Novoland: The Castle In The Sky 九州·天空城 - Episode 2 (Recap)

kakashi: Holy Moly, Wingkind Emperor is hot. I don't even know what else to write, it's kinda all that comes to mind when I try to summarize this episode. Since there is a lot of him, I liked it a LOT.
JoAnne: Despite a universal belief that I would haaaaate this show, I absolutely love it. I can't stop laughing and I am constantly wondering what will happen next. Don't get me wrong - it's terrible. Absolutely terrible. But it's the best possible kind of terrible and I am in love with all of them.
SakiVI: yes, Wingkind Emperor is why I kept watching. The others aren't that interesting.  

Episode 2

In the dungeons of the Stars Court Bai Tingjun and Yi Fuling are about to kiss ... when horrible pain shoots through his body. It's a Corroding Bone Nail. Of course, it is.  Sounds charming! The one who gave it to him said: "If you have any romantic thoughts, you will suffer the agony of a thousand knives, ten thousand cuts, bone corroding, heart-piercing pain". Ouch. And all of this so that he could protect Yi Fuling! But so mean to give it to a BOY who had no idea what romantic thoughts could be.
These people take their chastity rings seriously. How much do I love that for once, it's a boy who had to make the commitment not to even try, not a girl charged with changing herself so as not to tempt someone else? I'll tell you: I love it a freaking LOT.
That's a good point regarding a proper chastity prevention treatment: treat the boys. Also, the person who gave it to Tingjun wasn't exactly the sweetest personality. 
Okay! No smoochies for these two. Poor Fuling, she's heartbroken! Later, the managing director (his name is Yin Chi) - sporting a shiner - decides on her punishment: Every day, a flogging of 7 lashes, for 7 days. Ouch. Tingjun begs to be able to bear them in her stead, but nope. Utterly frustrated, Tingjun puts his energy into finding out who is behind this evil plot. Yeah, guess who ... the needles that killed the two guards lead him straight to Huanzheng. Uh-oh.
I'm thinking Yin Chi is embarrassed and retaliating. Jerk.
Some rule they had, but totally unnecessary to use it when they could simply have thrown her out. 
Tingjun drags the timid Huanzheng in front of the management, to clear Fuling's name. Huanzheng says: Fuling is innocent, it was him who tricked her! Tingjun is furious, because he was expecting this poor guy to rat Feng Tianyi out. Boy, never - don't you know how scary the Wingkind Emperor is? And Yi Fuling, who knows the truth about the Emperor's involvement, does not want this guy to take the fall for her. She says it was all her idea and she will bear the consequences.
I like this girl. I really do.
All this noble idiocy is annoying. The Emperor is at fault here.
Well, apparently, this Flogging is so severe that Tingjun expects her to die from it. It's also a public flogging, because this Stars Court is slightly perverted. I remember warning you, hahaha. She is put on display like this:
Tingjun tries one last time, by claiming it was all his idea. But here comes the Managing Director, chiding him, with the Emperor in tow. Fuling glares at him. He definitely gets a kick out of enraging people.
That little greeting. What a DICK. I love him.
And just because he can, he whips Tingjun. I don't understand this. Why does a STUDENT get to administer this punishment? For being disobedient. In case you're interested in the details: he's had the whip since he was 10. Its exterior is golden jade, the interior soft iron. It's a noble whip and hence, it should be used to carry out this punishment. The two Humankind guards who saw him kiss Fuling claim he had "a romantic encounter" with her, and he sneers: "Are you referring to how this stinky girl kissed me for no reason at all?" Ahahaha, I'm laughing so hard. Tingjun is provoked again, of course. Tianyi gets all the points.
He better fall HARD for this girl and get raked through the mud for it. I want to smack him! But I also want to kiss him.
Tianyi has this teddy-bearish handsomeness that is totally kissable. 
And then, he whips her. Goddammit, you are a bastard.
Right? I expected him to pull his punches, at least. This shocked me.
Woah, the blood! 
What can I say, the good guys continue trying to stop him. I'll just use this opportunity to put up a lot of Feng Tianyi pictures. By the way, did you notice their hair pieces? They each signify something about them.
Ohhh, nice catch! On the left, we have the gadget guru. On the right, Big Bird.
Tingjun gets so desperate, he even tells the Stars Court masters they are going against all of Humankind if they allow this to continue. That's a sacrilege. The Stars Court is the institution established to keep the peace, and hence, it needs strict rules. Of course, the Wingkind Emperor gets such a kick out of Tingjun kneeling in the dirt. And continues whipping Fuling. 7 lashes in total. And then, a polite little bow.
It's hard to maintain outrage when they're so gorgeous, but I'm holding on by a thread.
This whole scene was disgusting. 
Fucker
To the furious Bai Tingjun, he suggests he should turn around and kneel before him - maybe he'll be lenient with the whip tomorrow. Ah, but when they unbind Fuling to take her back to her prison, two of Wingkind Emperor's lackeys whisper that their master has a sharp tongue, but a soft heart. He whipped her as lightly as possible - in comparison to the lashes he gave Tingjun earlier.
No, you are wrong. It would be possible to whip more lightly, I'm sure. He drew blood. (But my ship stops taking on water, all the same.)
I think he had to make it at least believable, in front of the Masters
Once there's blood, that means she can get weak, and sick, and die. Because they're not treating her injuries. 
They are treating them, as she tells him in episode 5 (it all heals very quickly).
All of this is just pushing Tingjun to the brink ("a place of no return", he calls it, and he feels that our Emperor forced him there: correct). He decides to break into the prison with his posse. Yi Fuling has now been put into a glass box. This prison is so fancy!! Respect.
These sets are so much better than Ice Fantasy sets. Seems like overkill for a school, though. Is it a school, though? I know it's called Stars Court but it's a school, right?
Yes, an academy
Top schools are always a sort of utopia. And personally, I found the sets a bit cheap-looking despite all the money spent on them.  
The first one to attempt a break-in is Yu Huanzheng though. There are a lot of mechanical gadgets there and he is totally into them (including the traps / defensive mechanisms. It's clear that a pro built this high-class prison!). Quite obviously, Huanzheng is Novoland's equivalent of a hacker.
I like him.
Yes, he's the other character I like: Wingkind Emperor for the charisma, and this kid for being cute and smart. 
Outside, the Wingkind Emperor meets with a figure in a cloak ... nothing this traitor tells him is news to our Emperor ... but he takes note of how the Crown Prince would have never guessed that the one to betray him is his best buddy. Oh no. Poor Tingjun. It's this guy, name: Qi Luolin (Li Guo).
Damn.
Now, the Crown Prince is going in. He joins forces with Huanzheng, but getting Fuling down isn't at all easy. Oh, but looks who is here: the Emperor. Tingjun gets to be a bit angry at him, but very soon, mechanical clicks are heard. The Emperor coolly says: "We're in trouble, let's go". And he walks out all comfortable, as the doors close. The other two barely make it.
Oh my God, he's such an ass. But you notice he helped there, at the end?
Oh, yes. 
Oups, Master et al. are waiting for them at the prison entrance. Feng Tianyi quickly steps to the side and says: I just heard about their plan to break into the prison, I didn't want to do it myself! Haha, you scumbag. This time, his slyness doesn't save him, he is punished with the others. Kneeling all night it is.
Serves him right! But why was he there in the first place? Was he going to try and save her?
No, he knew from the traitor that the others were trying that already. Maybe he knew they wouldn't stand a chance and went to ... help? See them fail
And as they kneel (bound together), we learn that Jishu, Fuling's father, used to be a pupil here, but was expelled due to a commoner woman (Fuling's mother). Why, what did Fuling's mother do? (I expect it's what they did TOGETHER) He is a genius inventor of all kinds of mechanical gadgets, but most of them are forbidden items around here. Except for the prison he built, it seems. Oh, our Huanzheng owns two of his (banned) books! At this point, the Emperor tells them to shut up and read what's written on one of the wall paintings.
I have a feeling we're going to get a frenemy bromance and that it's going to be pretty epic.
Tingjun's nose is so - there. 
People could trip over it, actually.
It is Stars Court Rule No 58 and it says: "If a commoner disciple wants to enter the court to learn, he must enter the Floating Mountain Ridge alone, to train." If the person can exit safely, the person will be accepted as pupil. Oh. and Oh! Emperor thinks that's the only way to save Fuling from dying (or rather: "One is hopeless while the other offers a slim chance to survive"), but Tingjun objects that there is the Flame Core Machine Armor! No, I'm not making these things up.
I would say this was written by a 12-year-old boy but the guys are so good-looking, I suspect female involvement. Plus we have a badass heroine.
That nose is so thick...
And then, it's morning, and Mr. Wingkind Emperor gets ready to flog Fuling again. But actually, he says his hands hurt - and he orders Yu Huanzheng to administer the punishment. JERK. JERKJERKJERK. As if! He can't do it. We don't get to see who does, but we see how Tingjun gives Luolin a jade tiger with no tail - it will summon 700 of his personal soldiers.
Oooh, civil war?
Tingjun is an idiot. All the energy goes into the schnozz. Of course, traitor Luolin goes straight to the Wingkind Emperor, who finds it all very amusing. He also changes his clothes from light blue to sexy black all the time. Not that I mind (but could we see him change please?) ... that black overcoat is beautiful!
What does this guy look like in real life? Off to Google. 
He's cute. He was a secondary character in WuXin, and I absolutely loved him there. 
Back to the prison he goes - and presents Fuling with a letter that Tingjun wrote to summon his soldiers and the tailless tiger. She knows it well, because she was the one who broke off the tail when she was a little girl. Tingjun's treason is punishable by death! But - the Emperor has a way to save Tingjun AND Fuling. Oh wonder. Of course, she immediately petitions the Stars Court Leader to go into the something, something Mountain Ridge.
Somehow I think this was the Emperor's goal the whole time. Sneaky, sexy little bastard.
Why not say it right from the beginning, though? 
That night, Feng Tianyi goes to the entrance with Yu Huanzheng in tow. There is a Star Cycle Wheel which opens the gate and will only let one sole person enter. The Emperor frightens Huanzheng into breaking the wheel so that Fuling can easily escape. Alone at home, the Emperor whispers: "Star Flower Deity Amulet, I'll finally be able to get you".
We'll see about that, Mr. Emperor.
So, he's been hanging around in this school just to get this amulet.
The next day, the gate is opened - Yi Fuling is armed with one of Huanzheng's gadgets. The Wingkind Emperor declares he has a gift too ... and force-kisses her. Well, truth is, he mouthfed her Skygrass, claiming that's the REAL way to do it. I doubt that is true, but it does take effect! Right after she awakens the Flame Core Machine Armor!
So in the space of a second or two, he spoke to her, fished the grass out of his mouth and into position between his lips, and kissed her. Boy's got skills.
Yes, really, I'd even call them Skillz.

Comments

Damn, these recaps take me forever to write, even though the episodes are only 30 minutes long - too much hot! I want to capture every expression of our Scumbag Emperor!
And we thank you for it.
In that last gif, I wanted to tickle his chin.  

It seems that Feng Tianyi's plan was to get that door open at all cost (and to anger Tingjun as much as possible in the process). Well played, man. He seems utterly ruthless and almost despicable, but the truth is, we already see that he isn't a 100% villain. Maybe 98%? He knows how to mistreat and discard people, but he is doing things that hint at him caring, ever so little, for Fuling, who is brave and fierce and kinda looks like his exact opposite. He also help Huanzheng out, when the door was about to squash him. Okay, maybe he does that because he realized he'll need his skills. Anyway.
I suppose we can hope he wants that amulet so he can save the world from a future disaster only he knows about...
Or maybe he has some personal goal.

The story is progressing nicely and swiftly. What does our Mr. HOT want with that amulet that the something-something Armor is guarding?
You know what, it's only episode 2 and he could want it to help him with his math homework and I would not care, he just needs to keep doing jerk things and being sexy and I'm his.