Dance Of The Sky Empire Review

Dance Of The Sky Empire (天舞纪) has been released for a few months already before I finally found the interest recently to sit through all the 28 episodes. I’m not a big fan of any of the cast which is why this has been pushed down my list of dramas to watch. But if you are a Xu Kai fan, then this is definitely a drama that you would want to seriously check out. My Dance Of The Sky Empire review below will give you an idea what this story is all about so that you will be able to decide if it is something that might be worth your time.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 28
Type: Romance, Costume
Aired: July 2020
Images Credit: iQIYI

The Cast Of Dance Of The Sky Empire

• Xu Kai as Li Xuan
• Wu Jia Yi as Su You Lian
• Li Jun Chen as Prince Yu Feng Mu / Prince Mu
• Yu Xin Tong as Long Wei Er
• Zhou Jun Chao as Xiao Feng Ming
• Hankiz Omar as Princess Yun Shan
• Johnny Zhang Ceng Ceng as Feng Chang Qing
• Shi Zi Xun as Bian Ling Cheng
• He Zhong Hua as Lord Zi Ji
• Zhang Song as Crown Prince
• Song Yi Xing as Cui Yan Ran
• Ma Qian Qian as Cui Pian Ran
• Tian Zhong as Emperor
• Ning Wen Tong as Elder Of The Book Of Heaven

Main Characters

Li Xuan

Li Xuan is the Nation Protecting Master of Tianqi State. He is a young mischievous lad who is never serious about his responsibilities and would often rile up his master and teachers at the Moyun Ancient Academy. Li Xuan also has a special self-healing ability and possesses the token that enables him to enter all the forbidden areas in the academy. His father is General Li Shu De who is also a royal court official.

Su You Lian

You Lian is the Saintess of the Kunwu clan and a student at the Moyun Ancient Academy. She has a serious and low-key personality. She also has a mission to accomplish for her clan. You Lian is guided by her master whose spirit resides in her sword.

Prince Yu Feng Mu / Prince Mu

Prince Mu is a prince from the neighboring Sha State. He enrolls as a student at the academy and has his own agenda. Prince Mu has strong martial arts and cultivation skills. He has a deep love for You Lian.

Supporting Characters

Long Wei Er

Wei Er is the second prince of Tianqi State. He is a capable and responsible prince who is fighting with his half-brother to inherit the throne. Wei Er hides a secret that few know about. His mother is Concubine Xie while his uncle is Mentor Xie of the Moyun Ancient Academy. Wei Er is also a student there.

Xiao Feng Ming

Feng Ming is a studious young man at the academy. He is regarded as a nerd and has a timid personality. Feng Ming looks harmless and kind. He also suffers from a sleepwalking problem.

Princess Yun Shan

Yun Shan is a princess from Sha State and Prince Mu is her elder brother. She becomes a student at the Moyun Ancient Academy to escape an arranged marriage. She can be arrogant due to her status and cannot get along with Cui Pian Ran.

Feng Chang Qing

Chang Qing is Li Xuan’s personal guard and also a good friend. He is skilled in martial arts.

Bian Ling Cheng

Ling Cheng is Li Xuan’s good friend and fellow classmate at the academy.

Lord Zi Ji

Lord Zi is Li Xuan’s master. He is also head of the Moyun Ancient Academy and the royal advisor of Tianqi State. He is a powerful cultivator who had sealed up the Dragon Emperor of the Kunwu Clan.

Crown Prince

The Crown Prince of Tianqi State is a useless man who enjoys the status of his position but doesn’t have the courage and maturity befitting a royalty. He doesn’t get along with Li Xuan since they were kids and is against Wei Er whom he sees as a threat to his ambition to inherit the throne.

Cui Yan Ran & Cui Pian Ran

Yan Ran and Pian Ran are sisters and students at the Moyun Ancient Academy. They are daughters of a minister. Yan Ran is a fair-minded lady and becomes a good friend of You Lian. On the other hand, Pian Ran is impulsive and spoilt. She hates You Lian whom she views as her love rival for Li Xuan’s affections.

Emperor

The Tianqi State Emperor is a respected ruler. He assumes that his 2 sons, the Crown Prince and Wei Er, are getting along well and cooperating in managing the state’s affairs.

Elder Of The Book Of Heaven

The Elder is a know-it-all immortal living alone in a secret realm known as the Bloody Icebound Ward. People who mistakenly enter the ward will find it extremely difficult to leave and could be at the mercy of the Elder.

Synopsis

10 years ago, the human and Kunwu clans were at odds with each other. Lord Zi defeated the Dragon Emperor of the Kunwu clan and killed the latter’s sister in the process. In order to save their Emperor, the clan’s Spiritual Queen sacrificed herself and wrapped up the Dragon Emperor in an ice cocoon. She put a curse that the humans will be destroyed after 10 years when the Dragon Emperor re-awakens. Lord Zi sealed up the Dragon Emperor in a protected ward which only a trusted few could enter.

10 years later, You Lian is now the Saintess of the Kunwu clan. Her sister was the Spiritual Queen. You Lian’s mission is to re-awaken the Dragon Emperor and save her clan who is being hunted down and oppressed by the humans. She enrolls as a student at the Moyun Ancient Academy as the Dragon Emperor is believed to be sealed inside the grounds of the school.

Li Xuan is a naughty student and disciple of Lord Zi who has made him the Tianqi State’s Nation Protecting Master. As such, Li Xuan has a token that enables the holder to enter all the forbidden areas inside the Moyun Ancient Academy. Being fellow students, Li Xuan starts to fall in love with You Lian. The feeling is mutual but You Lian is also after Li Xuan’s token in order to save the Dragon Emperor. Is their relationship doomed from the start since they belong to different camps?

Dance Of The Sky Empire Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Dance Of The Sky Empire has a happy ending to keep viewers satisfied. Li Xuan and You Lian ended up together. He helped her to keep the Demon Spirit at bay while she re-awakened the Dragon Emperor. When the Dragon Emperor was freed from the seal, the Demon Spirit was killed. He led his people back to Kunwu to rebuild their homeland rather than engage in revenge against the human clan for a decade of oppression. But he decreed that the Kunwu clan shall not have any relationship whatsoever with the humans.

You Lian begged the Dragon Emperor to let her go to be with Li Xuan. The Dragon Emperor agreed on the condition that her Saintess mark be removed. This would cause her to die but her determination to see Li Xuan convinced her that it is worth it. Li Xuan and a dying You Lian decided to go back to the Bloody Icebound Ward to reunite with the Elder of the Book of Heaven. In the end, You Lian survived and led a happy life with Li Xuan together with the Elder in the secret realm.

Li Xuan’s Real Identity

Li Xuan is actually half-human and half-Kunwu. His mother was a Kunwu clan princess and brother to the Dragon Emperor. She tried to protect the Dragon Emperor when Lord Zi was killing him. She took a blow for her brother which killed her. Li Xuan’s father pleaded with Lord Zi to spare his young son. Lord Zi also felt guilty for killing Li Xuan’s mother. So, he erased Li Xuan’s memories and took him in as his disciple. Li Xuan regained his memories with You Lian’s help aided by the Saintess Stone.

Lord Zi regretted his action and asked for forgiveness before he died. He was killed by the Demon Spirit when he blocked an attack directed towards Li Xuan.

What Happened To Prince Mu?

Prince Mu was supposed to have died when he forcibly transferred the ownership of the Saintess Stone to You Lian. The Saintess Stone was needed to re-awaken the Dragon Emperor. It belonged to Prince Mu and You Lian would be able to gain ownership naturally once she marries him and consummates their relationship. But Li Xuan kidnapped You Lian on their wedding night.

Prince Mu knew that You Lian only loves Li Xuan. Hence, he didn’t want to force her to be with him as he loves her deeply. Moreover, Prince Mu wanted You Lian to re-awaken the Dragon Emperor to create chaos in Tianqi State which had been oppressing the weaker Sha State and bullying his people. Thus, Prince Mu decided to sacrifice himself and force the ownership transfer of the Saintess Stone.

You Lian was unaware of the extent of Prince Mu’s sacrifice as she fainted during the process. After the Dragon Emperor was re-awakened, the Kunwu healer took back the Saintess Stone from You Lian and used it to save Prince Mu. In the end, Prince Mu was alive but still in recovery mode.

What Was Wei Er’s Secret?

Wei Er is a woman disguised as a man all along. She was brought up as a man by her mother and uncle. They made her take a painful poisonous bath on her birthday each year to maintain the deception and fool everyone. Wei Er had to do it to protect herself as the Emperor had listened to the advice of a fortune teller who predicted that princesses would bring calamity to the state. Hence, no princesses were allowed to be raised in the palace.

Wei Er waited for the time to come to exact her revenge. She hinged her bet on Li Xuan to help her to succeed the throne. She developed feelings for him but her love remains a secret. Wei Er revealed her gender to Li Xuan in Episode 23 when she had no reason to hide anymore after falling out of favor with the Emperor who wanted her executed. She then struck an agreement with Prince Mu to borrow his troops to attack Tianqi State which was already in chaos due to the Demon Spirit’s ambitions.

The Crown Prince had listened to the Demon Spirit who had taken over Feng Ming’s body. He forced his father to abdicate and confined him to the cold palace but ended up ruling under the thumb of the Demon Spirit. In the end, Wei Er imprisoned the Crown Prince and made her father promise to hand over the throne to her before she agreed to release him. Then, she stepped forward to reveal her true self to her father. Wei Er got her revenge but it didn’t give her the happiness and fulfillment as she had expected.

Did Yun Shan End Up With Feng Ming?

Yes, they ended up marrying. Yun Shan didn’t die although she was badly hurt after being beaten up by the Demon Spirit. She woke up in the last episode. Feng Ming regained control of his body after the Demon Spirit was killed off when the Dragon Emperor re-awakened. The Demon Spirit had used Feng Ming’s body as the host when it escaped during the Dragon Emperor’s fight with Lord Zi. The spirit is part of the Dragon Emperor and is his evil side.

Dance Of The Sky Empire Review

Frankly speaking, I don’t really know how to describe Dance Of The Sky Empire. It is not an awful drama. In fact, it is highly watchable. But at the same time, it leaves me feeling unfulfilled after watching the entire 28 episodes. I think the drama does have the potential to be a great production but the execution falls short in the way the story is told.

Interesting Plot

The story of a girl and a guy falling in love with each other but belonging to opposing camps certainly has the potential for a lot of excitement and heartaches. Add in the supporting characters to further build upon the story and it should have all the necessary ingredients for a great saga. So, that is why I feel that the plot is interesting in itself.

The school setting in Dance Of The Sky Empire actually reminds me of In A Class Of Her Own. Coincidentally, both the female leads in the 2 dramas also need to hide their real identity and there is some anticipation of when they will be outed. It is part of the reason why I chased after the story. The other contributing factor is to witness how You Lian will accomplish her mission with the man she loves being in the way.

Lackluster Romance

However, compared to In A Class Of Her Own, Dance Of The Sky Empire certainly has a lot more room to build up the relationship between the male and female lead which I think the screenwriters failed to do. Hence, you don’t get a lot of satisfaction watching their romance unlike great stories like Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms and Love And Destiny.

There is a lack of trust in the couple’s relationship especially from the female lead who has much to hide. It is understandable given her circumstances but it just doesn’t make you feel invested in their romance as a result. It is very different from Maiden Holmes whereby the supportive relationship of the main couple simply makes the drama more fulfilling to watch overall. Dance Of The Sky Empire lacks those heart-wrenching and touching moments that the romance becomes kind of bland to me.

Some people find the chemistry is missing between the male and female lead in the drama as well. To me, it is not so much of poor acting but the fact that the bulk of the drama focuses on the female lead’s mission. As such, You Lian is always holding back in her relationship with Li Xuan and Wu Jia Yi simply expresses that conflicting emotions on-screen. Since she always has to pretend that she doesn’t love him, there is little room to make that chemistry grow when they interact. I think this also contributes to a dull romance overall.

Missing Details In The Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Apart from the lackluster romance, the other reason why Dance Of The Sky Empire leaves me feeling unfulfilled is the way the ending is presented. It is missing a lot of details which is akin to Love Of Thousand Years. For instance, the viewers are not told how Yun Shan survived when we are left with the impression that she died in the earlier episode after the confrontation with the Demon Spirit. The same goes for You Lian when her Saintess mark was removed and she was expected to die. Li Xuan’s relationship with the Dragon Emperor is also not accounted for when the latter is actually his uncle.

Hence, you can say that the last episode is kind of rushed without proper accounting of the events that happened. It is as if the screenwriters just want you to know the fate of the various characters in the end but now how they got there. Basically, it is not a very satisfying ending despite the happily ever after conclusion.

My Verdict – Watchable But Lacks Satisfaction

I would say that Dance Of The Sky Empire is a watchable drama for its storyline. If you like a fast-paced historical drama with a tinge of xianxia, this might be your cup of tea. More so if you are a huge Xu Kai fan. He can act and still has the charming looks that endear him to many. I think he has mastered the roles of a mischievous lad pretty well and he displayed them once again as Li Xuan in this drama. Basically, Xu Kai carried the show here.

However, if you are looking for a great romance story or rom-com, Dance Of The Sky Empire is not it. Neither does it have a strong female lead like the ones in Legend Of Yun Xi and Legend Of Fuyao. You would expect You Lian to be a powerful heroine since she is a Saintess for her clan but it is not the case here. In fact, she relied a lot on the second male lead to help her out. She also wore a frown most of the time given her circumstances. So, if you prefer watching a happier and more positive heroine, you will be disappointed with the way the female lead is projected in this drama.

For this Dance Of The Sky Empire review, I would give it a 7/10 score. I think the plot is interesting enough to give it a go and ignore the not so good parts of the drama. At the very least, it has a lot going on unlike the thin plots offered in rom-coms like General’s Lady. It may not be a fulfilling and satisfying watch when you are done but the story will keep you going until the end with hardly any boring stretches in between. Just don’t expect too much on the romance part and it shouldn’t be that bad overall.