Ma Xiaotao

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Ma Xiaotao (马小桃)
Alias(es)	Flame Maniac 56
Gender	Female
Age	19 55
Affiliation	Shrek Academy; Inner Court; Martial Soul Department 44 50
Occupation/Role	Inner Court student; Yan Shaozhe’s only personal disciple; potential future successor within the Martial Soul Department 44 62
Cultivation Rank	Soul Emperor; exact Soul Power level unspecified 68
Status	Alive; Evil Fire suppressed through cultivation with Huo Yuhao; Martial Soul Fusion Skill remains incomplete 64 68
First Appearance	Chapter 44 44

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Soul Power increase through shared refinement	54 55	Huo Yuhao suppresses her Evil Fire with Ultimate Ice. Circulating Soul Power between their bodies also purifies and strengthens both participants’ power; no numerical level is given.
Preliminary Soul Power fusion	55 56	They reproduce the circulation deliberately, confirming accelerated cultivation and compatibility that may support a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. The skill itself cannot yet be used.
Partial fusion manifestation	64	After three months of practice, their combined power produces an enormous phantom. It shatters before the fusion is completed, despite greatly improved coordination.

Background / History

Yan Shaozhe brought Xiaotao to Shrek Academy when she was little and raised her himself. Having no children, he came to regard her as his daughter. Xiaotao likewise considers the academy her home and fiercely defends its reputation 44 51.

Her Martial Soul contains dangerous Evil Fire that becomes increasingly difficult to control. Before meeting Huo Yuhao, she relied on an intensely cooled room and assistance from ice- and water-attribute students. Yan eventually forbade her from cultivating because another eruption could make her lose control, but she continued training against his instructions 44 51 52.

Yan’s discovery that the incoming freshman Huo Yuhao possessed Ultimate Ice gave her hope of resolving the condition. She immediately tried to rush barefoot to the Outer Court, only for Yan to stop her and promise a later meeting. She hoped that removing the obstacle would allow her to reach Soul Saint during the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Soul Fighting Tournament and help Shrek win another championship; that breakthrough is not documented 44 50.

Appearance

Xiaotao is tall and curvaceous, with red hair and a preference for fiery-red clothing 44 50 56.

• Hair: Described as shoulder-length in her introduction and long and wavy at the picnic 44 50.
• Clothing: Commonly wears a red dress or jacket 51 54 56.
• Wings: Manifests enormous red wings for flight 52.
• Tournament attire: Appears in red with a black veil covering her face 67.

Personality

Xiaotao is outgoing, hot-tempered, and uninhibited. Her urgency over the Evil Fire makes her impulsive: she disregards cultivation restrictions and becomes overly familiar with Yuhao when he agrees to help. She apologizes when he points out that she has moved too close 44 50 51. She attributes her friction with Ling Luochēn partly to the influence of their opposing Martial Soul attributes 57.

Her intimidating reputation contrasts with her tenderness toward Yuhao. She offers to support him against an enemy, shields him from intrusive questions, and openly celebrates his victories. Yuhao describes her as having “a knife for a tongue, but a heart as soft as tofu” 56 68.

A conservative traditional Soul Master, she initially dismisses Soul Tools as improper shortcuts and external aids. Watching Yuhao’s Immortal Slaying Flying Knife unleash an attack comparable to a Soul King’s begins to weaken that conviction 54 61.

Abilities & Skills

Fire-Attribute Martial Soul and Evil Fire

• Dangerous accumulation: Dark-red energy builds inside her body like pressure in a volcano; black vapor rises during her cultivation 44 50.
• Loss-of-control risk: Yan restricts both her cultivation and outings because her unstable condition could erupt 44 53.
• Costly suppression: Ling Luochēn performs much of the earlier suppression work, assisted by Xu Sanshi and other students. Helpers suffer Evil Fire backlash and lose time they could otherwise spend cultivating 51 52.
• Ultimate Ice response: Yuhao’s Four-Not-Like Martial Soul successfully soothes the Evil Fire. This is documented as suppression, not a permanent cure 54 55.

Shared Cultivation with Huo Yuhao

• Method: Joined palms allow Soul Power to pass through one participant’s meridians into the other’s body and return in a continuous circuit 55.
• Benefits: The circulation purifies and strengthens their power, accelerating cultivation while suppressing her Evil Fire 54 55.
• Potential fusion skill: Their compatibility supports preliminary Soul Power fusion and a partial phantom manifestation 56 64.
• Limit: Repeated attempts still fail at the crucial merging stage after three months; no completed Martial Soul Fusion Skill is shown 64.

Flight and Physical Strength

• Flight: Uses large red wings to cross Sea God Lake and reach Sea God Island 52.
• Strength: Lifts the tall, burly Xu Sanshi off the ground. As a Soul Emperor, she can also hold Yuhao in a hug despite his attempts to pull free 52 68.

Equipment / Items

• Ice bed and cold-room furnishings — Her room inside the Golden Ancient Tree contains a large ice bed and numerous ice-attribute materials used to contain her condition 44 54.
• Five custom cooling Soul Tools — Commissioned by Yan Shaozhe from Qian Duoduo. Yan approved ten million Gold Soul Coins for the Soul Tool Department to obtain them 54.
• Yan Shaozhe’s token — Uses a token supplied by her teacher to send him a message while Yuhao demonstrates his Soul Tool craftsmanship 61 62.

Relationships

• Yan Shaozhe — Teacher, guardian, and father figure. He raised her, restricts her dangerous training, and pays substantial costs to support her treatment 44 53 54.
• Huo Yuhao — Junior student, Evil Fire suppressor, and cultivation partner. She asks him to call her “Sister Xiaotao,” develops romantic feelings, and becomes protective of him. No established romantic relationship is documented 51 55 56.
• Ling Luochēn — Teammate, frequent verbal rival, and former principal helper in suppressing her Evil Fire. Their relationship has softened enough that meetings no longer immediately lead to blows; Yuhao further eases their friction 52 56 68.
• Xu Sanshi — Auxiliary suppression helper who fears the exhausting backlash. Xiaotao also intervenes when he harasses Jiang Nannan and insists that he respect her refusal 51 52.
• Jiang Nannan — Fellow student whose boundaries Xiaotao defends. She later becomes angry on Nannan’s behalf upon hearing about a dishonest rival fish vendor 52 68.
• Bei Bei — Longstanding acquaintance from the Inner Court. She greets him coolly because his departure hurt their eldest senior sister, although he remains committed to Tang Ya 50.
• Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin’er — Familiar academy elders whom she addresses as “Uncle Qian” and “Aunt Xian.” She objects when they attempt to recruit Yuhao away from the Martial Soul Department 57 58 61 62.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Meeting and Treating Huo Yuhao

• Finds Yuhao by chance at a picnic and asks for help with her Martial Soul 50 51.
• Brings him to the Inner Court, where Yan agrees to his requests for Ultimate Martial Soul cultivation records and access to Soul Tool studies 52 53.
• Their first suppression session unexpectedly becomes mutually beneficial cultivation, establishing their continuing partnership 54 55.

Department Recruitment Dispute

• Escorts Yuhao to the Soul Tool Department and witnesses his Level 4 craftsmanship firsthand 57 59 61.
• Alerts Yan when the department’s leadership begins competing to recruit him 61 62.
• Despite initially opposing the recruitment, privately advises Yuhao to let the deans argue so their competing offers become more generous 62.
• Later informs him that the Sea God’s Pavilion has approved core-disciple privileges in both departments 64.

Freshman Competition

• Promises to cheer for Yuhao and ask Yan to smooth over trouble with his enemy, provided he does not kill the opponent 56.
• Attends the competition with Ling Luochēn and asks which competitor he is waiting for; he points out Dai Huabin 67.
• Celebrates Yuhao’s victory with an enthusiastic public hug, prompting Ling to pull her away 68.

Notable Quotes

“Junior Huo, please. As long as it’s within my power, I’m willing to do anything.” 50

“Little Xu, you heard Nannan tell you to stop bothering her. I hope you’ll have the sense to respect that.” 52

“Yuhao, just let them argue for now. Don’t go over and stop them. The fiercer their argument gets, the richer the bargaining chips they’ll offer you.” 62