Ma Xiaoling

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ma Xiaoling (马小玲)
Species/Race	Human; descendant of the Dragon Demon Exorcist Ma Family
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Ling Ling Hall Cleaning Company; later associated with Shangqing Temple
Occupation/Role	Ghost catcher, demon exorcist, and zombie hunter
Status	Alive
First Appearance	1711

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Initial cultivation training	1769 1770	Jiang Hao teaches her Heavenly Escape Swordplay, Scattering Beans into Soldiers, the Substitution Technique, and the Body-Fixing Spell through soul transmission.
Initial flying-sword control	1774 1778	Learns to project her Demon-Subduing Sword roughly ten meters and begins controlling it in flight.
Fully refined flying sword	1784	After roughly half a year of cultivation, she refines her flying sword sufficiently to store it within her body.
Peak Foundation Establishment	1794	Her cultivation reaches the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, leaving her with the potential to reach Golden Core in her lifetime.

Background / History

Ma Xiaoling is the contemporary, fortieth-generation female successor of the Dragon Demon Exorcist Ma Family, a lineage whose women inherit the duty of exorcising ghosts, demons, and zombies. The family traditionally worships and commands a Divine Dragon. 1761 1785

She grew up without parental affection under the care of her great-aunt, Ma Danna, who taught her the Ma Family’s exorcism arts. Her childhood friendship with Wang Zhenzhen and the kindness of Zhenzhen’s mother, Jia Jia, became an important source of familial support. 1713 1725

The Ma Family bore a thousand-year curse created by its founder, Ma Ling'er: women of the bloodline could not shed tears for a man without losing their powers, and were bound to hunt the Zombie King Jiang Chen. After Jiang Chen’s destruction, Ma Xiaoling and Jiang Hao summoned Ma Ling'er, who lifted the curse herself. 1761 1793

Appearance

Ma Xiaoling is 171 cm tall, with distinctive single eyelids and notably long, slender legs. She was described as the runner-up of a Miss Asia competition and was once praised for having Asia’s most beautiful legs. 1711

• Usually wears fashionable short skirts, high heels, and carries a makeup case that conceals her exorcism tools. 1712 1766
• Has sharp phoenix eyes and a confident, often haughty expression. 1724 1752
• Her usual modern style contrasts with her role as a ghost catcher, causing police and clients to mistake her for a reporter or an ordinary young woman. 1725 1766
• Also wears fitted qipaos, including one patterned with ink bamboo, peonies, and kingfishers. 1735

Personality

Ma Xiaoling is proud of the Dragon Demon Exorcist Ma Family and highly competitive about its reputation. When Jiang Hao’s Feng Shui work begins attracting attention, she invites him onto one of her cases specifically to demonstrate that her family’s ghost-catching arts are equally formidable. She also treats other practitioners, such as Master Peacock, as professional rivals when they enter her cases. 1724 1727

She is practical and strongly motivated by payment. She bargains for higher fees and discounts, calculates her shares of commissions immediately, and openly celebrates lucrative jobs. 1729 1752 1758 However, her money-minded exterior does not prevent loyalty or generosity: she brings Zhenzhen along on trips, buys gifts for friends, and offers Jiang Hao money earned in Japan to help fund Shangqing Temple. 1725 1749 1759

Although initially dismissive of Jiang Hao as an inexperienced and dull Maoshan disciple, she gradually comes to trust his judgment, seek his help, and devote herself to cultivation after recognizing the gap in their strength. 1711 1713 1733 1769

Abilities & Skills

Dragon Demon Exorcism

Ma Xiaoling is trained in the hereditary techniques of the Dragon Demon Exorcist Ma Family, specializing in the detection and destruction of ghosts, demons, and zombies.

• Uses spiritual compasses to identify Yin energy, zombie traces, and supernatural disturbances. 1715 1766
• Performs paid cleansing and exorcism work through Ling Ling Hall Cleaning Company. 1712 1725
• Can track a zombie through a Lucky Star talisman and use it to exorcise enemies. 1766
• Fought large numbers of vengeful spirits with her Zhanlu Sword during the Kyoto Imperial Palace incident. 1758
• Her original magic power is comparatively low against elite supernatural foes, leaving her vulnerable when facing stronger zombies and masked opponents. 1767 1769

Divine Dragon Summoning

The Ma Family’s Divine Dragon is its central inherited guardian and a major source of its authority.

• Invokes the Dragon through the Ma Family’s “Exorcise Evil” command when conventional combat is insufficient. 1767
• Agrees for the Divine Dragon to become Shangqing Temple’s guardian beast so it can receive incense offerings and recover strength. 1768 1769
• The arrangement preserves the Ma Family’s ability to command the Divine Dragon. 1761

Taoist Spellcraft

Under Jiang Hao’s instruction, Ma Xiaoling begins studying Taoist cultivation methods beyond her family tradition.

• Heavenly Escape Swordplay — sword-control art taught as the foundation for her flying-sword practice. 1769
• Scattering Beans into Soldiers — uses Copper Beans in combat when pressured by multiple zombies. 1769 1781
• Substitution Technique — a survival technique intended to evade enemy attacks. 1769
• Body-Fixing Spell — uses a command talisman and palm strike to restrain an opponent’s soul. 1770
• Her initial cultivation limits prevent her from learning many of Jiang Hao’s more advanced techniques. 1769

Sword Cultivation

Ma Xiaoling develops from wielding a retractable demon-subduing rod into a practitioner capable of controlling a flying sword.

• Learns conventional swordplay from Ma Danna before receiving Jiang Hao’s instruction. 1769
• Practices the Nine Solitary Swords after developing an affinity for the technique. 1774
• Eventually refines her sword enough to store it in her body and prepares to one day travel by sword flight. 1784

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Makeup case — carries her compass, talismans, Lucky Stars, and other exorcism equipment. 1766
• Bagua compass — detects supernatural traces and guides tracking talismans. 1766
• Lucky Star talismans — used for tracking and exorcising zombies and spirits. 1766 1774
• Zhanlu Sword — used against vengeful spirits in Kyoto. 1758
• Demon-Subduing / Demon-Exorcising Sword — a sword refined for her by Jiang Hao and developed into her flying sword. 1774 1778
• Purple Gold Gourd — gifted by Jiang Hao and taught for use against ghosts. 1774
• Peace Talisman jade pendant — a valuable protective magic artifact gifted by Jiang Hao. 1726 1727

Relationships

• Jiang Hao — housemate, professional partner, protector, and cultivation teacher. Their relationship develops from mutual skepticism into trust, shared supernatural work, and close cooperation in Shangqing Temple matters. 1712 1724 1758 1769
• Wang Zhenzhen — childhood friend and chosen family. Ma Xiaoling is protective of Zhenzhen and includes her in trips and social plans. 1725 1727
• Ma Danna — great-aunt, guardian, and teacher in the Ma Family’s exorcism tradition; she continues advising Xiaoling through a photograph after death. 1712 1713
• Ma Ling'er — ancestor and founder of the Ma Family; personally lifts the family curse after being summoned through Xiaoling’s bloodline. 1793
• Ma Dingdang — biological aunt whose existence was concealed from Xiaoling after her disownment from the family. 1785
• Kuang Tianyou — police officer and supernatural ally who works with Xiaoling to investigate and fight zombie threats. 1766 1767
• Master Peacock — Japanese Buddhist exorcist and professional rival who later cooperates with Xiaoling and Jiang Hao on the Kyoto crisis. 1727 1758
• The Ma Family Divine Dragon — the Ma Family’s inherited guardian; Xiaoling permits it to serve as Shangqing Temple’s guardian beast while retaining her family’s command over it. 1761 1769

Story Role / Major Arcs

Jiang Hao’s Arrival in Hong Kong

Ma Xiaoling meets Jiang Hao at the airport after being asked to receive him. Following his defense of her and Wang Zhenzhen from harassing thugs, she lets the newly arrived Maoshan disciple stay at her home and considers employing him at Ling Ling Hall. 1711 1712

Ling Ling Hall and the Japan Cases

Seeking recognition for her own family’s skills, Ma Xiaoling brings Jiang Hao into a haunted-office case. The assignment leads to Japan, where she competes with Master Peacock over a vengeful spirit case, negotiates higher fees with Yamamoto Ryuichi, and later joins Jiang Hao and Peacock against the Great Blood Swastika Curse at the Kyoto Imperial Palace. 1724 1729 1755 1758

Shangqing Temple

After learning that Jiang Hao wants the Divine Dragon as Shangqing Temple’s guardian beast, Ma Xiaoling struggles with the possible loss of her family’s legacy. She ultimately agrees, viewing the choice as a release from the burden imposed upon generations of Ma women. 1761 1768 1769

Zombie Investigation and Cultivation

Ma Xiaoling investigates a series of zombie killings with Kuang Tianyou, but suffers severe injuries while confronting enemies stronger than herself. Jiang Hao heals her and begins formally teaching her Taoist cultivation, spellcraft, and sword-control techniques. 1766 1767 1768 1769

Lifting the Ma Family Curse

After Jiang Chen is eliminated, Ma Xiaoling asks Jiang Hao to help remove the Ma Family curse. Ma Ling'er answers the summons and ends the restriction that had denied Ma Family women the freedom to love for a thousand years. 1793