All-rounder Artist-Chapter 882 - 831: A Rather Beautiful Beginning

The drama officially began.

In the scene.

Countless Heavenly Soldiers and Generals clad in armor tightly surrounded a humble grass hut.

A solemn air.

A cloud floated in the sky.

A lone, proud figure stood amidst the mist.

He was dressed in silver armor, his face handsome yet indifferent, with a vertical silver eye on his forehead resembling twisted lightning.

Behind him, a cape fluttered fiercely.

Erlang Shen, Yang Jian!

The opening scene was Erlang Shen capturing the Third Goddess!

...

My sister's eyes lit up, "So handsome!"

In the TV drama 'Journey to the West,' Yang Jian was played by Liu Zhengwen.

At that time, Liu Zhengwen's portrayal of Yang Jian sparked numerous discussions.

Everyone felt that Liu Zhengwen's Yang Jian, both in appearance and attractiveness, was truly outstanding.

And in 'The Magic Lotus Lantern,' Liu Zhengwen continued the look from 'Journey to the West,' and with the director's specially arranged cool, impressive, and explosive shots, the visual impact was still very strong!

Just then.

A dog appeared beside Erlang Shen.

My sister was instantly dumbfounded, turning to look at Antarctica, jokingly teasing, "You're playing Sky Roaring Dog again, and I lose immersion every time I see you!"

"Woof!"

Antarctica was smug, perking up.

Lin Yuan laughed; Antarctica was brought by him to the crew.

In fact, Antarctica only filmed for a few days before the production wrapped up.

Most of the time, the character of Sky Roaring Dog was portrayed in human form by a specific actor.

And as the camera continued.

What the Magic Lotus Lantern was, the plot finally explained.

It turned out to be a treasure that, reportedly, only someone with gentle mana could control, a truly precious item.

The Third Goddess only managed to contend with Yang Jian temporarily using this treasure.

Unfortunately, there was a problem with the treasure. She was no match for Yang Jian and ultimately, her brother, Erlang Shen, personally imprisoned her in Mount Hua, though her husband and son escaped with their lives.

Seeing this.

My sister said in dissatisfaction, "Why do I vaguely feel that this Yang Jian doesn't seem very kind?"

The Third Goddess having gentle mana indicates she's a good person.

Yang Jian imprisoning the Third Goddess, not sparing even his own sister, clearly sets him as the villain.

"Hard to say, the plot has just begun."

Mom shook her head, obviously an old hand at this.

My sister analyzed, "From the beginning, it seems that the Third Goddess violated heavenly laws by marrying a mortal and having a child. As the Judiciary God, Yang Jian had to capture his sister to enforce the law, it's just a matter of perspective, we'll understand as we watch more."

Indeed.

We'll find out as we watch.

In the first episode, when Yang Jian imprisoned his sister, nobody felt particularly shocked; after all, at this point, they had not yet developed feelings for the characters, and Yang Jian was the only one they were familiar with.

...

In the second episode.

Chenxiang had grown up.

Unlike his honest father, this Chenxiang was a bit mischievous and unexpectedly ended up in the underworld.

The underworld judge prepared to throw him into the eighteen layers of hell for intruding into the underworld without permission.

Black and White Impermanence were also demoted because of Chenxiang's involvement.

Then.

Erlang Shen entered the underworld and directly requested Yama to modify the Book of Life and Death, adding twenty years to Chenxiang's life.

...

Mom said, "He still cares for his nephew."

My sister remarked, "It seems that Yang Jian isn't a bad guy after all. He imprisoned his sister as a last resort. It's just that I'm a bit confused by the protagonist; it seems like Yang Jian isn't the main character of the drama, but Chenxiang is."

"Chenxiang is the protagonist."

My sister also nodded, "Yang Jian seems to be the secondary male lead? It's a bit different from the promotion."

"Yes, but the plot is quite interesting."

Mom seemed intrigued; the quality of 'The Magic Lotus Lantern' was quite appealing.

The sister next door nodded, "Could this plot be about the uncle helping Chenxiang in various ways?"

Lin Yuan remained silent.

There was nothing wrong with what the family said.

If only they could stick to their own opinions, it would be even better.

...

Not just Lin Yuan's family.

On the internet at this moment.

Countless viewers had watched "The Lotus Lantern"!

As the first spin-off drama from Journey to the West, this show garnered a massive amount of attention right after its release, attracting numerous people to jump on the bandwagon!

"Not bad at all."

"This drama is quite interesting."

"Erlang Shen is really handsome!"

"I originally thought Yang Jian was the antagonist, which gave me a scare, but seeing him being so nice to Chenxiang has reassured me."

"What are you thinking? How could Yang Jian possibly be the antagonist?"

"Teacher Yi'an's script is still quite good. The segment where Yang Jian enters the underworld in the second episode has a bit of a 'Monkey wreaks havoc in the underworld' vibe. The difference is that after the Monkey's debacle, Yama sued him, while Yang Jian altered his nephew's lifespan, and old Yama was so scared that he didn't dare to say a thing!"

"I just love it when characters are protective!"

This segment was actually a very exhilarating one.

It had elements like showing off and being protective, which are points web novelists have tried and tested repeatedly.

The only surprise was...

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

This drama was said to be about Yang Jian's storyline, but the protagonist turned out to be Chenxiang.

Although Yang Jian also had a lot of screen time, from the standpoint of the story's orientation, it obviously unfolded from Chenxiang's perspective.

Luckily, Chenxiang was quite likeable.

Even though he is an original character, he was well crafted.

"It seems that Yang Jian isn't the main character, but Yang Jian indeed has ample screen time."

"I'm now a bit worried that when Chenxiang finds out that his mother was imprisoned by his uncle, it might lead to a fallout between him and his uncle, turning it into a heart-wrenching drama."

"Damn, don't scare me!"

"Let's not, just watching him protect his nephew's growth is nice too."

"It's up to how Teacher Yi An writes it."

"Considering how good 'The Legend of Wukong' was, this drama should be decent too."

Overall, the reactions to this drama were pretty good.

However, because just two episodes were released so far, people couldn't discern much more.

Of course.

Among the positive comments, there were some slightly harsh critiques.

"What's there to talk about in this crappy show? The first episode just has Yang Jian imprisoning his sister, which absolutely doesn't fit Erlang Shen's character!"

"That's ridiculous, since when did Erlang Shen become a Judiciary God?"

"Adaptation is not about making stuff up, Yi An should apologize. She has completely deviated from the setting of Erlang Shen, and it's so awkward for me to watch."

"I only recognize the Yang Jian from the Primordial Chaos!"

"If it were the Yang Jian from the Primordial Chaos, he definitely wouldn't imprison his sister; he'd fight the Heavenly Court for her!"

"The Erlang Shen in Journey to the West is just a joke."

Clearly, these were fans of The Primordial Chaos stirring up trouble.

However, the number of fans of The Primordial Chaos wasn't doing too well these days.

The provocative pacing was quickly suppressed by everyone's discussions about the plot.

The key point is...

Everyone didn't think that the drama's portrayal of Yang Jian was in any way overdone.

The only controversial point about Yang Jian so far was that he had imprisoned his own sister.

Beyond that, he didn't have any other issues.

On the contrary.

He was very caring towards his nephew, showing a sense of familial concern.

Even towards Liu Yanchang, Chenxiang's father, Erlang Shen didn't do anything.

As for discrepancies with the character setup and The Primordial Chaos?

Who said this is the Journey to the West version of Yang Jian?

Overall, "The Lotus Lantern" had a quite promising start.

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ps: I didn't rest well today because of traveling, so I felt that my writing was not very smooth, and I didn't want to take a day off. I'll revise these two chapters tomorrow.