Episode 1 recap: Huo Qing Liu is looking for a son-in-law.
In the late years of the Divine Martial Era, Huo Qing Liu, the head of the Wuyue Sect, vied for the position of the martial arts leader with his formidable martial arts skills. The imperial court rewarded him with the Divine Martial Order, granting him authority over the martial arts world. From then on, the Wuyue Sect became the largest sect in the martial arts world. Huo Qing Liu was advanced in age and had only one daughter. Since there had never been a female sect leader in the martial arts world, he issued a call for talents to participate in the Wulin Grand Tournament. The victor would not only inherit the position of the Wuyue Sect's leader but also receive the Divine Martial Order.
Upon hearing this news, many martial arts experts from all over the martial arts world arrived at the Wuyue Sect. Everyone fought fervently, and a young hero defeated various formidable opponents, ascended to the high platform, and declared himself the new leader of the Wuyue Sect, pressuring Huo Qing Liu to step down. Suddenly, Huo Qing Liu's daughter, Huo Xing Chen, descended from above, holding a red umbrella. She gracefully landed on the young hero's sword, and before the hero could react, she kicked him off the high platform.
The martial artists in the audience were indignant upon seeing that the victor was a woman. They jumped onto the stage one after another to challenge Huo Xing Chen but were all defeated by her. On the stage, Huo Xing Chen shouted to her father, having defeated all her opponents, expressing her desire to inherit the position of the sect leader. The people in the audience were dissatisfied with the prospect of obeying commands from a woman and voiced their discontent. At this moment, Huo Qing Liu proposed a compromise: a public search for a son-in-law.
Huo Qing Liu believed that it was suitable for a grown woman to get married, and finding a son-in-law who could assist her in jointly managing the Wuyue Sect while keeping his daughter by his side was a good thing. However, Huo Xing Chen felt that she had spent seven years studying martial arts on Penglai Island not to get married. In reality, Huo Xing Chen only knew lightness skills and nothing else. It was Huo Qing Liu who had secretly arranged for his servants to assist Huo Xing Chen, enabling her to win the competition. However, Huo Xing Chen mistakenly believed that she truly possessed peerless martial arts skills that were unmatched by anyone else.
In the martial world, there has been a legend about a person called Fork Hero, whose martial arts skills were unparalleled. However, no one had ever seen his true identity. Just as everyone was discussing this, Huo Qing Liu sent an invitation for them to attend the suitor selection ceremony of Huo Xing Chen. Everyone thought it would be embarrassing to participate as a suitor, but Jiang Bu Ting from the Forget Worries Valley, who was in a wheelchair, considered it a great opportunity. Jiang Bu Ting decided to participate in the suitor selection and coincidentally encountered Mu Bing He, the young master of the Hu Cang Guard, who was riding a tall horse and had a carriage full of gifts to attend the event. Both of them raced to unveil the red list, and Mu Bing He threw a handful of silver pieces to Jiang Bu Ting. Jiang Bu Ting was only focused on catching the money, and Mu Bing He quickly grabbed the red list. Seeing Mu Bing He and Jiang Bu Ting, who were willing to set aside their status and become suitors, others also began to compete to participate.
Huo Xing Chen recalled that when she was a child, Fork Hero had told her that as a woman, she should rely on herself, and she didn't want to depend on men her whole life. So she decided to run away from home and venture into the martial world alone. However, the family servants prevented her from leaving. She used force, and the servants, as before, pretended to be hurt, making Miss Huo mistakenly believe that she had great martial arts skills. At a critical moment, Huo Qing Liu threw something into Huo Xing Chen's mouth and falsely claimed it was a healing pill. When Huo Xing Chen tried to use her martial arts again, she found that she had lost all her strength.
Huo Xing Chen was dragged back into the house, but she was still determined. She climbed over the wall and happened to land on Jiang Bu Ting's legs. When the servants chased after her, she asked Jiang Bu Ting to take her away and promised to repay him in the future. Jiang Bu Ting took Huo Xing Chen on a detour around the city and eventually brought her back to the Wuyue Gate. As a thank you, Huo Jian Wa from the Wuyue Gate decided to let him stay there for recuperation.
At night, Jiang Bu Ting and his younger brother, Jiang Bu Ying, were discussing the search for missing heroes. Jiang Bu Ting's purpose in coming to the Wuyue Gate was to find clues. Jiang Bu Ting went to the courtyard, and Huo Xing Chen, who planned to escape at night, happened to meet him. When the patrolling guards approached, the two of them lied, claiming they were admiring the moon. Huo Xing Chen returned to her room and suddenly thought of her childhood friend, Mu Bing He, who was always very kind to her and often took her out for walks. So she sent a carrier pigeon message, asking Mu Bing He to help her escape. However, her letter was switched by Jiang Bu Ting into a love letter. When Mu Bing He saw the love letter, he vowed to win the competition and marry Huo Xing Chen.
A nonsensical comedy, but it only had some funny moments at the beginning. Watching more episodes, it became illogical and unfunny, lacking substance. The male second lead is a familiar face, but his role is even more pitiful than a supporting character.
And the female protagonist doesn't even know if she has internal energy or martial arts skills, which is just ridiculous... The title of the drama is a mockery of the female lead. The groom is being PUAed by the male second lead and lectured by the male lead.
Is he being courted or being treated like a father... The plot becomes more and more unbearable later on, and the female lead disguises herself as a man with a fake beard and still wears eye-catching lipstick.
Are they assuming the audience is blind?
It's rare to come across a show that I can't even watch at triple speed. Despite some highlights like good visual filters, sweet and silly romantic moments, and adorable male and female lead characters that have some chemistry, the plot is truly the weakest point.
The zombie storyline is cliché, not to mention the excessive focus on a single side character that spans over a dozen episodes. Is that really necessary? And let's not forget the female lead suddenly gaining immense power inside the alchemy furnace—isn't that a copy of Sun Wukong?
Many aspects of the show feel quite childish. There's a reason why this show was taken off the air in just three days. Nowadays, scriptwriters should understand that mindless sweet and silly romance is no longer the trend.
Please, put some thought into character relationships and plot development. It's a pity considering the increasingly excellent cinematography we see these days.