Cheng Yi’s The Journey of Legend character Xiao Qiu Shui has just exceeded 300 million character popularity points on Tencent Video, with the streaming service releasing a new poster (above) in response.
That milestone means Xiao Qiu Shui has earned 100 million additional popularity points since he hit 200 million just three days ago.
Tencent Video commented about the character popularity milestone on their Weibo account,
#Cheng Yi’s Character Popularity Surpasses 300 Million# #Join the Journey, Express Love for Yi#
Breaking through barriers and defying fate.
Congratulations to Cheng Yi (@成毅) for surpassing 300 million in character popularity on Tencent Video, making his the fastest character to reach 300 million on the platform in 2025 so far!
Meanwhile, on iQIYI, where The Journey of Legend is also streaming, Cheng Yi‘s portrayal of Xiao Qiu Shui has also earned another 100 million character popularity points.
Another poster featuring Cheng Yi was also released in celebration.
That brings the total to 400 million points across both platforms, and cements an annoying fact, as some fans are pointing out.
The fact that, if The Journey of Legend had been exclusive to Tencent Video/WeTV, and not streaming on two platforms, the number of character popularity points Cheng Yi’s portrayal of Xiao Qiu Shui would have earned on Tencent would be markedly more.
The Journey of Legend is now streaming on both iQIYI and on Tencent Video, although more people seem to be watching it on Tencent than on the other streaming service.
A total of 14 episodes are out so far.
International ratings for The Journey of Legend
Meanwhile, international fans are rating The Journey of Legend on sites like iQIYI (9.8 out of 10), on My Drama List (MDL) (8.0 out of 10, which has dropped from an 8.3 just a few days ago), and on IMDB, where it is being slammed with a 3.4 out of 10 from almost 3,000 reviewers.
MORE: Gorgeous ink wash posters released for The Journey of Legend
Now, the low IMDB rating is very likely a result of Cheng Yi’s “anti-fans” showing their disdain for the Chinese actor, so take that ridiculously low rating with a pinch of salt.
That being said, The Journey of Legend was my most-anticipated C-drama of 2025 yet I have not been able to get passed Episode 3 either so far.
That is due to the low budget-looking production (although the Chinese drama was not low-budget), the less than stellar writing, the mediocre performances (Cheng Yi’s is decent, some of the others are not) and the uninteresting, confusing plot.
That’s why, as it stands right now, I have the Chinese drama on hold with a possibility I may go back to it at some point.
For those of you still watching it, however, enjoy that Cheng Yi’s portrayal of Xiao Qiu Shui has earned the character more than 400 popularity points so far.
And that means millions of people must be enjoying the Chinese drama, right?
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