If I were to grade this, I would give it a B- to a B. There was quite a bit of hype surrounding this series and looks like big bucks was thrown at it. The set, cinematography, and hanfu costumes were pretty good and seems there was thought put into the details.

The story is ok, it has a some amount of political intrigue and scheming although not to the level of The Rise of the Phoenixes. The hero and heroine start off as competitors in the martial arts world. The hero and heroine are a bit too perfect: martial arts skills that are unparalleled, high morals, stunning good looks, and IQ levels that may beat Johanne Goethe and William Sidis. Are they even mortals? The ML seems to figure out how to get out of every sticky situation because of his supreme intelligence. The ML has been a big deal ever since Love O2O even though his acting wasn't great in it and I didn't watch the series past the 5th episode. His acting hasn't improved much in this, it was kind of stiff. The FL is one of the new "It" actresses so she seems to be in every big budget CDrama right now whether or not she fits the part. I personally like her role in this more than Love Like the Galaxy. Her character seems to be older, far more mature and there's less drama personality wise. The chemistry between the ML and FL wasn't great. Not sure if its how the story is originally written or if the actor and actress themselves weren't connecting in their roles.

Some of the wuxia martial arts scenes were decent and watchable although nothing remarkable. It was ok enough that I got through to 34th episode eventually putting it on hold, may resume it again one day to find out who ends up ruling the world.