Dongguo Xiaojie

Kinda sad to see how underrated both these shows are, especially seeing how both of them have two solid female leads - a rarity in the 2D world. Both are donghua that are set sometime in ancient China, where people and supernatural entities live together. Humans possess inhuman powers, and our MC undertakes a hard/dangerous journey in order to achieve the goals she has in her mind. Sure, she's saved by guys, but she saves MORE guys in turn. She doesn't need anybody's help to achieve her goals, the romance (if you can call it that) is never the main focus, she carries a heavy emotional burden that she's unable to share with anybody, and best of all - she's extremely smart and knows how to get out of a sticky situation by using her BRAINS. Shocking, right? read more 

Not surprised that nobody's made this recommendation, honestly. Well, similarities between both shows include a medieval fantasy setting where people have supernatural powers, a female MC who sets out to avenge the wrong that was done to her parent, her being out of her element in a world she's never set her foot on, meeting handsome young guys on the way who are inexplicably attracted to her and finally coming face to face with the people who made her life miserable. On a side note, I'd like to add that while Yona is often perceived as a "strong" female lead, I'd say that Xiaojie is a *legit* strong lead. read more