Fa Ma
Reborn as Xiao Yan's Brother: Awakening the Monkey King Bloodline
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Fa Ma (法码) |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Alchemist Association of the Jia Ma Empire 27 30 |
| Occupation/Role | Alchemist; president of the Alchemist Association 27 29 |
| Standing | One of the Jia Ma Empire’s ten strongest experts 27 |
| Status | Alive at the Xiao Clan’s departure for Central Province 88 |
| First Appearance | Mentioned in 17; appears in person in 21 |
Appearance
- Aged features: Withered hands, heavy eyelids, and a white beard, which he frequently strokes while speaking 21 26 56.
- Distinctive accessory: Wears a medicine cauldron balanced on his head, making him conspicuous among the visitors to Wutan City 26 33.
Background / History
Encounter with Xiao Tian
Fa Ma first becomes interested in Xiao Tian after hearing that the eighteen-year-old is a sixth-tier alchemist. He wishes to meet him personally and considers recruiting him into the Alchemist Association 17 22.
During Xiao Tian’s confrontation with the Cloud Mist Sect, Fa Ma observes alongside Jia Xingtian and Gu He rather than intervening. When Soul Hall’s Wu Protector appears, he judges the situation extremely dangerous and expects Xiao Tian to perish against two Dou Zong opponents. After Xiao Tian wins, Fa Ma approaches him with markedly greater respect 21 22 26 27.
Recruitment Attempts
After witnessing Xiao Tian cure Nalan Jie’s Brand Poison with Samadhi True Fire, Fa Ma invites him to join the association. Xiao Tian refuses because he prefers freedom, leaving Fa Ma to offer an honorary presidency as Xiao Tian departs 30.
Fa Ma later travels to Wutan City with association elders to watch Xiao Tian refine pills. He and Gu He already acknowledge their inferiority to Xiao Tian, and both recognize his Flame Cauldron Transformation as a legendary, long-lost technique. The successful creation of a supreme-grade seventh-tier Pure Heart Pill prompts Fa Ma to offer his own presidential position 33 35 36.
| Offer | Terms | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Association membership | Full support for the Xiao Clan and medicinal pills supplied free of charge 30 | Xiao Tian declines 30 |
| Honorary president | Offered as Xiao Tian leaves after rejecting membership 30 | Xiao Tian has already departed 30 |
| Association president | Fa Ma offers to yield his position after witnessing the seventh-tier pill refinement 36 | Xiao Tian ultimately does not join 88 |
Soul Hall Attack and Regret
Fa Ma and Jia Xingtian watch the Xiao Clan’s rapid cultivation progress with open envy. When Soul Hall later attacks the clan with four Dou Zong experts, Fa Ma considers the association’s neutral status and hopes that remaining uninvolved will keep it safe 42 56.
After Xiao Tian defeats the attackers, Fa Ma arrives too late to contribute. Seeing Hai Bodong rewarded for helping, he and Jia Xingtian regret their inaction and suspect that Xiao Tian now regards them as cowardly and of little value. They leave rather than remain for the victory gathering 61.
Later Contact
Fa Ma continues sending precious gifts to the Xiao Clan. When Xiao Tian returns from Jia Nan Academy, he interrupts an unfinished pill refinement to go see him 76.
He attends Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s three-year-agreement duel, speaks favorably of Nalan Yanran, and reacts with fear when a Soul Hall Dou Zun elder arrives afterward. At the Xiao Clan’s eventual departure for Central Province, he laments both Xiao Tian’s departure and the failure to recruit him 77 79 88.
Personality
Fa Ma’s enthusiasm for exceptional alchemical talent is strong enough to outweigh attachment to his own office: after witnessing Xiao Tian’s seventh-tier pill, he volunteers to surrender the association’s presidency 36.
His willingness to recruit does not translate into willingness to fight. He avoids intervening against the Cloud Mist Sect and later prioritizes the Alchemist Association’s neutrality during Soul Hall’s attack. His regret follows the realization that those who acted received Xiao Tian’s trust and rewards 22 56 61.
Abilities & Skills
Alchemy and Medical Knowledge
- Recognizes Flame Cauldron Transformation and explains that it requires extraordinarily precise flame control to refine pills without a physical cauldron 35.
- Identifies that Nalan Jie’s prolonged poisoning has reached his heart and lungs, but admits that he cannot treat it 29.
- Acknowledges Xiao Tian’s superior alchemy rather than claiming equivalent skill 33 36.
Assessment of Power
- Uses Dou Qi fluctuations to judge that the expert attacking the Cloud Mist Sect is no weaker than himself and the other observers 21.
- Recognizes Wu Protector as a Dou Zong-level threat, although his prediction of Xiao Tian’s defeat proves wrong 26 27.
- Correctly identifies Xiao Tian’s deliberate exposure to Pill Lightning as an attempt to temper his body 36.
Relationships
- Xiao Tian — Prospective recruit whom Fa Ma repeatedly courts with increasingly generous offers; his failure to assist the Xiao Clan becomes a source of regret 30 36 61.
- Jia Xingtian — Frequent fellow observer who shares his envy of the Xiao Clan’s growth and regret over remaining uninvolved during the Soul Hall attack 42 56 61.
- Gu He — Fellow alchemist with whom he observes Xiao Tian’s techniques and recognizes their exceptional quality 30 35 36.
- Nalan Jie — Poison-afflicted expert whose condition Fa Ma assesses as beyond his ability to cure 29.