Hun Tiandi observed Ma Xiaotao as she went to the Azure Flame Bird carefully, not wanting to disrupt the Azure Flame Bird prematurely, before she could ambush the Spirit Beast and hopefully deliver a crippling blow straight away, before the fight even started.
Even though the Azure Flame Bird seemed to be powerful, in Hun Tiandi's eyes, it wasn't anything remarkable, in fact, but for Ma Xiaotao, it was a worthwhile opponent, as the Azure Flame Bird was a fairly powerful Spirit Beast.
The future Holy Son of the Spirit Hall was actually pretty much confident in Ma Xiaotao's victory, because in his eyes, it was guaranteed.
Within the Spirit Hall, there were not many people with whom he was spending time aside from the bunch of grumpy old men from the Douluo Consecration Hall, Qian Renxue, who was constantly annoying him to no end, and Bibi Dong, who was playing the role of something akin to mother to him...
If it could be called such.
With Ma Xiaotao, they trained together frequently, and she even adopted his swordsmanship practice, which is why she was holding the sword in her hand.
Unfortunately for her, she couldn't obtain some sword-fire related Spirit Skill, so she was now using a sword that was created by some of the most skilled Blacksmiths of the Spirit City in combination with her Evil Fire Phoenix to boost her offensive prowess.
He knew very well that Ma Xiaotao could fight and that she could fight well. She was an Attack Style Spirit Master and she also had a pretty sharp mind, she was a tactical fighter despite her fiery temper as she could strategize very well.
At the same time, they were often sparring together, because even Ma Xiaotao lacked a sparring partner within the Spirit Hall, as among the younger generation of the Spirit Hall, despite everything, and so, she was one of the most powerful people in the younger generation.
She also had rather outstanding talent for swordsmanship, so Hun Tiandi took it on himself to teach her. On the Douluo Continent, approximately 90% of the weapon masters were only those who had Tool Martial Soul in the shape of the weapon.
The remaining 10% were people who willingly picked up a weapon because it suited their combat style and created synergy with their Martila Spirit and Spirit Skills. Aside from that, the development of the weapon profession was rather low.
Though...
He had to admit that the ones who awakened some weapon Tool-Type Martial Soul and were talented in the said weapon could achieve a frightening level of power. One such example was the Sword Douluo, Chen Jianjun.
The man awakened the Seven Kill Sword Martial Soul, which is a rare and exceedingly powerful tool spirit. It was considered one of the best Tool-Type Martial Souls in terms of pure attack power.
It was a simple, giant, clear blue sword, seemingly carved out of crystal, about two meters long and half a foot wide, and its offensive prowess was considered almost unparalleled.
Not to mention, it seemed that the Seven Kill Sword was tied to the Chen Bloodline, because his son Chen Xin awakened the very same Martial Soul and was currently one of the youngest Titled Douluos on the Douluo Continent.
Hun Tiandi knew that the old man Chen Jianjun had sent a challenge to the Qian Daoliu that would take place in a few months to determine the strongest sword in the Douluo Continent.
The clash between the Immortal Sword and Angel Sword was one of the most anticipated events in the society of the Spirit Masters. Hun Tiandi talked about this with the old man, and they came to the conclusion that this would be a perfect opportunity to recruit the Chen Family.
Even though right now, Chen Xin, son of Chen Jianjun, serves as the Protector of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, that was more or less a transactional relationship.
The reason why the two of them were sticking to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was due to he capabilities of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan Chamber of Commerce to procure resources for them.
This wasn't unusual in the Douluo Continent, nor was it unusual in the Hun Tiandi's past life in the Dou Qi Continent. Many powerful cultivators would attach themselves to the factions without the umbrella of a powerful expert in exchange for a stable source of cultivation resources.
It wasn't like there was any sense of very strong loyalty towards the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, so there was a rather high possibility for recruitment under the right circumstances.
Hopefully granpa Qian would be able to recruit Chen Jianjun for the Spirit Hall, the man would be very suitable for becoming another Worship Elder of the Douluo Consecration Hall and be the foundation of the swordsmanship in the Spirit Hall.
However, if he had to admit it, then this was more of his personal wish than anything because Chen Jianjun and Chen Xin were genuine swordsmen who devoted their whole lives to perfecting the way of the sword.
Not to mention, both Chen Jianjun and Chen Xin were very powerful Titled Douluos who were for pure offense, which was rare among the Spirit Masters, because on average, most of the Spirit Masters were not so one-directionally oriented like Chen Jianjun and Chen Xin.
Due to their Martial Souls, they were suited only for the attack, and in terms of the offensive means, they were surely standing at the top of the Douluo Continent. Hun Tiandi knew that if they joined the Spirit Hall and gained some benefits of the Spirit Hall's development, then they would become one of their strongest cards.
Chen Jianjun was already capable enough to join the Douluo Consecration Hall with his current Spirit Rank. So, Hun Tiandi hoped that everything would go according to the plan and that by the end of the duel, the Spirit Hall would welcome another two Titled Douluos to their ranks.
Putting these thoughts to rest, he returned his sight to Ma Xiaotao, who was silently approaching the Azure Flame Bird, and surprisingly, the bird hadn't noticed her yet, which was rather surprising.
In a split of a second, she summoned her Martial Soul, the Evil Fire Phoenix, as she struck with her sword at the Azule Flame Bird that was perched on one of the trees. Unsurprisingly, the Azure Flame Bird reacted pretty fast, as it flapped its wings and dodged the sword strike almost instantaneously.
The Azure Flame Bird was a fairy power Spirit Beast, especially the one that was this kind of old, and it also knew how to fight well. Even though Hun Tiandi believed that it wasn't above Ma Xiaotao's capabilities to defeat and kill, she would still be struggling a bit with the creature.
This was proven to be true, when she already used the 1st Spirit Skill that she possessed, called Phoenix Baptism, as a purple-colored Spirit Ring appeared around her and Ma Xiaotao's body was soon enough covered with flames.
While the whole body flames are burning, the Phoenix's flame is increased by 30%, and at the same time, the flight speed of the 2nd Spirit Skill Phoenix Wing Ascension is also increased, which is also activated to fight against the Azure Flame Bird on more equal grounds.
Even though he didn't really have the proper quantity of Spirit Energy to support the usage of the Phoenix Wing Ascension for a prolonged period of time.
Hun Tiandi watched how, behind Xiaotao's back, a pair of huge flame wings and Phoenix tails were deployed to gain flight capability, while the Phoenix's flame is also increased by 100%, and the range of attacks is also increased by 50%.
Ma Xiaotao danced high in the air with the Azure Flame Bird as she attempted to hit the Spirit Beast with her sword, which was also blazing with the Phoenix Flame, but the Azure Flame Bird was pretty agile and fast.
Even though Ma Xiaotao was fast and agile, she was far from the level of the Azure Flame Bird, as the Spirit Beast was very troublesome to counterattack. When the Azure Flame Bird was outside of Xiaotao's reach, the Azure Flame Bird shot toward her with its characteristic Azure Fire.
The Azure Fire created by the Azure Flame Bird was especially hot, and they were very troublesome to defend against, as they were able to penetrate through the Spirit Energy of their target, which meant that they could get into the body of their target and burn them from the inside.
This made the Azure Fire even more problematic to defend against.
The Azure Blue Bird soon enough changed its flight altitude and flew toward Ma Xiaotao at a fast speed, as the Azure Flame Bird mimicked Xiaotao's action and used the same thing as her, as he used the Blue Fire to boost up his speed.
In a split of a second, the Azure Blue Bird crashed into Ma Xiaotao and shot her through the trees, as Spirit Kite Douluo Ling Yuan stood up, startled when she saw her disciple being shot to the ground.
Even Hun Tiandi saw this, he knew that Xiaotao was already, albeit a bit more injured from suffering the crash against the ground by the Azure Flame Bird. Though soon enough, before the Azure Flame Bird could follow after the Xiaotao finished her off, he saw her bursting through the air.
She gripped her sword while flapping her flame wings as she shot toward the Azure Flame Bird at staggering speed, as the Azure Flame Bird dodged the sword strike at the last moment, but Xiaotao didn't instantly swing her sword once more as the Azure Flame Bird swung its tail and blocked the sword strike.
"Dammed bird, stop dodging my attacks and drop dead!"
Everyone could see that Xiaotao was already losing her temper because the Azure Flame Bird was constantly dodging her attempts to attack the Spirit Beast, which was an especially effective strategy against Ma Xiaotao.
Even though Ma Xiaotao was rather coolheaded when fighting, she got easily irritated... sometimes rather too easily, when things were not going according to her plans and she could get pretty angry at such developments.
She was really gullible in this aspect and could be easily lured into attacking her opponent recklessly, which was exactly the same thing she was doing right now. Even her master, Spirit Kite Douluo Ling Yuan, shook her head when she saw that her disciple was once again lured into attacking the Azure Flame Bird.
"We really need to do something about her issues with control..."
Spirit Kite Douluo Ling Yuan muttered under her breath when she noticed that the Azure Flame Bird managed to smack down Xiaotao once more after luring her into attacking it, and once again, most of Xiaotao's strength was used against her.
This was rather a practice against the Spirit Masters by smarter Spirit Beasts. Her master was already having headaches, as Spirit Kite Douluo Ling Yuan knew that Ma Xiaotao would suffer a bit in the fight against the Azure Flame Bird.
The Azure Flame Bird was pretty smart in the fight, because it realized that the enemy could be provoked into making rather amateurish mistakes and attacking prematurely, which wasn't going to end well for Ma Xiaotao.
Another thing that the Azure Flame Bird realized was that, in terms of raw power, it was on the losing end against the female Spirit Master, which was something that the Azure Flame Bird needed to take into consideration when creating a strategy against Ma Xiaotao.
Contrary to popular beliefs, the Spirit Beasts were not primitive or stupid; many of them were no less intelligent than humans or other intelligent species. However, it was also true that the Spirit Beasts acted mostly based on their instincts compared to the Spirit Masters, who acted based on logic and reason.
At least some Spirit Masters.
High in the air, Ma Xiaotao clashed against the Azure Flame Bird, and the longer the fight went on, the bigger the advantage Ma Xiaotao obtained. Even though the Azure Flame Bird was a strong and powerful Spirit Beast, Ma Xiaotao was specifically trained by the best and most powerful Spirit Masters on the Douluo Continent.
Even though her master Spirit Kite Douluo Ling Yuan was one of the youngest Titled Douluos on the Douluo Continent, she was still a very skilled and experienced Spirit Master who was able to enter Ma Xiaotao very well.
The combat against the Spirit Beasts was one of the major topics that the Spirit Masters were learning about, and Ma Xiaotao was not an exception. Even though she wasn't the best student around, as she found studying boring, and she wanted more action and less looking through the books, it wasn't like she ignored her lessons.
Ma Xiaotao memorized them very well and learned everything that she could to help her be a better and more effective combatant on the field.
Even though she was baited a few times by the Azure Flame Bird, it didn't take her long to realize the attacking patterns of the Azure Flame Bird as she acclimatized to the combat style of the Spirit Beast and started pushing the creature back.
The Azure Flame Bird, realizing that it was being pushed into the corner, started acting more and more aggressively and attacking Ma Xiaotao, disregarding its own safety or life in the process, just so it could attack its opponent with more power in an attempt to kill her.
Well, this was just helping Ma Xiaotao tremendously, as she didn't need to invest that much effort into defeating the Azure Flame Bird. Like they always said, the enemies who didn't have anything to lose were the most dangerous kind of enemies.
And this was proving to be right in this case as well.
Hun Tiandi observed the Azure Flame Bird that was swirling in the air, surrounded by the waves of the blue flames as it kept flapping its wings and creating a miniature tornado of blue flames that it sent towards Ma Xiaotao.
The miniature tornado that was created by the Azure Flame Bird was fairly powerful on that, so Ma Xiaotao had to invest a lot of energy into the defense against it as she used the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul to create her own flames, which clashed against those of the Azure Flame Bird.
She did it rather well as the two kinds of colors clashed in the air against each other, until both of them dissipated, but it was clear who was coming as the winner from the encounter, because Ma Xiaotao didn't even seem that tired.
But the same thing couldn't be said about the Azure Flame Bird, which seemed to be pretty tired from the exchange, and everyone could see that the Azure Flame Bird was faltering a bit, as its Spirit Energy reserves were almost depleted.
At the same time, Hun Tiandi, due to his Spiritual Realm, Jin Eyu, and Ling Yuan could also see it due to them being Titled Douluos. The Azure Flame Bird was severely injured from the exchange, because some amount of the Evil Fire from the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul entered the Azure Flame Bird's body.
"And it seems that the battle is nearing the end."
Hun Tiandi muttered when he saw Ma Xiaotao shoot toward the Azure Flame Bird in a window of opportunity and managed to stab her sword through the upper body of the Azure Flame Bird, even though she was missing any essential organs, thus the injury wasn't that life-threatening.
Though, Ma Xiaotao immediately released all of the Evil Fire of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul to the body of the Azure Flame Bird. In a split second, the Azure Flame Bird shrieked in pain as it was being burned from the inside by the Evil Fire of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, which was really powerful.
Ma Xiaotao was using all of her Spirit Energy in this attack, as she was hoping to kill the Azure Flame Bird in one attack, and she had succeeded in the endeavor, as the Azure Flame Bird indeed perished in the attack.
At the same time, it was a miracle that her sword survived the intensity of the heat from the Evil Fire of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul. Ma Xiaotao didn't waste any time as she started assimilating the Spirit Ring and obtaining her 4th Spirit Skill.
After the Azure Flame Bird was killed, the absorption of the Spirit Ring that was left after the death of the Spirit Beast was rather quick, as she obtained her next Spirit Ring and could advance further on the cultivation journey.
She was stuck at the Spirit Rank 39 for some time, and as she observed the Spirit Ring, Ma Xiaotao had already broken through to the Spirit Rank 40 and became a Spirit Ancestor at the age of 16.
Which was rather an impressive achievement, truth to be told, even among the new standards of the Spirit Hall. If nothing unexpected happened, then it was guaranteed that she would become a Titled Douluo in the next fifteen years, which would be a spectacular achievement.
Ma Xiaotao then flapped her flame wings once she finished absorbing the Spirit Ring and flew to Hun Tiandi and the two Titled Douluos who were waiting for her. Spirit Kite Douluo Ling Yuan was obviously happy for her disciple because they had a very close relationship from a young age.
Not many people knew it, but Spirit Kite Douluo was the one who found Ma Xiaotao wandering through the streets of the Heaven Dou Imperial City when she was six years old.
She brought her to Spirit City, and she was taking care of her. Once she awakened her Martial Soul, Ling Yuan took her as her disciple, but in reality, she was like a mother to Ma Xiaotao.