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Imo Liu Haoran would have been perfect for this role. He would have nailed this role.

Yh I agree with you, especially about the male lead. I don't mind teen dramas. There are many talented teens that are very fun to watch, like Leo Wu. But, Roy Wang really looks too much like a child. Plus, he's very short and doesn't have the best acting chops. All this makes it difficult for me to take him seriously in many of the scenes.

Can you please dm me the link to where you watched it?

I love this drama. Watched it multiple times. It's quite a simple, nothing too special. The biggest upside of this drama is the main couple. They both nailed their characters, especially Jun Ji Hyun, she was incredible. She portrayed Cheon Song Yi perfectly. She exaggerates expressions and kinda over acts, but it just worked. The interactions between the main couple were incredibly funny and entertaining, which kept my attention and just made it very enjoyable to watch.
It isn't perfect though. As I said, it's quite a simple story so if you don't really feel the chemistry between the main couple, then I doubt it's worth your time. Also, it was much longer than it needed to be. Should have been a maximum of 16 episodes, maybe even less. I can see how someone may find this really enjoyable to watch, while others might be bored out of their mind.

Goddammit... I've been trying to get over joy of life since it ended and you just reminded me again that I have to wait a year for season 2. Feelsbadman

Yh true. I'll add it now. Sorry if I spoiled anything for you, I was a little upset after finishing this so I forgot to add the spoiler tag.

I originally thought it wasn't well received or known since I'd read many comments saying that it didn't have a large audience, plus the fact that none of the big official sites, such as viki, decided to pick it up and sub it. I'm glad that I was wrong. It probably just doesn't have a big enough international audience.

Yes. It's much slower than the main couple though. It's getting there.

This had such an interesting premise, but left me feeling very disappointed. This was 75 episodes long. Each episode is like 38-40 minutes long. This is a hell of a lot of time to develop any kind of story, and yet, this drama fails to move the plot forward in any meaningful way. The pacing is very slow, which I don't mind usually mind, but if you fail to develop things with this type of pacing, then it just ends up being boring and exhausting. There's just so much talk of prophecies and you think it'll lead somewhere eventually, but nope, you just go around in circles. There's so much content that leads nowhere and there are many plot holes. Also, I didn't really feel any significant character development either, perhaps only in Han Jiang, but that is all thrown down the drain when he decides to blame Muyun Sheng for Muru families downfall. He wasn't shown to be someone unreasonable or temperamental, but he suddenly turns on Muyun Sheng, even though Muyun Sheng didn't turn evil or give in to his darker half. Just imagine how much better they could have developed Muyun Sheng. Such a conflicted individual is perfect to build tension and emotions. All the things he went through, you could have shown how he slowly started to change, but he ends right where he began. I could go on and on about what I dislike about this drama, but I don't really feel like writing a full essay.
Good points: Acting. Initial premise. Scenery. High production value.
Disappointing: Not enough progress for 75 episodes. With so much talking and scheming it has to lead somewhere or it all feels pointless and unnecessary.

3 things are certain in life. Death, taxes, and broken hearts if this drama doesn't have a happy ending.

No, it has quite a happy ending.

In my opinion, overall, the drama is lacking in many areas. However, I find Xiao Yu'er very fun to watch. He was given a lot of screen time, which kept me engaged. Now, from like episode 20ish I've been getting very frustrated watching this. It's the typical wuxia characters who are stubborn in their own beliefs, and are easily manipulated/deceived. I've seen it so many times before, it's just frustrating and boring. I've kept watching for 2 reasons, one, I really love historical/fantasy dramas, two, Xiao Yu'er is smart and playful.
To give a short answer to your question. Yes. The episodes do get better imo. But, there are still many negatives. Maybe give it a few more episodes and make a final decision bud.

I feel like I'm going to die of frustration watching this... 99% of the characters involved must be brain damaged. They have no intelligence whatsoever. I get so annoyed watching people being deceived so easily. I actually can't wait to see Su Ying. She's supposed to be smarter than Xiao Yu'er. It'll be nice having another character with a healthy functioning brain.

Literally couldn't have put it any better myself. I honestly cannot put into words how frustrating and boring it is watching someone being overly righteous and good. There are so many dramas where the male lead is not willing to kill, for example, not being willing to kill someone ,who has killed or will kill your friends or family, is so fucking stupid, especially in these historical time periods. Therefore, it's so refreshing and engaging watching a character like Ning Que. He's smart and typically righteous, but ruthless when necessary.
I mean put yourself in the characters shoes. You are born and raised in a time period where it is normal carrying around swords/weapons, and disputes are often solved with violence. If there is someone dangerous who threatens you or your friends/family repetitively, what are you going to do? Are you really going to forgive them over and over again? If you do, then you're a bloody moron tbh. If you know that the only way of stopping someone is death, then you'd do it. Remember I'm talking about being in the setting of the drama. It's simply more realistic.

Can you dm me the link where you have watched up to 25 episodes please?

I've seen someone in the comments mention that she would appear in episode 32.

I've seen someone in the comments mention that she would appear in episode 32.

I just fast-forwarded majority of the modern era scenes with his family and Gao Lan. It was so pointless and boring to watch.

Can you tell me where you've watched up to episode 19? Also, are there English subtitles available for these 19 episodes? I'm watching on Netflix and there are only 14 episodes uploaded right now.
Btw Liang Jie appears around episode 32, so it's still a while before you see her.

Honestly have to judge for yourself. It isn't the best drama but I feel like a lot of people would still enjoy this drama. It's got a high production value, therefore the CGI and scenery is more realistic and believable than your typical historical fantasy dramas. The main lead, Lin Dong, has a funny and playful personality which makes things entertaining. It might be enough to enjoy watching this. Personally, I'm still quite conflicted. I liked it but was very disappointed because it had the potential to be so much better.
The main problem most people have is with Lin Dong's personality and strength throughout the drama. He doesn't take things seriously and doesn't really mature quickly enough. His actions are often very childish and people may find this annoying. He's also relatively weak throughout most of the drama. I kinda agree with these criticisms too tbh. The drama would have been much better if his personality changed, after some people close to him died and he took on heavy responsibilities, leading to him being more serious and mature. Also, him being stronger would make fights more engaging.