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1A bot could have done a lot better!
The Journey of Legend (赴山海/Fù Shānhǎi) ambitiously reimagines Wen Ruian’s mid-1970s wuxia classic, The Heroes of China (神州奇侠/Shénzhōu Qí Xiá). Novelist Xiao Mingming, transmigrated into the novel’s world by a vengeful AI for daring to rewrite it with cheat codes, becomes the protagonist Xiao Qiushui. To return home, he must complete the hero’s journey in this sprawling martial world.Wen Ruian’s novel is a revered masterpiece among wuxia fans, celebrated for its epic scope, literary depth, and genre-defining influence. Layering an AI-driven isekai conspiracy arc over its already rich plot and character-driven narrative is a daunting task. Screenwriter Liu Fang, however, is woefully unequal to it. Her juvenile writing and shallow dialogue clash jarringly with Wen’s sophisticated, poetic prose. The first five or six episodes stumble through Mingming’s integration into the novel’s world, hampered by cringeworthy attempts at humor. The pace improves as the story aligns with the original novel, but periodic AI-driven digressions disrupt the otherwise stellar plot and character arcs. Ironically in terms of screenplay, a bot could have done a lot better! This drama is watchable if you ignore the AI subplots—they’re unworthy of attention.
Set in the fictional kingdom of Daxi, loosely based on the Southern Song Dynasty post-Jingkang humiliation, the story reinterprets the shameful betrayal of patriot Yue Fei through an alternate lens. The Beihuang invaders, likely inspired by the Jurchens, loom large, while a disillusioned jianghu (the martial world) fractures under the rivalry between the ambitious Li Chenzhou’s Power League (权力帮) and the enigmatic King Zhu’s River Sect. As the empire faces a controversial decision, young idealist Xiao Mingming/Qiushui navigates a family conspiracy that spirals into national stakes.
Cheng Yi plays both Xiao Qiushui and Li Chenzhou, narrative parallels designed to look uncannily alike yet embody opposing ideologies. Qiushui champions righteousness and chivalry (义, yì), while the cynical Chenzhou wields power and control (权力, quánlì). Cheng Yi struggles early to settle into these roles, but his portrayal of Chenzhou—a once-idealistic figure hardened by betrayal—outshines the vanilla, righteous Qiushui. Chenzhou’s complexity ultimately steals the spotlight.
The sprawling cast, however, is a mixed bag. Few characters beyond Li Chenzhou are fully developed. Lui Suifeng’s arc starts strong but fizzles, though it’s the best-acted role. Cheung Chi-Lam’s Crazy Yan is another standout, criminally underused. Newbie actors, overshadowed by veterans, expose the uneven casting. The main villain, a dumbed-down Qin Hui—history’s most infamous traitor—reduces a legendary antagonist to a trite middle-child syndrome caricature.
The saving grace? The martial arts. The action sequences are electrifying, ingeniously staged to deliver edge-of-your-seat thrills and imminent peril absent from recent wuxia dramas. Unlike the overly stylized twirling of Mysterious Lotus Casebook, these fights are intense, muscular, and flinch-worthy. If only the budget had stretched to a competent screenwriter! A straight adaptation of Wen’s novel, paired with these action scenes, could’ve been a masterpiece, dated genre or not.
I held off on weighing in on the rating controversy surrounding this production until I’d finished and reflected. Everything I loved—the profound, lingering ending included—stems from the original novel. Despite some clumsy moments, the finale respects Wen’s work. Yet, evaluated holistically, this adaptation desecrates a classic. I’m giving it a generous 8/10, almost entirely for the re-watchable martial arts. The storytelling scrapes by with a 7/10.
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1This review may contain spoilers
The Journey of Xiao Ming Ming as Xiao Qiushui:
After watching 40 episodes, titular challenges faced by our male lead encapsulates the transformation of a well-venerated 1980 wuxia novel incorporating clumsy ham-fisted insertions of modern transmigration ideas not in the novel. End result is a half-smouldering rainbow millefeuille cake of badly-botched icing atop layers of horribly questionable decisions during production and post-production by directors, at least one main screenwriter, and the post-production team.Kudos to the choreographers for at least half the wuxia scenes which will naturally drain a gigantic portion of the budget, but could not save numerous issues plaguing this production, thus resulting in my heartfelt sympathies for the cast especially Cheng Yi.
For the first two episodes, camera work was languid, insufficiently varied, and insipid. These crucial episodes needed to convey a certain sense of unfamiliarity transformed into growing emotional intimacy and familial responsibility, exciting energy of the sect and household he found himself in, plus a sense of grandeur and urgency when the fight scenes with Feng Tianyi came in.
Xiao Ming Ming’s role is the most difficult and important to interpret for the first quarter of the drama, and certain nuances must be clearly conveyed through clever storytelling and intelligent editing. Specific directions needed to be given to the ML to nail the characterisation of a spoilt youngest son with notable inner workings eventually becoming the saviour of the pugilist world.
Scriptwriters and directors failed in these crucial aspects, which had me wondering why Cheng Yi was channelling at times Li Lianhua from “Mysterious Lotus Casebook” within the first five episodes of this drama. Xiao Qiushui needs to be wholly different from Li Lianhua for at least thirty episodes. A family meal demonstrating how Xiao Qiushui interacted with family members would give insight into good and bad aspects of his two brothers and save them from being one-dimensional victims of lazy writing, but also allow the ML to convey an inner monologue to the audience about a decision of recognising these strangers as people he will protect and honour as his own family and uphold their sect values for the sake of the pugilist world, even though this world confuses and unsettles him.
This would set a clear believable transition when Xiao Ming Ming from the modern era was not yet able to portray Xiao Qiushui as the leader he would eventually become, also helping viewers avoid the impression of Xiao Ming Ming unrealistically adapting without issues to a very different world.
These two crucial first episodes were further blighted by lighting and colour grading issues such as a flat midtone, resulting in green screens becoming obvious for certain types of scenes. Filters were overused, especially for Cheng Yi. The plot is not flowing coherently when one scene switches to a different scene. Too much music and unnecessary sound effects affected the emotional impact or energy or scenes. Main theme was overused until the final two episodes. Music cannot improve a problem with comedic execution eg episode 1, starting at 15:53.
Episode 3 is when Xiao Ming Ming’s arch-nemesis responsible for his fundamental emotional transformation enters the lives of the Shenzhou Sworn Brotherhood. Liu Suifeng’s story unfolds much more smoothly and strongly, in all its complex aspects and portrayal. Scenes not related to Liu Suifeng’s story demonstrate a fundamental problem of telling the audience what to know in a boring 1-2-3 manner or not having sufficient continuity, rather than creating an organic natural flow where one part of the story leads into the next stage with clear direction and purpose.
Characters needing more screentime were introduced and killed almost instantaneously or relegated to the sidelines, while certain characters should have their overall screentime reduced (Tang Fang and Qiushui’s two brothers). Reducing screentime does not mean a character’s complexity, importance and emotional connections to other characters cannot be conveyed.
This primarily depends on interactions with other characters and/or a specific short scene revealing a character’s motivations and values, to achieve similar objectives in clever storytelling and intelligent editing for the final results. There is also debate as to whether Xueyu, Tang Fang, Qiushui’s two brothers, and the Shenzhou Sworn Brotherhood should have been portrayed by different actors and actresses.
If I wanted a strong ensemble cast to match the stronger actors and elevate this drama, my answer is yes. However, given how poorly these characters were written and directed for this drama (unless you change all screenwriters plus directors early in the production stages or by the end of ten episodes), I do not want other actors and actresses to suffer what these actors and actresses did not deserve from critics for their hard-working efforts.
This drama does best when the transmigration elements are completely irrelevant.
Episode 18 was excellent. Emotionally rock-bottom after being wracked by all the losses he has had to witness and shoulder, Xiao Mingming realises the difficulty and responsibility of being Xiao Qiushui. No modern device or experience can prepare him for this episode. Qiushui has become completely fixated on Liu Suifeng in that kind of intense wuxia way (totally platonic) on a true rival and complete enemy. A vengeful unethical Liu Suifeng has poisoned him with unrelenting drive of zero mercy, playing a cat-and-mouse game to make Xiao Qiushui snap. Animosity and other emotions fuelling their duelling makes the excellent choreography even more unforgettable.
Cheng Yi is completely in his element throughout this episode. Embodying determination, rage, sorrow, despair, despondency, our hero does not have a single positive moment here. Your heartstrings will survive the melody of anguish triggered by his heartfelt understanding. Your neutrality won't survive until the end of this episode, if you must choose between Liu Suifeng and Xiao Qiushui.
Some wuxia concepts were thrown out the window within 21 episodes. Xiao Qiushui’s insufficient struggles in skill mastery plus incredible luck in obtaining the skills and power bestowed upon him made no sense. The all-powerful top pugilist Crazy Yan had once ingested the Infinite Pill. Despicable Shao Liulei possessing the Yang half of the Infinite Pill was introduced, only to be killed off quickly by a non-descript character after forcing Xiao Qiushui to swallow the Yang pill. Xiao Qiushui was saved from the effects of the Yang pill by the bite of a white serpent. Even though the "Yin" properties of snake venom is known in TCM (traditional Chinese medicine), that knowledge is not going to convince me Xiao Qiushui's woes from the Yang pill could be miraculously and permanently solved with one bite.
Once Shao Liulei was dumped from the drama in episode 21, I was convinced there were two MLs of equal importance: Cheng Yi and Xu Zhenxuan. ML levelling up with 60 years of internal energy and saved by a random snake bite was too much for me to swallow. In this same episode, we are introduced to Liu Suifeng's suffering and cause of loyalty, grounded in willingness to do anything and everything to get stronger and repay the debts to his benefactors. Engaging episode involving bad contrast decisions by the production team for the two MLs. The screenwriters, directors, and post-production team urgently needed to be replaced by this episode. This led to remaining episodes being put on hold, until enough episodes could be accessed together as a finish.
Episode 10 onwards is when Cheng Yi’s performance improved significantly, only to be continually plagued by unevenness of the first ten episodes whereby his portrayals of Xiao Ming Ming and Xiao Qiushui were not given crucial consistent directions needed from the Directors. Directors are responsible for fulfilling the creative vision of a drama or movie and in this case, there appears to be a disagreement during the process and at least one of them obviously had severe myopia. Xiao Qiushui’s character growth needed to be divided into four acts and Xiao Qiushui needed more scenes with specific characters such as Li Chenzhou included in this drama, which did not happen. Was Liu Suifeng originally supposed to have such an extensive role, and how does this extensive role benefit Fushanhai? Screenwriters, why did Liu Suifeng give up on his revenge? This change of mindset was not believable after episode 35, given the episodes that portrayed Liu Suifeng as an individual hellbent on his agenda and revenge for the sake of justice.
We have pugilist masters constantly channelling internal energy or skills to Xiao Qiushui. I could understand the Wudang and Shaolin masters doing so, given their plights. When it came to the eight pugilists transferring their skills to Xiao Qiushui in episode- Oh heck, I don’t feel like fact-checking this specific detail, because the story by this point was so uninspiring I could not care what happened to Xiao Qiushui, Tang Fang or any other characters in the drama including Crazy Yan. Xiao Qiushui’s fight with Crazy Yan was spellbinding, and Chi lam was under-utilised for this drama because his scenes also ended up on the cutting floor.
Episodes 34 to 40 are indescribable. I wanted Xueyu and Crazy Yan to have a story because they shared strong chemistry portraying a significant emotional connection in their few scenes together, only for them to be killed off in a lame fashion. Li Chenzhou and Zhao Shirong came to a sad end, which can also be interpreted as karma for all the evils carried out by the Power Gang. On one hand, I was touched to see Liu Suifeng and Song Mingzhu have a happy conclusion, but on the other hand I was puzzled as to why Liu Suifeng did not get retribution for all the evil things he had done. Why is the Power Gang excused for its evils by Xiao Qiushui? I am not even going to linger on the ultimate villain, because it is impressively mind-boggling as to how a noteworthy villain is rewritten into a generic forgettable character whose one standout factor is being icky to rouse your squash-the-predator-flat urge.
Too many production and post-production flaws from the crew result in one hyper-focusing on Cheng Yi, which means his ability to give a nuanced performance becomes unfairly lambasted in the scenes where the acting of his co-stars cannot rise to the criteria of a scene, such as the crying scene while Tang Rou was dying in episode 8.
Choppy editing and poor storytelling resulted in poor adaptation of the novel. A mess of subplots with too many loose ends and plotholes tying into the main plot lacking adequate deftness of interpretation and omissions from the screenwriters and directors delivered the overall fundamental and final blows to Cheng Yi’s Xiao Qiushui appearing inconsistent, including lines he had to deliver. Many of these lines were severely lacking in the richness and beauty of what could be conveyed in Mandarin from a wuxia novel. Seriously, find me something memorable or inspiringly noteworthy of his lines from the first twenty episodes in Mandarin. You'd have better luck fetching water with a sieve.
TJOL is literally the best showcase drama of how a ML’s portrayal of the key character and novel adaptation has been primarily botched by too many production issues and post-production decisions making me question the extent of the source material grasped by the screenwriters and directors, including the final choices of scenes to exclude or include for the drama.
By the time Cheng Yi walked off into the distance in peaceful white, I was relieved to see the end of this drama and him permanently free of an unsatisfactory ending. As to said ending, look at the scenes of Xiao Mingming before he finishes as Xiao Qiushui. “Vendetta of An” is a not-yet-aired drama that I believe will do justice to him, and I say this as someone who is not a fan of Cheng Yi but enjoyed seeing him alongside Joseph Zeng and Xiao Shunyao in MLC. I am also very relieved to stop seeing playing of the guqin being butchered by the likes of Sanchai.
All other criticisms pertaining to post-production issues being too numerous have already been touched upon, such as recycled costumes and too much applique on lightweight fabric resulting in cheap-looking wardrobes. All this, I place squarely on the shoulders of the production and post-production teams. Some people believe the cast is more important than the likes of directors, screenwriters and other crew members. I hold directors and screenwriters to be as important as the cast, which means I give them their due or otherwise.
Would I rewatch this? For the story of Liu Suifeng, yes. For the story of Xiao Qiushui and other characters? Only in the novel. In order to start and finish this series for maximum enjoyment, you have to know nothing about wuxia, or be a super-avid fan of one of the actors/actresses and/or watch everything while intentionally ignoring your inner critic.
That said, try watching this once. Any transmigration elements are alien to this world, the screenwriters were not up to the task in the writing of certain characters, and any irritating characters are part of Cheng Yi's journey to overcome as Xiao Mingming becoming Xiao Qiushui. There is always beauty to enjoy in a drama and despite flaws, you may find yourself inspired or thinking of details previously not considered.
If I were blunt about a title for this review? "Fifth Wall: How Cheng Yi's biggest obstacles in becoming Xiao Qiushui slammed into-"
This drama should have utilised the directors, screenwriters and teams of “Mobius”, “A Dream Within A Dream” or “The Tower of Whispers”. The camerawork and technicalities, storytelling, acting portrayals aided by excellent directing and riveting cinematography is much stronger in those dramas, and would have greatly benefitted this cast significantly needing strong specific directions for a very-complex plot and crucial characterisation layers.
For those who enjoyed this drama, that’s wonderful. For those who struggled to finish, I hope this summary helps you in trying for the finish line.
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This review may contain spoilers
A recipe with too many ingredients
It’s a story packed with too many ideas, but the poor execution left me disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely good elements, and it was entertaining in the beginning, at least until about halfway through. After that, it went downhill fast. It honestly felt like two different writers worked on the script. The first half was brilliant, while the second half was painfully bad. If I didn’t know the production spent 300 million on this project, I’d have thought it was a low-budget drama. The cinematography was average. The wardrobe was average too (some side characters literally wore one costume for the entire show). They would change XQS's hair in one scene and change again on the next without reason. The editing was sloppy. The saving grace of the show was the fight scenes and fight choreography.There are many more points I could bring up, but I’d have to rewatch episodes to fact-check, and I honestly have no interest in doing that, so I’ll leave those out. Here are the main thoughts that stuck with me:
First, I didn’t like how some of XQS’s greatest achievements, despite him being smart and quick-witted, ended up coming down to sheer luck: swallowing a 60-year power pill, being bitten by a mysterious white snake, receiving power from eight heroes, and so on.
Towards the end, I couldn’t understand why Chief Li knowingly drank the poisoned wine, then went back to the palace again fully aware he’d have to face the same poison and might not survive. He’s supposed to be one of the most powerful figures, yet he came across as utterly defeated. On top of that, the Emperor who gave him the poisoned wine acted surprised and even saddened when he learned of Chief Li’s death. It really makes me question the credibility of the writers.
A lot of questionable choices were made. Characters with strong martial arts skills and big entrances were introduced, only to be taken out by trivial things... Crazy Yan, Chief Li, Rong-er, etc. And just before the final fight between XQS and his second brother, why bother with the sand timer on General Wu instead of just killing him off directly?
The show also hinted at a love triangle between Tang Gege (LSF), Tang Fang, and Red Phoenix, then abandoned it, only to patch it up in the final episodes as if it were an afterthought. Honestly, I started losing interest once the story shifted direction and introduced a new villain, while suddenly making the old villains into “misunderstood good guys.” Their past crimes against the heroes were brushed aside and forgotten. For example, if it weren’t for the Power Gang, the Xiaos wouldn’t have been trapped in the safe house without water and would still be alive. But all was forgiven just because they preserved the bodies (of people they helped kill) as evidence and helped track down the killer. If I were XQS, I’d have held them accountable, maybe made them clean the graves every day for ten years or something.
LSF’s hatred of the Xiao family was so extreme that destroying them consumed his every thought. Yet he never truly got revenge on the person behind the massacre, nor did he apologize to the people he wrongly blamed, especially the Xiaos. He caused a lot of damage, but there was no “I’m sorry.” They just swept it under the rug. And with that, LSF’s purpose was lost. The feud between XQS and LSF disappeared without closure, and LSF ended up as a useless character. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one looking forward to their big showdown.
Another disappointing aspect was the lack of a strong sense of brotherhood. It was there, yes, and their friendship was solid, but within the trio, XQS shone brightly while the other two felt like dim little fireflies, simply existing in the background.
By the time the new villain came around, I had lost focus completely. He felt like just another bad guy I couldn’t care about, and I only kept watching to finish the story. There were still good moments here and there, but overall, the mishandling of the storytelling left me unsatisfied.
And a small rant: whoever invented that drinking cup/saucer design clearly intended half the drink to spill on the ground as an offering to ancestors, because otherwise it’s just a terrible design. The tea cups were perfectly fine. 😅 Okay, don’t come for me on that one, it was a joke.
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This review may contain spoilers
A, Are you sure you're not a bit bored? B. It gets ridiculous and doesn't improve.
Love Cheng Yi. I even rewatched Stand By Me as I awaited this drama. But sigh, having a hard time being excited about this drama. Even Deep Lurk was more compelling (but I dropped it, there are few Ming Guo era dramas I will watch to the end)It's refreshing that CY gets to be playful and naive vs. most past roles conveying stoic angst, but the comic relief is just plain stupid and goes way past the punchline, and the obsession over an inanimate object does not make for a driver of the story. The antagonist characters are exceedingly one note, and, CY cries and whines a bit too much so far--perhaps it will be that this is the point--to show a character arc from lame/naive to true hero....which is why I keep watching. I also figured that his pastel costuming to the point of being very feminine was to show a too obvious transition from naive to mature.
Also I am amused that recent production gossip is that Cheng Yi is too old to play young man roles and that Wu Lei was selected instead--sorry but I disagree-- CY is ageless and he plays younger fine.
Oddly while not that compelling, I don't find myself wanting to speed up the video or to skip scenes (well wait I just did with the mourning), and every dialogue seems stretched out (ex: He's dead. Did you say he's dead? Yes, Dead, What, he's dead? Dramatic pause, What do you mean dead?...and it goes on).
Additionally the OST became over used and utterly obvious to confirm the emotion of the scene---super heavy and long--again-for clear sad portions, and plucky for the comedic (or trying to be funny) scenes. And the fights are okay tho' the reasons to fight are at a drop of the hat.
So for those of you loving it, great, for those seeking more compelling/sophisticated story and fight scenes, highly recommend Side Story of Fox Volant or the recent The Legend of the Female General.
B. SPOILERS (and rant) I don't usually keep adding to a review but as I arrived at ep 26, this story's downhill got crazier than the Hawaiian slide scene in Chief of War (ep. 5). The story looses any sense of logic at this point. Not only is there a new character who comes out of nowhere because ML says he does, that character can supposedly remain hidden as a spy in the "evil gang' and yet never gets suspected despite all the times he spends with ML. And the loser eldest brother role is SO single minded, one wonders if the actor said to him "is my character really this lame?". And well, so far every single female character's portrayal is pre-AI robotic--think Dalek from Dr. Who. Of course this lends to the zero chemistry between ML and the Tang heiress FL. Plus Guli Na Zha has a role that could have been edited out and wouldn't be missed so far.
The final straw that made me add to this is suddenly in ep 27 he receives all this power from masters (again, handily explained by ML: 'it's in the story I read" yet rationally there is zero reason for these masters from both sides to dump their power on a kid who walks into the end of their fray. And rather than asking why one of them has his father's sword sheath, he asks about the emblem on it. And of course, being this story is lame, get's no valuable answer but the dialogue/scene goes for minutes. Plus the once silly pair he encountered now has the skill and power to destroy the Power Gang bases--huh? Might have been a scene I missed where he says the story makes it so (snicker).
Oh yeah, and does it even make sense that supposedly ML "wrote" the story and yet half the time it's about what he read--so even if scratch your head and think ok...he was able to modify the game story with this own character settings and scenarios, but then the system didn't like it, and some works and some doesn't then gosh how lazy it is to weave threads of it's in/it's mine/it's broken story to move forward. At least Love Game In Eastern Fantasy made sense (until the ending in the game to wrap it up)
All that said, even I can't explain to myself why I am still watching this. yI think I still want to see what Cheng Yi is up to and because there's nothing else new to view at the moment.
Wrap up: The totally illogical story points continue to the end-one minute it can't be done and a few scenes later, viola, second try-no problem. And OMG while CY dies tragically often in his dramas, he actually dies twice in this one. And what the heck he's in swishy pink as his final outfit? And yet I still watched to the end without being compelled to speed it up or fast forward...
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I didn't think I'd need my tissues papers for this drama but oh well.....
The first 12 episodes had quite a few flaws but everything after that was chef's kiss! The fight scenes, the acting and more importantly the story got soooooooooooooooooo much better!!! I really really enjoyed it until the last two episodes which made me bawl my eyes out😭. But those two episodes were done so beautifully! I would've given it a 9 but the sad ending just upset me too much so it's an 8 for now.Was this review helpful to you?
The Wuxia drama I was waiting for turned out to be very disappointing
First, the production was incredibly disappointing, with filters used, recycled outfits from previous dramas, supporting actors wearing only one outfit, numerous plot holes, cut scenes, fights that ended quickly, and a nonsensical script.It's been a while since I've written a review, but this drama made me want to write about all my disappointments (since you were so eager for it).
To be honest, the first episode bored me to the point of drowsiness. It wasn't until episode 4 that the excitement started to build. But since XQS always learns martial arts easily, my mood immediately plummeted (this wasn't the wuxia I was expecting). Furthermore, the plot where her siblings blame her and her friends was just a decoration.
Second, the romance would have been better if it had been removed. There was no chemistry between Tang Fang and XQS (because TF's first appearance was portrayed as annoying, I didn't like her). And our FL Xiao Xueyu's appearances until the end were very brief and didn't leave a lasting impression (I mean, whenever she wasn't present at an important event, it felt like she was just a supporting role).
Is this the era of FLs with limited screen time? I mean Gulinaza is like Gina Jin in Immortal Ascension (like the production team just needs their big name as FL to promote their drama and silence fans who protest if the real FL is a rookie artist?) Just look at those who appear the most and also have love stories with ML are these young rookie female artists.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Righteousness Wins Over Profit in Jianghu
A bet set in the beginning of the show had its answer at the end. I wanted to watch a Wuxia but this had a lot of elements that didn't quite align with that. I knew the majority of the cast and they did a good job with what they were given. This time I won't write pros/cons but combine them.For starters the show got the rating it got for the awesome martial arts, the fact that other then the draggy family feud like episodes, it was in fact quite entertaining and out of the 3 CY characters my favorite was LCZ because he had a quiet grace along with his wife and theirs wasn't a showy type of love but as you watched, it resonated. Even theirs deaths were beautiful and fit the characters perfectly. I liked QS as he grew from a foolish youth to a moral driven young martial artist; his issues were that they literally gave him a VERSACE sized wardrobe fit for a runway while everyone else got a few (his brothers notwithstanding). Also that he gained his strength and whatnot not always from practicing martial arts nonstop but from a monk here, an invincible pill and spirit snake there, then a total of 8 masters infused him with their energies/legacies randomly before he himself started integrating everything. He used his smarts on other things. Least useful character was XMM, in fact that entire modern world AI transmigration with a stolen copyright by some government secrets selling senior was completely out of left field. It completely took away from the real Wuxia or storytelling portion of it.
Why couldn't it just be a happy family of 5 living their lives until trouble called? Who needed the senior jumping into XKY's body a la Agent Smith from the Matrix? First we were made to believe the power gang were the bad guys and ok we could go with that until it was no longer true and there was a 3rd evil loose in the world creating chaos so he could take over the world because how innovative was that? 🙄🤦🏻♀️ The power gang with LCZ as its chief (for whom other than him being a royal, we never got a back story), were essentially double agents; appearing bad to the world but really a collection of kings and other people sending money and clothing to the border to fight the northern westerlanders which were constantly threatening Daxi where they lived. But even there, there were traitors left and right; on both sides to this third side. You didn’t know who to trust.
While this was going on, the Xiao family has to escape to their Sword Manor because someone originally thought to be the power gang had infiltrated their ranks and is trying to get to a rare artifact saved for a general. The real culprits in poisoning the water (and later massacring everyone parents included) is some whistle gang run by a masked man who we all suspected to be XKY with LN (the senior) in his body but he also had 2nd child syndrome and a lifetime of jealousy of both of his brothers who were better then him because they were proficient in different things with a major crush on his adopted sister, whom he later tried to force to marry him and then when she tried to hurt him, killed her instead. I wasn't sure after which did he plan to sleep with her corpse (eww)? She did leave vital information that saved the world for QS at the cost of her life.
Continuing, he and his siblings and their disciples plus sworn brothers and friends run away leaving their parents behind one last time alive to find help only for QS to realize their few sources of help have betrayed them but before he could convince his older brother, he was framed so badly and crippled and still his older brother didn't believe him. I have a theory on the older brother's costume; throughout the entire series he only got one but he had plenty of screen time and I feel that that was because he never evolved; he was narrow minded, he never believed his own brother but believed strangers that either humiliated him or laughed in his face. He was one of those people that was totally fine when he was surrounded by his parents who were in charge, but when the massacre happened, everything fell in his lap and he did not know how to cope. Do I excuse his actions? Absolutely not, but I feel that because he never changed and stayed exactly the same and hurt QS so much without an ounce of apology or repentance until his dying moment at the hands of his second brother did Eureka 💡 happen is why he only got one costume for the entire series.
After family feud we got the game of faces GoT style with XKY wearing a mask where he could become become whomever he chose to become to trap people in order to kill them or have them make horrendous mistakes like in the case of LSF and the huge Sect's where he pretended to be LCZ and ordered the deaths of two monks; when that was found out obviously Power Gang was screwed but LSF was determined to make amends to the man who saved his life. This was another character with a very fragmented backstory where he misplaced his rage on one person when in reality that person being QS's father saved his life. And we never quite got to solving that entire issue. LSF also never made amends with any of the other people he killed without mercy, even though power gang only killed those that betrayed them to align with the enemy.
Another character that was a waste of time was the emperor who poisoned his own half brother "to keep him in check" because he was supposedly doing something wrong and being greedy when all LCZ did was provide for the border. But yet when the border is secure, something that the emperor doesn't even know or just found out that the general was kidnapped and he ordered LCZ to save the general and is informed that the border is secure and they have a victory and that the bad guys won't invade for 50 years. He says "everyone has to be rewarded including LCZ; bring him here!" is when he finds out that LCZ died already trying to rescue the general, and the emperor is all shocked and taken aback like he doesn't even understand how it could be possible; hello moron you have been poisoning him with wine ever so often that has basically rendered him all, but an invalid and you're surprised he's dead? On top of that he actually saw the fake mask that XKY brought him with the fake promise of truce with the northern enemies that he himself was leading and the emperor bought it hook, line, and sinker. It makes you think that considering how supposedly large his country is, isn't he supposed to have a broad spectrum of intelligence to tell him what's right and what's wrong instead of him just hastily making decisions without anything actual nor factual.
I have to say that my favorite fight out of all of them, and there were quite a few was the one at thunderdome where we met crazy Yan for the first time. Now talk about knowing how to enter an arena this dude showed up, screaming some bad guy's name like Drogon entering the Colosseum roaring. It was awesome! All the fights together were spectacular there and then naming QS as the world leader of martial arts in order to rescue the general and repel the northern enemy was also great. QS' two sworn brothers (as we lost the third very early on) were there from the beginning to the back in the mortal world. Crazy Yan turned out to be Xuyue's biological brother. Even those four thugs that just seemed so out of place did work and the two that QS met while searching for the abducted TF. It seemed that after his family and the disciples were massacred, he was determined to establish a sector with a rag tag family of his own. One of those people who became my second favorite was Prince Liang; this man had enough benevolence, empathy, and sympathy for both his half brother, LCZ to even attempt to stop the emperor from poisoning him to giving both quiet and physical strength to QS when he thought he had had lost absolutely everything, including that hug that I will probably remember when thinking about this series that no one in his actual family ever thought to give him. He was there for every strategy, for every fight and the way he treated QS seemed like one would treat his own flesh and blood; a brotherly love. It made you tear up quite a lot. Even though there were a lot of problems with LSF's character and his assistant/girlfriend with his storyline overall in the end, he finally understood that QS had won their bet of righteousness over profit, and he fought with the good guys and then left the celebration scene quietly with her vowing to meet again in the future on better terms.
Now let me give my thought process overall on how I thought things ended; I think that 2 out of 3CY characters did in fact die, and that part was obvious. If you look closely, you can see XMM shedding a tear as LN information was being told to him so he can hear them and then you slowly see his blood pressure start to go down and doctors racing into the room, but because it was so badly edited, you couldn't really tell what was happening as it kept fading to black, but I do not believe that he died as well because he did not flatline nor did he go into cardiac arrest. His blood pressure just went down and it was enough to signal the doctors that he was in distress. Distress does not mean death and is very much survivable. I do have to ask what was up with those weird fireworks that turned into colorful smoke that made you think that you were in a Bollywood film in the photo? As for people discussing which character it was that walked away with the Qin and the sword in the historical clothing toward the light, I think it's QS because it wouldn't make sense for a modern day person to walk toward the light carrying all of that and wearing all of that. So I do think that, even though this was an OE, XMM survived.
Would I recommend it? Only for fans of actors and if you want to be entertained. This is not a memorable story because the storyline was all over the place and that's the fault of production. So decide for yourselves.
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The story is twisted. In my opinion. If you ask why, it doesn't follow a single plot. It gets very complicated. They've taken all the characters from the martial arts world. There are fight scenes with all of them. They're all presented separately, and they've united to form the Power Gang. This gang is initially portrayed as evil, but later we see that it's a very good gang. It works for the national good. So, can such a gang even exist? At least not a gang. He also poisons the men he employs. If he doesn't give them the pills, they die. He keeps his men under his control. So, you figure out the rest.
The real important thing is the relationships between the four siblings. The eldest brother is the heir, the second brother is neutral, the third brother is the daughter and stepbrother, but they're harmonious and affectionate, and they also have a medical background. The fourth character is the most intelligent and beloved. He's his mother's favorite. His father's secret favorite. His father and mother are murdered. This is how the conflict begins.
Now, the dominant character is the older brother; he takes responsibility, saying he knows everything and can do it. He's uncompromising and very narrow-minded, a naive character who can be easily deceived and convinced. He's a very honest person, but he can't stand anyone putting him in his place. The second brother constantly flatters him and says he's on his side. The female character tries to find a middle ground. The younger brother says he'll do it. He says, "Trust me." They don't listen to him, especially the older brother. They act like they're the younger ones, "How can we trust him?"
I tried to establish the characters here. To me, the second son seems implacable, naive, uninformed, and uncouth, far inferior to his brother in martial arts, yet uncertain in comparison. That's what we're shown. However, later, this character transforms into someone who rules the country. I didn't think it was appropriate for someone so naive, uninformed, uncouth, and ineffective in martial arts to be portrayed at this level. Let's say he took on certain things through a mask. Is he taking on the character as well? Is he taking on the mindset? While they're conveying martial arts, are they also conveying the mind? I didn't understand that. I couldn't make sense of it. There were many things I couldn't make sense of, but I'm saying it's clear.
Another issue I'm having trouble with is the Emperor poisoning the Power Gang Leader. Then he asks, "Where is this guy? Let's reward him. Call him. They say he's dead." He's surprised. I don't understand that at all. What's the point of meeting a man he poisoned himself with such shock and sadness? Did I misunderstand? I don't know. It was absurd. Why would the Emperor have his own country crushed and conquered? These were meaningless things. I couldn't understand those things at all. I couldn't grasp them. It didn't work.
Another incident involved the meaningless crowd around Cheng Yi, whom everyone agrees on. They don't contribute to the game. In other words, the casting choices were also flawed. I didn't like them. There could have been much better characters and actors suited to him. Some were simple, some were meaningless. We were torn between laughing and crying while watching. For me, the emotional scenes—the scenes of the mother and father's death, the brother's death, and the sister's death—were incredibly moving. Cheng Yi, with his red eyes, truly did justice to these scenes, crying. Some people wondered why he was crying, but even I was moved by the scenes. Beautifully shot, well-shot, good fight scenes, good production and direction. Good costumes. I liked it.
Cheng Yi carried the series single-handedly. Well done. A great performance. I found it successful. It makes you watch. I'm curious and looking forward to watching his next series. Why did Gulnezar Bextiyar, whom I found meaningless, appear in this series? She seemed to have no role. She was a meaningless character. This actress was unnecessary. I'm talking about Gulnezar. I wouldn't have played her. I liked Elenor Lee. A good performance. Xu Zen Xuan performed very well. Well done. Liu Meng Rui performed very well. Well done. I really liked Ding Xiao Ying. She suits the role very well. Well done. Johnny Zhang put in a lot of effort. He did justice to his role. Well done. Edward Zhang started badly but ended well. He made us feel the villain. He made us feel bad. Besides them, Xiao Yan, Ding Yong Dai, Hu Ke, Lu Yong, Zhang Yi Ge, and Julian Cheung were the actors who stood out to me. I was expecting a much better series. It didn't end well. Everyone died. Would I watch it again? No. Would I watch it if there was a sequel? Maybe.
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First travel time drama that isn't boring...
The effect of acceptance by change over time was well processed by the ML, The fight scenes are magnificent! The parent-son relationship is super sweet. The plot, though it has its calm moments, never becomes boring; the substance of the drama is well developed. The first 10 episodes are the beginning of the plot, this story promises to have a lot of action and entertainment, the dose of comedy appears at the right moment without falling into exaggeration since it's not a comedy drama But it refreshes the momentWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The Journey To Boredom
When I started this show, it was the second most popular airing cdrama so I had high expectations. I enjoy wuxia dramas a lot and can even binge in 3 days but this one, I struggled to complete ,taking a month!The series starts off well with the ML, a writer, who ends up in the story he was taking "inspiration" from. The system that drags him inside refuses to let him use cheat codes to gain strength and he has to complete certain steps first. Initially, ML and his friends added fun and humour to the drama when they were travelling places and dishing out justice to members of the power gang. But soon after everything went to hell starting with ML's parents being in danger.
ML's older brothers were the most annoying characters in this drama. I literally wanted someone to punch them hard in the middleof the series. They were dragging the plot of breaking down the ML and making him suffer for several episodes. And I just couldn't give a damn. There was no emotional connection formed with any of the characters. At some point in the show, ML also destroys the system that pulled him in and defeats the whole transmigration purpose of the story. It just becomes a regular historical fantasy. That took away all the potential for fun as the ML also forgot or stopped caring that he was just inside a story and the story became overly serious.
The other characters were merely existing. The FL was good and had chemistry with the ML but they wouldn't let her shine too much because the show had to revolve around the ML. I was starting to love another grey character - Liu Sui Feng and they made him utterly useless as well. The whole time I was curious about the ML's doppleganger and wondering if they were the same person and again, that angle was just so boring. The director just wanted to find ways to make the ML shine and in doing so, all other characters fell flat.
Initially the show introduces the power gang which is terrorising the martial arts world and all the people and were thus the bad guys for harming so many innocent people. But by the end, they made the power gang's leader and the other main lead the real good guys who were just trying to do things a different way. This 180 degree turn made no sense. Why were they harming so many people, stealing everyone's money, surrounding the ML's house and trapping them inside knowing they might starve, etc? Suddenly the leader (ML's other role) was said to be a good guy who never wanted to kill.
Also there are just so many characters who are introduced as powerful and just die soon after - again so that the ML can get their powers and be the ultimate baddie that no one can defeat. There is a scene where 8 masters are transferring their skills into the ML and the scene is so comical and not at all awe-inspiring. Made me wish we could download and upload knowledge the same way in real life.
The drama simply isn't worth watching unless maybe if you are a fan of Cheng Yi but I don't know if even his fans can enjoy this too much.
There are some great fight choreography scenes which normally I love but the show was just too boring for me to truly enjoy it. Fighting alone cannot save a show. Even the finale was not interesting and I actually fell asleep watching it. Had to wake up and start over in 2x. The ending was ok but by the end, I just did not care.
The OST is good but very repetitive.
Final conclusion, just skip it.
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best drama
This drama is undoubtedly the best of the year, surpassing all other releases with its gripping narrative, intense action sequences, and deeply compelling character development. Every episode delivers heart-pounding fight scenes that are not only visually stunning but also meticulously choreographed to serve the story, not just for spectacle, but as a reflection of the protagonist’s inner struggle and growth.
Our main hero is a masterclass in perseverance. He doesn’t simply solve cases he evolves through them. Each challenge he faces pushes him beyond his limits, forcing him to confront his fears, refine his skills, and adapt his mindset. Whether it’s mastering a new martial art technique, learning to trust his instincts under pressure, or overcoming emotional trauma from his past, his journey feels authentic, relatable, and profoundly inspiring.
The writers and producers have crafted an exceptional ensemble of characters, each richly layered and believably portrayed. Their behaviors, motivations, and moral dilemmas are perfectly aligned with their backgrounds and circumstances, making every interaction feel real and emotionally resonant. Even secondary characters have arcs that matter, adding depth and nuance to the world they inhabit.
What truly sets this drama apart is its perfect balance: high-octane action fused with intelligent storytelling, raw human emotion paired with strategic pacing, and a central theme of redemption that lingers long after the credits roll. It doesn’t just entertain, it moves you. The cinematography, soundtrack, and direction elevate every moment into cinematic art.
In a season filled with mediocre thrillers and formulaic plots, this drama dares to be different and succeeds brilliantly. It’s not just the best drama of the year.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watching just for chenyi
*CONTAIN SPOILERS*Honestly unless you’re a die hard chenyi fan (like me) I would suggest you skip this show. It starts off decent for around 10ish episodes then starts falling off. The pacing and editing is confusing, to the point where I thought I had missed something. Plots are all thrown in together but not filled, things just kept happening to progress story but is not well explained.
My biggest issue was characterisation. There’s so many minor characters that just did absolutely nothing for the show. All the characters felt so 2D, with no real growth or plot of their own. Most of them just hover around the ML in the background the entire show. Some of the characters change personality so drastically (to push the plot) that they feel like a different person altogether example the older brother, while some characters just slowly lose their purpose like lui sui feng (once the real villain shows up, he just became a side character) what happened to his revenge? What about his redemption?
I was originally so curious about Li Chen zhou , why does he look exactly like our ML? I had all these theories only to find out there was no reason, guess production just wanted to utilise chenyi to the maximum by giving him a white haired character for fans.
The transmigrating plot is also sooo unnecessary. The ML pretty much just forgets this is a novel and his from the real world, and destroys the system pretty early on, so what was the point even? Even I start forgetting his from modern times. Probably would have been better if they just kept that out.
Near the end they rushed it so much and everyone was dropping like flies. Like all the major characters started doing dumb things and getting themselves killed. I don’t think I’ve ever watch a show that killed off that many characters yet I didn’t feel anything for any one of them .
All in all i did finish it cos there were some good fight scenes and my love for wuxia and chenyi
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