The official page for the wuxia drama Legend of Fei 有翡 has been teasing us aplenty with a flurry of stills and even cartoon caricatures of its characters ever since the first of December hit, and now we finally know why.
Say hello to Zhao Liying, Wang Yibo and the rest of the cast because the 51 episode long drama adaptation of Priests’ novel of the same name has just announced that it will already premiere exclusively on Chinese online video platform Tencent starting December 16, 2020!
Admittedly, the Tencent premiere is a wee bit unexpected since there has been a lot of speculation that the drama will likely end up on Hunan TV. After all, the network is home to Zhao Liying’s hit dramas like Journey of Flower, Princess Agents and The Story of Minglan. Similarly, it is also home to Wang Yibo who is a regular host on Hunan TV’s talk show Day Day Up 天天向上.
What’s more, instead of the usual 8pm broadcast time for dramas, Legend of Fei will have an early release tomorrow morning at 9am! Granted, people might have school or work which makes this quite an unusual time slot, but I’m sure avid fans will still find a way to watch this.
Update: Here’s another surprise! Legend of Fei made a sudden premiere tonight (Dec 15) on Hubei TV with episodes 1 and 2 released ahead of the online release on Tencent.
Legend of Fei Synopsis
Many years ago Nandao hero Li Zheng – Zhou Fei’s grandfather, became master of the forty eight bandit villages he was ordered to establish to keep order in a chaotic pugilist world. After Li Zheng dies of illness, his daughter Li Jinrong (Che Xiao) takes over as the head of the house and marries Zhou Yitang. The couple have a daughter who they named Zhou Fei (Zhao Liying).
When Zhou Fei turns thirteen, she attempts to run away from home and almost dies in the process. Fortunately, she is rescued by Duan Wang Xie Yun (Wang Yibo) with whom she later forms a close friendship. Three years later, their paths cross again. Together, Zhou Fei and Xie Yun embark on a journey of growth and adventure, stumbling across old masters in the pugilist world whilst also unraveling a conspiracy.
Legend of Fei also stars a few other industry notables like Zhang Huiwen (Nirvana in Fire 2), Chen Ruoxuan (Novoland: Eagle Flag), Zhou Jieqiong from Produce 101 as well as Sun Jian, Zhang Xinyu, Leng Jiyuan (The King’s Avatar), Che Xiao, Geng Le, Dong Xuan and Hu Bing.
Wang Yibo Contributes a Song to Legend of Fei’s OST
Oh, I forgot to mention that the drama also popped out a teaser of the OST sung by Wang Yibo for the drama. The song which has been trending on social media since its release is entitled Xiwei 熹微. Surprisingly though, quite a few netizens gave it a thumbs down saying it “sounds bad”. This was actually the trending hashtag for the song which rumour has it was the handiwork of anti fans.
Nonetheless, don’t you worry because Wang Yibo’s castmates have his back. Zhou Fei herself aka Zhao Liying gave the song her rousing endorsement when she posted “Sounds Good!” (好!听!) on social media. The rest of the cast also followed suit, echoing Zhao Liying’s “Sounds Good!” on their own social media pages in full support of Wang Yibo’s new song.
Release Date: December 16, 2020 on Tencent
Don’t forget to vote for your favourite Chinese dramas in 2020!
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YMI
Can’t believe they made the 2020 end of year release. I remembered when this was first announced there was much pearl clutching about the 10 year age gap but now seeing all the trailers; talk about much ado about nothing. YunFei seems like an adorable couple. Will definitely be watching.
YMI
The production deserves all the criticisms it’s gotten. The sets look cheap, the camerawork is amateur, the writing is poor, the editing is shit. Wang Yibo and Zhao Liying’s acting and chemistry is the only thing holding this thing together. About episode 25 is where things started getting interesting but I don’t care for or about any of the side characters, I am only invested in YunFei’s storyline. I am hearing some very concerning talk about the 2nd half of the show… and just when things started looking up too.
Coolpeaches
Just saw the new trailer, lots of cool fighting sequences and eye candy but no real plot. Will have to wait till it’s done airing to see if I’m going in.
WTH
Epic fail. Already 10 episodes in and all I can say is boring.
XZF
Oops! That’s not good. Thanks !
Anon
Oh dear.. Sounds like another run of the mill costume drama with no substance and just banking on big names to draw the audience. And what’s with all the FLs tending to be just 16 in this type of dramas?
Kait
Lol, that’s what happens when you create all that hype over a long period of time when the stuff is pretty average. But to be fair we we’re warned (courtesy by zly)
OMGEE
Wait, did you seriously say courtesy? She got two younger actresses bombarded with extreme hate, but in the end it wasn’t even them creating problems. If it’s courtesy, why didn’t she protect the actresses when she caused them damage? So we know what she meant wasn’t them? It wasn’t nice of her. If she meant it’s going to be an average show, sounds like she’s really good at judging what’s good quality. Then why does she work with this same producer again? Is it true her IQ is very low.
Ash
In the context of the original sentence, “courtesy” here means the warning was “provided by” ZLY. It does not carry the meaning of “being polite” or “considerate”.
Paleas
Zly doesn’t exactly have a reputation of being selfless, the post was to extricate herself from any future failures or backlashes. What her fans did or did not do to her colleagues are the least of her concerns.
Nali
Lol @ the comments above. I’ve watched all the episodes released on Tencent so far and it’s pretty good. Fast paced, good plot, good acting, interesting characters, and fresh. Maybe it is because it has been been a long time in which a period c-drama have the feeling of old tvb wuxia dramas. The flaws I see is on how the director cut the lenses and blurred the background. But if you’re criteria for a good drama is how pretty it looks on screen then maybe this drama is not for you. If you’re a long time drama watcher who look at plot, character, and for freshness among these run-of-the-mill period dramas, this drama is for you.
So far, it’s pretty close to the original novel.
Pupo
Wierd, a lot of people are saying it has big budget and is good on the eye but it lacks substance. Anyway only ten episodes out too early to tell
oolong
Watched the first few episodes and so far it’s mediocre. Hopefully the plot will improve as the drama progresses. The fight choreography is only so so for a big budget wuxia drama and all the hype with the promo clip released. Whoever was responsible for all the amazing fight sequences in the first season of Ever Night should be hired for all wuxia dramas!
I think ZLY is a decent actress, but she is not believable as a 16 year old girl. Tan Songyun is one of the few actresses that could pull it off. The actress playing ZLY’s mother looks like her older sister. And I spit my water out laughing when Yibo referred to her as a little girl. It is unfortunate that actors are cast based on popularity rather than suitability. And the drama doesn’t even bother to adjust the character to accommodate these changes.
Anon
agree it doesn’t live up to all that hype at all. rather lame in all departments, even the props look fake. zly looks too old to play a 16 year old. maybe the make-up department did a bad job. but she looks really aged from her minglan days, especially those close-up shots. would be much better if they just add 10 years to the novel’s age and have her act as a grown woman.
Anon
Why can’t producers get younger/child actors to play the younger versions of the characters? It really tough to buy actors/actresses playing characters half their age. Both zly and wyb are so well known so I am really conscious of the age gap and she ends up looking like his older sister instead of love interest.
unicorn
Not so much a problem here. You should watch Qin Empire 4, where a 40 year old Zhang Luyi tried to act a 13 year old boy. (And he’s not the only one where the real ages are so grossly mis-matched to historical characters). Does crazy things to the mind. Hahaha.
Anon
Jeez, that’s so crazy. We all know they have crazy high production budgets as well so hiring child/younger actors should not be a problem. I don’t think even Oscar level actors/actresses like Meryl Streep would be able to pull it off hahaha.
unicorn
No, even Meryl Streep can’t pull it off. It’s not about acting skills; that show has many veteran actors with serious acting chops. But try to imagine a teenage girl’s pout and tantrum coming out of Meryl Streep’s face and body. That’s what it feels like. Hahaha. Anyway, overall, it’s a good historical drama if we can ignore this mis-match thing.
Love&Redemption4ever
In all honesty,i find the story not interesting. Like there is nothing to look forward to. I like zhao li ying but legend of fei is quite boring. I thought the first 3 episodes will spike my curiosity and excitement. Also ive seen many flaws around like the stone she stepped into absolutely soft and so obviously studio. The actors are ok but the story plot is lame so wasteful of the actors talent
Maria
Despite the plot looks quite crap, the voice dubbing issue and CGI effects (Though I know special effects won’t be elaborated here cause this isn’t a XIANXIA drama but it’s a WUXIA)
I still find it interesting because of Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo, Apart from their 10 year age gap, They eventually pulled off that kind of chemistry (Friends/Lovers LOL). If it weren’t for these two I think the audience would literally drop and abandon this drama.
Zhao Liying, I know she’s married and had a baby boy — But she still looks like a cutey girl type for me it’s just that she got slightly matured when she gave birth (which I prefer more) For her acting skills, Maybe because of her popularity/being in-demand on C-Ent that’s why people don’t buy her to act like a teenager in LOF but I wouldn’t dare to think of anyone to play ‘Zhou Fei’ because Liying really fits well into this character and she portrays it well.
Wang Yibo, When I watched The Untamed I was more into Xiao Zhan’s role (Wei WuXian) but luckily I had the benefit of the doubt.
XIE YUN AH!~ I’ve got this late syndrome effect that Yibo’s facial feature is so handsome. In short, I much more appreciated him here in LOF, and sorry to say this but I think he’s more handsome than XZ?
Yibo’s acting really shocked me!! No wonder MTJJs are so happy to see him in LOF doing quirky, goofy, and being talkative with Zhao Liying.
This isn’t the drama you’ll get binge-watch but I think it’s still okay because of Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo’s acting/chemistry + plus their action scene.
YMI
I think based on your comments, you just preferred a certain type of character XD. I can understand that Lan WangJi might be a difficult character for audiences to related to since he is so closed off. You may not know since you’re not a fan of Yibo but his acting in Love Actually and Gank Your Heart already showed he can act. It’s kind of unfortunate that the role that blew up was one where stiff and emotionless was called for, leaving audiences who are not familiar with the source material with the impression that his acting is wooden.
Ybw
What can i say, i think the title is misleading, it doesnt look like the story of fei, its more like the story of xie yun, given that his character is *mysterious* every episodes tells about him one by one.
this drama is mediocre in many especially the weak plot, the messy dubbing, the unsatisfied view, the transition in acting, the side loveline story,
Mu Tianqiao
I’m actually really enjoying this show for the most part, there were around 5 episodes somewhere in the range of episodes 10-20 (forget which ones exactly) that were rather slow plotwise since they were stuck in the same place, but once I got past those everything’s been fast-paced and interesting again. There are a lot of minor villains that kind of blur together for me name-wise, but the big bads still have my interest and the relationships have a fun chemistry to them. I also like slowly learning about the older generation and Xie Yun’s past. I’d love to watch a series based on Fei’s grandpa.
So…if you’re interested, give it a shot, everybody’s got a different experience with it. What’s not up someone else’s alley may be up yours!
Drama_Fluff
I watched the first episode. Not gonna lie…the CGI was ?♀️. I dropped it because of how bad it was. I mean…if you can’t do the CGI, why don’t you just NOT do it? Opt for a version that you can do. CGI was cringe for me. But if you love the show, definitely watch it. The plot is just not my cup of tea,
Yoon
The drama started off not that great, but I’m on episode 36 now and it has definitely gotten better in my opinion. Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo have great chemistry and are the MAIN reason why I am watching this. I like their storyline and I love Xie Yun & Zhou Fei together. They definitely made it work despite the age gap.
The drama gets better in the second half versus the first half. I know most people don’t like this show, and while it’s not the best, I am still watching for Zhao Liying & Wang Yibo’s interaction/chemistry! ^_^