This episode is definitely an improvement from the train wreck last week. It seems the production team is desperately trying to redeem XW’s free rider reputation by giving her lots of extra made-up screen time. Unfortunately, those newly added scenes feel rather forced and contrived. Nothing against XW per se but somehow it feels like they are robbing Peter to pay Paul. In short, the uplifting of XW is done at the expense of TS.

The fox’s den in today’s episode clearly looks sinister and with TS’s observance and meticulousness, would he not have noticed something amiss? Would he really enter the Devil’s lair to absorb his ring and let XW protect him? Seriously that’s TS we’re talking about! He’s always 10 steps ahead of anyone!

I also didn’t quite get what TS is doing with the water droplets. Sure it looks fanciful, but the ability “All rivers run into the sea” has nothing to do with water nor rivers. It’s more like a metaphor to illustrate the breadth and boundless nature of the blue silver grass. And why does TS still need to turn his mother into a seed? I must be stupid, how exactly does a grass-type plant become a tree? 🤔 Did they forget that she became a seed when she died and it grew into a blue silver plant under the care of Tang Hao?

Sigh, why do I feel like the animation in the recent episodes prioritises style over substance?

It's just blatantly forced at this point. The funny part is that it's style over substance...and the style is failing MISERABLY lol. No one is buying it. Hell, I'm all for XW getting badass again, but the silly, rushed fight scenes aimed at promoting cute factor over martial ability aren't helping the cause. There's no seriousness at all, let alone sense of danger. May as well keep her bagged up lol.

This “style” seems to work like magic for many others but maybe I’m just too old-fogeyish to see the appeal.

Btw, have you watched the preview for next week? It seems the new scriptwriter is definitely a hardcore feminist. It’s not enough that we have one bunny hopping around saving her man (who really doesn’t quite need saving), and now we have a vigilante angel going around ridding the world of its vice and villainy.

I mean I am assuming it is a new scriptwriter lol dont take my assumption as gospel lol

LOL, noticed that. QR is thus ready to smite these tax-dodging, sinning villagers with the Angelic Sword....when she isn't wet dreaming over TS😂

Best part of this episode was the look on QR's face when QD told her she has to leave personal feelings behind. And QD just shakes his head. He knows it ain't happening 🤣

Oh..and the flashbacks of AY and TH. That was pretty good, at least.

Qian Renxue brought the ruin of the angel's godseat. That's why I feel that she was never worthy of it. It's such a waste of a god position.

and that bit*ch at end of episode like really no one wants to see her but you have to add it nontheless

I cant help but wonder about Xiao Wu's fight too and I feel that it was rushed to conform with their time scale on airing and what content to show. It wouldnt surprise me if Tang San finished absorbing the ring then saved her and let her finally absorb its ring.

Tang San's mother turning into a seed is probably just used to emphasize rebirth but the very idea of a plant turning into a human is still somewhat strange to me. As for a plant becoming a tree... In all honesty I actually think that is possible given that the plant has lived long enough to become that state.

I dont have a green thumb and deal with both of the gardens on my property 3 times a year so I have seen how high some weeds can grow including the thickness of the roots. To give you a clear example... According to google stinging nettles can grow up to 4 feet tall and at this time due to curiosity I actually have some stinging nettles growing in my garden that are over 8 feet tall. I havent used anything to improve how they grow such as plant food or anything like that, its just been water and sun. Given enough time, I'm pretty sure that would be taller than my house if it continues growing at that pace and not to mention the thickness of its roots would be a pain to remove that I would probably be left with a miniature tree stump.

Probably leading up to Soul Land 2, they need to make it spectacular to attract new viewers and to maintain the current ones

They surely are not maintaining the current ones, at least for some fanboys like meself. There’s a reason why the novel was originally geared towards male readers but it seems the donghua was eager to change that status quo. I’m all for equality but this “bunnyfying” is a bit too excessive. Do they not know the desensitising process for any allergy needs to be slow and gradual, else you might risk getting anaphylactic reactions?

I am going to assume it is the new scriptwriter lol Probably the biggest bunnyfan in China or Chinese censorship went hmm Japan has cats to service anime fans, let's use a bunny in China lol

I guess you havent watched the live-action yet, it was horrible, I only watched the first episode to drop it lol I was like how can anyone approve this trash?

Douluo and I watched it and we were part of the “unconstructive critics” on MDL. Apparently, we were a bit too harsh and had to retreat to a separate thread so as not to disrupt the harmony of the main thread.

I would have wrote, "to the woman giving 10 out of 10, do a constructive critique and dont think with your lions being moist Xiao Zhan is never going to marry you much less know of your existence, giving this trash of a drama 10 out of 10 indicates how moist you are, head filled with water that it is about to burst down there" :P

But I know I would be banned lol

LOL. The production aside, I don't even understand the obsession with the actor. He's about as masculine as Richard Simmons' underpants and one swing of a hammer would shatter his arm into pieces lol. He must be a great actor but I didn't see it.

It was because of the novel Mo Dao Zu Shi which is also a 2d donghua. It was made into a live action, probably one of the best close to novel adaptations called The Untamed. It was viewed by over 10 billion views. Anyway boylove theme, and you have a lot of lonely women and fangirls, you get the idea lol Some people cant differentiate acting vs real life, so they perceive the ideal man is this character with smothering eyes, thick and moisten lips

Wow savage.

I loved the novel but I actually hate it when animes go overboard when making changes in the anime. Small changes are fine but too many of them ruins the originality of the story to me.

Besides Tang San's mother obviously, I feel like these past couple episodes were geared towards trying to give the impression that Xiao Wu isn't just a backpack and actually is a vital member of the team, especially due to the amount of people who've been saying how worthless she is...

I don't buy it 😏

I think you’re being too generous, a backpack would suggest she’d be useful for carrying things - more like a leech sucking at his neck. I am surprised she is only level 76 though given all the free upgrades she got riding TS coat-tails or did she receive a downgrade when she got ‘revived’?

I’m waiting until they announce A-Yin’s level. She was at least 70 before she died but in the novel, she was still 70 after her resurrection whereas XW suddenly shot up to 76 from 57? 🙄
But you’re right, that feels like a downgrade! TS is already 90+, by the author’s logic, the bunny should at least be 90! 🤪

Right? I mean she was “helping” TS with all those high lvl bosses plus they never revealed her level I don’t think in that training arc.

Dont forget the Sea Gods rewards, and most importantly the scriptwriter has no clue or didnt read the novel lol

Wow guys. Did you forget what she did, and why she is the way she is. I realise that yes, she hasn't done much, but we all know why. Did you forget she literally gave up her life so Tang San could live on. He would have been dead if not for her, Perhaps one should look at the bigger picture.

Aside from her sacrifice which any lover would do for another one
She does very little like you wrote
She has the least character development
She is the same as she has always been, from when she was a teenybopper to her current form, ignoring her character design, she stays the same
She has the most plot armor, beating Tang San by millions of miles.

It isnt that we have forgotten what she did, it is what she hasnt done

Even Hu Liena would have sacrificed herself for Tang San if she spent as much time with him and was loved by him. Yes we are aware that she said "I would not have even done what Xiao Wu did" during the sacrifice, it was the author trying to make Xiao Wu the only one that would have considered it BUT The author is known for his inconsistency, if you remember Hu Liena was willing to trust Tang San with her life during the Slaughter City arc, their lives were in constant danger, and she did it after knowing him for a short time, imagine if it was as long as Xiao Wu's time together

I dont disagree with what you wrote about her sacrifice, it is indeed noble and the highest act of selflessness

I just recall Hu Lienawas prepared to sacrifice herself to save TS during the battle at Jialing Pass. That part was actually hilarious and a lil lame because when she sees Bibidong attacks TS with her full power, she was prepared to take that blow for him so as to end her misery and of course to save her bae. But when TS dissolves that attack easily and immediately lunges his trident at Bibidong, Hu Liena didn’t hesitate either to protect her teacher, thinking it’s perhaps not such a bad idea to die at the hands of the only man she ever loves. LOL!! Poor woman! But I bet the studio will definitely scrap that part since TS already drew his line.

Ohh I forgot about that, mhm she can sacrifice herself for love. I also remembered that Xiao Wu's death is also different from the norm, since her soul is said to be gone forever and wont be allowed to reincarnate, of course the flower happens to mask her as spirit beast also happens to prevent that from happening. I smell heavy deus ex machina there and from then onward from her sacrifice.

You never know, the studio might actually allow Hu Liena to die, just like Qin Ming for dramatic effect lol

Yes you are right. She hasnt done much.

And yes, even though her sacrifice was very noble, it was also because Tang San was saving her.

I don’t think you get why we’re bashing the character. It’s literally for the very reason of her zilch contributions after her sacrifice and yet she still reaps a bountiful harvest. It’s really more about the character than XW. Had it been any other character with such a plot twist, I’d have had the same reactions. But precisely because she’s the waifu and it feels like the author is giving her all the freebies just for that reason and this unfortunately has the opposite effect of elevating her worth because one’s worth depends on one’s doing and effort, and certainly not because one is so and so waifu. And imo, her sacrifice offsets TS’s sacrifice and that’s done.

Yes, I believe i spoke too rashly. I do understand that her character has been stagnant, and that Tang San has done alot for her. Half the time he gets into situations because of her.

Thank you guys for clearing misunderstanding, and i appreciate you guys not bashing me. I was rooting for her, and I must say, I was slightly biased.

The crux of the problem is that the author basically painted himself into a corner. Bringing her back as a functional participant did no favors to the integrity of the power system, much like the SG Trials. Unfortunately, the author chose the popular fan-service route over logic and believability. Allowing XW to die and making it a tale of pure revenge, or keeping her in spirit form would have made for a far more mature and impactful storyline. In fact, one of the best TS x XW scenes in the whole series, imo, was when she briefly materialized in spirit form as his 6th to defeat Bai He in the bet. Endearing, romantic, and heart-breaking...all in the same scene. Loved it!

The other problem is that we are into the final arc of the novel. If the author wanted to bring her back, great wonderful, but as we all know this final arc was very rushed, and it didnt really make her relevant to the story and she still remained the same as before, no character development, which didnt make her interesting
If the novel was longer then perhaps her character might have developed into something that is better than before her death
Sadly those who read the other novels knows all too well that it doesnt happen, to be fair, Tang San and XIao Wu didnt appear prominently in the novels, being reduced to minor characters, but his latest novel.... I shall leave people who read it to comment

I find it distasteful bashing people just because they have a different opinion to myself, I just block or not respond lol you dont have to agree with what I wrote or anyone's

There isnt really a right or wrong where opinions are very subjective, just the facts that she isnt... helpful in comparison to other Shreks lol

I blame the author, if you are not aware, he is actually writing his alter ego as Tang San and his real life wife is actually Xiao Wu. Sadly she left the world a few years after the novel ended, but the author keeps writing her into the Soul Land series, most likely to cope with his grief and keeping her alive in some sort of way.

Dont get me wrong, I love a childhood sweetheart type, i watched the sacrifice scene plenty of times, but I watched the part where Tang Hao saves both of them at the end of the competition more lol but if you think about how the story would be if it was Hu Liena and Xiao Wu remains dead then the story would be a lot more interesting.

Unfortunately most Chinese novels I read so far has really boring and dumb FL. Not many of them, have MC who doesn't give a damn about women.

If you can read Chinese, then i will strongly read Shenuyi Jiu Xiaojie, it is also made into a donghua however, it is only 15 minutes duration episodes, but the donghua follows the novel closely. The main character is actually a female :)
And yes sadly a lot of Chinese novels follows the usual plot devices such as villain cliches, plot armours and certain predictable contents.

Doupo Cangqiong (Battle Through the Heavens) has intelligent female leads, that's one of my favourites, though I know that what I like you might now lol

Juan Siliang isnt based of a novel or manhua which is a pity I quite like the story, although the pacing is somewhat slow

And yes they are animating Soul Land 2, they announced it last year, if you go to episode 166's page, I translated the author's announcement from Tencent Streaming.

Oh!! I both read and watch Battle through the heavens I follow the novels of this author.

Hopefully, they don't ruin the characters of SL2. Personally, I didn't enjoy SL2 as much as the other novels especially since Yuhao gained most of his powers through luck. I didn't enjoy SL4 as much either due to how much everyone bootlicked Xuanyu even when he is simply standing idle.

Tbh, I made a list of Chinese animes that I gotta watch but in the past 2 years, I really didn't have the time. Lately, there's this trend of Chinese animes based off novels that keep coming out 1 after the other. I am having a super hard time keeping up with it especially since it keeps accumulating.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will add them to the list.

Wow, i did not know about that. I see now.
Thank you very much for clearing that up. Learnt something new today.

I agree. The bashing is very distasteful, and very unnecessary. But we are not the same. Some people do find pleasure in beating down others opinions.

I agree. The story would have taken a whole different twist, if Xiao Wu dies and Tang San and Hu Liena were to start something.

Yeah this is why the character is called Tang San, from the author's pen name Tang Jia San Shao (Tang's Family Third Master)

Anyway if you are interested in his other works, there is Bing Huo Mo Chu (The Magic Chef, not as popular as Soul Land) and Shen Yin Wangzuo (Seal of Throne, currently very popular and no Tang San lol) if you arent aware that these are his works

I started The Magic Chef. I am waiting for more episode before i start watching Seal of Throne. But thank you.

If u read SL2 or 4, you will see the MC of both being given everything for basically nothing. This is still within the bounds of what I can accept when compared to Yuhao and Xuanyu.

I assume you have read all the DD sequels? So which MC do you prefer more? My ranking is TS, TWL, TXY and YH. Sorry, like what you said, the two MCs from DD2 and DD4 literally have everything laid out for them. I just cannot resonate with such MCs, moreover in DD2, YH was depicted as the good guy while TS is the father-in-law from hell. That has crossed my bottom line. A good author should never discredit or pull down the previous MC in order to lift the other one up.

Mine is (1) TS & TW (can't decide which one is best in my heart)
(2) HY
(3) TX

I totally agree with you. But for Yuhao's case, I don't think he would have achieved what he did without TS. Sure, he was "fated" to be a god but if TS didn't push him, he probably wouldn't become a strong god and he would have taken a very long time to achieve it. I don't think think TS was as bad as many fans calls him out to be because what he did was to give a godly trial and judging by how godly trials are win or die I don't think I was that bad especially since we don't have any previous data on how God's reacted when giving trials but we have mention of Jie Dong & Lie Yan being given harsher trials. Additionally, Yuhao is dumb and fickle when it comes to love. The guy with all his accumulated power could not even protect his body and ended up having a child with someone else. By Chinese standards, TS allowing him to marry his daughter is already showing lots of mercy. Normally, Yuhao would not have been allowed even close to Wutong after that if not for the fact that MC must have the girl at the end. As for Xuanyu, his whole life got decided because of his blood. He gets praised as a genius but I can't see his genius mind at all. He's a bit destructive too and I hate how the author makes all previous mcs who are at the peak of the cultivation world look like dust to him.i honestly don't think that Xuanyu can defeat the whole GGC when the godkings are seriously fighting a death match.

No, he died because of her, if he didn't try to go save her, he would not have died, Xiao Wu would have died by the hands of the Martial Soul Hall, you clearly are not seeing the bigger picture here.

Tang San dies saving her.
Xiao Wu sacrifices herself to save Tang San.
Tang San resurrects her.

I dont think people were saying she is worthless, it is more like how useless she is, she is still worth something, Purple Pirate (forgot her name) values her as a live action cough cough doll, and Martial Hall Spirit would value her 10,000 year old rings.

but yeah the changes done are probably an outcry on weibo trying to make her relevant again, without spoiling too much what the studio is doing right now, making these changes to reverse Xiao Wu's uselessness is exactly what the author did with some of the characters, a total 180 degrees turn around during the final arc

Semantics... Of course anything and everything in the world can have "worth" to something if getting downright literal about it. I however was referring to her standing in the group and what worth she actually brought (or in this sense hasn't brought) as a part of the team. 😉

I know :P

Yeh, I figured as much 😋

lol I mean if you read my previous posts, you would know where I stand

She should have stayed as a rabbit until Tang San resurrected her, the sponging off him during the Sea God trials and receiving the rewards without doing much was ludicrous, it made the rest of the Shrek's efforts and hard work seem like a joke, so that should have been removed from the novel, it would elicit more sympathy and emotion when she is resurrected, story would be more interesting since her strength would have been comparable to Xiangxiang (Fatty's love interest)
And it would have helped if the novel was longer, so the author can develop her character. Nope, doesnt happen and we are left with the latest novel where She dies and Tang San follows in order to look for her

Yeh, Xiao Wu during the Sea God Trials was just ridiculous... She reminded me of "that guy* you'd sometimes end up in a party with during MMORPG who would just completely ignore the battle and instead just run around picking up all the items while everyone else was fighting, and then still share the XP from the kill simply because they were in the party. So, kinda hard to attribute positivity towards her character when that's the comparison my mind jumped to, haha

Agreed. While I can't speak to the novel itself, it's definitely frustrating when they leave open endings in stories and end up just creating more unanswered questions. 😕

The new novel, DD5 is pretty good surprisingly. It started off in a rather shocking way with TS being raised like an animal in a pig sty, drinking milk from a mama pig and later he was removed from this slave farm to real life slavery to some monsters family. Then the story kinda steps into a controversial territory with TS sucking power from the monsters in his world in order to power up. It got a lil’ stagnant and tedious as the story progresses with all the tournaments in gladiator style where the humans are to fight in coliseum for the entertainment of the monsters. But now that it’s more than half way through, it regains the momentum again. Another saving grace of this novel is the brand new XW. Occasionally she can be a moocher where she depends on TS a lot but trust me, she’s so much better than XW in DD. At least she’s bold and sassy. If TJSS were to give XW such strong plot line and character development, DD would have been a close 10/10 in my book.

Actually I can’t believe that I would speak for TJSS. For once, he proves me wrong. I was so ready to bash him for his absurd ending of DD4 and to restart the DD franchise in order to exploit Soul Land’s popularity.

I’d actually recommend it if you have the time to spare. It makes a light and easy reading, though of course no story is perfect, just like all his other novels, DD5 can be quite “watery” at times. I guess fluff is part and parcel of every Chinese online novel.

Oh? I might give it a go when I have a bit more time, I havent touched any novels for a while, and the to read list is piling up lol

Yeah if Xiao Wu was half as good as Bai Cai in Wu Geng Ji then yeah :P