Rachel

I really love this drama so much. Xiao Qiushui is one of my most favourite Chinese drama characters. I especially love his growth throughout the drama, his kindness, his chivalry, and how he expresses strength (strength doesn't have to come from force or emotional suppression, it can also come from kindness, gentleness, and expressing one's feelings). I cannot understand some people's hate for his character, such a toxic masculinity mindset. As someone who grew up watching Wuxia dramas and played Wuxia games (like Age of Wushu, Where Winds Meet), this show really embodies TRUE Wuxia spirit, having both 'wu' (martial arts) and 'xia' (chivalry). Rewatching this was great, I really like shows that have good values. Some may call it propaganda, but I just like shows that resonate deeply with me and where I can learn a lot of good values from. The acting is great, Cheng Yi nailed his two roles: Modern guy turned third young master Xiao Qiushui and the super cool and formidable leader Li Chenzhou. On my rewatch, I grew to really appreciate Tang Fang's acting, she did really well too. The brothers did well too since they really annoyed me...

Regarding romance, I'm actually glad there was subtle romance between Qiushui and Tang Fang. It wasn't some love-at-first-sight nonsense but I could actually see how they started having good feelings for each other. The love between Li Chenzhou and wifey I need not say more, despite having no intimate scenes, I can clearly see their love and it fits so well as they are supposedly an older couple!! What I found a bit ridiculous was the implied romance between Song Mingzhu and Liu Suifeng, which did not exist in the original novel and made no sense in this drama too. It felt too sudden, there was no gradual build up.

Fighting scenes are marvelous, as expected from Cheng Yi. Xiao Qiushui fighting Li Chenzhou is my favouriteee, you can clearly see how different the two characters are. I rewatched that part so many times. Another favourite scene is the exchange between Xiao Qiushui and Yan Kuangtu (Julian Cheung), really reminded me of old Wuxia dramas.

Downsides are that the brothers do annoy me a lot (I'm skipping their scenes) and I'm still sad about the important scenes concerning the plot being deleted 😭🥺The deleted scenes left the drama with some plotholes. This drama was also heavily sabotaged by Cheng Yi's company then, inserting a lot of unnecessary plotlines (e.g., Tang Family) to promote their own rookies. It's such a pity.

Overall, I still really enjoyed this drama and will rewatch it again. Nowadays, a lot of dramas focus more on the martial arts part of Wuxia and not the chivalry part. I really appreciate this fresh, new story amidst remakes of old legends (e.g., Jin Yong's works). I'm glad that Huanhua Sect's Xiao Qiushui's story could be brought to life.

Rewatching the drama and reading discussions made me realise that in Episode 9, the reason why Huai An's neck wound started bleeding was because he drank alcohol and had lamb stew, causing his wound to open up!! I learn something new everything I rewatch this drama, so many small details.

I recommend The Journey of Legend! It's such a masterpiece, about chivalry and the true spirit of Wuxia. The fighting scenes are incredible (especially the later half of the show), and Cheng Yi plays two roles there. His two roles are so different from each other that it doesn't seem like they are played by one person.

Do note that it's a weak-to-strong story where the main character grows a lot in the later half of the show~

Nope...because most dramas are now produced by the streaming platforms themselves (e.g., iQiyi, YouKu, Mango) + investors. These platforms probably won't collapse anytime soon. Unfortunately, Hero Legends was produced by some other company which went bankrupt before it could air.

I also used to think it was a copyright issue, but I saw that Sun Xiao, the author of Hero Legends novel wrote about choosing Cheng Yi as Lu Yun, so it seems like he did approve of the drama.

It should be coming soon! Rumours are that they are starting to film around mid to late June, so hopefully we'll get updates soon ><

I second this! Sword and Beloved is worth a watch for Cheng Yi's portrayal of Wangquan Fugui + his visuals + fighting scenes! The first half of the show is incredible, but the producer and scriptwriter(s) kind of screwed the second half of the show over, still worth a shot though! Maybe it depends on personal preferences

Happy Birthday Cheng Yi!! ❤️🎂🥳 Wishing you to be happy and healthy always~

The issue is that the production company kind of went bankrupt and dissolved. The investors are all fighting over the rights of this drama, which led to several court cases. But what I've heard was that those cases have been resolved earlier this year, and it's just that some of the investors are having their own personal issues.

Yayy thanks for the synopsis!

This is crazy. I'm a HUGE fan of crime, thriller, mystery, psychological dramas and I've always wanted Cheng Yi to act in one. Cheng Yi did NOT disappoint. I'm soooo excited!!! His new role, Lin Yanting, sounds like exactly what I wanted and it's a role that matches his diverse acting ability. It's an original script too, with the director being Lu Jianqing one of the directors of the Cold War series.

Congratulations to Cheng Yi!! 🥳❤️ I'm so happy he is doing well after leaving that trashy company!

A lot of touching? Which particular scene(s) are you talking about? Males can be normal friends and have normal physical contact that is not sexualised or viewed as "weird".

Regarding dramas involving romance, Cheng Yi has done quite a lot actually. In fact, most of his dramas involve romance even though it might not have been the main focus. Even in serious dramas like Draw the Line and Deep Lurk that are not romance focused, he has a love interest. In Journey of Legend (last year's drama), the two characters he played each have their own love interest. Same for Sword and Beloved but the romance and majority of the plot got ruined because of the producer who wants to promote their own rookie artists and insert random storylines.

Vendetta of An is a revenge and political drama, so it makes sense to not have romance when all one is thinking is about revenge. You are better off watching a romance drama with the romance genre tag if you want romance.

Oh don't worry about being a "spoil-sport"! I totally get you. Honestly, everytime I hear really great news about Cheng Yi, like being the advertisements champion or having over 20k people attend the unofficial filming wrap, I'm so happy for him but part of me is so scared that this will attract more haters and jealousy 🥺. Cheng Yi has already posted fewer on social media last year and did not attend any award shows, trying to lay low as much as possible but the haters did not let him off a single bit. I've blocked a lot of hate accounts on Weibo but I still see that those accounts (from what other fans posted) that they're already trying to sow discord between Cheng Yi's and Lin Gengxin's fans haishh :'). And if there's drama or fanwars, I'm afraid that this will turn casual viewers away 😭. But I'm an overthinker so I hope this won't happen.

But anyways, whatever those haters are trying to do, I believe Cheng Yi will get through this. I also really hope that this drama can open new doors for him! Such a talented and serious actor deserves projects that can match his acting capability...

My excitement for this drama may have surpassed my excitement for Hero Legends after watching the wrap-up special and the special video that Cheng Yi's studio uploaded!!! It seems like such an intense series, the explosions and fire were all real and special effects were minimised. Cheng Yi as Zhu Zhanji also emanates such a noble aura even when he's in such a wreck from being on the run and trying to get to the capital.

Same for me. It's the jealousy, insecurity, and lack of maturity in some people. It shows.

I've not heard of that rumor before, not even within the fandom. Seems extremely unlikely.

Cheng Yi is always so sincere in treating his fans and the people around him ❤️

Congratulations to Cheng Yi, Lin Gengxin, Jiang Peiyao, Wu Xingjian, and the whole crew for wrapping up filming! 🥳👏 The atmosphere of the whole crew was so positive and harmonious throughout! Looking forward to seeing this drama (hopefully this year)!

Aww thank you for sharing! I'm surprised at the unlimited bubble tea. It must have cost a fortune. Cheng Yi really dotes on his fans, not wanting anyone to miss out!

Hope that Cheng Yi can get a good rest, spend the new year with his family and then join another filming crew soon!

I'm not too sure, sorry! I understand Chinese so watching on Youtube is fine for me, but the Youtube subs are indeed not very good...Maybe you can try those unofficial websites if they have fansubs?

Oh yes! I would like that too, I really like his role in Draw the Line as Zhou Yi An and as young Zhu Di! It's still the start of the year but I'm already looking forward to Cheng Yi accepting new dramas after Liang Jing Shi Wu Ri 😊. But I think it'll take some time because he'll most likely take a break first.