Dashing Youth

A Victim Framed as a Villain (A story of Hypocrisy and Injustice)

At first glance, Dashing Youth looks like a classic wuxia drama — all about honor, brotherhood, and justice in a world of martial heroes. But if you dig deeper, the show reveals something much darker: a world full of hypocrisy, where those in power manipulate these ideals to keep control, and innocent people suffer because of it.

The character who best shows this contradiction is Ye Dingzhi (originally Ye Yun). He starts off as a loyal friend but ends up branded as a traitor and enemy. However, his story is really about a man who’s been betrayed by the system he trusted. His family is wrongly accused and executed, and many of his supposed friends either turn their backs or stay silent. He’s left isolated, without a place to belong or anyone to believe his truth.

What’s tragic is that the system that destroyed Ye Dingzhi never admits its mistake or tries to fix it. Instead, they treat him like a villain when he fights back, never offering him a chance to clear his name. He isn’t a villain — he’s a victim of injustice.

Yi Wenjun’s story is just as heartbreaking and reveals even more about the drama’s failures. She survives sexual violence, one of the most serious themes the show touches on. But instead of really exploring her trauma or giving her a strong voice, the drama mostly sidelines her story. Her pain is acknowledged, but it never feels fully real or addressed properly. Like Ye Dingzhi, she becomes a symbol of the suffering the world ignores.

Throughout the show, hypocrisy runs deep. Characters talk about loyalty and righteousness but only act on those values when it suits them. Leaders claim to stand for honor but secretly manipulate others. Friends swear brotherhood but abandon each other for political gain. Even the main hero, Baili Dongjun, gets away with mistakes, while Ye Dingzhi and Yi Wenjun are punished for fighting for justice the only way they can.

The message is clear: the powerful get away with anything, and the powerless are erased or used as examples of failure.

Visually and in terms of world-building, Dashing Youth shows potential. But emotionally and thematically, it lacks the courage to ask the hard questions:

What happens when justice only applies to the privileged? What do honor and loyalty really mean if those who preach them don’t live by them? What about those who get left behind like Ye Dingzhi and Yi Wenjun — when the system fails them?

The show avoids these questions and moves on, leaving its most important characters trapped under politics and empty promises.

Dashing Youth isn’t without good moments — it has strong visuals, a couple of action, and interesting characters who were played by some amazing actors. But it also shows serious moral failures. It tells a story about justice while letting injustice win. It gives us heroes but doesn’t really show true heroism. And with Ye Dingzhi, it gives us victims, then punishes them for surviving.

It’s not that the show lacked ambition — it’s that it didn’t hold itself or its characters accountable.

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Great drama and visual effects

Amazing cast line up, good visual effects and entertianing to watch. Hou minghao shines again in this wuxia costume drama.
His co stars are also very handsome and great acting. Only upto Ep 12 are aired as of this review and will update once more episodes are aired. But this drama has not disappoint and cant wait for more episodes.
Back here to update...just finished Ep21 and boy the drama still as engaging, and the fighting scenes are continue to be so well done. Wont give to much away, but saw in comment quite a few spoliers. Love Mr Li and also his younger self, some funny moments thrown in. Cant wait for the next ten episodes.

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'I’ll Drag the Whole World Down for the Sake of You'

After marking Dashing Youth as completed on Friday, I’ve been putting this review on-hold because I can’t seem to find the precise outline for the review. After guessing the whole night in my sleep, I was reminded of Ye Dingzhi and Yi Wenjun’s tragic love story, so I decided to pick this title among a bunch of other titles that popped in my head. Moreover, I’m also reminded of One Direction’s song 'Drag Me Down', which has equivalent meaning with the story (if you notice the dialogues). Alright, let’s get back to the review.

Dashing Youth aka 少年白马醉春风 is the prequel of the much-beloved wuxia series The Blood of Youth. Back in 2023, it became the year’s dark horse and garnered high viewership and buzz due to being one of the most extraordinary wuxia dramas which incorporated CGI to fighting scenes, which is no different to a xianxia or xuanhuan drama. Following its predecessor, Dashing Youth also attains the same reputation with the aid of bombastic promotion from Youku, despite having a more mediocre plot (if you compare with The Blood of Youth).

The story is about a spoiled and arrogant young master of the Baili Family, Baili Dongjun and his sworn brother who is supposed to be executed long ago, Ye Yun aka Ye Dingzhi, and a street-smart wanderer who wields spear, Sikong Changfeng. Joining the trio are the astute former princess of Beique, Yue Yao and the daughter of the Shadow Sect and also Ye Dingzhi’s love interest, Yi Wenjun (though she’s confined in her residence all the time, I don’t get why they put her on the main poster lol). Together, they traverse through the jianghu and discover their growth and unique talents and make their names to the world.

If I must say, the plot is nothing new in terms of a wuxia drama. You’ll get those friendship, brotherhood, loyalty, adventure thingy so it can be predictable some time. The plot is well-craved, and the dialogues are meticulously written and the witty banters between the leads are just hilarious, until the story goes downhill on the second half of the show, where Dingzhi and Wenjun’s love story becomes the main priority of the story. The palace politic is dull and very obvious compared to Joy of Life Season 2, furthermore the apathetic grand eunuch sometimes drives me mad, to be honest. The emperor’s actions are similar to that of Xiao Ruojin, I can’t say he’s a good ruler but at least you’re better than a bloodthirsty and cruel monarch. One of the best aspects of this show would be the grand entrances of the characters, which kick off with their signature moves/techniques (they sure spend a lot of money for these scenes). In addition to that, most of the casts are eye-candy actors, which is the reason why many people watch this show.

Of all the characters, the one I like the most is Master Li Changsheng aka Nangong Chunsui. He’s the most savage master I’ve ever seen and an unruly one, not even the emperor can restrain him LMFAO. The second goes to Xiao Ruofeng, the Prince Langya and also Master Li’s seventh disciple. In the comment section, many people claim that his actions are questionable, but I think he is put between a rock and a hard place, so I understand that he’s forced to choose the best option for the greater good and can’t pick ‘sides’ or show favoritism to others. However, it’s a pity that he refuses to become the emperor and is willing to give that position to his brother. If he were one, I’m sure Beili wouldn’t be in such a chaos in the future (for reference, check out The Blood of Youth and you’ll know why). Other characters that I like are Sikong Changfeng and his fiancée Feng Qiuyu, the Eight Young Master of Beili, and the Baili Family (I can’t explain all of their lore one by one lol).

Now, let’s delve into the romance. Though it serves as the side dish, the romance feels underbaked over time and I can’t feel the chemistry between Dongjun and Yue Yao, not even Dingzhi and Wenjun’s. If I am to choose, I’ll pick Changfeng and Qiuyu’s love story – they seem to have little spark of chemistry, though not an explosive one. Except for a kiss, we only got several hugging and staring into space and boring dialogues, though I must say Dongjun is such a persistent boy while waiting for his girl to come back.

As for the second couple’s issue, I’ll put the blame on Wenjun for being such a selfish, useless, and gullible woman. For the sake of your other child in the palace, you’re willing to abandon Wu Xin and Dingzhi. Why, just why? And how can you trust a stranger’s (Feizhan) word and be manipulated so easily? Just because you have a bad dream doesn’t mean it’s happening in the real world. Because of you, poor Dingzhi turns into a demon and vows to drag the world down for you. Because of you, the world becomes a bloody and chaotic hell. Boy (I mean Dingzhi), I get you’re a very loyal person and only wants to spend time with your beloved ones, but this is not the best option for you. Moreover, she chooses to stay at the palace on her own will and one more thing, she doesn’t deserve your love either!

I have no problem with the acting, though. Neo Hou pulls off Dongjun’s character seamlessly, but he’s not such a complicated character, so I’ll let this pass (really like him at Back from the Brink tho). Don’t get me wrong, I really like Hu Lianxin as Tushan Rongrong in Fox Spirit Matchmaker, but I can’t connect to her character whether it is Yue Yao or Yin Luoxia – there’s problem with the script, I guess. He Yu is the MVP of the show by executing the most complex character of the show – his micro expressions are on point too. As for Jiang Zhenyu, she’s still a newbie and has room for improvement, but I don’t blame her either – it’s the script that gets screwed. The former idol Xia Zhiguang surprisingly does well too, given that he has no acting background (based on my understanding). Kudos to the rest of the casts too for their efforts to bring the characters alive.

One more con that I've yet to mention is the ENDING! In my opinion, it should be a bittersweet ending given how the situations go through. However, the ending isn't fleshed out properly like the one we always fantasize. We never get to see how Dongjun accidentally kills Yue Yao, how Lei Mengsha and Li Xinyue died, how Xiao Ruofeng is executed, how Wu Xin is sent to Muyun Abode, and blah blah blah. Overall, a very unsatisfying ending indeed!

CGI, sets, backgrounds, and costumes are visually appealing and miraculously gorgeous. The budget sure goes a lot to these departments.

The rock and bombastic OSTs are wonderful, and I like four out of seven songs. BGMs are nice to hear too.

Will I rewatch in the future? Absolutely! But I’ll only watch the beginning of the show and avoid the second half at all costs. Because of the inconsistent plot and the lackluster romance, I’ll have to dock one point off from the rating. I may not be a heavy sucker for romance, but still, I love sizzling chemistry and stuffs like that. It’s such a pity that they fail to execute the romance department, which also happens at The Blood of Youth. This is going to be my longest essay to date and I’ll end it here. Good luck and happy watching!!!

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Weakest of the Trilogy...Lacks chemistry and execution in Romance and Bromance

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

I previously watched “Dashing Youth” until ep 29 a year ago before deciding to drop it. But after watching and loving “Blood River”, it inspired me to pick this back up again to follow the other side of the story. I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

Good: I gave “Dashing Youth” a second chance and rewatched it from ep 1.
Bad: I can’t help but compare the two dramas and “Dashing Youth’ failed in comparison (miserably).


Plot/Pacing
The general plot is actually pretty good. Two long lost best friends reunited and fought for their own future and recognition in the pugilistic world. They have different dreams, different backgrounds, different personalities and different paths. But, throughout their journeys, they remain true best friends who are loyal to each other till the end. Along the way, they meet new people who challenge them and/or help them grow. Sounds good right? Technically yes, but the execution was not great. If you have watched “The Blood of Youth”, you know that friendship and camaraderie is the drama’s biggest strength. Each of the main characters/youths has their unique and quirky personalities. I love that group. If you watched “Blood River”, the bromance and friendship between the two male leads, Changhe and Mu Yu, is their biggest selling point. They are always together and trusting each other. But what about “Dashing Youth”? Unfortunately, the first half of the drama focuses on Baili Dong Jun’s journey and the second half focuses on Ye Ding Zhi. They do not have many scenes together as they set off on their own personal journeys. Because of that, it was difficult for me to believe in their tight bond and the foundation is not strong enough for us viewers, to give me that emotional impact when their ideals collide. Additionally, the pacing is slow, especially in the second half. This is also an unfair comparison because I just finished watching “Blood River” and that drama is well-paced and action-packed. There’s too much talking and preachy lectures. The two female leads talk very slowly in the second half. When it came to ep 29, I realized why I dropped it the first time. The romances are not romancing, and I was bored.

Acting
The veterans are great in this drama. They totally outshine the younger crew. Neo Hou and He Yu did fine, but not amazing. Hu Lian Xin and Jiang Zhen Yu are beautiful but boring. My favorite actors are probably Zia Zhi Guang and Bai Shu. Their characters are my favorite. It says a lot when Xia Zhi Guang is in the same screen as Neo Hou and my eyes are on him. I love Bai Shu and his character Prince Lang Ya in this drama, as well as in “Blood River”. Wangyan Luo Rong (as Lei Meng Sha) and the little monk boy provided some comic relief. that little kid is hilarious and whoever dubbed his voice is just as funny. The rest of the young cast is fine. The lesser roles are average or below average, and this is a huge cast. Some of these characters showed up for a brief period of time and then came out again, and I have to think really hard to remember who they are.

Romance
I’ve come to the conclusion that either novelist Zhou Mu Nan sucks at writing romance storylines, or the screenwriters are bad in all 3 dramas of the trilogy. Chemistry is lacking, no matter how good they look together visually. Baili Dong Jun and Yue Yao are boring and have no chemistry. It was fun in the beginning when she was still in her fake identity and actually acts like a cool heroine. But I can’t tell when Baili Dong Jun actually fell in love with her. There’s barely any good romantic interaction except for a few slow-mo fake romantic moments. For the second half of the drama, Yue Yao acts as a sidekick or accessory to the male lead. Where’s the kickass girl in the earlier episodes? Does she have to dress, talk and act all princessy again? The romance between Ye Ding Zhi and Yi Wen Jun should be killing me with all that they have to go through. But all I get are childhood memories when they were soooo little that there could not be any romantic feelings at that age. Even when they reunite, they were together for such a brief period of time (and when Ye Ding Zhi’s identity is still a secret) when there shouldn’t be enough romantic feelings, or foundation built for me to believe the rest of what they had to go through. Having said that, I did cry a little in the last episode because their story is touching. It’s the chemistry and execution that didn’t work for me. Let’s not even talk about Sikong Chang Feng’s supposed romance. Barely there, even though he’s really adorable.

Production
If you are a wuxia fan and want to watch this trilogy, definitely start with “Dashing Youth”, not only because chronologically it makes sense, but because the action scenes are the worst. “Blood River” has far superior fight scenes with and without CGI. “Dashing Youth” relies solely on CGI fights and green screens. A true wuxia fan would be disappointed. But a CGI fan might love it. I do applaud Neo Hou to be the sole main character who uses his own voice. And Neo does that quite often. Is he excellent at it? Not really, but definitely better than Gong Jun in “Blood River”. The costumes and hairstyles are pretty good, but some of the accessories look really crappy. I saw quite a few fake broken swords here and there. Music is played quite often and loud. But I do like two sad songs, 《长风里》(Into the Wind) and《衍爱》(Love), and added that to my Spotify playlist.


I don’t regret taking this back out of my Dropped List and giving it a second chance. I had a fun time checking out the character/relationship maps of “Blood River”, “Dashing Youth” and “The Blood of Youth” from Baidu and figuring out who’s who. But if you are going to pick just one of the dramas to watch in this trilogy, “Dashing Youth” will not be my choice. I’ll pick “The Blood of Youth” for the fun group dynamics and friendship, or “Blood River” for the excellent plot/pacing and fight scenes. Just don’t have any hopes for anything good in the romance department.


Series Watch Order
1) Dashing Youth
2) Blood River
3) The Blood of Youth


Completed: 11/20/2025 Review #644

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Overall pretty good show. Had good enjoyable experience . I would definitely recommend watching this

I would say after watching the entire show that this drama really made sense to me.
Every character had their own story and struggle and instead of clear demonstrating them black or white (pure good or pure evil) this really showed them Grey
Good had their share of bad and bad had their share of good qualities which was the key point I personally really enjoyed.
No one was solely"Hero" or "Villian" every one was "Character"

Long story short 😅
I really enjoyed the show it was fun watching it.
I would definitely recommend
U SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH THIS.

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Loved It, Outstanding Visual Effects & Martial Arts

A Martial Arts story with a little bit of politics in it. It has a nice balance of both martial arts & politics. The fighting scenes were so impressive. The only drama which fighting scenes I love is "My Journey to You" after that, this dramas fighting scenes I love. It has martial arts with VFX. And VFX is top-notch.

If anyone want to watch Dashing Youth & The Blood of Youth both. I suggest to watch Dashing Youth first. Because in The Blood of Youth you'll get to know the story of Dashing Youth so it's better to watch this one first.

Baili Dong Jun is a lazy spoiled brat but has a goal to become a Liquor Deity. He is extra ordinarily talented & powerful. Sometimes he is a fool sometime he is the most mature person. He is righteousness. Love Hou Ming Hao acting.

Li Chang Sheng & Nangong Chun Shui characters a lot. Both the actors, Zhang Chen Xiao & Qiu Xin Zhi played the roles so marvelously. They portrayed the same character with the same personality but give their own touch to it. I was shocked to hear Li Chang Sheng's story. I'm sad that he won't be in the sequel.

Loved the opening sword technique of Gu Jian Men.

The 1st ep impressed me so much that my expectations for the rest of the episodes became high, especially the fight between Su Mu Yu & Gu Jian Men.

Lei Meng Sha is a chatterbox. Always saying something nonsense. And his laugh is also peculiar. But I like his character.

I was excited to know what would happen or what Baili Dong Jun & Sikong Chang Feng plan to do at Gu Jian Men's wedding.

Laughed how Lei Meng Sha reacted when he got to know Baili Dong Jun real identity.

Wen Hu Jiu asked Sikong Chang Feng why he wasn't unconscious, yet? His reply, almost there & fainting instantly, was hilarious.

Wen Hu Jiu keeps poisonous snakes as his pets in his pocket & his way of saving Sikong Chang Feng is funny & unique as well.

Love Baili Dong Jun & his father bickering.

Laughed how Baili Dong Jun's grandfather gave the same treatment to his son that his son gave to his grandson tied him up.

Laughed when Lei Meng Sha wanted to cheer, but nor Baili Dong Jun or Xiao Ruo Feng do it.

It would’ve been great if they'd shown Baili Dong Jun's journey of unlocking his internal strength.

Love Lei Meng Sha & Xiao Ruo Feng friendship the way Xiao Ruo Feng talks with Lei Meng Sha with sarcasm. Also love Mo Xiao Hei & Liu Yue bickering.

5 disciples had no idea about the huge fight between Li Chang Sheng & Yu Sheng Demon because they were too drunk. Poor them, they miss a legendary fight.

Poor Lei Meng Sha is so dead by Li Xin Yue for coming to a brothel the beating he got for visiting the place, slap print in his face. The spanking he got from her & his daughter walked away from there as it's a daily routine to see this.

Shocking how Yue Yao found just by smelling that Baili Dong Jun went to a brothel.

Loved by the style, Li Chang Sheng left the Imperial Mansion. Are they idiots? They call him a legendary martial artist but still try to kill him.

Laughed at the scene were Luo Sheng calling Li Chang Sheng as a playboy & Nangong Chun Shui as his son.

Laughed how Wen Hu Jiu ran like a bullet train to go outside.

Baili Dong Jun & Yue Yao expressions whenever Li Chang Sheng starts to praise him.

Baili Dong Jun's mother beating her father just like Li Xin Yue beats Lei Meng Sha.

Ye Ding Zhi & Wu Chan's relationship is so cute the way he says Ye Ge is so cute.

When will in C-Dramas they'll stop using bright lights in kissing scenes?

At first, Ye Ding Zhi had a goal to prove his family's innocence, but everything went out of the way when he met Yi Wen Jun. I mean he can pursue love with his goal remaining intact. But he forgot all of it for a girl & became obsessive about her. There were many ways to prove his family's innocence, but he didn't do it. It's true he can never be with Yi Wen Jun, even after proving his family's innocence.

I think what would I have done if I were in Yi Wen Jun's place? Being caged in a loveless marriage, in a political marriage. I would've tried to break up that marriage, but can we win against the imperial family? No, we won't. But I would never have left my child for some man, even if I'm in a loveless marriage, because for me my child comes first before love. Her selfishness cost Ye Ding Zhi's life. Just like Baili Dong Jun said, if she hadn't left in the first place, nothing would've happened.

It's a friendship & brotherhood centric story. But the scene time between Baili Dong Jun & Ye Ding Zhi was not that much for me to convince that Baili Dong Jun could go to any let for his childhood friend Ye Ding Zhi. I get it that they can't be together because of Ye Ding Zhi's identity, but it would've been good if they shared screen time in the 1st 20 episodes. The same goes for Baili Dong Jun & Sikong Chang Feng's friendship. They're always saying hi & goodbye now or then. For this reason, I gave a 9 rating.

Also I love the OST.

Now I'll watch The blood of youth. Can't wait to watch Baili Dong Jun & Sikong Chang Feng rest of the journey.

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An Entertaining Prequel That's Not As Good As Its Sequel

Dashing Youth is the highly anticipated prequel to the dark horse hit, The Blood of Youth. Did it live up to expectations? Is it as good as its sequel? No and no. But it's still a good watch. If you're a fan of The Blood of Youth, you will want to see how things started and what the older generation of martial arts masters were like when they were young. Dashing Youth revolves around Baili Dongjun, known as the Liquor Deity, and the best martial artist of his generation. The drama follows his adventures and relationships with the people he meets in his journey to become a renowned martial arts master. Most particularly, it focuses on his bond with his best friend and later nemesis, Ye Dingzhi, the leader of the Demon Sect, and also known as Ye Yun, the son of the famed General Ye who fell into ruin after the latter grew too powerful for the emperor to tolerate.

The story centers around bromance with some hetero romance here and there, which I didn't care for to be honest. But those pairings have to happen because these characters have to produce the next generation of martial artists that are going to be featured in The Blood of Youth. Honestly, the bromances are the best part of this series. The relationships are quite engaging and the male characters are not only well-written, but are also portrayed by capable actors who have face cards that would be the envy of any boy group existing today. Hahahaha. Suffice to say, I watched mainly for the eye candy. Sorry, not sorry!

Unfortunately, it is also a cautionary tale of love and tragedy, and a friendship that turns sour because of diverging paths and differing ideals, so that's where the melodrama comes in. Ye Dingzhi's obsession with exacting revenge on the people who wronged him and his family, and taking back what was once his proved to be his demise. By nurturing his hate and insisting on taking back the woman that was once betrothed to him eventually caused his destruction and tainted his friendship with the one person who truly cared for him. His love for Yi Wenjun started a war that almost destroyed the kingdom and forced him to fight Baili Dongjun whom he treated as his beloved little brother. Yi Wenjun is basically the Helen of Troy of this story, the face that launched a thousand ships, so to speak. Obviously, I despised everything about her. Hahaha. I saw her as a selfish woman who only thought about her desires, using Dingzhi to rescue her from her gilded cage and abandoning even her children when it suited her. The other female characters are either meh who contribute nothing substantial to the story, or are even more hateful than Wenjun. So, I decided to just treat them as baby mommas for my pretty boys. I noticed the writer of the original novel can't write good female characters, which is actually typical for fight shonen manga/anime series where this story was clearly patterned from. But no matter, I was still entertained for the most part although I had to take a break from all the melodrama between Dingzhi and Wenjun.

Baili Dongjun, contrary to what most viewers of this drama think, is actually a great lead character. He starts out as a spoiled, bratty, and privileged youth who know nothing of the world, but becomes a reliable and admirable hero by the end of the series. You get to witness his character growth as the series progresses and that, to me, is good writing. Hou Minghao plays him to perfection. Granted that Minghao is not exactly a great actor, Dongjun fits him like a glove and he makes an effort to improve his acting skills with each new role he takes on, so I give him props for that. He Yu as Ye Dingzhi is equally good. He exudes a boyish charm that suits the character's persona before he turns to a darker path, and he also has enough gravitas to project the sadness and anger that weigh heavily on Dingzhi.

The rest of the cast are great in their respective roles as well. The 8 young masters of Beili are basically the historical wuxia drama version of the Taiwanese F4 but better because they can actually sing and are far more good looking! Hahaha. My favorites among them are the androgynous beauty Liu Yue played by Zhu Zhengting, Jun Yu played by Tong Mengshi from Joy of Life fame, and Lei Wujie's dad, Lei Mengsha, played by Wanyan Luorong from I Am Nobody. He made me laugh the most, he's practically a walking meme. But it was Xia Zhiguang as Sikong Changfeng who really stood out to me. His sense of valor and loyalty to his friends made me love him. Zhiguang is an accomplished athlete and martial artist so among all the cast members, his fight scenes looked the most believable to me. He really did learn how to handle that spear like a true expert. Another actor that got into my radar while watching this show is Xue Ba Yi who plays the White Haired Deity, Qi Xuan. I got a newfound respect for that character and I now understand his motivations after watching Ba Yi portray the younger version in this prequel.

In terms of production quality, this drama doesn't look cheap at all. You can tell they spent most of their budget on the special effects. The fight scenes are CGI-heavy, which I didn't mind personally because it was like watching a live action version of a shonen anime. However, unlike the Blood of Youth, it lacks the wuxia-style fight choreography that made its sequel stand out among other wuxia dramas. But I must admit, I would've appreciated more actual fights. I rather enjoyed the fight sequences in the Blood of Youth.

Dashing Youth also has a weaker and more convoluted writing. The plot progression in the beginning is a bit slow and it focuses too much on the love angles instead of showing some of the more vital parts of the story. To make everything fit into 40 episodes, they had to settle for exposition dumps in the form of narrations instead of actually delving into those scenes. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to getting to know the original four guardians of Tianqi, how they came together, and how they protected Beili. But they barely have screen time in this prequel. The ending also felt rushed to me. And that's why I think they should've managed the pacing better instead of dwelling on the romances that are merely plot devices. The politics are less overt than in The Blood of Youth, which I felt was really the strength of that sequel series. I wish they could've dealt with the political aspects more instead.

The music is way better, though. The opening theme is hands down the best I've heard in any C-drama thus far. I liked the OST of The Blood of Youth, but this prequel series has a more banging soundtrack imho. Although both series are set in the same universe, I liked the cinematography of the sequel better. It has a more magical feel to it for some reason.

But despite its flaws, I still think it's a cool series and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys anime-esque live action dramas that has lots of cool-looking special effects and endearing characters with interesting powers. Though not as strong as its sequel storywise, it is still a great standalone drama.

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One of the best modern Martial Arts series of all time!

Must see for anyone who grew up watching and loving Martial Arts series as a kid, and enjoy it well into adulthood.
Its a great balance of dialogue, costume, canon, with amazing visual fx, and sound.
Each Character developed in this series is distinct, which if you watch alot of wuxia etc, sometimes differentiation is challenging.
The series is based on alot of canon (characters, dynastical references, forms of martial arts) , and i feel it pays homage and also adds to the richness to it. Its not a simply a retelling. I feel its been a really well crafted modernisation.
Highly recommend watching it. Its on par with Game of Thrones level production value, with good story telling.

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