I never read the anime so I'm basing all I say on the series itself. It has been highly anticipated given that it was Xiao Zhan's next biggest tv series and he didn't disappoint. I think with the character he had and the storyline, he couldn't have done any better. That being said, I felt the character of Tang San was underdeveloped. For the most part, his ability to fight in the battles is greatly undermined by his inherit abilities. Yet, he is special in that he was able to kill soul beasts beyond his ability to absorb soul rings but the effects of the magic is hardly noticeable.

He makes up for it in his intelligence which is often the deciding factor in a battle. That being said, I found the storyline at times sway too much into the side characters leaving TS's development just enough to keep the story running. I did find the episodes increasingly more interesting as the plot thickens. I expected more unity when it came to those battle scenes with 7 distinctive soul masters. 40 episodes didn't really do it justice. I felt if it made about 5-10 episodes, more character development can be focused on.

There was clearly a deep history of TS's master that was largely unexplored. His character seem very interesting but extremely underdeveloped.

Overall, I felt the storyline could have been much better but a focus on 7 characters can be hard within a 40 episode storyline so it was enough as a taste. If they make another season, these issues can be explored but otherwise, if left like this (it would be very disappointing). I hate how this genre often leaves cliffhangers but no new seasons to complete it. The worst has been Fight Breaks Sphere which is similar to Douluo Continent when you are talking about a coming of age hero with the backdrop of a family secret. That cliffhanger still has me grinding my teeth as I enjoyed it so much but got no closure.