# Tales of Dark River (2025)

> A Chinese wuxia series in which three rival assassin clans fight for control of a feared guild after its leader is poisoned.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/175822

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 38
- Episode runtime: 39 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: action, drama, fantasy
- Created by: Munan Zhou
- Network: Youku
- Cast: Gong Jun, Peng Xiaoran, Chang Huasen, Yang Yutong, Kong Xue'er, Shawn Zhang, Cheng Tao, Qin Chuming
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32613876/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: tense, melancholic, sweeping, visceral

## What critics say

Viewers praise the martial arts choreography, visual artistry, and character-driven storytelling, while the series holds a modest audience rating.

## Synopsis

Blood River (2025) is a Chinese wuxia series created by Munan Zhou and produced for Youku, adapted from a web novel. The story follows Su Muyu (Gong Jun), who leads the Spider-Shadow unit of the realm's most feared assassin guild, jointly run by the Su, Mu and Xie clans. When the patriarch is poisoned on a mission, Su Muyu shields the dying leader on a desperate road toward a cure, clashing with the elder Su Zhe and his old friend Su Changhe (Chang Huasen) while he meets the master healer Bai Hehuai (Yang Yutong). Each episode is built from brutal power struggles, sect raids, and courtly assassinations, with clan loyalties constantly tested. Shot with lavish martial arts choreography and striking visual artistry, the series carries a tense, melancholic register that balances bloodshed with a yearning for a new destiny. Set in an ancient jianghu-style realm, it is a single-season, 38-episode serialized martial arts drama in which order matters, and fans of Swords of Legends and Joy of Life will find resonance in its intrigue and combat. Viewers who enjoy clan rivalries and assassin politics will find much to savor in this sweeping wuxia saga.

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