Ma Xiaotao

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Ma Xiaotao inherited the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul within Ma Hongjun’s bloodline. Her younger brother, Ma Zhengtian, possessed the more dependable Nine Heavens Sky Phoenix and became the clan’s young clan head. The family instead treated Xiaotao as a prospective political marriage asset. Resenting both that fate and the favoritism toward her brother, she defied her family and remained at Shrek Academy 46.

Her decision deepened a separate ideological conflict. Ma Zhengtian inherited the Speed Clan’s hostility toward forces associated with Tang San and regarded her enrollment at Shrek as a betrayal. Xiaotao considered that hostility unreasonable, pointing to their ancestor’s own connection with the academy. Their disagreement eventually left them barely speaking 51.

Ma Zhengtian nevertheless intended to protect her from an unwanted marriage by rebuilding the family through the Spirit Contract Pagoda. After Xu Xingyu explained his position, Xiaotao agreed to find time to speak with her brother 52 53.

At Shrek, she became Yan Shaozhe’s disciple and captain of the Shrek Seven Monsters. Her worsening Evil Fire eventually forced Yan Shaozhe to remove her from the captaincy and forbid her from cultivating until a treatment could be found—an order she did not obey 42.

Appearance

• Build and features: Described as exceptionally beautiful, with a curvaceous figure; Xu Xingyu considers her among the most beautiful women he has encountered 41.
• Early clothing: Initially appears in a white mask and long white robe, with a red dress underneath 41.
• Phoenix manifestations: Can produce red phoenix wings; her later twin-fire phoenix form combines red and blue flames 53 207.
• Inheritance mark: Bears a Vermilion Bird-shaped mark between her brows after receiving the inheritance 250.
• Battle Armor: Blazing Star is golden-red armor that gives her a heroic, valkyrie-like appearance 314 319.

Personality

Ma Xiaotao is outspoken, stubborn, and eager to fight. She dislikes hesitation and initially carries herself like a brash elder sister. Her determination to preserve her hard-earned cultivation leads her to favor a dangerous treatment over a safer method that would cost her levels 44 47 50.

Her loyalty can outweigh her judgment, but she is capable of putting responsibility first. At Spirit Star Village, she restrains her anger long enough to evacuate refugees and junior students before returning to aid her fellow Shrek fighters. She regards the academy’s members as family, regardless of their internal disagreements 128.

Part of her temper comes from the excessive yang Qi of her original Martial Soul. As Yin Fire and Xu Xingyu’s treatment restore balance, she becomes calmer and more reflective. That self-awareness also brings insecurity: she recognizes how violent and unapproachable she previously seemed and hesitates to express her romantic feelings 129 198.

Her recklessness does not disappear immediately. After her duel with Qiangu Tianzhang, however, she accepts Xu Xingyu’s criticism and chooses disciplined work on her God Trials over another excursion. He regards this willingness to stop and think as meaningful growth 329 330.

Abilities & Skills

Yin-Yang Twin Fires

Her twin flames develop from an accidental fusion between Jiang Nannan’s Yin Qi and the Evil Qi within her original fire. The resulting Yin Fire becomes part of her Martial Soul Origin 42 50.

• Yang Fire: Burns by releasing an object’s own energy 41.
• Yin Fire: Burns by absorbing surrounding energy; its manifestation can produce intense heat while ice forms nearby 41.
• Yin-Yang Vortex: Enables conversion between the two fires, but converting too much Yang Fire at once can shatter the vortex 47 60.
• Ultimate evolution: Following contact with the Sword of Judgment, her Yang Fire incorporates light and her Yin Fire incorporates darkness 229.
• Flame furnace: Uses her twin fires to imprison Qiangu Tianzhang inside an alchemy furnace that burns his Soul Power 319.

During the treatment period, maintaining balance imposed strict limits:

• Cultivation was restricted to the transition between sun and moon or sessions assisted by Xu Xingyu’s flame tempering 47.
• Extreme yin or yang attacks could disrupt the balance 47.
• After establishing the vortex, she required weekly Evil Fire suppression 60.
• Reckless Soul Power expenditure could trigger another eruption, as occurred against the Star Luo team 207.

Vermilion Bird Martial Soul

The Vermilion Bird Martial Soul replaces her original Phoenix Martial Soul rather than merely renaming it. Its pressure is substantially stronger than that of her previous Martial Soul 232 250.

• Vermilion Bird True Fire: Powers her later attacks, including Vermilion Bird Meteor Shower 315.
• Fire of Reincarnation: Encompasses purification, death, and reincarnation in a temporal sense; it is not simply ordinary fire 549.
• Divine inheritance: Grants access to the Vermilion Bird God Trials, whose requirements emphasize temperament because the godhood’s primary attribute is reincarnation 330.

Nirvana Holy Flame Domain

An innate domain gained with her Vermilion Bird Martial Soul 319.

Soul Skills

Her golden seventh ring contains at least four Soul Skills, though only Vermilion Bird Avatar and Phoenix Divine Punishment are identified in the supplied passages 321.

Combat Technique and Limitations

• Soul Power compression: Uses a Shrek technique to concentrate a Soul Skill’s power, at the risk of injuring her own arm 219.
• Soul Tool knowledge gap: Her poor understanding of Soul Tools contributes to her helplessness inside the Level 7 Absolute Defense barrier 205 209.
• Elemental control disadvantage: During their spar, Xu Xingyu takes control of her Vermilion Bird Meteor Shower and reshapes it into nine dragons 315.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blazing Star Two-Word Battle Armor — Created by Xu Xingyu using Spirit-Forged materials suited to fire, pure yang, and reincarnation, including Sun Adamantine. Adjusts to her body, forms a protective bodysuit beneath its outer layer, and can fuse with her Martial Soul Avatar 312 314 316 319.
• Vermilion Bird Divine Feather — A reward for her contribution during the Evil Soul Master incident. Initially accelerates her cultivation, but begins draining her Soul Power and life force after her Phoenix bloodline becomes purer 138 229.
• Vermilion Bird Orb — Used by Xu Xingyu in her bloodline conversion. It consumes her Phoenix bloodline under his suppression and assists in the replacement of her original Martial Soul 231 232.
• Storage ring — Carries replacement clothing, including the white dress she retrieves after an Evil Fire eruption 208.

Relationships

• Xu Xingyu — Initially her healer and junior schoolmate, later her romantic partner. His treatment repeatedly saves her from unstable flames. Although he initially intends to remain only friends, he accepts her into his family after their post-transformation encounter 60 209 240 241.
• Jiang Nannan — Close friend and original provider of Evil Fire suppression. Her Yin Qi unintentionally creates Xiaotao’s Yin Fire; she later helps stabilize it and worries Xiaotao about pursuing their shared love interest without hurting her 42 60 240.
• Yan Shaozhe — Teacher and protector. His desire to prevent another tragedy like Feng Ling’s makes him oppose treatments that might turn Xiaotao into an Evil Soul Master. She continues to respect him after leaving Shrek 48 553.
• Ma Zhengtian — Younger brother. Their conflict over Shrek conceals his efforts to free her from the clan’s marriage plans 51 52 53.
• Gu Yuena — Xu Xingyu’s partner, who welcomes Xiaotao into the family as a new sister and restores her strength 241.
• Wang Dong’er — Fellow partner of Xu Xingyu. They trade barbs at gatherings but also visit Xu Yanxue together and share concern over Xu Xingyu’s prolonged absence 286 627.
• Zhang Lexuan — Shrek senior who privately considers Xu Xingyu a possible match for Xiaotao, while disapproving of his complicated romantic life 134.
• Huo Yuhao — A teammate she barely knows. They do not develop the sibling bond associated with the original story; that role belongs to Ling Luochen in this novel 189 190.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Evil Fire Treatment

Xiaotao first encounters Xu Xingyu while rampaging near Wang Dong’er. His Dragon God pressure suppresses her incomplete Phoenix bloodline, and Ultimate Ice extinguishes her Evil Fire. Yin Fire nevertheless keeps her from fully recovering, and she forcibly kisses him before he loses consciousness 41.

The discovery of Yin Fire complicates ordinary treatment: continued Ultimate Ice stimulation would strengthen it, while a strongly yang medicinal treasure could destroy the balance. After her attempt to establish a vortex alone nearly causes disaster, Xu Xingyu and Jiang Nannan complete the treatment together and impose a weekly suppression schedule 47 59 60.

Spirit Star Village

During the Evil Soul Master attack, Xiaotao evacuates refugees and Outer Court students before returning for the trapped Shrek fighters. Xu Xingyu accompanies her and supplies the plan she lacks. Her contribution earns her the Vermilion Bird Divine Feather 128 129 138.

Soul Master Tournament

After recovering from mission injuries, Xiaotao helps defeat the Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy. Unlike her earlier tendency to act independently, she follows Wang Yan’s tactics throughout the team battle 198.

Against Star Luo, frustration inside Absolute Defense leads her to overexert herself and destabilize her twin fires. Xu Xingyu freezes her, removes her from the arena, and restores their balance 205 207.

In the final’s opening individual match, Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike collides with Ji Juechen’s Silence. Both suffer severe injuries, but Xiaotao loses consciousness first and Ji Juechen is declared the winner. Her disrupted flames also require Xu Xingyu to remain with her rather than participate immediately 220.

Bloodline Conversion and Partnership

The Sword of Judgment’s beneficial mutation makes her Phoenix bloodline pure enough to trigger the Vermilion Bird feather’s hostility. Its draining effect leaves her sealed under Mu En’s protection. Xu Xingyu responds by replacing her Phoenix bloodline and transforming her Martial Soul into a Vermilion Bird 229 231 232.

Residual Evil Fire takes control once more after the transformation, leading to an intimate encounter while Xiaotao is not fully conscious. Afterward, she initially tries to dismiss it as a mistake, but Xu Xingyu accepts responsibility and welcomes her into his family; Gu Yuena also welcomes her 240 241.

Spirit Contract Pagoda and God Trials

As the Pagoda’s honorary elder, Xiaotao faces rank-ninety-four Titled Douluo Qiangu Tianzhang with Blazing Star armor and her Vermilion Bird abilities. The brutal duel leaves her unconscious. Following treatment and criticism from Xu Xingyu, she chooses to resume her God Trials rather than travel to Dragon Valley 319 320 321 329 330.

After graduating from Shrek, she declines an invitation to join the Sea God Pavilion and joins the Spirit Contract Pagoda, citing its help in resolving her Martial Soul problem. She later participates in talks with Shrek alongside Xu Jiujiu 521.

During the confrontation with Ye Xishui, Xiaotao supplies ranged attacks. With Ye Guyi’s Angel Domain amplification, her giant Vermilion Bird flame attack gains evil-banishing power and alarms Ye Xishui 547 549.

In her latest documented appearance, she visits the Ice God Temple with Wang Dong’er. After worrying over Xu Xingyu’s year-long final Dragon God trial, she rushes to embrace him when he returns 627.

Notable Quotes

“That’s more like it! I hate people who hem and haw.” 44

“But no matter what conflicts we have within Shrek, we’re all one family.” 128