after a certain point I got annoyed trying to guess who the ML would be. And when the ML was finally revealed I literally felt one of my synapses pop because that man had been gone 60% of the novel. AND HIS CHARACTER IS SO UNDERDEVELOPED.

Yuwen Hong

who is as intriguing as a doorknob is the ML and not

who I thought would have been a better prospect

yu changqing because his ass gets hitched off to a princess and it's like

why did ftyx establish such a great romantic dynamic

you mengzhe and yu changqing looked like they really liked each other (plus they had one of the best s*x scenes)

and then out of nowhere yuwen hong comes in as the romantic lead?? Do you know I even forgot him??? He was gone throughout the ALL major events!!!

zhang yuanshang was better than zhao feihong but the whole spiel of them hating the MC towards the end?? Pissed me off!

the in*estuous

arc begins when mc's demon sect leader father kidnaps him and forcibly dual cultivates with him (rapes him repeatedly for one month to absorb his qi). Didn't shock me because it had been ominously alluded to by zhao feihong that his dad brought him up as a cultivation furnace and I also took it as pseudo-in*est because it was also implied here and there than maybe you guitian isn't his dad

its revealed by you guitian than mc's real dad is zhao feihong. And MC begins to have a childish tantrum that zhao feihong neglected him and his mom and he goes through the harrowing effort to terrorise him

which I kinda get only because zhao feihong tries to kill him as a way to atone for the sin of having s*x with his son.

and then again! Zhang yuanshan reveals that according to mc's birth chart, MC might be hit son due to the tl of when he last met mc's mom. Some silly ass mama mia shit. Now MC is like WHO IS MY REAL DAD. And proceeds to treat zhang yuanshan with similar anger (?) (waahhh ur my daddy but u weren't there for me and my mommy wwaaah) and runs away.

THE ML IS THE DAD. And I wouldn't have had an issue with it tbh IF

yuwen hong hadn't f*ckED HIS MOM. KNOWN ABOUT FOR 16 YEARS. KEPT SILENT ABOUT IT. NOT MENTIONED ANYTHING WHEN THERE WAS THE WHOLE DEBACLE OF ZYS AND ZFH CLAIMING TO BE HIS DAD

. Oh you guys this part had me wanting to stab myself in the GUT.

MC x ML got together right after MC found out zfh is his "dad" and yuwen hong even used that fact to prevent zfh from smacking the MC when he got pissed. (N when MC was acting like a petulant child). They quickly (like very quickly it was shocking cuz that man had been gone for a YEAR n before that he was just a shadow guard) got into their romantic relationship began making me plans for a near future and NOT ONCE did yuwen hong say I f*ckED YOUR MOM AND U ARE MY PROGENY. NOT ONCE.

zfh and zys have discovered that they are not his dad thru some sect spell (from the mom's sect) and then yuwen hong, in all his lacklustre presence n disappointing glory steps in to inform MC that he is his father and then proves it with the sect spell. And MC is like oh

yaay!! And makes out with him. And WHAT?? *SCRATCHES HEAD*

WHAT ?! MC previously threw tantrums about his "dads" neglecting him and his mother for 16 years and making these men WHO DIDNT KNOW OF HIS RELATION TO THEM feel immense guilt of not being "good" fathers just to for him to go YIPEE when his ACTUAL DAD who KNEW ABOUT IT FOR 16 YEARS AND DID ACTUALLY NOT EVEN TELL HIM OR SHOW UP INFRONT OF HIM

. WHAT WHAT WHAT.

and yeah I can say okay mc's mom told the ML not to say sh*t to MC and not show up infront of him when she was on her deathbed (and FCUK HER TOO btw and f*ck ftyx for writing her character quite terribly). However, he still informed him in the end why couldn't he do it sooner? OH IM PISSED.

i keep reading thinking we are going to get some backstory on how yuwen hong and yu qing got sexually involved and what was the actual dynamic of their relationship because I mean

2-3 extras right? BUT f*ck NO IT DOESNT HAPPEN. All we get is ftyx bring in his favourite little geopolitical war plotline

i just skimmed through it.