General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Dance of the Sky Empire (天舞纪)

Dance of the Sky Empire (天舞纪) is a 2020 Chinese television series, a costume fantasy romance set in a Tang-dynasty-style world where humans and demons coexist, adapted from the online fantasy novel of the same name by the web novelist Bu Feiyuan (步非烟).¹^•² It consists of 28 episodes, was directed by Zhao Jintao (赵锦焘), and premiered on iQIYI on 8 July 2020.¹^•³

Key fact	Detail
Original title / English title	天舞纪 / Dance of the Sky Empire (also listed under the alias 妖气长安)¹
Format	28-episode costume youth campus drama, Mandarin, about 44 to 45 minutes per episode¹^•³
Premiere	8 July 2020 on iQIYI; season ran July to August 2020³
Director / scriptwriter	Zhao Jintao (director); Zhang Haifan among the credited writers¹
Source	Bu Feiyuan's online fantasy novel of the same name²
Lead cast	Xu Kai as Li Xuan, Wu Jiayi as Su Youlian, Hankiz Omar as Yun Shan, Zhou Junchao as Xiao Fengming, Li Junchen as Yu Fengmu¹
Production	Co-produced with Perfect World; chief producer Yang Bei; distributed by iQIYI⁴

Spoilers

Premise and story

The story is set in the prosperous Tang era, in a world where humans and the demon Kunwu tribe live uneasily together. Ten years before the main action, the human national preceptor Zi Ji sealed the Kunwu Dragon Emperor Shi Xingyu (石星御) with the Chenyue formation (magical barrier/spell used to seal the Dragon Emperor); the Kunwu lost the war and their people were reduced to servitude.⁵ Before her death, the nineteenth holy maiden of the Kunwu pronounced a curse: ten years later the Dragon Emperor would awaken and the human race would perish.⁶

Two young people on opposite sides of this conflict enter the human academy Moyun Shuyuan (摩云书院) in the capital Qingtian City. Li Xuan (李玄), played by Xu Kai, is a mischievous youth of mixed human and demon parentage whose fate has been arranged to make him the human race's guardian as the next national preceptor.⁵^•⁷ Su Youlian (苏犹怜), played by Wu Jiayi, is the holy maiden of the Kunwu, who infiltrates the academy under a false identity on her master's orders to obtain the token that can unseal the Dragon Emperor and free her people.⁸ The two begin as quarreling adversaries, gradually fall in love, and with their fellow students face the conspiracy around the Dragon Emperor's revival, ending in a new era of peace between the two peoples.¹

In the finale, Li Xuan defeats Shi Xingyu, destroys the Chang'an formation, and frees the demons imprisoned by the human race; the war is averted and the responsibility for protecting both peoples and rebuilding Chang'an falls to him.¹

Cast and production

The series reunited Xu Kai and Wu Jiayi, who had previously co-starred in Arsenal Military Academy.² The supporting cast includes Hankiz Omar (哈妮克孜) as the Sha kingdom princess Yun Shan, Zhou Junchao as Xiao Fengming, Li Junchen as Yu Fengmu, Yu Xintong as Long Wei'er, and Zhang Cengceng as Feng Changqing, with veteran actor Chen Baoguo appearing as the crown prince's tutor.¹^•⁹

Production companies included iQIYI and Perfect World Pictures, with GHY Culture & Media also credited; the prospectus of GHY Culture & Media lists the series with Yang Bei as chief producer, Zhao Jintao as head of directors, and Perfect World as co-producer.⁴^•¹⁰ The theme song was "Qingdong de Guang" (情动的光) performed by Chen Xueran, with "Dou Bu Hui Bian" (都不会变) by Ye Xuanqing as the ending song.¹¹

Reception

The series drew a mixed spread of scores across rating platforms: 5.4/10 on Douban, 9.3/10 on TVMao, 8.1/10 on MyDramaList, and 7.4/10 on IMDb, according to a Japanese-language review roundup.¹¹ Chinese commentary praised its light comedy tone, special effects in the battle scenes, and appeal to young audiences, with one review noting that the drama's youthful campus framing and dense comedic beats gave period drama a lighter register.¹² A Sina Entertainment review was more critical, calling the plot formulaic and comparing some gags, including a male cross-dressing sequence, to jokes used in Xu Kai's earlier series.⁶ A comparison piece in Sina asked why the series did not become the breakout hit that The Romance of Tiān Bǎo era comedy The Romance of Chen Qianqian was, pointing to the similarity of Xu Kai's role to his earlier characters and a perceived lack of chemistry between the leads.¹³

Distribution

The series streams on iQIYI, which holds the original run of all 28 episodes.⁵ In Japan it was broadcast from May 2021 on LaLa TV under the title Tianwu Ji: Tokimeki Renku Shoin (天舞紀～トキメキ☆恋空書院～) and is available on DMM TV, Hulu Japan, ABEMA, and Lemino.⁸^•¹⁴ In India, JustWatch lists it as streaming free with ads on MX Player, Amazon MX Player, and Prime Video Free with Ads.¹⁵ A Japanese DVD box set was released on 14 January 2022.¹¹

The source novel

The drama adapts the first part of Bu Feiyuan's eastern fantasy novel series Tianwu Ji, published by Jieli Publishing House in January 2008 in two volumes, Moyun Shuyuan (摩云书院) and Longyu Siji (龙御四极), with sequels Meiyue (魅月) and Zangxue (葬雪) issued by Wanjuan Publishing in 2009, and a revised edition published by China Overseas Chinese Publishing House between 2018 and 2020.¹⁶ The novel follows the street youth Li Xuan's entry into Moyun Academy, the awakening of his past-life memories, and the crisis surrounding the seal of the demon king Shi Xingyu.¹⁶

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026