Ma Xiaotao

Biodata

Appearance

Ma Xiaotao wears red and has fiery red hair 36.

• Her Phoenix Wings Soaring skill produces enormous wings of fire and a long phoenix tail 39.

Personality

Ma Xiaotao has a fiery temper and dislikes conceding defeat, particularly to someone younger. After learning that Jiang Wu had knocked her unconscious, she sought him out despite Yan Shaozhe’s warning not to challenge him. Wu Ming says Xiaotao responds to kindness rather than force 37 38 42.

She is confident in her fighting ability, agreeing to suppress her strength against Jiang Wu while believing she could not lose. She also mischievously suggested that Yan Shaozhe try to win Jiang Wu away from Xian Lin’er 37 39.

Abilities & Skills

Fire Phoenix Martial Soul

Ma Xiaotao is a six-ring Soul Emperor who uses fire attacks and aerial combat. Even with her Soul Power suppressed to three rings, she remains a fast and forceful close-range fighter 39 43.

• Phoenix Fire Line — First Soul Skill: Spits a straight line of crimson fire hot enough to burn through a tree trunk 39.
• Phoenix Bathing in Fire — Second Soul Skill: Wraps her in red-gold flames, enhancing her phoenix fire attributes and perception 39.
• Phoenix Wings Soaring — Third Soul Skill: Creates fiery wings that enable flight, doubles her flame temperature, and greatly extends the range of her fire attacks 39.

Evil Fire

Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire can erupt and cause her to lose control. Such episodes were familiar to Shrek Academy’s upper echelons 40 41.

• When she loses control, her Soul Power becomes unstable and her defenses drop sharply 37.
• During her spar with Jiang Wu, she warned him to get away as the Evil Fire surged, but was unable to restrain herself 40.

History

Sea God Lake incident

Ma Xiaotao lost control and charged across Sea God Lake toward Jiang Wu’s group. Jiang Wu briefly restrained her with Illusory Charm Eyes, ambushed her from behind, and knocked her unconscious before bringing her safely to the ground. Teachers later confirmed that she was not seriously injured 35 36 37.

She woke in an Inner Court secret chamber with only patchy memories of the incident. Yan Shaozhe explained that Jiang Wu, an eleven-year-old freshman with three rings, had subdued her. Despite his advice to leave Jiang Wu alone, she resolved to test his strength 37.

Spar with Jiang Wu

The next day, Ma Xiaotao carried Jiang Wu to a secluded grove and challenged him. They agreed that she would suppress her strength to three rings: if Jiang Wu won, she would grant him two reasonable requests; if he lost, he would buy her meals for a month 38 39.

Their spar progressed from hand-to-hand combat to an exchange of fire attacks and Jiang Wu’s Mitu Shockwaves. As the fight intensified, Ma Xiaotao exceeded the agreed three-ring limit. Her Evil Fire then erupted; she grabbed and kissed Jiang Wu until Xian Lin’er knocked her unconscious 39 40.

Yan Shaozhe promised that Ma Xiaotao would apologize after waking, while Xian Lin’er insisted that Jiang Wu receive compensation. Three months later, Jiang Wu had not seen Ma Xiaotao again; he speculated that she was ashamed, though her reason was not confirmed 41 44.

Relationships

• Yan Shaozhe — Her teacher. He cared for her after both incidents and warned her against challenging Jiang Wu 37 40 41.
• Jiang Wu — The freshman who subdued her at Sea God Lake and later sparred with her. Wu Ming believed Xiaotao would remember him and likely seek a rematch 36 38 42.
• Wu Ming — Her Inner Court senior, who has known her for years and described her temperament to Jiang Wu 41 42.
• Xian Lin’er — Jiang Wu’s teacher, who intervened when Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire erupted during their spar 40 41.