Watched this because and while I've been sick at home with a virus, and had seen some photosets of this and was curious about it. Apparently this is based on a novel, which I haven't read, and am rating this solely on the show itself.

This is probably the first drama I've watched while doing something else most of the time or being on my phone while having it on in the background. Not enough was happening to keep me invested in paying attention solely to the screen, but I also wanted to know what happens, so I just kept watching - although not with a lot of enthusiasm, I have to say. Premise starts out strong - a sort of fantasy wuxia environment where you can acquire a spiritual beast partner and learn how to fight with spells. However, the plot felt very broadly-sketched, while the story just isn't tight enough, and instead feels too loosely-spun to hold all the many things and moving parts together - lots happen, or is supposed to happen, but it's all a bit vague, including the motivations and explanations for many of the characters and why they're doing things; so that things kept happening, but without much of an emotional result or even pay-off almost at all, or even any follow-up afterwards. It often felt like I recognised that there was supposed to be a build-up to things, but then when the thing actually came, it was simply flat - it didn't even fall flat, because there wasn't enough emotionally in the building up at all. It's unfortunate, because there's a lot of promise, but the writing falls short and the story suffers from a lack of detail, including within the characters. Others have noted that it's a bit draggy and didn't need to be the 48 episodes that it is, which I agree with; apparently originally it was meant to be 30 episodes but then became longer, though I'm not sure why. There was also so much use of replaying the same flashback cuts that I didn't really feel was needed, especially near the end, to support that it really didn't actually need to be this long. However, I acknowledge that this was a low-budget production and there may have been many limitations. Just as a mention as others have likewise also pointed out, the CGI isn't great, but I've definitely also seen worse, and it didn't really bother me at all. 6.5 for the story potential because it could have been great, but unfortunately was lacking in execution.

The acting was okay, but honestly no one really particularly stood out to me. I watched this mostly for Joe Chen's character, Yin Chen. I thought he was the main character, but he doesn't actually get a lot of screentime in comparison to the disciple generation (Qi Lin, Lian Quan, You Hua, Shen Yin, and Ni Hong). I found Qi Lin very annoying for much of the first part, he did become better later on and especially towards the end, but I don't think I could say I ever really got all that invested in his character development. Lian Quan was probably the nicest and most inoffensive character besides Yin Chen and I didn't really mind her, but I absolutely couldn't stand You Hua. You Hua was the Worst character and annoyed me So Much I briefly went in the Discussion section of this page and ranted about her (but then I deleted it). The actor playing Shen Yin was the only face I recognised from anywhere before (as Sujin from Three Lives Three Worlds: Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms/Eternal Love); I found her a little big-eyed and earnest, but not much else. You Ming (Shen Yin's Lord) was possibly the most interesting character to watch, and his interplay with as well as he and Lei Ya (4th Lord) in general was at least campy and kind of noticeably different in comparison to everyone else. Ni Hong was, I felt, the shortest-drawn stick - barely any lines, and so thinly-sketched that I'm not sure I ever even see him interacting with any of the other disciples other than Shen Yin, except for a brief encounter with Qi Lin about Shen Yin; and I have a soft spot for him because he really deserved much better. In short, all the characters seem to have some sort of Personality Feature that defines them, and they don't get to step out much beyond these, which I felt was as much to do with the writing. I did, however, enjoy the relationship between Yin Chen and Qi Lin, especially in the beginning, which at first seemed like might be the anchor of the show - and it is, but which isn't reflected in the screentime or plot focus somehow.

Music wasn't bad - but there were like, three songs. There was Sad Song, which was also the ending song, which played every time there was even a remotely sad moment, it felt like. Then there was also a Hero Song which played a few times, usually when characters were doing something 'cool' and/or as relevant, and then there was, I think, a female version of Sad Song. I got pretty tired of Sad Song pretty quickly, although it did hit during the emotional moments and definitely helped the feels along a lot.

I wouldn't rewatch this again. I can see why someone might or would, perhaps to try and get a better idea and grasp on what's happening with the characters and their motivations, but personally, I'm not sure that I wouldn't just come away with the same feeling of very loosely-woven openness at the end again - and 48 episodes is a long time.