After reading this, I’m pretty sure the author intends for us to fully support Lin Yi, despite his actions. The framing makes Luo Qingyu’s scheming and betrayal seem worse than Lin Yi’s violence. It’s a very male power fantasy: he takes what he wants, doesn’t apologize, and his friends back him up. I can enjoy that on a guilty pleasure level if I switch off my critical brain. But if I think too much about the morality of the scenes, it gets messy. It’s entertaining but definitely not safe.
I gotta say, the opening scene where Fang Xianyu is hiding in that empty idol really hooked me. You can feel her desperation and confusion right away. The temple's dilapidated state and the moldy rice cakes are such vivid details that set the tone for how badly things have gone wrong. It's like the world itself is crumbling around her.
I appreciate that the mc is cautious about her own safety. She’s not rushing into danger blindly. She wanted to run away, she tried to negotiate, she’s aware of the risks. The only reason she stayed is because running would get her caught anyway. That’s realistic. If she had immediately declared she’d save the prince and take down the emperor, I’d have rolled my eyes. Her reluctance makes her smarter.
The training montage covers three years in what feels like three chapters, which is a smart pacing choice. We don't need to see every single failed reversal spell or every scraped knee. The author picks key moments—the first time Merea takes a full minute to cast, his frustration with the system, the final success against three simultaneous attacks—and uses those to show progress. Time skips in stories can feel cheap, but this one works because the focus stays on Merea's growth and determination. We see him start as a clumsy kid and become someone who can hold his own against trained spirit sorcerers. That payoff feels earned, even if we didn't watch every single step.