Drama Review: Who Rules The World (且试天下)

Who Rules The World (且试天下)

Synopsis

Based on the original novel, the drama tells the adventures about Hei Feng Xi and Bai Feng Xi, two martial artists traveling the world with hidden identities, and trying to establish a world of peace.

Adapted from the novel Qie Shi Tian Xia (且试天下) by Qing Leng Yue.

Memorable Soundtracks

• Unparalleled (无双) by Liu Yu Ning → Official Youtube MV
• Breath of the Wind (风息) by Ye Xuan Qing and Tiger Hu → Official Youtube MV
• A Dream Come True (一梦浮生) by Silence Wang → Youtube Pinyin Lyrics

Watch Who Rules The World (且试天下) if you like:

• Minimal misunderstandings because the two leads have a mutual understanding of each other.
• Strong male and female lead characters that doesn’t overshadow each other, apart from the show’s choice in which character to highlight.
• Male lead pursuing female lead

Avoid Who Rules The World (且试天下) if you dislike:

• Lack of fighting scenes even though the main characters are martial artists and this drama is slot as a wuxia/xianxia. When there are fighting scenes, it’s done through a lot of CGI work.
• Political court dramas and this one tends to be weak in the schemes on suspense.
• Lack of a strong theme to focus on and subplots may feel disconnected to the main plot

Final Review: Who Rules The World (且试天下)

Where Bai Feng Xi goes, Hei Feng Xi will follow

★★★☆☆ 2.5/5 Good to sip on! 

Character Evaluation

Bai Feng Xi, also known as Feng Xi Yun of Qingzhou, leads her life as a martial artist. She holds a disdain for the political world and instead chooses to live freely as a martial artist, allowing her to travel the world without being constrained by rules and regulations. Bai Feng Xi is a disciple of the Tian Shuang Sect and enjoys great renown in the martial arts world. Despite being a martial artist, she harbors a dislike for violence and taking lives. Her weapon of choice is her silk sleeves, and she only inflicts injuries on her opponents unless provoked.

Zhao Lu Si’s portrayal of Bai Feng Xi was enjoyable to watch and stood out as one of the highlights of the show for me. Bai Feng Xi is a charming food lover who delights in eating and drinking, yet she remains righteous and carefree. One positive aspect is that she consistently showcases her strength throughout the show. She comes across as a relatable character that I would genuinely like to be friends with in real life. However, considering Bai Feng Xi’s formidable martial arts skills and intelligence, there were several instances where I questioned her reactions to various events. For instance, she frequently requires Hei Feng Xi’s assistance, struggles to refute accusations of being a murderer, or sustains injuries in questionable ways.

Hei Feng Xi (Black Foxy), also known as Feng Lan Xi of Yongzhou, is one of the four gentries of the Da Dong Empire. In his guise as Hei Feng Xi, he is the founder of the Fountain Abode, an organization that gathers intelligence through their secret locations throughout the empire. He wields a fan as his weapon and is known to appear wherever Bai Feng Xi is, earning them the nickname of the Hei-Bai Feng Xi duo. However, as Feng Lan Xi of Yongzhou, he is the less favored second son. Following his mother’s death, he feigns illness and lives discreetly as Hei Feng Xi. Unlike Bai Feng Xi, Hei Feng Xi aspires to conquer the world and uncover the truth behind his mother’s demise. Despite his lofty ambitions, his heart remains drawn to the carefree Bai Feng Xi.

Personally, I found the story of Feng Lan Xi to be unsatisfying. Despite receiving the majority of the focus, Feng Lan Xi’s character lacked clear motivations for his actions. I didn’t feel a strong conviction behind his desires, whether it was his yearning for Bai Feng Xi, seeking justice for his mother, or aspiring to claim the throne. The only feelings I sensed from him were his dislike for his stepmother and his desire for revenge against the mother-son duo. Furthermore, I didn’t appreciate how he led on his female strategist, Feng Qi Wu, portrayed by Xuan Lu (宣璐)

, when she expressed her wish to marry him. Instead of clearly rejecting her, he provided a lengthy explanation about wanting someone who understands him to work alongside him, and that he wasn’t seeking love. He could have simply told Feng Qi Wu that he wasn’t interested and that he had feelings for someone else, which would have prevented her from reacting negatively. I found his actions selfish and not as heroic as his character claimed to be.

As the story progressed, there were several loopholes in terms of the intelligence and capability of the Hei-Bai Feng Xi duo. Lan Xi seemed exceptionally intelligent and unbeatable as Hei Feng Xi, but he heavily relied on others to carry out his plans when he assumed the identity of Lan Xi. Additionally, when he was Lan Xi, it seemed like the Fountain Abode couldn’t function properly without his guidance. We witnessed crucial information slipping through his fingers to the antagonists, which was perplexing considering Hei Feng Xi was the owner of the Fountain Abode. It’s hard to comprehend how he managed to build up such an organization and establish its reputation throughout the years, considering these inconsistencies.

Minor Character Commentaries

Many characters in the show had promising beginnings but ultimately fell short for me. Huang Chao (played by Lai Yi – 赖艺), Feng Qi Wu, and Hua Chun Ran (played by An Yue Xi – 安悦溪) initially grabbed my attention but failed to deliver later on. One character in particular who didn’t work for me was Lan Xi’s father, portrayed by Zhang Feng Yi (张丰毅). The way they portrayed Lan Xi’s father as a kind and righteous person towards the end didn’t sit well with me, possibly because there was no real redemption arc for him. How can he suddenly care about his image and act as if he had been just and fair when he knowingly allowed mistreatment and abuse within his own family? For a significant portion of the show, this character clearly showed a lack of favor towards Lan Xi, and it was unclear if he truly cared for his son at all. It was evident that he did not trust his sons and didn’t want Lan Xi to be his heir. Not only does he undergo this sudden transformation into a compassionate father figure, but he also never offers a genuine apology to Lan Xi for treating him poorly throughout the years.

The character I like the most in Yongzhou, and perhaps in the entire show, is Lan Xi’s older brother, Feng Chang Zhang Tian Yang – 张天阳). Feng Chang stood out to me not only because of his loving brotherly nature but also because he was one of the most intriguing characters. While other characters were often portrayed as either good or bad, exceptionally skilled or intelligent, Feng Chang was more complex. Unlike the main lead and supporting characters who had a tragic past but were depicted as incredibly powerful and successful, Feng Chang faced his own challenges. He had to overcome not only his health condition but also the emotional toll of growing up without maternal and paternal love. His trauma was so profound that, at times, it seemed uncertain whether the late queen’s love for him and Lan Xi’s affection would be enough to save him. Yet, time and time again, he found the strength to rise above his struggles and recognize the people who truly mattered in his life. Despite being betrayed and kept in the dark on multiple occasions, he refused to succumb to darkness. While I believed he deserved to experience freedom in the martial arts world, he never got that opportunity. Instead, Feng Chang chose to smile through it all, and the writers failed to provide him with any significant rewards, aside from sparing his life. Feng Chang remained loyal to Feng Lan Xi and happily smiled as Lan Xi took his place among the officials to rule over Yongzhou.

Romance of Hei-Bai Feng Xi

I felt that the chemistry in “Who Rules the World” was forced and contrived. Lan Xi’s affection for Bai Feng Xi was established at the beginning of his journey as Hei Feng Xi in the martial arts world. He mentioned multiple times in the drama that he held on to life because of her. However, we don’t get to see those scenes, so we can only assume that part of their story.

“I met you when I just started in the martial arts world. And thanks to you, I saw the kindness of the world. And thanks to your company, I know what true feelings mean. It’s all thanks to you that I gave the world another chance.”

Since they already hinted at that aspect of their relationship, they could have included more romance or subtle sweet scenes, such as Hei Feng Xi seeking revenge on the mercenaries who injured Bai Feng Xi or indirectly warning Yu Wu Yuan that Bai Feng Xi belonged to him. However, the writers chose to keep the Hei-Bai Feng Xi duo dancing around each other, frustratingly preventing Lan Xi from confessing his feelings due to various reasons or making Bai Feng Xi oblivious to his affection. Considering that it was established from the beginning of the drama that Hei Feng Xi would follow Bai Feng Xi everywhere, I believe Bai Feng Xi should have already realized his feelings, especially when Hei Feng Xi wasn’t particularly discreet about them. They claimed to know each other’s personalities well, further supporting the idea that Bai Feng Xi should have been aware of his feelings.

When they worked together, they made a powerful couple. I appreciated the mutual understanding between the two, as there were no prolonged scenes of petty misunderstandings. However, I must say that while the banter between them was enjoyable to watch, the courtship took too long for my liking. It was cute that Feng Lan Xi yearned for Bai Feng Xi to be jealous of him, but it ended up backfiring as he became jealous of her instead.

Issues With Plotline

Who Rules the World begins with the Da Dong Empire in chaos due to the missing Empheryan Token. Emperor Chun Xi orders all the lords of the six states to retrieve the token, which is believed to determine the rightful owner of the world. However, the lords have evil intentions and seek to keep the token for themselves. After one month, news spreads that Yan Ying Zhou possesses the token. Those who are after the token attack Yan Ying Zhou, but he receives unexpected help from Bai Feng Xi. This conflict initially seems like the main focus of the story, but it quickly shifts to become a political drama centered around Feng Lan Xi or Hei Feng Xi (Black Foxy).

The political aspect becomes the primary focus of the show as we see Feng Lan Xi navigate through court schemes. However, the lack of intensity and cleverness in these political schemes makes the show lackluster. Political dramas involving princes vying for the throne and court issues are not typically my preference, as they often involve long monologues and arguments among older men. However, I have enjoyed some of these shows when the schemes are intense and unpredictable. In Who Rules the World, Lan Xi purposely allows things to go wrong so that he can fix them and prove his capability as a potential ruler to his father. This problem-solution pattern is continuously used, diminishing the element of surprise. It becomes predictable that Lan Xi will overcome every situation thrown at him by Queen Bai Li and his 3rd brother, Feng Ju, making it boring due to the lack of build-up.

The subplots involving the token and the villain sect feel disjointed to me. The integration of the martial arts and non-martial arts worlds doesn’t work well because the writer attempts to incorporate too much without clear connections or meaningful outcomes. The main plot revolves around Feng Lan Xi’s desire to rule the world and unite the kingdoms, but the motives behind this goal are unclear. Lan Xi speaks of good and evil, but the depiction of the states doesn’t provide sufficient evidence of the supposed turmoil that justifies his actions of fighting his brother and stepmother to become the crown prince of Yongzhou and later seeking to unite the kingdom.

The importance of the token to the actual kingdom is questionable. If the token were truly necessary to rule the Da Dong Empire, the states would be in greater chaos than what is portrayed. The token’s significance is downplayed and eventually forgotten as Bai Feng Xi becomes more involved in helping Hei Feng Xi with his political issues, which goes against the principles of martial artists. The token-related plotline is largely abandoned except for minor appearances.

Another subplot involves the villain sect, whose goals and motives remain unclear for a significant portion of the show and lack conviction once the antagonist, Yu Wu Yuan (Zhang Hao Wei (张昊唯)), is revealed. Initially, the sect aims to take over all other martial arts sects, but this mission is abruptly halted to focus on taking over the Da Dong Empire. Their intelligence and abilities seem superior to those of the Fountain Abode, who are supposed to excel in this realm. The lack of suspense surrounding the identity of the antagonist diminishes the impact of the face and camera cover-up in the early stages of the show. I wish the villain could have evoked stronger emotions in me, rather than leaving me uninterested in the character.

Conclusion

I would rate the show at around 2.5 out of 5, but because it provided some excitement while watching, I believe it deserves a spot on my “good to sip on” rating scale of 3 out of 5. Although I understand that it is based on a novel and had to condense the story into fewer episodes, the lack of character depth and the disjointed plot made it difficult for me to fully engage and made me notice the flaws. The production quality was good, and it’s evident that effort was put into the set designs. While the costumes were simple, I appreciated the attention to detail in the patterns and accessories. The CGI helped compensate for the limited wuxia elements in the story. However, the excessive twisting and turning camera work didn’t sit well with me. The war scenes towards the end felt cheesy and poorly executed, with characters standing around giving directions and even referencing go.

The acting, on the other hand, was well done, and it’s evident that the actors put in a lot of effort into their performances. Although I didn’t enjoy the show as much as I had hoped due to the lack of character depth, I still had a decent time following the story and appreciating the great soundtrack it had.

If you watched Who Rules the World (且试天下), please do share your own opinions with me below! 

^{Photo credits: Who Rules the World’s Douban}