Martial Universe Explained

Alt Name:	武动乾坤之英雄出少年 武动乾坤之冰心在玉壶^[1]
Genre:	Fantasy Adventure Romance
Based On:	Wu Dong Qian Kun by Tiancan Tudou
Director:	Zhang Li
Starring:	Yang Yang Zhang Tianai Wang Likun Wu Chun
Country:	China
Language:	Mandarin
Num Seasons:	2
Num Episodes:	40 (season 1), 20 (season 2)
Producer:	Zhang Wei
Composer:	An Wei
Location:	Xiangshan Movie & Television Town
Runtime:	45 mins
Company:	Azure Media Corporation Youku Beijing Century Partner Yuekai Entertainment China Reading Limited Horgos Shang Hui Television Culture Media
Channel:	Dragon TV

Martial Universe is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel Wu Dong Qian Kun by Tiancai Dudou. It stars Yang Yang, Zhang Tianai, Wang Likun and Wu Chun.^[2] The series is divided into two seasons.

The first season of the series aired on Dragon TV starting August 7, 2018.^[3] The second season of the series aired on Youku starting October 11, 2018.^[4]

Synopsis

A mysterious seal introduces male protagonist Lin Dong to the art of cultivation, and he travels across the lands in order to hone his skills. He meets two vastly different women in Ling Qingzhu and Ying Huanhuan on his adventures, and gets romantically entangled with both.

Through sheer grit and determination, Lin Dong eventually becomes one of the most powerful and respected cultivators. As Lin Dong's powers increase, so does his knowledge of the world's deadliest secrets. He soon discovers the demon sect's plot to take over the world, and the three youths join forces with the righteous martial artists to defeat all evil and return peace to the land.

Cast

Main

• Yang Yang as Lin Dong (林动)
  • Protagonist. A descendant of the Lin clan. He is chosen by the Emblem stone to be the successor of the Emblem master, who sealed away the Yimo demons a century ago, and take up the duty of fighting against the re-emergence of the Yimo. He first liked Ling Qingzhu but later fell in love with Ying Huanhuan.
• Zhang Tian'ai as Ying Huanhuan (应欢欢)
  • Daughter of the leader of Dao Sect. Lin Dong's Lover. Her real identity is that of a reincarnated ice lord and she awakens her powers in order to protect Dao Zong and help Lin Dong in his quest for revenge. She risked her life and did everything for Lin Dong.
• Wang Likun^[5] as Ling Qingzhu (绫清竹)
  • Princess of Nine Heaven's Tai Qing Palace. Through an unexpected turn of events, she and Lin Dong end up sleeping with each other and she tracks him down to get her revenge, but instead becomes moved by his determination and fell in love with Lin Dong.
• Wu Chun^[6] as Lin Langtian (林琅天)
  • A martial arts prodigy who bears the burden of leading the entire Lin Clan to greater success. However, he loses his way along the journey and succumbed to the schemes of the villains.

Supporting

• Ashton Chen^[7] as Lin Yan / Xiao Yan (林炎/小炎)
  • A tiger demon who used to follow Lin Dong around until he eventually transformed into a human. He possess immense strength, courage and loyalty. He is later found to be the successor of the Prehistoric ancestral emblem.
• Liu Yan^[8] as Mu Qianqian (穆芊芊) / Heavenly Seat King （天王殿）
  • Lin Langtian's senior sister. She is a seductress and a cunning, manipulative elder of the Yuan Sect she is eventually shown as a Heavenly Seat King - Yi Demon.
• Suo Xiaokun^[9] as Lin Diao (林貂)
  • A martem demon from the heavenly monk tribe. He was trapped inside a stone amulet until eventually discovered by Lin Dong. He starts out completely indifferent towards Lin Dong but ends up becoming his sworn brother alongside Xiao Yan. Later in the series, he became the acknowledged successor of the Thunder ancestral emblem.
• Dong Qing^[10] as Lin Qingtan (林青檀)
  • Lin Dong's foster younger sister. She harbors a dark and chilling power within her, which she eventually turns it into her cultivation. She is the successor of the Darkness ancestral Emblem.
• Yang Haoyu as Master Yan (岩大师)
  • Master of Yan Cheng Wizard Sect. Lin Dong's teacher.
• Li Xinliang as Teng Lei (腾儡)
  • Lord of the Wilderness, Prince of Magic Puppet Sect.
• Feng Junxi^[11] as Mo Ling (莫凌)
  • Prince of Dayan Royal Dynasty. Eventually became Lin Dong's good friend as he follows Lin Dong at Dao Sect where he died in Lin Dong's arms on their escape from the demon swarm.
• Xiao Siqin Gaowa^[12] as Xuan Su (萱素)
  • Supervisor of the Wanjin Chamber of Commerce auction house.
• Tse Kwan-ho as Lin Xiao (林啸)
  • Lin Dong's father. He sacrificed himself to shelve the Yimo.
• Wang Haitao^[13] as Chen Feng (辰风)
  • From the Darkness tribe.
• Kuang Can as Lu Yun (陆云)
• Ning Xiaohua^[14] as Sixth prince of Demon Tribe (魔族六王殿)
• Wu Yajun^[15] as Mu Lingshan (慕灵珊)
  • Little princess of the Fox tribe. Rescued by Lin Dong.
• Qian Long as Jiang Hao (蒋浩)
  • Disciple of Dao Sect. Lin Dong's senior brother. Sacrificed himself to the Demon swarm to protect his Sect brothers.
• Zhao Dan^[16] as Su Rou (苏柔)
  • A senior disciple of Nine Heaven's Tai Qing Palace. Ling Qingzhu's senior sister.
• Chen Yating as Mu Xinqing (慕心晴)
  • Elder princess of the Fox tribe.
• Ji Dongran^[17] as Lei Li (雷厉)
• Zhou Yiwei as Zhou Tong (周通)
  • Lin Dong's senior. A genius who was the only disciple who mastered the Desolation formation from the Dao Sect before Lin Dong. He died after their encounter with the Third Seat King - Yi Demon.
• Sun Yulin as Shen Qing (沈清)
  • Palace Leader of the Nine Heaven's Tai Qing Palace.

Production

In March 2016, Azure Media Corporation announced that they have begun pre-production for Martial Universe and has engaged Zhang Li as the director for the series.^{[18] [19]} The script for the series took two years to complete. Zhang Li revealed that the drama will be set in the culturally vibrant Spring & Autumn / Warring States Period, and that there would be increased emphasis on the wuxia elements.^{[20] [21]}

Principal production began on November 14, 2016, at Xiangshan.^[22] Filming halted for two months for lead actor Yang Yang to recover from his injuries.^[23] The second stage of filming resumed in September 2017.^[24] On October 31, 2017, the production wrapped filming after 258 days.^[25]

Casting

On August 29, 2016, Yang Yang was announced as the male lead, Lin Dong.^[26]

On October 10, 2016, the lead actress was announced to be Zhang Tianai, who would play the role of Ling Qingzhu.^[27]

On November 14, 2016, the production team announced that lead actress Zhang Tianai would play Ying Huanhan instead. Actress Wang Likun was added to the production, taking over Zhang's previous role as Ling Qingzhu.^[28] A controversy arose there were rumors stating that Zhang had snatched the role of Gina Jin's, who was initially cast to play the role of Ying Huanhuan. In response to this, director Zhang Li said that after reviewing the script, the production team decided that Zhang Tianai was more suitable to play Ying Huanhuan, hence explaining the change in roles.^[29]

Ratings

Air date	Episode #	Dragon TV ratings^[30]			Youku National Internet ratings
		Ratings (%)	Audience share (%)	Rank	Ratings (%)	Audience share (%)	Rank
August 7	1-2	0.333	2.196	10	0.192	1.392	13
August 8	3-4	0.285	1.858	12	0.187	1.397	13
August 9	5-6	0.563	3.683	5	0.277	2.089	9
August 14	7-8	0.432	2.724	8	0.19	1.401	13
August 15	9-10	0.458	2.994	9	0.167	1.242	15
August 16	11-12	0.643	4.177	4	0.233	1.803	10
August 21	13-14	0.293	1.908	11	0.102	0.759	24
August 22	15-16	0.373	2.412	10	0.159	1.243	14
August 23	17-18	0.409	2.647	11	0.183	1.356	13
August 28	19-20	0.656	4.15	3	—	—	—
August 29	21-22	0.653	4.158	5	0.257	1.924	11
August 30	23-24	0.669	4.371	4	0.27	2.138	10
September 4	25-26	0.547	4.102	7	0.162	1.548	17
September 5	27-28	0.485	4.729	9	0.134	1.785	17
September 6	29-30	0.612	5.391	5	0.222	2.592	12
September 11	31-32	0.525	3.966	8	0.16	1.487	14
September 12	33-34	0.539	4.23	6	0.164	1.622	16
September 13	35-36	0.66	5.287	5	0.219	2.298	11
September 18	37-38	0.434	3.321	9	0.15	1.41	21
September 19	39-40	0.430	3.341	9	—	—	—

International broadcast

Channel	Location	Broadcast start date	Note
Dragon TV	Mainland China	7 August 2018	Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 22:00 (two eps)
DramaFeverViki.comPluto.tv	U.S., Canada and Latin America	7 August 2018
FPT Play	Vietnam	7 August 2018	Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 21:30 (two eps)
Star Chinese Channel	Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Canada, U.S.	7 August 2018	Monday to Friday 20:00
dimsum	Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore (via Starhub Go)	8 August 2018	Wednesday to Friday 12:00
8TV	Malaysia	3 September 2018	Monday to Friday 20:30
Channel China	South Korea	7 November 2018
CTV8 HD	Cambodia	2019
MX Player	India	7 August 2018
VTV3	Vietnam	2019	Monday to Friday 12:00
Channel 3	Thailand	15 March 2023	Monday 23:45 Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 22:45

Notes and References

1. Web site: 多部电视剧变更集数 《武动乾坤》疑拆成上下两部. July 11, 2018. Sina. zh.
2. Web site: 《武动乾坤》杨洋携手张天爱上演武侠传奇. November 15, 2016. Sina. zh.
3. Web site: 《武动乾坤》定档8月7日 杨洋高燃诠释英雄出少年. July 26, 2018. ifeng. zh.
4. Web site: 《武动乾坤》第二季定档1011 杨洋再遇新磨难. September 19, 2018. ifeng. zh.
5. Web site: December 22, 2016. 《武动乾坤》王丽坤触电武侠玄幻圆侠女梦. Sina. zh.
6. Web site: May 15, 2017. 《武动乾坤》曝新版海报 吴尊版林琅天霸气外露. Sina. zh.
7. Web site: December 30, 2016. 《武动乾坤》曝剧照 释小龙展现武者霸气. Sina. zh.
8. Web site: November 11, 2016. 柳岩释小龙助阵《乾坤》 群星缔造后武侠经典. Tencent. zh.
9. Web site: December 30, 2016. 《武动乾坤》索笑坤助杨洋守护天地. Sina. zh.
10. Web site: October 20, 2017. 《武动乾坤》曝决战剧照 董晴气势磅礴武力值max. Sina. zh.
11. Web site: June 9, 2017. 《武动乾坤》杨洋冯俊熙兄弟情深 救世路上好帮手. Sina. zh.
12. Web site: November 15, 2016. 《武动乾坤》开机 小斯琴高娃首次挑战玄幻大剧. Netease. zh.
13. Web site: August 21, 2017. 王海涛参演《武动乾坤》上演家族热爱恨情仇戏码. Netease. zh.
14. Web site: October 20, 2017. 玄幻剧《武动乾坤》宁小花戏份杀青. Netease. zh.
15. Web site: November 1, 2017. 吴雅君晒照庆《武动乾坤》杀青 表情灵动古怪精灵. Sina. zh.
16. Web site: June 9, 2017. 《武动乾坤》赵丹亮相上影节 长裙尽显妩媚清新. Tencent. zh.
17. Web site: June 26, 2017. 季东燃加盟《武动乾坤》 角色英俊又阴险. Netease. zh.
18. Web site: 《武动乾坤》筹拍 书写青春热血少年成长记. March 21, 2016. Tencent. zh.
19. Web site: 《武动乾坤》首曝概念海报 张黎加盟执导. April 20, 2016. Sina. zh.
20. Web site: 张黎首次试水 玄幻剧《武动乾坤》. April 21, 2016. ifeng. zh.
21. Web site: 《武动乾坤》杨洋"大神"变大侠 定妆海报燃铮铮热血. https://web.archive.org/web/20180616153820/http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/2016-12/21/c_1120158226.htm. dead. June 16, 2018. December 21, 2016. Xinhua News Agency. zh.
22. Web site: 《武动乾坤》开机 张黎匠心缔造后武侠传奇史诗. November 15, 2016. Tencent. zh.
23. Web site: 《武动》为杨洋停拍2月?导演:他浑身是伤想他恢复. September 22, 2017. Sina. zh.
24. Web site: 《武动乾坤》二阶段拍摄 释小龙回归新造型引期待. September 8, 2017. Sina. zh.
25. Web site: 《武动乾坤》历时258天终杀青 杨洋演绎受期待. October 31, 2017. Sina. zh.
26. Web site: 《武动乾坤》官宣！杨洋领衔开启寻道征程. August 29, 2016. Sina. zh.
27. Web site: 《武动乾坤》绫清竹揭面纱 张天爱诠释侠女柔情. October 20, 2016. Tencent. zh.
28. Web site: 《武动乾坤》张天爱换角 王丽坤演绫青竹. November 14, 2016. Sina. zh.
29. Web site: 《武动乾坤》导演回应换角：非张天爱莫属. November 14, 2016. Sina. zh.
30. Web site: 电视剧收视率排行榜 收视率排行. 2020-06-07. zh-CN.
31. Web site: 罗晋戚薇获封年度品质男女演员 宋祖儿谈大学生活. January 13, 2019. Netease. zh.