Recently, Who Rules the World (且试天下), wuxia drama starring Yang Yang and Zhao Lusi, is being broadcast on Tencent Video.
This drama adapted from the novel of the same name by Qing Ling Yue, combines traditional costume, romance, and martial arts. In just one week of broadcasting, the cumulative viewership of Who Rules the World has already exceeded nearly 500 million.
The kingdom is divided into seven parts, the emperor's family is the most honored. The person who has the Xuan Ji Ling (玄极令) can command six states.
However, the disappearance of the Xuan Ji Ling has led the chaos, and the power-hungry heroes are out in force, they all want to be the first to find the Xuan Ji Ling and achieve their own supremacy power.
Hei Feng Xi and Bai Feng Xi are also involved in it, they not only implicated in the huge power and conspiracy between the court and the martial arts world, but also write their own martial arts romance saga.
In terms of plot, Who Rules the World is not based on historical dynasties, but the exciting game of court, the thrilling martial arts fighting scenes, as well as the sweet emotional scenes, can let the audience enter the plot easily.
In terms of characters, the dual identity of the male and female protagonists becomes the highlight. From Hei Feng Xi and Bai Feng Xi in the martial arts world to the royal son Feng Lan Xi and princess Feng Xi Yun in the court, the unique setting of the two protagonists determines the level of conflict and emotional tension in the story.
In terms of production, Who Rules the World has achieved a balanced play from cinematography, art, makeup to action, and special effects.
Exciting martial arts scenes
Since the beginning of the broadcast, Who Rules the World brought viewers a high frequency of martial arts fighting scenes.
The first scene is straight to the topic: the theft of the Xuan Ji Ling, which was created by the founding emperor of the dynasty and can command the kingdom. Once the news came out, the whole country was shocked and everyone was poking around for traces of the Xuan Ji Ling to get it first.
Then the scene shifts to Yan Ying Zhou, the general of Jizhou, who is carrying the Xuan Ji Ling and leading a group of light horsemen to run fast. Behind him, the Jianghu people who want to snatch Xuanji are chasing him.
But this is just a blindfold, the Xuan Ji Ling that Yan Ying Zhou is carrying is a fake, its purpose is to buy time for the real Xuanji Order to be sent out.
Yan Ying Zhou fought and retreated in the fierce battle, and finally his men were all wiped out, leaving him alone. He rolled over and landed on his back, one man and one sword, to fend off the group.
At this point, the heroine Bai Feng Xi appeared. She couldn't bear to watch Yan Ying Zhou being besieged, so she stepped in to save him.
And not far away, Hei Feng Xi silently observing the progress of events, the his real identity is the wise Yongzhou royal son Feng Lan Xi.
A fight scene in the sixth episode is also impressive.
The kingdom is in turmoil because of the loss of the Xuan Ji Ling, and at this critical moment, the extremely ruthless Soul Breaker Sect has also appeared in the martial arts world.
In order to gather the masterpieces of the four great families of Bing, Yao, Zhen and Ma, they robbed them by cruel means. But they missed in the Ma family, because the Bai Feng Xi's prevented.
In order to take down the Ma family, the Soul Breaker Sect sent six masters to help, while the Bai Feng Xi and Hei Feng Xi secretly joined forces.
Thus, the duel between Bai Feng Xi and the six masters presented the audience with a wonderful fight scene. The white Aya and sword as a weapon, Bai Feng Xi fight with these six experts respectively, the action is sometimes floating and light, sometimes quick and accurate, sometimes full of power.
And Hei Feng Xi's assistance, first to the injured Bai Feng Xi detoxification, and then, he and the remaining four masters duel. The action style is more severe and decisive.
The fight is done by the scheming minister, Yu Gongzi, and although his appearance in this drama is not long, but he touches both the dynastic and emotional storylines.
This scene is both a visual feast and the core of a three-line intertwined drama, which is a good example of Who Rules the World's characteristics: the elements of love, martial arts world, and the imperial court are integrated into a story, and the gorgeous images are supported by the above-standard production.
Excellent Visual Experience
Who Rules the World is full of exciting scenes, for example, Bai Feng Xi in the dense bamboo forest to save Yan Ying Zhou. Bai Fengxi in a plain white wear appearance, foot on the bamboo tip of the light, and complex but smooth fight scenes set each other off.
In the first encounter between Bai Feng Xi and the Soul Breaker Sect, the performance of the sword formation is more stylized. The dozens of curved swords, the first and last, the shape is strange and weird. Highlighting the strange and fast, it provides a different visual experience.
The sets in the court and palace scenes are also very attentive. There is no specific historical dynasty to support Who Rules the World, but the dual identity of the main character obviously inspired the creators. The creators have integrated two sets of visual symbols, elegant and noble, in a framework that follows the aesthetic of ancient style.
In the first 12 episodes, the palace scenes take place in Yongzhou. The grand hall where the king of Yong and his ministers meet in pilgrimage is the most important scene, and the art style here emphasizes grandeur. The walls and pillars on both sides use a lot of contrasting colors of stone green and vermilion red, and in the center of the hall is a golden throne.
During the court meeting, the king of Yong is dressed in purple, the ministers in white, and the three princes in different green and vermilion costumes. The whole scene conforms to the contemporary aesthetics of the ancient style, without lacking the majestic aura of the palace.
When it comes to the residence of the Feng Lan Xi, the color scheme is still the contrasting colors of stone green and vermilion red, but in order to increase the visual hierarchy, there are more blocking objects such as flower windows, screens and corridors. With this kind of scenery and a large number of integrated motion shots, a framework composition of moving and changing scenes is formed. The refinement and elegance of this residence is both visually fresh and easily appreciated by the audience.
Inclusion and Integration
Who Rules the World is an eclectic drama that not only blends elements of romance, martial arts world, and court, but also explores the setting of the dual identities of the protagonists' characters.
First of all, Who Rules the World explores the novelty of the fight scenes from multiple angles and puts some effort in building the concept of jianghu and imperial court.
It also adds the mysterious dark force of the Soul Breaker Sect to the chaotic world. This force is not just to command the Jianghu, but to form a regular army, and even threaten the imperial court. Coupled with the gradual growth of the forces in the six domestic states, the original mutual checks and balances of the various forces, began to appear dissension. These two factors make the plot direction more intricate.
From the point of view of emotional scenes, Who Rules the World is not exactly full of sweet segments. Both the original and the drama, Hei Feng Xi and Bai Feng Xi are famous martial arts masters, and each has a mysterious noble identity, laying the groundwork for their subsequent ideal of “ruling the country and securing the state”.
To write a big situation with small feelings, to write the world with individual, is the unique creative path of this drama. The main theme of Who Rules the World is no longer confined to the values of traditional martial arts dramas, but expresses more about the fearless courage to help and protect the people. In all, it is worth watching.
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