimportant. What mattered was that if Su Yuntao could bring Madara into Spirit Hall, promotion and wealth would be within reach.

At that thought, Su Yuntao's heart burned with excitement. He was even happier than Madara, the owner of the soul ring.

Madara frowned as he felt Su Yuntao's eager gaze.

Unprompted kindness usually hides ulterior motives. That was something Tang San had once said.

Seeing that Madara remained unmoved, Su Yuntao had an idea. "Judging by the way you live, things must be rather tight, right?"

"Why not register as a Soul Master? A One-Ring Soul Master can receive one Gold Soul Coin every month. That should be enough to support you."

Su Yuntao believed that as long as Madara came every month to collect the reward, there would be plenty of opportunities to interact with him. With a little more temptation...

The hammering finally stopped. Madara set down his hammer and asked, "Where do I register?"

"At Spirit Hall, of course! Don't worry, I'm not trying to recruit you. Soul Masters across the continent all register there!"

Madara pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Fine."

No one had ever told him about this. After all, there were no other Soul Masters in the village besides him.

And Tang Hao had left in too much of a hurry to consider such things. That was why Madara only now learned that Soul Masters needed to register.

After bidding Old Jack farewell, Madara followed Su Yuntao to Nuoding City.

Although Nuoding City was merely a small border city of the empire, an inconspicuous place on the map,

to Madara, who had never left before, it still seemed fairly prosperous.

The moderately tall city walls and heavy iron gates did not interest Madara in the slightest.

After all, Konoha's walls had been built by ninja and were far taller than these.

What Madara found novel were the ancient-style buildings within the city, full of exotic charm.

"We're here. This is the place." Su Yuntao looked proudly at the magnificent Spirit Hall before them.

Madara then glanced at the City Lord's Mansion beside it, which paled in comparison. Spirit Hall's influence is probably even greater than the empire's. It must be an unimaginably powerful superpower.

But what did that have to do with him?

Still, if it stood in his way, then Madara would not be polite.

To people of this world, it was utterly laughable for a young child like Madara to threaten one of the continent's greatest powers.

"Make the arrangements. This child needs Soul Master Registration," Su Yuntao instructed a staff member after bringing Madara into the hall.

The staff member was also shocked and looked at Madara in disbelief.

"Understood. This way, Lord Soul Master," the staff member said eagerly.

Soon, the staff member brought Madara before a lavishly decorated room.

Bang, bang, bang!

"Come in!" An aged yet vigorous voice came from within the room.

"Hello, little friend. Are you here to awaken your Martial Soul?" After Madara entered, a richly dressed old man asked with a genial smile.

The old man was plump and smiling, clearly someone with a kind temperament.

"You may call me Grandpa Ma Xiunuo," the old man added cheerfully.

Madara merely gave him a cold glance and said flatly, "I'm here to register as a Soul Master!"

"Wait, register as a Soul Master? You're the child Little Su mentioned!" Ma Xiunuo's eyes widened.

"I will not join Spirit Hall!" Madara would never allow himself to be controlled by others.

"..."

"What an impolite little brat!" Ma Xiunuo muttered as he rummaged through boxes and cabinets. Somehow, he pulled out a crystal ball and walked over to Madara. "Little friend, you should have just broken through, right? If it has only been a few months since your breakthrough, then you should be level eleven..."

Before Ma Xiunuo could finish, the crystal ball in Madara's hand had already lit up with a hazy yellow glow. The light was not especially intense, but it was exceptionally clear.

"Th-this is... fifteen levels of Soul Power." Ma Xiunuo stared at Madara, his mouth wide enough to fit an egg. "Little friend, may Grandpa ask how old you are?"

"Nearly seven."

Madara paid no attention to his gaze. He was simply another person who would praise him as a genius.

Madara knew only that his power had been earned through battle after battle, through countless bloody struggles.

After all, I am Uchiha Madara!

Ma Xiunuo still smiled with some regret. "From now on, you are an official Soul Master. You can receive one Gold Soul Coin each month. Once you reach two rings, you can receive ten! Work hard!"

"Understood."

When Madara left Spirit Hall, there was an additional badge in his hand, specially crafted by Spirit Hall. The badge was round, and his name was engraved on the back.

Tossing the badge in his hand, Madara wandered aimlessly through the streets when a shop filled with clanging sounds caught his attention.

A hammer sign hung over its entrance. On the Douluo Continent, that meant it was a Blacksmith Shop.

From the outside, this Blacksmith Shop was far larger than the one at Madara's home, with quite a few customers coming and going.

Madara stopped in front of it. Xiao San should still be persisting with his forging, right?