To start, the martial arts/wuxia genre is not really my cup of tea. I'm more of a Sword and the Brocade kind of viewer. So going in, I didn't have expectations that I was going to like this. But let's just say, this drama got my attention and I ended up anxiously waiting for new eps every day.

HFX AND BFX are actually really well written characters. BFX was that fearless heroic figure who acted based on the situation right there and then and her emotions. While HFX is rather calculating. He always thinks before doing something. And is very kept to himself during the first half. From the very beginning, I already loved their interaction. I even had the feeling he was already in love with her way before they were introduced to us viewers. He's always watching and taking care of her without giving himself away. And ofc this leads to her thinking everything he does is to benefit himself and he wouldn't do anything that doesn't give him the upper hand. But again, I 99.99% am sure he either had feelings for her or admired her for a long time.

I definitely liked the first half better. It was more of them bickering, solving problems and slowly learning about each other.

Second half was politics, fight for the throne and war. Not my cup of tea but I can say I enjoyed this one as HFX always had the upperhand against his brother FJ.

Pros:
1. BFX was literally the female character we wished were written more in dramas. Alot of dramas, I see strong females in the beginning who gradually lose that coolness. But I can honestly say, she was a strong and badass character throughout most of the drama. There were only a few instances I didn't like her. Like how she babies her Jr. Sister Langhua. Who I wanted to slap so many times.
2. HFX's character...do we need to explain him. He's literally a hero to the world, BFX and our hearts.
3. We got some really good side characters.
*His sidekicks who were fun and always besides our male lead assisting him. Let me just say, I'm glad neither of them died.
* Prince Chang: Some might say he's not a good character as he killed innocent people who knew about his illness. But I think that was the only flaw in his character. I honestly thought he was going to turn against HFX but thankfully he remained the best brother for HFX. He didn't have many scenes but he definitely left an impression on me. He had some of my favorite scenes.
*Minister Feng: by far one of my favorite supporting females in any dramas I've watched. Yes, she was in love with HFX but he didn't love her and she was okay with that. Instead she continued to support him (take notes future evil jealous third wheeling females) and her bonding with BFX during their 1st meeting was enough to say I loved her.

Cons:
1. The rushed ending. Everything was choppy and alot of details were missing and they literally ended a war in a couple episodes. Not that I care for war scenes but wow, it was really rushed.
2. HFX's father the emperor is a terrible father. Didn't even care for his late wife. The fact that he chose to ignore all the bad things Queen Baili and her son FJ did to HFX will make you want to pull your hair. I was literally at the point of wishing death on him.
3. Queen Baili and FJ were really quite the annoying and jealous characters. They should have died long ago so that way there was more time for the actual war and end.

There's alot more pros and cons but I'll stop there. Regardless, I'd give a solid 9.5. Minus .5 for the long plot with the evil queen and stupid emperor.