Skip to content
Michelle topham logo with white border

Michelle Topham

British-American journalist writing about C-drama and K-drama

Primary Menu
  • C-Drama News
  • Reviews
  • Drama Titles
  • Posters and Stills
  • Drama Music
  • My Favorite Douban Comment
  • Who is Michelle Topham?
  • C-Drama News

Sword and Beloved hits 8,500 on heat index – Cheng Yi and Li Yi Tong killing it so far

Michelle Topham October 26, 2025

Chinese wuxia drama Sword and Beloved kicked off with its first episodes on October 25th, and has already grabbed the attention of millions of Cdrama fans.

So much so, and to no surprise to me or any other Chinese drama fan who enjoys Cheng Yi and Li Yi Tong‘s performances, Sword and Beloved has already exceeded 8,500 on iQIYI’s heat index, and it’s just getting started.

According to iQIYI, the Cdrama hit 8,500 soon after Episodes 6 and 7 premiered.

In response, the Chinese streaming platform released two new visual — one for the 8,500 milestone Sword and Beloved crossed (above), and a previous one for the 8,000 it first hit while on its way (below).

They also commented about the plot as it stands right now:

The shadow of the sword blazes across the land, and passionate blood surges to new heights!
Thank you, dear fans, for your unwavering support all along!

Sword and Beloved not only stars Chang Yi and Li Yi Tong (in a superb pairing, I might add), but also features Guo Jun Chen, He Rui Xian, Tan Kai, Ken Chang, Chang Hua Sen (who is currently also killing it in Blood River), and Fan Ming.

The Chinese drama released 15 very cool character visuals right before it dropped and, just in case you missed it, Cheng Yi’s portrayal of Wangquan Fu Gui had already grabbed 600 million character popularity points just hours after the first episodes of Sword and Beloved dropped.

Head over to iQIYI to give it a view. I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed.

About the Author

Michelle Topham

Michelle Topham

Administrator

British-American journalist currently residing in Vienna, Austria and obsessed beyond measure with C-dramas, a subject I have been writing about for more than two decades. How many C-dramas have I watched? Many many hundreds. How many are still in my backlog? Hundreds more.

View All Posts
Tags: Cheng Yi iQIYI Li Yi Tong Sword and Beloved Wuxia

Post navigation

Previous: Cheng Yi’s ‘Sword and Beloved’ Wangquan Fu Gui grabs 600 million character popularity points hours after premiere
Next: Cheng Yi’s portrayal of Wangquan Fu Gui hits 800 million character points – Sword and Beloved protagonist heading rapidly towards 1 billion

What is Michelle Topham?

Mmm

A blog dedicated to Chinese dramas founded by Michelle Topham -- a British-American journalist who spent almost two decades living in Asia, and wrote about Chinese series for most of that time. That's me!

Come on, if I'm this obsessed with C-dramas, you need to be as well.

CURRENTLY WATCHING

The epoch of miyu

The Epoch of Miyu starring Wallace Chung and Zhu Zhu. Streaming on WeTV.

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA

X - @AnimePowered

Flipboard -  @MichelleTopham

Pinterest - Michelle Topham

Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy and GDPR Statement
Michelle Topham ©2026 - All rights reserved.