Ma Xiaotao

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ma Xiaotao
Alias(es)	Inner Court “Living Volcano”; one of the Inner Court’s Two Great Living Volcanoes 53 230
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Shrek Academy; Shrek Inner Court; Sea God’s Pavilion 106 557
Occupation/Role	Outer Court dean of discipline; assault-system combatant and team captain 155 311
Martial Soul	Evil Fire Phoenix, later evolved into the Ultimate Fire Phoenix 39 311
Status	Alive 546 557
First Appearance	Chapter 6

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Soul Emperor (six rings)	39	Revealed six soul rings while berserk at Sea God Lake; her Evil Fire Phoenix was a top-tier beast martial soul whose flames approached Ultimate Fire. 39
Level 68 Soul Emperor	106	Advanced from level 67 after Ji Lin repeatedly suppressed her evil fire with Ultimate Ice, allowing safer cultivation. 106
Soul Saint	217	Broke through before joining Zhang Lexuan’s soul-beast-hunting team. 217
Soul Douluo	311	Absorbed Blazing Glue, purified and evolved her martial soul into the Ultimate Fire Phoenix, then broke through. 311

Background

Ma Xiaotao is a descendant of Ma Hongjun and bears a Phoenix God bloodline. Her inherited Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul granted exceptional destructive potential, but its evil fire tormented her from the beginning of her cultivation and could drive her berserk. She endured this condition for years rather than accept Yan Shaozhe’s proposed solution of marrying solely to vent the evil fire. 41 55 280 542

As a Shrek Inner Court disciple and Yan Shaozhe’s student, she gained a formidable reputation before the age of twenty. She was already regarded as one of the Inner Court’s “Living Volcanoes” and possessed talent far beyond ordinary core disciples. 53 106 230

Her condition changed after Ji Lin revealed his Ultimate Ice martial soul. His ice could suppress the evil fire at its source, enabling Ma Xiaotao to cultivate and fight without constantly fearing loss of control. 54 55

Appearance

Ma Xiaotao is a tall, well-proportioned woman with a strikingly curvaceous build and an intense, youthful presence. She commonly wears red clothing and a red veil that conceals most of her face. 6 53

• Fiery red hair, described as blood-red during her berserk episodes. 39 311
• Pale-pink eyes with a naturally bewitching quality, usually tempered by her cold gaze. 6 53
• Often associated with scarlet-gold phoenix flames and large phoenix wings when fighting. 156 311
• In her berserk state, wears a red mask; her eyes turn blood-red and her body emits a fierce, chilling aura. 39

Personality

Ma Xiaotao is proud, direct, competitive, and intensely battle-hungry. She has little patience for people she dislikes, as demonstrated by her blunt treatment of Gongyang Mo, but is decisive when selecting allies and directing a team. 107 114

Her struggle against evil fire developed exceptional mental endurance. Rather than surrender to a convenient solution she did not want, she chose to bear the pain for years. 41 55

She can be impulsive when angered by injustice or provocation, but takes responsibility for her mistakes. After the Death’s Hand incident, she admitted that her failure to observe the situation carefully had contributed to the team’s danger. 119

Around Ji Lin, Ma Xiaotao is notably gentler, more open, and highly trusting. Her willingness to give him her soul’s origin flame demonstrates the extent of that trust. 107 512 546

Abilities & Skills

Ultimate Fire Phoenix

Ma Xiaotao’s original Evil Fire Phoenix was a top-tier fire beast martial soul, but its evil attribute caused recurring loss of control. Ji Lin’s assistance first allowed her flames to manifest temporarily as a True Fire Phoenix; later, Blazing Glue permanently purified her bloodline into the Ultimate Fire Phoenix. 39 156 311

• Her Ultimate Fire incinerates poison, corpse qi, and evil miasma before they can reach her. 541 542
• Her flames can suppress opponents whose martial souls or abilities are vulnerable to extreme heat. 542 545
• Her refined phoenix flames later gained traces of Ji Lin’s destructive aura, suggesting a further possible evolution. 545
• Before her evolution, using her full strength risked triggering the Evil Fire and sending her berserk. 41 164

Phoenix Soul Skills

Ma Xiaotao’s core combat style combines aerial mobility, all-round self-enhancement, crowd control, and overwhelming area attacks.

• Phoenix Firewire — Fires concentrated phoenix flame from her mouth. 109
• Phoenix Nirvana — Her second soul skill; provides all-round enhancement and greatly strengthens her flames. 109 156
• Phoenix Wing Sky Soar — Her third soul skill; grants flight, doubles flame temperature, and expands attack range by 50%. 156
• Phoenix Howling Sky Strike — Her fourth soul skill; a powerful offensive and crowd-control attack that can immobilize opponents and dispel their external enhancements. 39 110 157
• Phoenix Meteor Shower — Her sixth and strongest skill as a Soul Emperor; summons a large-scale rain of golden-red fire meteors over the battlefield. 109 173

Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens

Ma Xiaotao’s hundred-thousand-year eighth soul skill manifests vast phoenix flames capable of engulfing multiple high-level enemies. As a Soul Douluo, she used it to destroy Xu Tianran’s imperial study and shatter a Level 9 Soul Tool Shield, though the Sun Moon Qiankun Pot stopped the attack. 414

• Temporarily suppressed Zhongli Wu and six Holy Spirit Cult consecrators during Tang Ya’s rescue. 544 545
• Its Ultimate Fire can force even powerful Evil Soul Masters into a defensive position. 545
• Requires substantial support or expenditure for its greatest battlefield effect. 414 415

Phoenix Nirvana Sacred Mark

Ma Xiaotao possesses the Sacred Mark Skill Phoenix Nirvana, which functions as a second life. She may preserve a sliver of her soul’s origin flame; upon death, her soul transfers to that flame and revives after absorbing sufficient soul power. Its cooldown is one year. 546

• She entrusted her soul’s origin flame to Ji Lin, giving him control over the condition necessary for her revival. 546
• During the Tang Ya rescue, she remained behind to cover the group’s retreat, was killed by Ji Lin to prevent capture, and subsequently revived through the skill. 546

Relationships

• Ji Lin — Romantic partner and the person who repeatedly suppressed her evil fire with Ultimate Ice. Ma Xiaotao later entrusted him with her soul’s origin flame. 54 55 225 546
• Yan Shaozhe — Her teacher and the dean who warned her about the lethal danger of her Evil Fire Phoenix condition. 41
• Zhang Lexuan — Fellow Shrek powerhouse and close ally; both are considered candidates capable of inheriting the Sea God Pavilion Master position. 217 542
• Ling Luochen — Inner Court colleague and elemental opposite. Their conflicting fire-and-ice attributes initially contributed to a poor relationship, though they later fought missions together. 6 114
• Dai Yueheng — Fellow frontline leader and frequent competitive counterpart in Shrek team battles. 107 110 155
• Bei Bei — Fellow Shrek and Tang Sect ally. Ma Xiaotao volunteered to help rescue Tang Ya and fought beside the rescue force. 513 549

Story Role / Major Arcs

Sea God Lake Berserk Incident

Ma Xiaotao loses control near Sea God Lake and attacks Ji Lin and Wang Qiuer while in a berserk state. Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill drains her soul power and causes her to collapse unconscious, revealing the severity of her Evil Fire problem. 39 40

After learning that Ji Lin possesses Ultimate Ice, she personally seeks his help. Their soul-power exchange suppresses the evil fire deep within her bloodline and gives her a period in which she can cultivate and battle normally. 54 55

Shrek Tournament Team

Ma Xiaotao selects Ji Lin and Gongyang Mo for her side during the Inner Court–reserve team sparring match. She leads her team to victory, using Phoenix Meteor Shower to pressure the entire opposing side. 107 109 110

She later serves as Shrek Academy’s captain during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament. With Ji Lin’s enhancement, she temporarily manifests a True Fire Phoenix and breaks through Heaven Spirit Royal Academy’s defensive formation. 155 156

Death’s Hand Mission

Ma Xiaotao leads the Inner Court students’ assault on the Death’s Hand bandits. Anger over the atrocities in the bandits’ cave contributes to her acting impulsively, and she later acknowledges her mistake after the Death Messenger’s corpse explosion injures the team. 117 119

Martial Soul Evolution

After becoming a Soul Saint, Ma Xiaotao attempts to absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Gilded Fire Phoenix Left Arm Bone, an item regarded as exceptionally compatible with her martial soul. 152 191

Ji Lin later gives her Blazing Glue, allowing her to purge the evil attribute permanently, evolve into the Ultimate Fire Phoenix, and advance to Soul Douluo. 311

Sun Moon Empire Operations

During the attempted assassination of Xu Tianran, Ma Xiaotao launches Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens with support from allied Soul Engineers. Her strike destroys the imperial study and a Level 9 Soul Tool Shield but is blocked by Xu Tianran’s Sun Moon Qiankun Pot. 414 415

She subsequently joins the operation to rescue Tang Ya from Spirit Hall. Her Ultimate Fire proves a decisive counter against Abomination Douluo’s poisonous gas and corpse qi, allowing her to dominate their confrontation despite the opponent’s higher title. 541 542

Notable Quotes

“I'm sorry. I was too impulsive. If I'd observed things more carefully, this wouldn't have happened.” 119

Trivia

• Ma Xiaotao’s initial Evil Fire Phoenix and Tang Ya’s Dark Blue Silver Grass are both stated to have possessed the potential to become Evil Soul Master martial souls, though neither woman was inherently an Evil Soul Master. 378
• Her martial soul’s purification allowed her to fight at full strength without fearing an Evil Fire backlash. 164 311
• She is regarded as a potential future Sea God Pavilion Master, with her Ultimate Fire bloodline giving her greater long-term potential than Zhang Lexuan unless Zhang Lexuan obtains another major opportunity. 542