I was actually hesitant if I would be able to finish this drama without dropping after watching Ep 1. On Ep 1, I didn't feel it was interesting. But I kept watching and it got entertaining later on. Ended up binge watching. I like how it isn't frustrating and can be funny at times.
I would say the drama is divided into 4-5 sections/arcs
In each arc, you see how each of the characters grow and develop.
I love how Zhao Jian's character is written. She's independent and strong till the very end. They may have involved her in a tiny bit of romance, but it still didn't affect the strength of her character.
I also love Yuan Zhong Xin's character as well. Both the FL & ML are intelligent in their own ways. If someone were to deceive them, they will figure it out soon. It doesn't take them a bunch of episodes to figure out something and their intelligence can't be questioned.
What I didn't like is how they handled the ending. It does look like a setup for a season 2 which I saw might happen (but not anytime soon?). But at the same time, you can imagine how the second season would play out even if there's no S2. But by itself without expecting a S2, I would expect them to tie up the ending better since the drama's direction in the start leads to the end.
Also kinda wish their production team did better with the drama. When I watched it there were so many odd cuts it looked like sloppy editing sometimes. Even if the site I used had the fan sub version, I don't think the fan would cut the episodes in that way.


*Spoilers below*
- The start of the drama was the Qi Chuan battle and then we see Yuan Bo Qi captured and being privately interrogated by Liang Zhu.
- Yuan Bo Qi disappears from the drama. Then we see 7th squad on their first mission at the prison camp where we encounter Ding Er/Miqin Mubei, who is from Xia.
- Then the 7th chamber has missions unrelated to Miqin Mubei & Yuan Bo Qi and then after Han Dan Zhuang is killed, the secret chamber is closed.
- Then the part where they're in the Bin Province connects to the start. We see Miqin Mubei and Yuan Bo Qi back into the story. You see the connection and truth behind Qi Chuan battle.
However, they left Miqin Mubei alive in the end. I feel that didn't add closure to the drama.
If the problem of Qi Chuan battle was because of Miqin Mubei, then they should've resolved it. He should've stayed arrested or killed or something. But they took another twist, where he's left alive and Zhao Jian is captured along with her father.
It's a weird cliffhanger that I usually see in animes or some dramas expecting a S2 (but it's rare for dramas to have S2).
A good section of the middle of the drama was about Liao. Han Duan Zhang's + Headmaster's scheme against Liao took majority of the drama and Xia was just brought up in the end again.
The missions showed each of the 6 characters growth and development. I feel as if they should've had the missions more focused on Xia and lead it to Miqin and handle Miqin. Then if they wanted a S2 they could've used the Liaos then or another plot based off an issue of S1.
Cause right now, we aren't even sure how long S2 will take and when it will be released. We don't even know if they filmed yet either. It would be disappointing if there's no S2.
My hope is that they don't turn majority of S2 a damsel in distress type of thing where most of it is them trying to rescue Zhao Jian and she can't do anything.