I've finished the series (50 eps!), being not familiar with the story AND not speaking Mandarin. Too bad subs haven't continued past ep 6 or 7. And with Viki's new policy not streaming fan channels anymore, there goes the little hope that this will ever be completely subbed.
What drew me in and kept me going was the decent fighting scenes, which is a rarity in Mainland wuxia productions, particularly 2000 onward. There's CGI but it's kept minimum. Strong wuxia vibes which remind me to the good old TVB wuxia dramas. The actors generally deliver, and I particularly enjoy the scenes with Ye Kai, Lu Xiao Jia and Ding Lin Ling -- their chemistry was through the roof! I found Yu Qing Bin (who plays Ye Kai) pretty charismatic, and I love every scene he's in. So is Zhang Junning (Lu Xiao Jia). Zhu Yilong doesn't leave a deep impression in me, but I guess it's due to his character, which I don't care, although it's the main character. (For the record, I LOVE him in Xiao Shi Yi Lang, he was amazing there). I despise the leading triangle (Fu Hong Xue, Cui Nong & Ma Fang Ling), they have this toxic relationship & the love story drags the hell out of the main story.
Anyway, I discovered a short review on a Facebook page and the writer seems to know the story very well. https://www.facebook.com/AsianMovieM...type=3&theater. TBH I don't really care about "butchering" a story, not even when I'm familiar with it (case point: versions of LOCH), but I think this view is pretty interesting.