Meari21

Yep. I forgot that I decided to watch the drama for Hou Minghao. Sorry, Minghao! 😂 In Dashing Youth, I also ended up liking Xia Zhiguang's character Sikong Changfeng more even though Baili Dongjun was my favorite among the oldies in The Blood of Youth and Minghao plays his younger version. 😄

Ying Lei is a pure soul. Bless him! He reminds me of Lei Wujie from The Blood of Youth and I adore that idiot! 🤣 He kinda looks like Ao Ruipeng too, especially with that blond hair. Yichen is such a cool character. The moment I saw him fight with Zhu Yan in the first episode, I was immediately smitten. 😂

I'm probably alone in this but I like this episode better than the last one. I prefer the slower pace in the earlier episodes because it gives time for things to sink in and conflicts to get resolved in a more believable manner. Also, this team needs a breather after all that action last time so they can feel the weight of what they lost and figure out a plan of action. They no longer have Bai Ju and Zhuo Yichen, so that changes the dynamics. I don't believe this was a filler episode. The flashbacks show us that the Bingyi clan were called to deal with Zhu Yan when he went berserk and started killing. But they were wiped out, leaving only Yichen. Yichen was weak as a kid and he didn't believe he had the talent to be even as good as his brother. But his will to avenge his family's demise awakened the true power of the sword. The fact that he looks like Lord Bingyi also shows us that he has a stronger connection to the sword and perhaps the most powerful of all of Bingyi's descendants. The history behind the sword, his relationship with Ying Long, and the great war that happened are related to Chinese mythology and it gives us a bit of background information about how the two greatest demons of a certain age are chosen and made to swear oaths to protect the Wildnerness just like Zhu Yan and Li Lun. The episode drags for other people because the drama goes back to its earlier formula and employs dialogue-heavy scenes again to move the narrative forward. But that is actually more to my liking. And it's also quite possible that I'm biased since this is a Yichen-centric episode and he's my favorite character with Ying Lei coming in close second. I have a thing for badass tsundere swordsmen, after all. 😂

Yep, that's one of many suspend-your-disbelief instances in this drama. I'm seeing more and more plot holes as the series goes along tbh. In fantasy, you can't just make stuff up and retcon everything and say, it's not supposed to be realistic. There should still be logic based on the rules you set up in that world. That's why I think this drama's worldbuilding is pretty weak imho. The characters act stupid at times because the writer failed to consider the logic behind their actions. I often have this issue with xianxia and other fantasy-oriented C-dramas. As a student of the fantasy genre, I sometimes cringe at their executions. 😂

I had no intention of watching this drama before even though I do like Zhang Linghe. But after discovering Tian Jiarui, I might give it a go. 😅

Is the November 13 release real or just a rumor? It's been on my iQIYI reserved list for some time now. lol

It's possible that when she was in there, she was in a kind of suspended animation only she was conscious. When people are in that state, they hardly need food and their biological time clock slows down too. But time inside the sundial itself did not stop so she felt the passage of time. The 300 years inside is just a a few hours in the outside world. But this is my speculation, not the author's explanation. The fact that it wasn't explained and viewers are left to speculate is my issue. It could've been explained better if the whole thing wasn't so rushed.

Just kidnap the man, you'll be happier!

If her time stopped then she wouldn't feel the 300 years but she did. That's not it.

Tbh, I'm not a fan of how these last few episodes were written. While there are bound to be plot holes in any drama and especially one made by Guo Jingming, these last episodes simply have too many suspend-your-disbelief moments, too many conflicts that get resolved too quickly, characters acting illogically, etc. It's like they're racing to the finish line when all they did was walk leisurely in the beginning. Like how did Wen Xiao survive for 300 years in that sundial exactly? Do people just exist there without food or drink? That part is unclear. And why would you wait to restore the Baize token when you're already at Zhu Yan's front door and you see him fighting Yichen? This has been your goal for a number of episodes, that should've been the priority the moment you got the divine wood. Besides, you should've been prepared to fight before running to danger. Do you go to war without a weapon? But having said that, I think this is the type of action and excitement people want to see so I'm willing to forgive these flaws (albeit I'd still be rolling my eyes from time to time 😅,). I just wish this drama was more tightly woven, though. It would've been so much better.

I agree on all points except the first one. Li Lun can possess people but only to a certain degree depending on the person. If you remember, he said he can only take over Bai Ju's body when he's asleep. It must be the same with some of his possessions. So technically, Yichen could still be himself when he's awake. There's also the possibility that when Li Lun possesses people, he retains their memories, feelings, and thoughts so he can easily pretend to be them.

Yes. He will need that to reforge the sword. I have a feeling that the sword has demonic origins and it was forged with the power of the Bingyi blood. If he wants to get it back, he'll have to embrace his demonic side.

This is where Lord Bingyi appears, I suppose. We'll probaly see flashbacks of Bingyi and Ying Long in the next episode. Maybe even find out how the Cloud Light sword was forged and can be reforged. We will see that sword again for sure. I still grimaced in pain when it broke, though. That sword is probably my most favorite thing about this drama, except for Ying Lei and Yichen of course. 😂

I think I read a comment somewhere that the drama messed up because he was killed off. That comment certainly didn't age well. 😅

Plagiarism is a big word. Most people these days don't know what that means anymore. Just because there are similarities between two works, it doesn't mean one of them was copied from the other. The only plagiarism case that he got mixed up in was when he was still a young novelist. If I'm not mistaken, that issue came out after he became a best-selling novelist and was widely praised for his talent. We don't really know what is considered plagiarism in China and none of us have read the novels involved, so we don't know how similar they actually are or if there really was plagiarism. Then there's the fact that if you manage to piss off someone powerful in China, they can destroy your career or taint your reputation just like that. As for the allegations of sexual abuse, the key word there is "allegations". No one has brought him to court and he wasn't convicted of any of the crimes accused of him. Some people may not like him and would rather see him kicked out of the industry, but we can't deny that he has talent. People in the Chinese film industry know that and that is why he's still working. There's also the possibility that he has powerful backers. This is pretty common in China. The moment someone gets cancelled, there's usually a political reason behind it. I usually take these controversies with a pound of salt because Chinese netizens like to talk, spread rumors, and try to ruin reputations of people they dislike. There are also the so-called water armies that are specifically hired to tear down certain celebrities.

Tian Jiarui is already good looking, they made him even more gorgeous as Bingyi.

Unfortunately, iQIYI dramas don't get picked up by Netflix unless they're joint productions with Tencent. In my case, since I watch tons of C-dramas, an iQIYI subscription has been worth it so far. Youku too.

Nominal age, you know. lol

I've been seeing so many bts videos of Tian Jiarui on my social media feeds and I must say, he is soooo adorbs! He's the exact opposite of Zhuo Yichen. lol I swear, I thought he was only 22 or 23. I was shocked when I found out he's turning 27 next month.

Or those ladies in the Tanxiang Pavilion. lol