I started watching this for the romance genre and because I like Xianxias / cultivation worlds.. What a beautiful mix. Well, this is not the series for you. This series is dark, more along the lines of "cruelty of life", with disjointed plot twists and it is definitely NOT a happy romance in any shape or form. I cannot emphasize how much this disappointed me as a romance genre tag.

On the plus side there are different types of cultivation but nothing amazing that stands out. In the beginning, it was nice following the male lead, his sister and their development - especially with his shifu(s) and meeting their brothers. The shifu(s) and disciple interactions are a total highlight. Don't expect this to continue. though. After say the first 8 - 10 episodes, the series start going downhill. The romances are awkward. The relationships are messy. It was like they had pulled the actors into too many twists that the acting did not feel right.. at some point my family was chiming in about this series and acting being SO awkward.

If you like murdering characters left and right, you're in the right place. Death upon death of characters that has grabbed your hearts ensure. By the end, you wonder who may still be alive at the end to ride into the sunset in victory. Where's our happy ever romance - oh right, there's side couple(s) plot twist so the series will give you a few crumbs at the very very end to barely tick the box for the romance.

I ended up feeling like Lu Ping is a plot tool to drive the plot line and the series is more about his senior brother and other side characters that were around him and oh, their happy ever afters.. sorry Lu Ping, you'll have to live with just your memories.