I went into this thinking I absolutely won't enjoy it. At first it did feel like that, because during the first 100 pages all the problems I had in the previous volumes still remained.

What changed my stance was the flashback arc. In my opinion that arc should have happened way earlier than it did. It made me look at the character of Xie Lian and Hua Cheng in a different light. I also think my previous stance on these characters would have definitely softened if I had know the information that was presented in the flashback beforehand. I still think the way Xie Lian treats his subordinates is wrong, but I do get why he holds a grudge. It made me sad how Mu Quing behaved, even though he tried to mend it later on. Even though Feng Xin can be annoying at times, I don't think he deserves all the flack he gets for leaving Xie Lian.

I was positively suprised that we finally got to see some emotion from Xie Lian. He and Hua Cheng always had this aloof "don't care about anyone or anything" vibe which I didn't like. That's one of the things that was missing in the previous volumes in my opinion. I also liked it because it explains his character and his actions leading up to the current timeline.