Ma Chengyuan

Biodata

Background / History

Ma Chengyuan was once hailed as the foremost expert on Martial Soul research and left thirty volumes of substantial theories in Spirit Hall’s Martial Soul Research Office. His work on Soul Ring selection helped Jin Yuan develop the Primal Crocodile lineage and opened another route to Titled Douluo for the Yellow Golden Crocodile bloodline 13 15 23.

Following an unauthorized undertaking involving himself and a man he called his brother, Ma was forbidden to approach Spirit City without permission or publish further theories. Golden Crocodile Douluo protected his life for Jin Yuan’s sake, but required him to leave Spirit City 14 22.

Ma subsequently worked as an ordinary library caretaker in Vast Sea City despite possessing the qualifications to enter headquarters’ Martial Soul Research Laboratory. The explanation known to Jin Huang was that Ma preferred studying the unusual Martial Souls found around the coastal city 13.

Appearance

• Elderly, with a long beard: His beard quivers when he smiles 12.
• Robed: He straightens his robes before entering the Angel Hall 13.
• Older than Qing Xiunuo: The two men’s combined ages approach two hundred 13 16.

Personality

Ma often appears cold, distracted, and impatient with people who cannot follow his thinking. His absorption in research is strong enough that he initially fails to recognize Mu Tian'en in the library. He also overestimates the newly literate child’s knowledge when questioning him about Soul Ring selection 11 15.

His confidence can become reckless enthusiasm. Jin Yuan remembered him as an arrogant man who cared for little beyond his theories, while Qing Xiunuo fears that an exceptional student can draw out his willingness to prioritize experimentation over a child’s future. Ma’s proposal for Mu Tian'en provokes Xiunuo into forcibly restraining him 16 17.

Despite this, Ma is affectionate toward Mu Tian'en. He offers to pay for richer meals, warns him against premature physical training, and urgently seeks help when concerned about his cultivation. Golden Crocodile Douluo observes that age has tempered Ma’s youthful arrogance, though not his excitement over discoveries 12 13 23 25.

Abilities & Skills

Boundless Book

A Tool Martial Soul with exceptional recording and information-retrieval functions. Ma considers himself a walking equivalent of Spirit Hall headquarters’ great library 15.

• Retrieves compiled Soul Beast records and displays their contents 16.
• Supports a sequence of memory-based Soul Skills that draws observers into a manifested world of memories 16.
• Does not share the Beast Martial Souls’ submission response when Mu Tian'en’s Black Hole Whale cries out 15.

Martial Soul and Bloodline Research

Ma’s expertise encompasses inherited bloodlines, Soul Ring routes, and the relationship between Martial Souls and their attributes 13 15 24 25.

• Primal Crocodile development: Devised the Soul Ring path credited with helping Jin Yuan’s lineage reach Titled Douluo 13.
• Ancient bloodlines: Argues that creatures capable of rivaling ancient dragon-species Soul Beasts must also have left surviving bloodlines 15.
• Bloodline assessment: Recognizes that Jin Huang’s Martial Soul contains a greater Primal Crocodile component and suggests he could surpass his father if he completes the same difficult path 15.
• Soul Ring compatibility: Recommends identifying Mu Tian'en’s attributes before selecting a Soul Beast, rather than assuming the desired skill is guaranteed 24.
• Attribute advancement: Interprets Mu Tian'en’s black-hole-like earth ability as evidence supporting an earlier Qian Family researcher’s theory that Martial Soul attributes can advance 25.

Soul Power Control

Although his Martial Soul is purely auxiliary, Ma can release a forceful, controlled surge of Soul Power 16 34.

• Shatters surrounding ice while trying to avoid striking the section trapping Mu Tian'en 34.
• Considers himself evenly matched with Qing Xiunuo in a fight, but is caught and frozen when Xiunuo acts before his memory illusions can take effect 15 17.
• Lacks a suitable means of tracking Golden Crocodile Douluo and Mu Tian'en through the sea of sand, forcing repeated searches 34.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Mu Tian'en’s Early Cultivation

Ma serves as one of the elders directing Mu Tian'en’s education and cultivation, with Yan Bohan carrying out their guidance. After examining the boy’s developing muscles, Ma advises him to avoid training-ground exercise until his foundation improves and offers to fund additional nourishment 12 14.

Concerned that Mu Tian'en’s accumulating Soul Power requires an urgent first Soul Ring, Ma goes to press Qing Xiunuo about the delayed headquarters envoy. There he meets Jin Huang, who brings Jin Yuan’s thanks. Ma interprets the visit as evidence that his old theory was sound and that his ban has been temporarily lifted 13 14.

Designing the First Soul Ring

Ma argues that the Black Hole Whale’s enormous size already provides overwhelming offensive force. He therefore prioritizes a first skill that expands Soul Power reserves, improves recovery, and creates a suitable environment instead of merely adding another attack. Xiunuo considers the proposal dangerously experimental and freezes him 16 17.

When Golden Crocodile Douluo adds the requirement of reducing or transforming Mu Tian'en’s uncontrolled hunger, Ma recommends the Sinking Sand Water Turtle and its recorded skill, Unfalling Sandcastle 22 23.

Ma openly admits that he cannot guarantee the exact skill. He proposes attribute testing and keeps a backup plan in case Mu Tian'en proves incompatible with the turtle 24.

Attribute Discovery and the Sea-of-Sand Search

Ma and Jin Huang test Mu Tian'en’s miniature black hole until the child exhausts his strength. Recognizing its significance for Attribute Advancement Theory, Ma returns to the library to write while Golden Crocodile Douluo takes Mu Tian'en hunting. A record preserved from Qing Xiunuo’s family also helps identify the turtles near Vast Sea City 25.

Ma later follows Xiunuo toward the sea of sand, explaining the turtle’s dangerous control over water, sand, and stone. Their search nearly ends in disaster when Xiunuo’s leaking cold Qi freezes the nearby Mu Tian'en. Ma notices the danger and breaks the ice, but Golden Crocodile Douluo reaches the child first 29 34.

The hunt ultimately produces Gloomy Sea Raging Sand Sky-Spanning Domain, not the exact Unfalling Sandcastle Ma predicted. It retains several intended functions while granting a 200% reserve increase and additional domain-like effects 32.

Relationships

• Mu Tian'en — Student and recipient of his cultivation advice. Ma helps design his first Soul Ring path, pays close attention to his nourishment, and attempts to rescue him from freezing water 12 16 23 34.
• Qing Xiunuo — Longtime friend and fellow teacher. Their frequent theoretical arguments coexist with practical cooperation; Xiunuo restrains Ma when he believes the researcher is endangering Mu Tian'en 14 16 17 29.
• Jin Yuan — Old friend whose Primal Crocodile development benefited from Ma’s Soul Ring research. Jin Yuan sends his son to thank him 13 14.
• Jin Huang — Jin Yuan’s son, who respectfully addresses him as “Uncle Ma.” He helps Ma recover from Xiunuo’s freezing technique and joins his tests of Mu Tian'en’s ability 14 22 25.
• Golden Crocodile Douluo — The senior who spared Ma’s life but expelled him from Spirit City. He later offers Ma a conditional opportunity to return to headquarters and relies on his expertise to refine Mu Tian'en’s Soul Ring selection 22 23.