Story: 8.5/10: the story was nothing spectacular and its funny how everything was fengnians plan all along. so everything fit like a puzzle piece. while I liked xu fengnain i really liked the little side stories they had about people he would encounter. The tale of Xuanyuan was the best arc, and the father literally sacrificing himself for his daughter reduced me to tears. Otherwise, it was a typical palace/political drama at times. The cast-out emperor's son wanted to become emperor. That being said Zhao Kai is a FASCINATING character and I wish he did not die. He had his reasons for doing things, and while it would have thrown the country into chaos, I want him to be happy. He deserves love and a family, and he deserves a hug. And some soup. I know him and Xu Fengnian would have been great friends, so its upsetting that his story had to end this way.
Acting/Cast: I do not think I went into this drama knowing much people in the cast. All I know is Xi Fengnians dad (I call him Papi Xu) and Meng Ziyi. Which she had a small role. Otherwise the acting was..well acting. Nothing was immensely insane that it left me with chills but they did what they needed to do. I was not a fan of Jiang Ni's actress. Now I am unsure if it is because of how the character was written, and then given the directors notes OR if the actor just resorted to pouting through all her lines. She was a character I found skipping over her scenes. I did like her backstory and I felt that she should have packed more a punch. As well, I know the bio of MDL says she is 12 years old, and if she is then that makes me extremely uncomf with everything.
Music: It did what it needed to do, but nothing stood out. Not a memorable ost.
Rewatch Value: I mean it can be rewatched, do not think I will. But it is a show you can easily have on in the background.
Overall: I want to shout out who ever was in charge of the wigs in this show. I have a huge issue with wigs in shows when you can visibly see their lace front, and the wigs in this show was amazing. I was in love with Xu Fengnians wig before I even watched the show. I also loved how the color grading of the show was similar to Nirvana on Fire. It was not too bright and garish and everything was kind of muted. While some of the fighting was eh, I did like that we had a lot of fighting scenes. It made sense since the show was about the martial arts world. I liked the show and I am excited for season 2.