Hermit Soul

Oh, glad to hear! Maybe I'll give JOL another chance then. I'll try to get through the first few eps.

Sure :)

So glad I'm not the only one enjoying it better than JOL! I literally couldn't finish the 1st ep of JOL. Meanwhile I rewatched Sword Stride 4 times already lol.

From my undestanding it's a subordinate state to the emipre of Liang. I'm not a Mandarin speaker but I know that "Bei" means north, so I'm guessing Bei Liang means Northern Liang? (correct me if I'm wrong). Yeah I agree that it's very vague and they didn't really explain it in the show.

My guess is that in the past, the Xu dynasty ruled over some territory of it's own, got conquered at some point by Liang and annexed into the empire, but was able to retain semi- independence because they're far from the capital, hence far from the capital's/ empire's influence. Also, Bei Liang serves the important role of protecting the empire from Bei Mang to the north. So that's probably why the empire is both dependent on Bei Liang and is afraid of it gaining too much power.

I'm not sure what the Xu family's title is exactly, I don't think they've said it in the show? Lol. Maybe something like princes or lords. But they're for sure not emperors- There's only one emperor, the Emperor of Liang.

Those are my 2 cents. some of it I just guessed based on history, including Chinese history. There used to be emperors in the history of China who used to worry (and often rightly so) over the local lords of remote regions gaining too much power (and possibly rebelling) since they're remote and hard to control. Hope that helps!
Edit: I just saw that the show is adapted from a novel so maybe there's a better explanation there :)

How much of the plot centers around politics? I've been thinking of watching it since it's considered a classic, but I really don't enjoy plots that only center around court politics. If it has Wuxia elements such as traveling the world and getting into adventures then I for sure want to give it a try, but if it only centers around the court and its politics then maybe not..

There might be season 2 but seeing how long it took for other popular dramas such as Joy of Life to get season 2, it'll probably take a year if not longer. :/
If you're into novels, you could read the novel from the point where the drama finished.

I mean.. Isn't he basically just a small fly compared to those A-listers whose dramas didn't air because of the scandals? I mean I just discovered him today because I saw him in some side role and got curious and searched. He doesn't enough exposure to have whole dramas taken down because of him, probably.

Her character in Guardians of the Dafeng is so cute.

Wow he looks so young here! I loved him in Sword Snow Stride, Duolou Continent and now in Guardians of the Dafeng. He's great! Always plays those mysterious sage roles that I love.

Am I the only one just not feeling it when it comes to the romance between the leads in this drama and thinking it could be skipped entirely? At least as of ep 32 which is where I'm at. (Loving the side couple of the brother and prime minister's daughter tho!).
Other than that, absolutely awesome drama so far. 🔥🔥

Thanks!

Are there any other good esports c-dramas like this one (beside Falling into your smile, Love O2O and You are my glory)? Recs for other good competition/ sports cdramas are welcome too!

24 is considered quite "short" for chinese dramas actually lol. Tho some of the modern ones can be that "short". Historical/ Wuxia are usually 40 eps long.