I was initially skeptical of the cdrama when it looked like Ren Ruyi was a weak FMC at the start of the first episode. But imagine my surprise when it turned out she was just pretending to be weak and was actually a strong FMC the entire time! I love strong female characters, but I love it even more when they have fighting skills. When Ruyi's skills were revealed, I knew she was going to be one of my favorite FMCs of all time.

Princess Yang Ying's character development was on par; she went from someone who cries whenever something goes wrong to someone who is levelheaded and assertive. Props to the screenwriter for that!

The OSTs were everything. I loved every single track. I frequently use the BGM OSTs as background music for when I study; they're so motivating.

The thing I disliked most about this cdrama was the ending. It was just death after death—the heroes, along with Ruyi, end up dying. It was overall a very unfulfilling ending in my opinion. The ending closes with Chu Yue and Ning Shisan (apparently the son of Ren Ruyi and Ning Yuanzhou), and I agree with everyone out there who says it should've closed with Yang Ying instead of Chu Yue. Chu Yue wasn't even part of the delegation, and her character only becomes more prominent near the end, so it didn't really make sense for the story to close with her. I also think that some characters who died should not have died (e.g., Wu Di, so many sacrifices had been made to save him only for him to die?).

There were so many missed opportunities for Li Tongguan's redemption. It kept getting dragged out! (He did get there eventually, though.) He's like a kid throwing a tantrum, and his character is inconsistent and unpredictable—there are times when he's levelheaded and other times, not so much, because of his jealousy towards Ning Yuanzhou.

Despite the unfulfilling ending and a few minor flaws, I did enjoy this drama!