Heaven Official’s Blessing

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Eight hundred years ago, Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of the Xian Le kingdom. He was loved by his citizens and was considered the darling of the world. He ascended to the Heavens at a young age; however, due to unfortunate circumstances, was quickly banished back to the mortal realm. Years later, he ascends again–only to be banished again a few minutes after his ascension.

Now, eight hundred years later, Xie Lian ascends to the Heavens for the third time as the laughing stock among all three realms. On his first task as a god thrice ascended, he meets a mysterious ghost who rules over the ghosts and terrifies the Heavens, yet, unbeknownst to Xie Lian, this ghost king has been paying attention to him for a very, very long time.

Associated Names
One entry per line
La bendición del Oficial del Cielo
TGCF
Thiên Quan Tứ Phúc
Tian Guan Ci Fu
Благословение Небожителей
สวรรค์ประทานพร
天官賜福
天官赐福
천관사복
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
The Founder of Diabolism (25)
The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (17)
Thousand Autumns (10)
The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love (7)
The Legendary Master’s Wife (7)
The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (7)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Highly Recommended Danmeis (Best Reads!)
  2. Danmei series that I've read throughout the year P...
  3. read/reading
  4. Completed
  5. Mature Relationships

Latest Release

Date Group Release
11/29/20 Deep Dream Translations c40
10/07/20 Deep Dream Translations c39
07/18/20 Deep Dream Translations c38
06/08/20 Deep Dream Translations c37
05/17/20 Deep Dream Translations c36 part2
05/06/20 Deep Dream Translations c36 part1
04/19/20 Deep Dream Translations c35 part2
04/13/20 Deep Dream Translations c35 part1
04/06/20 Deep Dream Translations c34
03/26/20 Deep Dream Translations c33
03/09/20 Deep Dream Translations c32
03/01/20 Deep Dream Translations c31
02/23/20 Deep Dream Translations c30
02/15/20 Deep Dream Translations c29 part4
12/08/19 Deep Dream Translations c29 part3
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vinzha
vinzha rated it
June 26, 2019
Status: google doc
I don't know... I think I personally liked her other work MDZS better (like an established opinion).

Overall, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. On a subjective level, techniques like multiple flashbacks, intense graphic description, certain reused tropes which were also seen as turn offs for some people in both MDZS and this novel, are fine to me. But I have to agree with some that it wasn't executed as nicely as in MDZS. If you did like this work better, that's completely fine. These are just my... more>> opinions.

Spoiler

There are a lot of similarities that have, with her three works thus far, become a sort of trademark for this author. Mainly one-sided devotion under precieved death/separation for at least a good number of years, whether it was two, thirteen, or eight hundred.

Honestly, I was still fond of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian's relationship and their characters. Hua Cheng from birth was extremely downgraded, and thus the only light he could see from literal the depths of depression was Xie Lian due to him being saved by him. This becomes his sole characteristic apart from fearing his own ugliness, which is something that at times puts him at odds with being around Xie Lian due to self hatred. It makes sense, I guess, in a literal way. But it honestly also makes him less compelling, or less... coherent as a character.

I'll be using Lan Wangji from MDZS as an example, since they have more in common in terms of character builds compared to the ML Luo Binghe from Scum Villain. Both Hua Cheng and Lan Wangji went through a sort of "transforming character arc" behind the scenes away from the narrator protagonist. There's a notable difference in their personalities contrasting the years away from the narrative compared to the flashbacks of their past selves. Both are also very much devoted to the protagonists, and their role in the story is to literally be there for them when no one else is.

Some of the differences in character arc:

Lan Wangji's transformation occurs at the time of no return, where, due to the differences in the major antagonists and conflicts of the story, it alters the way Hua Cheng and Lan Wangji's roles are represented in the story. Hua Cheng is "the only one" for Xie Lian and will do anything for him point blank from day one. What made Lan Wangji compelling, or at least extremely endearing to me, is how in the past he had a crap ton of internal conflicts that led to him being "too late", which is interesting, coupled with inherent traits that become legitimate flaws hel later regrets dearly, like being unable to say or show what he really means, backfiring on him badly, and directly leads to an emotional drive to "be there for him". What Hua Cheng lacked when initially trying to help Xie Lian was simply "not being strong enough", which is definitely tragic but also really highlights how he really didn't have an actual character arc. Ever. And his relationship with Xie Lian suffers a bit too, not between them as characters necessarily, which is a main story development that had very very disproportionate emotional investment from the two sides, but rather the weight and value it has as a story device. Which is, also flat. Lan Wangji's failure in protecting Wei Wuxian was a problem with him as a person, Hua Cheng's failure in protecting Xie Lian was a problem with him as a sword. And this has nothing to do with the outcome like "oh but really Xie Lian is the one who has to kill the antagonist anyways" but rather how to do with how the characters perceived and changed themselves. Lan Wangji started actively supporting and showing Wei Wuxian he cares despite being naturally bad at showing emotions. Hua Cheng became a butterfly whisperer (after conveniently being brought back by Xie Lian's luck) and became stronger in all the superficial ways possible.

Lan Wangji has completed his arc essentially by Wei Wuxian's death, or at least in the thirteen years without him, but Hua Cheng's major growth was all rather superficial such as "stronger" and "is less nervous". Lan Zhan, who is notoriously called flat by some people (which I disagree with) has nothing on Hua Cheng, a character who was pulled out of su*cide by Xie Lian and... and that's it. I still do like him (ish) but he's definitely not my eternal son Lan Wangji. Of course, this is subject to opinion based on people's taste in personality. Character wise though, he's probably the flattest out of all of MXTX's devoted MLs, with Binghe perhaps being the most subversive and complex, and Lan Wangji being my favorite (and perhaps less complex in the main story line, but does his job and is a damn fine character).

Thus, this difference in how Lan Wangji and Hua Cheng has failed in the past and their differemt character arcs leads to a less resonant main story for Hua Cheng and Xie Lian in regards to Hua Cheng's character and their relationship. Because of how lacking in emotional/personal repercussion other than seeing Xie Lian die because he physically was incapable of helping him, the actual effect Xie Lian had on Hua Cheng also feels... superficial? Despite it obviously being not? The reason is because other than directing his entire existence on Xie Lian literally, Hua Cheng doesn't have much else to go off of in terms of... anything else. Which inadvertently makes it feel superficial. Perhaps I'm being hyper critical for no good reason, but the emotional payoff just isn't as strong because of the lack of a character to even speculate on.

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I will say the emotion in the writing style itself was good. Scenes by themselves were good. However, the way secondary characters were treated in this story was not very satisfying nor effective, which was disappointing.

Spoiler

I do have to say that chapter 124 by itself made me bawl every time I read it quite literally, and it's mainly because Shi Qingxuan is my baby and I, like every other reader, am mad about how he was handled afterward. I mean sure, you can give reasoning that it has to do with the whole theme of "losing everything due to external sources of conflict that involves you anyways" but character wise it wasn't handled very well, with his portrayal basically falling flat by the time he was reintroduced as plot device. It's not unreasonable in the setting, but is very anticlimactic and has very low impact, which means narrative wise it's very weak.

Her minor characters are as always well likeable and interesting, but many fall to the wayside I'm assuming for theme building rather than plot AND theme building. I guess the worst one in this case would be He Xuan's arc, which tackled a lot of interesting things that made me think, but was also jarringly disconnected after the ordeal. I wish the aftermath was expanded upon and directly affected the rest od the story without it being little convenient plot devices.

[collapse]

Honestly I would still read this again. And let it be known, I LIKE IT. Quite a bit. It's still a decent work amongst others in this genre. I just... don't like it as much MDZS. It's completely fine if you do. Again though, a lot of personal taste will dictate these thoughts. I will probably write more when I have the time.

Things I like a lot are:

Her writing style. I still really like this writing style of hers. I do think as she progresses from each work they become more and more graphic and detailed as well as more serious. It's a subjective like, and also the flashbacks are a personal kink of mine.

I liked the characters. Yes I ripped Hua Cheng a new one above but I still enjoy him, as his base personality is fun to read, even if his character don't do it for me. I liked both the main characters andthe minor characters, especially Shi Qingxuan. They were all interesting and likeable even if at times poorly handled.

I liked that she tried to put a lot of thought-provoking themes and philosophies in there. By themselves, the individual scenes were very good at carrying the emotions of the situation.

Probably the main stickler was the overarching plot and the stagnant characters.

4.0/5.0 <<less
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Platos_Redhaired_Stepchild
Platos_Redhaired_Stepchild rated it
October 24, 2018
Status: c11 part2
So far Heaven's Official Blessing has not disappointed. Hilariously funny one minute and then heartbreaking the next like the author's other stories "Scum Villain Self-Help System" and "Mo Dao Zu Shi". The story follows The Flower Crown Prince aka the worlds' crappiest Martial God. He's a God of War that wants to feed the poor and shelter orphans. How bad at his job is he? He got booted out of Heaven twice for trying to help the common folk! Very un-God of Warlike of him. He gets a 3rd shot... more>> at redeeming himself. He has no money, no powers, 2 useless "hand maidens" to babysit, and demon stalking him. <<less
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Usedthisonce
Usedthisonce rated it
May 23, 2021
Status: c239
So this is what happens when you lost in your own lore,

I have tried to love this novel, I wish I could and I'm tried, I stopped reading this like ten times and always comeback because I want to know what's my friend talking about.

They said it's a legend, epic, tearjerking and emotional experiences I cannot found anywhere else

And this is none of it. It's not the worse novel but this doesn't... doesn't deserves 4+ rating. I may sounds harsh and rude but this is what I felt. This... more>> is what a disappointed person sound like.

I don't know if I should do pros and cons of this novel, because what I think is a bad things I found other readers praising it. But if I'm not I will look like a hater, I've been scolded so much by my friends when I said I don't like this novel and it's pained me.

Anyway, here's my reviews (I can read English just fine but writing in this language is not my thing)

The MC, he's a person who is soft spoken and kind to others, his goal (if he has one) is to help other in need. But as you read through the story he doesn't seem like he want to help people that much, because in facts, he doesn't help other at all. The only thing I can think he help other without gaining profits is open a casino instead of letting bad people open it. He will help you if you are helpful to him, he's not really a bad person and actually decent, but author want to trick us to believe in something she can't write.

The ML is the best part of this novel, he is a bit creepy and stalker yandere type but he's unique. Although his flaws, backstory, personality and reason doesn't match he's the best male lead of mxtx in my heart. A cutie who is trying to win his gege heart

The story... Is not important, I know it's weird but this novel first priority is the background setting, then the couple, then tragedy. There's actually nothing going on in the story. You can skip 50 chapters and you will not miss anything except two of them flirting while other suffering.

Let's talk about the worse part in my opinion, the world building, I can tell she spends a lot of time writing and planning but I don't think she doing it carefully. You don't just put anything you think is cool in your novel and hoping it works. It's so messy and I can't tell if this is supposed to be cultivation novel, politics novel, business novel, romance novel, you can put all of them in one but only if you know how to balance things. Her writing style is simple and organized in her previous novel, funny and naive in first novel,and in this novel she lost all of them, she lost all her charms while still can't get out of her fall in love > lost the love > suffering > happy ending loops. The only thing change is that the charecter becoming more and more bland while the world is becoming more and more of a mess.

If mxtx introduced you to bl world then welcome, I know some of reader have a bias for her novels. But there are so many things and novels for you to fall in love. You can think of her as the best writer for bl but if you want to explore your own library, why don't you try some novels out there for a while then coming back to read this one. Change the writer, the style of novel to prevent yourself from getting to obsessed with one writer. I'm not the kind to stick to what I think is best so idk how a fans of someone works feel. I'm sorry if I sound rude or this sounds like I'm thinking her fans only read her novel and only consists of a newbie for bl. I know that's a lot of her fans are veterans.

This is a bit tiring to write... <<less
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dee_ism
dee_ism rated it
March 10, 2020
Status: Completed
I like the story and their adventures, it's very entertaining. On scale, it's larger than MDZS.

I am an avid fans of mdzs and start to read this novel with that standard. But it lacks many thing from mdzs. The most noticeable point is, the lack characters depth. Everyone just lack of depth, even Hua Cheng and Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng, our best boy, do all the things due to his love for Xie Lian. But, in all honesty, it start as a devotion of believer to the God, I don't understand... more>> how it can become love which last for 800years.

Compare to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian who get attracted with each other since the very beginning, the difference between their personalities but they complete each other, they have the same moral compass and belief, they trust each other, they understand each other, their feeling cultivated oh so naturally, and you just can help but LOVE THEM TO THE CORE.

So in all honesty, I am disappointed with Heaven Official Blessing, but still, the story is still engaging. And Hua Cheng is lovely. <<less
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Alta
Alta
May 14, 2019
Status: c20 part1
Edit: The review sounded harsh. I must be pissed off when I wrote it. I apologize. Should have kept my words to myself instead.

Gist of original review: Unapologetically ungrateful and blamed the translator that releases were slow thus ruining content.
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Lansizhuisss
Lansizhuisss rated it
February 7, 2021
Status: c244
Well... it’s not great. It’s not terrible, but personally, I found it incredibly meh. Now obviously everyone’s opinions are different and you can’t please everyone, but this book was such an incredible miss to me, especially considering how much I enjoyed this author’s other two books (despite SV having a main ship I did not ship at all but let’s not talk about that.) I think there’s a lot to improve here so let’s start at the beginning.

This book is split up into five “books” (a.k.a volumes), and books 1,... more>> 3, and 5 are in the “present” storyline while 2 and 4 are flashback to our MC (Xie Lian) ’s past. The novel opens up pretty slow, and I honestly lost interest super quickly, and even considered dropping it. Even fans of the series weren’t a huge fan of the pacing at first. The MC seems cute and you want to learn more about them, and you meet some funny side characters, but otherwise it really is not that special. The first two arcs move by incredibly slowly, and barely add to the story, as I had basically skipped them on my first readthrough, and my experience towards the middle and end was barely detracted besides being mildly confused at a few points. That being said, the writing and world building are amazing at first glance, and I really do find the first two arcs at least mildly interesting on reread. The side characters seem interesting and you want to learn more about them, and the main duo seem likable and deep... but everything goes downhill from there.

The second book launches us into a flashback of when Xie Lian was still a crown prince, and personally it comes at the worst point imaginable. It comes from a cliffhanger with Xie Lian threatening to mu*der a ghost named Qi Rong, and then bam, flashback and no resolution to our previous problem. This is a theme throughout the book. There’s some really tense scene full of action and high stakes, but then bam, backstory/romance time, and the conflict is magically resolved. But back to the flashback of Xie Lian’s life in Xian Le.

Spoiler

It starts with him performing at a ceremony to honor the gods when things are abruptly cut short by a child falling off a cliff. He catches the child and takes him to a doctor after seeing the miserable condition that he is in

[collapse]
. Frankly, if you were reading this, skipping most of the first half of this volume really won’t make that much of a difference.

It was certainly an interesting choice from the author to include such a different pace and tone right after the first volume, and honestly, it wasn’t natural. In this book, it was volumes of flashback at a time, with only certain repeated movements (that aren’t even memorable) linking the present and past together. Some may like this juxtaposition, but for me, it was a bit odd to read.

And then after that, there’s a war, some fan service s*x pollen, Xie Lian’s fall from grace, blah blah, it’s not that interesting. And we’re back to the present. In book 3, a lot happens. I won’t go over it all here, but I will go over some of the parts that irked me the most. First of all, there was this super uber romantic moment where the ML, Hua Cheng, gives Xie Lian 3000 lanterns, allowing him to take first place at this battle of the lanterns contest. But like... it’s played off so casually? Like the book just goes ‘haha Hua Cheng rich and famous he can light a ton of lanterns” and thats it. It’s literally so casual and gives me none of the super romantic feeling it’s supposed to.

Another thing that irked me is the ending of a certain arc. After the arc had ended,
Spoiler

the Wind Master, the main character of the arc, is left in the hands of the black water demon and forgotten about, while Hualian go off on the side to romance some more and Xie Lian just forgets about him.

[collapse]
It was super unsatisfying and frankly it made me want to drop the book because of the way the author treats her side characters.

Finally, it’s the main couple. Remember how I said they were likable in the beginning? Well, not anymore. Xie Lian is such a Mary Sue kind god who is perfect and enlightened, and it annoys me. He has no discernible flaws besides “insecure, self loathing, and bad at cooking”, and those are not even flaws I consider to be a serious detriment to his character. I get that trying to be a good person is hard, and I’m not saying that good people are boring, but what I want to see is them struggling at being a good person, like literally everyone else does. And plus, he’s a total hypocrite. When Hua Cheng is being an a**hole, he let’s him be and never calls him out, and yet when anyone else is being an a**hole, he gets super angry and calls them out on it. It doesn’t help that Hua Cheng, someone I genuinely thought was funny in book 1, became an as*hole with no motivations besides “protect Xie Lian” here, and who is so overpowered that nobody can call him out.

And with the “no motivations thing, ” Hua Cheng really doesn’t have motivations. He loves Xie Lian and that’s his only personality trait. He has like two relationships outside of Xie Lian, and his entire life revolves around Xie lian. It’s supposed to be super romantic but... it isn’t. It’s just dumb. Oh yeah, and
Spoiler

remember the child that fell off the wall? That was him. but like, he interacted with Xie Lian at a max of 5 times before falling in love with him for 800 years and dying for him 3 times. It’s dumb

[collapse]

And then book 4... whew. This is where Xie Lian’s backstory really gets ‘angsty’. I really could not care less because Xie Lian was not a character that appealed to me in the least, but for those that liked his character, this book is heart wrenching. But to me, it’s unnecessary suffering. There’s a lot of suffering that doesn’t really have to be there. Like sure, it leads to a minimal amount of character development, but it’s so overdone and over the top it stops feeling like a plot point, more like angst for the sake of angst. And Xie Lian in this volume.... I won’t go in depth but... he’s just s*upid.

And then there’s book 5 and the final battle. Like really, for people who’ve read the book, what was that? Xie Lian and Hua Cheng defeat the big bad with the power of love, Hua Cheng
Spoiler

fake dies but his plot armor is so thick I didn’t care

[collapse]
and they romance some more without thinking of the implications of the ending of the book and that’s it. It’s incredibly s*upid and disingenuous.

Oh yeah, and everyone praises this book for the romance. It’s.... okay. The real devotion and true love isn’t there really, only some decoration and props, and most of the main couple’s interaction is cheesy flirting and shoujo tropes. There were some powerful moments, but the romance, the biggest part of this book, fell the flattest for me, not only because it felt more like window dressing than anything else, but also because I didn’t care for the main couple.

In the end, I really wanted to love this book, but it was just so hard. The boring protagonists, the poor resolution of side arcs, and the cheesed up romance all ultimately contributed to a boring experience. If you come into this expecting anything near the level of MDZS, you would be sorely disappointed <<less
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Kingbananya
Kingbananya rated it
November 2, 2021
Status: --
I tried so hard to like this book. I think that's the problem with a lot of us who just can't seem to get into it. We come in with too high expectations to come out disappointed. I pushed myself to read it all, but somewhere around the middle I could no longer bear it. It became a torture and a chore. Once I decided to stop, a burden from shoulders lifted.

Honesty, the main couple is the worst of the story. I like and enjoyed the humor of the side... more>> characters. Feng Xin and Mu Qing were the best. The self depreciating humor from the MC was funny at first, but after the big flashback, it just went stale.

And that's another thing. What's with the longass flashbacks? It really takes away from the story flow. Not only that, but they're solely dedicated to depicting tragedy. Tragedy upon tragedy upon tragedy for no reason other than to fish for tears and sympathy for the MC. Sure sure, he has bad luck and suffered a lot in his life. But it just got to be too much it became ridiculous. Instead of sympathetic feelings it just annoyed me, and I couldn't wait to finish the darn arc, only for it to be stretched out around the world and back.

And the ML. He has no personality. His whole existence is to live for this guy, stalk him for hundreds of years since childhood. People romanticize it but it's plain creepy. I understand hero worship from a child, but going from that to full on stalker and then romance, not to mention that he has no life whatsoever outside the MC. It's not healthy. <<less
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08phamann
08phamann
May 31, 2021
Status: Completed
I was very disappointed with this novel.

I came from watching a few episodes on the animation, and my best friend, who had read the novel and watched the animation, recommended the novel as she said that the humor was more evident and the MC's inner thoughts were the highlight of the novel.

So off I went.

... more>> And boy do I regret.

There are a few issues I have with this novel.

The MC is boring. He is initially introduced as this guy who was prince, beloved by his people and a shining star, but fell from grace and glory and is now someone who is down on his luck. No one respects him and he is basically a joke of the heavens. Obviously he had a hard fall from where he was. He was basically put on a pedestal and he tried really hard to stay on that pedestal. But, he fell and it was hard. But the initial impression we had of him was someone who has gone through all that shit, and came to terms with it and is now at peace. Which is why he is a doormat and just goes with the flow. He doesn't stand up for himself, he lets people talk sh*t about him to his face, and he doesn't try to change his image. He just went along with it. Because he was fine with it. But then some things happen and it is revealed that MC was not cool with it. He still had some trauma from his past and hadn't gotten over it. Except when this was revealed, it just felt, plain wrong. MC up until now was so boring and just went along with everything, this change in his character felt very OOC. It seems weird to say that when MC finally feels some negative emotions, that he is acting OOC, but honestly that was the way he was introduced and I could not come to terms with it.

Plus, MC boring AF. Idk what his goals are. What he lives for. What he wants in life. His standards are so damn low, and I'm not saying this in a humble way. It's so low that I feel disappointed and don't really want to keep reading about such a loser.

The plot is boring. The novel is very episodic in that there are several smaller arcs that eventually unfold into the larger ending arc. These arcs mainly consist of MC going around solving mysteries, like the heavens version of Sherlock Holmes or Mystery Inc, complete with unveiling the true villain and a handy explanation to boot. Except these little mysteries never interested me as the characters and their problems were s*upid and boring to being with. Also, ML just tags along on these little adventures and MC doesn't even question it.

The cultivation system sounds s*upid. You rely on luck? Or destiny? To ascend. And your power level is dependent on the number of believers you have. Which is s*upid as it sounds very precarious. It just sounds like a popularity contest. It's not based on your hard work or skill or perseverance. It's just based on how popular you are.

The villains. Lame.
Spoiler

So many villains disguised as friends, honestly I was expecting MC to turn out to be a villain as well. Tbh I really did like the Earth Master/Black Water Demon. He was an interesting character, but his revenge wasn't really satisfying and fizzled out in the end. Going undercover to make friends with your enemies, becoming his best friend and then torturing him and his brother for stealing your fate was a bit twisted but I personally don't feel it was satisfying, especially since you don't really know what happened in the end.

The main villain was just a loser. His motives were s*upid and ret*rded. He saw MC as another version of himself so wanted to groom him into his follower? So he devoted so much of his brain power to basically bring al this suffering to MC so he can turn to the dark side as well. We find out that all the bad things that happened are because of the White no face guy, who is also the heavenly emperor, who was also the Prince of an ancient kingdom that fell. But he has been keeping an eye on MC and everyone else all along, playing them like chess pieces and no one knew the wiser. Which just sounds ret*rded.

His ending was ??? The final battle was major disappointment I think MC basically just tackled him into a wall and he defeated? Lame. Weak. Loser. He didn't even die. I think he went away to a mountain with his teacher in the end. But he killed so many people? He a bad guy? And MC just let him go because he was not bad anymore? Wtf?? Plus ML's totally unnecessary sacrifice of himself in the end was just redundant as he came back eventually anyway. Lame.

[collapse]

The romance. What can I say. Lame. Stalker. Boring.
Spoiler

If ML was alive all this time, why not approach MC? He was alive for 800 years but all he did was stalk MC and like sculpt erot*c sculptures of MC in a secret hideout? Lame. Just confess already you noob why wait 800 years.

[collapse]
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Mdzsfcker
Mdzsfcker rated it
April 12, 2021
Status: Completed
Honestly.... why do people like this lmao

This book just gives me so much frustration and whiplash it isn’t even interesting to read anymore.

MC is annoying saintly saint who has no personality besides being a pure boi who blushes a lot when ML teases him.

... more>> ML is op Mary Sue who has no personality or motives outside of MC but also his love for MC who is a saint doesn’t make him a good person either for some reason though he admires MC for being a saint.

Plot is loosely connected and just bad with 0 tension because MC and ML have plot armor 3 miles thick and even the final battle is s*upid and over in 2 seconds after more than 40 chapters of buildup.

Side characters are interesting but then wasted and thrown aside so the main couple can flirt and be domestic. MC frequently forgets he should be making sure his friends don’t die a terrible death and not be romancing with a ghost king.

There’s 200 pages of flashback drama torture p*rn yet this doesn’t affect MC at all and he has little to no character growth for the rest of the book. ML of course has no character growth (as if he had a character in the first place). Romance is low stakes, low tension, you know they’re gonna’ get together no matter what because their thick ass plot armor.

Honestly just bland if anything, and a huge letdown from the masterpiece that was MDZS. The writing and planning quality just dropped off a cliff <<less
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engineer001
engineer001 rated it
February 17, 2021
Status: --
I DNF.

The novel is too "one-sided", I feel like this takes the things I dislike the most about MXTX's writing style and amplifies them. I would like to see things from another character's perspective, Xie Lian is...... too boring a lead for us to only ever see things through his eyes. And he's constantly wronged/bullied/self sacrificing for no real reason other than because novels that do this to 1 character only cater to a specific (and fairly sizable) crowd, despite it being bad writing -.- Xie Lian is wwx-ed to... more>> the extreme.

Hua Cheng's character is extremely flat for a lead character I feel there's not much depth to his character at all beyond his devotion to Xie Lian. He's just... there to support, love and be overall invincible. -.- (Maybe there was more, but I gave up after 50+ chapters and I skipped here and there to read more later on) I just see anything written about him that made me interested in him, at all.

I find the fairly unlikable "couple" of Feng Xin and Mu Qing a lot more interesting - and I wish the novel was about them instead lol. <<less
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kieralikescake
kieralikescake rated it
July 17, 2023
Status: C111
I honestly want to love this novel and it pains me to give it 3 stars. To be fair, I have quite a high expectation with how famous and hyped it is on twitter and Weibo. I only manage to read (with difficulty and at snail speed) up to book 5 out of 8 books, and I'm afraid I can't stomach it any longer

1. Overall I find the story to be incoherent and all over the place. It seems like the supporting characters are the ones driving the story while... more>> the main characters are merely observers and got tagged along
2.

Spoiler

In book 2 during the flashback to when Xielian was a Taizi 800 years ago, Xie Lian had good intention but also was extremely naive, so he ended up not fixing or solving any problems he set his mind to. He failed both as a ruler and a leader, he tried to solve the draught issue by summoning rain to a small area once a week, all on his own, just one person! And of course the people still migrate to the capital and cause more conflicts. The most frustrating part to read in this arc was the dynamic between Muqing and Fengxin, I don't understand one bit WHY Xie Lian chose these two to work together so closely? I know they're capable and loyal, but they can't stand being in each other's vicinity even if their lives depend on it. Their bickering and slandering just reflects negatively on Xie Lian's ability to choose his subordinates and his judge of character. It's difficult to relate to XL which also makes it hard for me to root for him.

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3. Romance-wise, I know Hua Cheng has been in love with Xie Lian for 800 years and he's a devoted worshipper, and that seems to be Hua Cheng's entire personality. I wish he was portrayed with more depth and personalities. As for Xie Lian, his reactions toward Hua Cheng is similar to high school girls... the blushing, will he, won't he etc. Lots of "scenarios" and "accidents" that put them into the laying on top of each other and doing CPR like in shoujo manags, I find these to be too cliché and cheesy to be enjoyable. XL and HC dynamic is just too bland, I wish there was more tension between them or more conflict for them to overcome together.

Again, I truly want to love this novel, unfortunately it doesn't meet my expectation and I will be dropping this... <<less
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Misa07
Misa07 rated it
May 25, 2021
Status: Completed
I'd actually rate this novel somewhere around 3.5 cause I did enjoy this enough to just put it at 3, but not enough to get to 4.

If you love unconditional love which transcends the boundaries of life and death, you might love this novel

The Plot and writing:

Pretty good. I like the idea, and the execution was well done too. In fact, I think the strong point of this novel is the plot itself. The only thing that actually got me going. The plot twists were well done... more>>
Spoiler

especially the MingYi is actually He Xuan like- I DID NOT EXPECT THAT

[collapse]
, and the general storyline was good. Also the flashbacks were well written, and I could feel the emotions of Xie Lian in the fourth book. All in all, the plot is an 8/10.

The Characters:

Ah this is where it goes downhill. They're flat. Not like, utterly emotionless, mechanical flat, but when you give us a character like Wei Wuxian in a previous book, you cannot expect us to like characters like Xie Lian or Hua Cheng. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate them, but they don't make me feel for them like the way WWX does. The side characters are also as fleshed out as the leads are (at least they're not worse, I guess), Honestly, I felt that Xie Lian had more of a character in the beginning of the novel, but it gradually got flatter
Spoiler

I really loved in the beginning, when he was just a prince and he was not afraid of the gods, and had his own sense of right and wrong. It gave him a sense of character, and I loved it. Sadly it somehow disappeared

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All in all, 4/10

The CP:

Not the best out there, not the worst. They were cute, but the ML's entire life revolving around the MC kinda gets boring if you're writing a 244 chaptered novel. I understand that was the whole point of this novel, but I just don't like it. From the MC's side, I don't understand his emotions. The flow from that-is-an-interesting-guy to oh-shit-I-love-him did not feel smooth enough, at least for my liking. Overall, 6/10

TL;DR: You can give it a shot, it's not worthless, maybe it's the type you like, idk. I'd probably not read it again though lol <<less
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saphire8626
saphire8626 rated it
December 2, 2018
Status: --
read this in chinese.

absolutely loved this. It's my favorite mxtx work because of its sheer scope and ambition. There is so much going on in this novel, it's such a treat reading this.

i think this book is quite polarizing. I think I can understand, since some of the flashbacks are really very long and my chinese is really very mediocre so I skipped some scenes.

but despite that, I really enjoyed this book because of the strength of her characters. Her characterization is always so well-done and each character is very... more>> distinct and so fun to read about. I really loved learning each of their motivations and seeing the arc that each of them goes through. This novel has her usual blend of hilarious-ness and angst, and I think this is the novel that expands on the little bit of social commentary we see in mdzs.

and this is not even mentioning the two main characters. I love xielian because I think it's rare that we get to see such a soft main character and I love his dynamic with huacheng so much. Fans may come after me but I think the sheer length of this book allows mxtx to develop xielian/huacheng's relationship much more satisfactorily than her previous novels. Their relationship growth was really such a treat to read, and honestly some of the best parts in this story.

really love it. I hope the translators will finish this so there'll be more fans <<less
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momicchi
momicchi rated it
March 6, 2023
Status: Completed
I finished reading this a long time ago but am writing this review now because I've read a lot of other novels since and have a better idea of why this one was underwhelming for me.

First off, I want to say that I love the storytelling and worldbuilding in all of MXTX's works, including TGCF. The key issue for me here is the main couple.

1) Xie Lian and Hua Cheng are almost too perfect. Xie Lian is self-sacrificing to an unbelievable degree and doesn't really make mistakes that significantly hurt... more>> anyone other than himself. He's bad at cooking and... that's about it. Honestly, you could argue that he doesn't make mistakes at all; he just gets punished for being a good person. Hua Cheng is all-knowing, all-powerful, and literally only has one weakness: calligraphy. He's also been completely devoted to Xie Lian for centuries.

How exactly did Hua Cheng's feelings for Xie Lian persist for so long,
Spoiler

even beyond death, when he only interacted with him when he (HC) was a child

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? How was Xie Lian able to accept such a ridiculous amount of physical and emotional abuse without any lingering resentment? I still don't know.

2) The romance between the two is unbalanced. I've read a lot of novels where the ML spoils the MC or vice versa, but this is one of the only ones that feels almost entirely one-sided. Hua Cheng's feelings reach the point of religious fervor. Thinking back, I can remember tons of times where Hua Cheng saved Xie Lian, helped him, celebrated him, pined for him, etc., but I can't remember a single time Xie Lian did the same for Hua Cheng outside of their few interactions during flashbacks. Granted it's been a long time since I've read the novel, but I think it's telling that I can't remember any instances of Xie Lian acting anywhere near as devoted to Hua Cheng as Hua Cheng is to him.

3) Unlike in MDZS and SVSSS, we don't really see the process of the two falling in love with each other. We see Xie Lian saving Hua Cheng in the past and Hua Cheng practically worshipping Xie Lian in the present, but we don't see them growing together or learning from each other (minus
Spoiler

Xie Lian teaching Hua Cheng how to write

[collapse]
, I guess). It's hard to tell much of their love for each other was based on feelings of indebtedness or pity.

4) The protagonists are far less compelling than the side characters and antagonists. The latter are written in ways that give them depth and make them relatable. I could empathize with them because I understood why they did the things that they did. (This was especially true for
Spoiler

Jun Wu

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. It was honestly hard to root for Xie Lian at points because the main antagonist's reactions and decisions felt so much more realistic than his.)

Normally, well-written side characters and antagonists would be an unequivocally good thing. However, in TGCF it highlights the shallowness of the main characters' personalities. Take Hua Cheng for example, whose entire character seems to be based on his relationship with Xie Lian. Compare him to the ML in MDZS. Lan Wangji has a complete background and storyline even if you take away Wei Wuxian, but can the same be said for Hua Cheng? Then there's Xie Lian, the MC who's righteous in all the ways that matter and flawed only in ways that don't. How many of the "right" things that Xie Lian does are as believable as the "wrong" things that other characters do?


I don't think TGCF is a bad novel overall. However, with regard to the main pairing and their romantic development, this is my least favorite of MXTX's works. <<less
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Nengath rated it
February 2, 2023
Status: Completed
Ten reasons why TGCF is probably the best thing I ever read:

1) It was my first danmei and it made me fall in love with the genre, while I used to scoff at web fiction in general. Now I'm obsessed with Chinese style fantasy and I spend sleepless nights reading articles on the intricacies of Chinese poetry to decipher metaphorical allusions in online writing.

2) I'm a sucker for dark folklore, gore, misery and vanilla romance. TGCF checks all the boxes.

3) The novel is exquisitely romantic. I'm talking about eight hundred... more>> years of incidental encounters, wishful longing, ceaseless chase and sudden embraces. Hua Cheng sees Xie Lian as a treasure that must be carefully kept in the depths of his heart. Xie Lian is curious about his identity, but Hua Cheng avoids giving an accurate answer, so he's waiting with the thought of slowly getting to know it without rushing ahead. I love how they dance around each other, Xie Lian acting the shy maiden, Hua Cheng playing the cheeky young lord. There are some wonderfully melancholic scenes, and every word of affection is straightforward and to the heart.

4) If I had to pick one favorite thing about this masterpiece, it would be the main character, Xie Lian. There's this deep beauty surrounding his character in the books – despite the failure of his romantic ideals, his quiet and soft despair, he keeps looking for love. He represents to me a sort of soft power, in the way he approaches everything with finesse and perceptiveness, also his use of courtesy and humor as a shield is awesome. That's why I would have liked for him to be reborn as a flower deity during his third ascension. It was the author's earlier idea for the novel, and it would have symbolized his journey, from a warrior prince with many dreams that fell apart too soon, to a beggar who paid for his errors with tears, blows and blood.

5) Hua Cheng is so utterly loyal to Xie Lian that he seems unhinged to others – and he's marvelously f*cked up. But he isn't inherently beautiful, good or talented. He changed his fate through sheer force of will alone and worked for eight hundred years to become his best self and his own person independantly from Xie Lian. To this day I still wish we got more Hua Cheng backstory! I especially want to know more about his weird not-friendship with Yin Yu and He Xuan. These three guys would make the hottest boy band.

6) The plot is remarkably intricate for such a long webnovel. There's no formal connection between the different stories, other than the thematic echoes, but Mo Xiang Tong Xiu is able to relate many subplots harmoniously to explore the thin line between fate and choice, identity and role-play. The whole thing is structured by the pairing of characters, the interplay of opposites and some beautiful imagery. All the small details have significance, like the coral pearl earrings, Hua Cheng's umbrella and the red string around his third finger. And when you reread The God-Pleasing Ceremony scene after finishing the whole series, you notice that it is full of ominous symbols, like Xie Lian wearing a golden mask to play Jun Wu. That scene illuminates the rest of this story in a fascinating way, TGCF being at its core a tale of masks being thrown off, and of the liberation that comes with embracing one's true self and desires. I just feel like I could talk about this series forever, there are so many little paths you can explore every time you read it.

7) I think the main theme is that morality is gray. You can't villainize one single character, even the most evil ones of the bunch have motivations, feelings and detailed narrative arcs. Meanwhile, the good ones are confronted to their ignorance, privilege and failings. The story is told through Xie Lian's point of view, but you're always invited to see things from another character's perspective. I'm thinking here about the Mu Qin haters who only judge whether what he did was wrong or right without going into his background or motive. But when you look at his side of the story, you begin to understand why he acted the way he did. These side steps bring so much more nuance to the narrative and to Xie Lian himself – he was a naive and self-centered child, and in my opinion, Mu Qin's only crime was shattering that perfect image he had of himself.

8) I love the narrative style, now grave, now light. If I had to define her writing style, I'd say Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's prose is fast and sensory, like a screenplay with interior monologues. It seems plain at first, but the sharp imagery lends it great charm without showing itself. For example, the symbolism of masks, veils and disguises conveys the theme of fate and true love beautifuly. The scene in which Hua Cheng reveals his true form to Xie Lian behind a red curtain in Ghost City reminded me of the time he lifted Xie Lian's bride veil in the forest. And even though descriptions are scarce, some passages are visually striking – the scene in which Hua Cheng guides Xie Lian through a rain of blood always gives me chills, and my heart just flutters every time I imagine the cart scene when they meet under a shower of fiery maple leaves. The characters are destined to cross paths again and again in a flamboyant atmosphere, and to catch a glimpse of the other's eye through a red screen, as if nature itself were changing into a marriage veil.

9) Gender doesn't really factor much into this novel. Capable women are popping up all over the place and many gods like Shi Qingxuan know how to shift between genders. Xie Lian himself is androgynous enough that he just has to put on a dress to look like a princess. When he dances in his god-pleasing costume to bless his kingdom, he even embodies the unity of yin and yang. I'm a fan of the gender bender genre, so both Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian are trans in my headcanon. I also love the emphasis on wholesome masculinity and bromance - by the way, Feng Xin was definitely in love with Xie Lian.

10) Due to censorship, there is no explicit s*x scenes (sad face), but Mo Xiang Tong Xiu is nothing if not creative. The s*x pollen scene and the ghost king's bedside story (in which Xie Lian reads p*rn to Hua Cheng) are intensely hot. Hua Cheng also gets Xie Lian to call him gege in an extra chapter! I love how Mo Xiang Tong Xiu uses wordplay as foreplay. I think it's really tasteful and hilarious and leaves things up to the imagination. <<less
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sojo2006
sojo2006 rated it
January 27, 2022
Status: 200+
Okay, so like I'm not here to come and absolutely dog on the book, becuase don't get me wrong- I loved it. I read the whole thing in like a week and then looked up the extras online. But a few things definetly gave me the ick.

  • first and foremost I LOATHED the use of kisses as 'transferring spiritual power'. It was infuriating, emberassing, lame, and frankly kind of lazy. As suave and awesome as Hua Cheng is, he couldn't have found a less emberassing way to kiss the LOHL? The author continuesly shoved this little plot device around with only one reaction to it, some rando god who just said something to win the battle and the kisses weren't even that awknowlaged by the ML and MC.
  • Secondly, I think although the charachters were amazing and great and loveable, only a select few had depth, and sooner rather than later that depth was traded for a role as a comedic sidekick of some sort. The Wind Master- great charachter, likeable, multi-dimentional, interesting- and then he was just traded for the funny one-liner pesant. On top of that, I didn't understand how pain and suffering for charachters who did nothing wrong is entertainment. Also, the whole black water arc with the wind master and his brother was mad confusing and I still don't get it- months later. ESPECIALLY since they acted like they were chilling with black water when they fought the Emperor and later at the reopening of the shrine
  • Fen Xing and Mu Qing deserved better and I will stand by that. Their charachters could have been so cool and awesome, but they were not only watered down to the bickering sidekicks, they were watered down to the bickering sidekicks with unresolved history with Xie Lian. I don't understand why they had to be so uptight and snarky and then suddenly they're all buddy buddy again? Girl. Both charachters were told from Xie Lians perspective, which like with Hua Cheng, they're watered down to 'the buddies' instead of strong martial gods like they're supposed to be.
  • Pei Ming deserves his own point, so let it be known that 1/3 of my stars is specifically for the charachter Pei Ming
  • Lastly, although I do appreciate a ML with no thoughts, just love for the MC, with Hua Cheng it could get a little tiring. We have 200+ chapters of him being head over heels for Xie Lian, 800+ years in the novel. All of this pining and 'unrequited' love, yet theres no emotion shown in action with this. I understand the novel is shown in Xie Lians POV, but with him we got the akwardness and chilI get that he's a ghost king, and a ghost, but bro.... u can make him blush a little or something T-T. I feel like adding any simple human actions would make the interactions between charachters so much more belivable and interesting.
*guys I really can't spell bear with... more>> me T-T <<less
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Raven Omen
Raven Omen rated it
December 21, 2021
Status: Completed
I don't usually write a review but I'll make an exception for this one.

Overall, for me, this is a 6/10 story. An enjoyable experience but not amazing.

The thing I liked the most was the plot, MXTX definitely upped her game in this novel. I'm a sucker for stories that features seemingly unrelated mysteries that are revealed to be all connected in the end as some part of big plot the main antagonist has been concocting, though the execution in this one needs some work. The mysteries all were connected to... more>> a heaven official in some way so that a disgraceful secret of their past would be revealed. It was kind of a critic, of sorts, to those old men and women who so liked to seat in their high horses and playing god like they were really one. Those arrogant officials seem to have forgotten that living for centuries, being so talented as to ascend, and having spiritual powers would never change the fact that they are still humans - they were born as humans, lived as humans for some time, feel emotions like humans, and make mistakes like humans. A true god would never do even one of the many mistakes they've done and certainly wouldn't rely on how many believers or followers they have to be powerful. A god is all powerful because they're a god.

So that's the good part. Now, onto the bad...

In my opinion, it would definitely be the main characters - the MC, Ml, and the antagonist.

Let's start with the Ml.

To put it simply, he's blander than overcooked oatmeal. We know next to nothing about him. Well, we do know some things about him but they are usually revealed as some tidbits and from the point of view of the MC.

Spoiler

We know that he had a rough childhood and was discriminated against, that he may or may not be the third child in his family, that he likes a certain type of flower because of the MC, that he died for the MC, became a ghost king for the MC, that he's arrogant but has deep insecurities mainly that he's ugly (which he isn't, have you seen the official art, he's smoking hot-) and that the MC wouldn't want him...

You see the pattern.

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We never know what he's truly thinking or his opinions about some things or the people he's met or his view of the world, not even the MC himself.

If we get to know some things, it's always MC, MC, MC, MC....

It's a wonder that he didn't turn himself crazy by how often his brain thinks about the MC.

Spoiler

And for 800 years at that?!? I mean, has he ever cared about someone else in these long years...

[collapse]

I heard that MXTX wanted to write a part where the ML is singing a song he heard when he was young but removed it in the end. I wish she kept it, it would have been glimpse of what he experienced. Like, where did he heard that song? From whom? Was he still in contact with that person? If not, did he miss them? It better not be the MC.

His personality is alright, I guess, but we never truly get to know him, on a more profound level. He's just a waste of character development, really...

I have more problems with him but I guess I've said enough.

As for the MC, despite what I'm going to say, I actually like him a bit. He's not my favourite in the novel but he's the best written compared to the other two. But he also has his flaws.

MC is... not bland or boring per say but kind of flat?

He is kind, humble, very positive despite his bad luck, patient, hard-working but isn't good with house chores, doesn't get embarrassed easily, intelligent, selfless, doesn't get mad easily...

He's a good bun. A bit too good, in fact. He's so nice and optimistic that when he does show any negative emotions, it's unexpected or worse OCC.

I actually liked him better in the flashbacks.

Spoiler

The main parts that defined him were still there. He had a strong sense of justice, was kind, selfless, and his main goal was to save the common people. But he also had other things about him.

He was naive and stubborn as 17 years olds tend to be. He had his own sense of right and wrong and acts by it no matter what anyone says. Even if the person wanted to help him by giving him an advice, if that advice goes against what he values, he wouldn't listen.

He was overconfident and reckless as 20 years olds tend to be. He thought that he could save an entire country alone since he ascended and by doing the right thing, everything would be alright. And when everything didn't go as planned, he becomes desperate and does more reckless and sometimes irresponsible things.

He was also a bit carefree as princes tend to be.

His goodness wasn't the only thing about him, he also had his flaws and his actions had consequences, no matter if he ment good or not. He felt a bit more real.

Compared to that, his character now feels a bit more flat. It makes sense since he lived 800 years and learned from his mistakes but he also lived for 800 years. Surely he could have had new aspects like a hidden bitterness against the world or a grudge against the heavenly officials that could have been shown more often. Thankfully, his stubbornness and recklessness when it comes to saving lives still persists or else he'd truly be bland.

[collapse]

I also have other problems with him about other things.

He lived alone in poverty for centuries and he still isn't good at cooking or fixing things and he is strangely ignorant of the change of trends despite living among mortals for centuries. I know he once lived as a prince, but he lived in poverty for CENTURIES. He should have learned new things.

Another thing but it's not entirely about the MC.

When MC made a deal with White no face, that if nobody helps him in three days, he would become his follower...

I never understood why the righteous characters in stories who are about to lose hope in human kindness make a sort of test to test people on their kindness.

So what, if these strangers aren't kind? So what, if these strangers are kind? It wouldn't change anything. You can still do whatever you want. These strangers are only spectators in your life, their kindness or their harshness wouldn't and shouldn't change your abilities or your goals. Plus, have they ever considered these strangers' point of view? I don't know about others, but if I saw a person stabbed in the gut with a sword and if that person is still alive after three days, I wouldn't want to help them, I would think they are an evil spirit. Especially since there has been a war recently. Maybe he is enemy soldier and helping him would get me accused of high treason.

Fear is a strong emotion, stronger than goodwill and kindness. That's why normal people are able to do cruel things.

Moreover, why wait for someone to help you?

If no one wants to help you, then help yourself. If you cannot help yourself, then convince them to help you. Even if they lost their kindness, surely they didn't lose their logic, needs, or greediness. It doesn't matter if they are not helping you out of the goodness of their hearts, as long as they are helping you.

What's important is if the people you surround yourself with are trustworthy. If they are trustworthy, who needs a stranger's kindness? You can just ask these trustworthy people to help you out.

MC's could be a bit confusing at times. Along the story, it seems like he learned from his mistakes but at the same time didn't learn. Also, I didn't like his relationship with the ML. It seems like MC never gets angry at ML when, in my opinion, he should have been. The change to romantic feelings was a bit abrupt, honestly. (Also, the ML's obsession with the MC was a bit creepy at times, even the characters in the story pointed out.)

Before starting the story, I saw many people criticize the MC for not having a goal and being a "go with the flow" kind of character. I thought that was unfair since many people in real life are fine with having no ambitions and there's nothing wrong with that.

After reading, however, I see where they are coming from. MC not having a goal or something he wants to do in life makes him seem more of a doormat than he already is. His passivity could get tiresome after long enough.

Spoiler

Though I do think the confrontation against White no face kinda fixed that though a bit incompletely. MC tried to stop the Emperor because it was the right thing to do, not because he wanted revenge or closure. It made him look even flatter.

[collapse]

I still want to talk about the antagonist, but this is getting too long so I'll just say his motivation is sh*tty and petty.

Also, I didn't like the ending, it left me unsatisfied.

Anyways, that's it. It's a good read, I would recommend it, but don't expect anything amazing. <<less
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blrblrb
blrblrb rated it
November 16, 2021
Status: c104
I love MDZS and SVSSS but I just can't get into TGCF.

The first book was really good but it went downhill from there. Honestly, it's really boring to read. A lot of the important story building and character development is told through stories that the characters share or through flashbacks. As readers, we hardly get to experience it firsthand. And all of those flashbacks are so brutally boring to read.

Also the characters personalities are not well developed. They have complex backstories, but their actual personalities lack dimension. They react to... more>> events in a very casual way and it comes back to bite them because they didn't properly deal with it the first time. Their emotions aren't expressed and described enough. We just get short and shallow reactions from them.

Spoiler

I think MXTX focused on fleshing out the wrong parts. For example, I've seen so much fanart of the lanterns scene, but the actual lantern scene was so lackluster and was over in 3 pages. It wasn't romantic at all! Instead we get chapters and chapters of Qi Rong screaming and causing shit??? Like what???

[collapse]
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Catladycult
Catladycult rated it
November 12, 2021
Status: --
I just finished reading this novel. I watched the anime first. The first time I tried watching, the subtitles were so bad I couldn't understand anything, dropped it after ep 2 and the show became a meme for me and a friend I watched it with. "Oh, is it as good as heavens official blessing?" Lmao. Then it came to Netflix and there was so much hype I had to try again. This time I quite enjoyed it, surprisingly.

So I joined the fandom and started the book. I honestly wish... more>> I hadn't. Now it's gone back to meme status with me, but I'll give it 2 stars because there were a few things I enjoyed. Book 1 was my favorite, with limited romance and lots of humor. I went in knowing the tags yes, I love a good angst, a good tragedy, hell sometimes I look for them. But they must be relevant to the plot and well done. Tgcf could have benefited from a more linear plot line, starting from when he was a child and following up to his 800 years of life. Its okay if there are time gaps. I've read marvelous fiction that follows the entirety of the MCs life without resorting to plot heavy flashbacks. But that's not even my main issue. My main gripe with the flashbacks is that they're just angst p*rn. They're like those fanfictions I can't stand bc they just annoy me. I, too, love a good cry. When I'm moved by the characters, moved to tears by their pain, or rarely, by their joy. This book did not move me. It made me chuckle at times, and it also made me cringe and roll my eyes at the absurdity of the plot twists, the never ending tragedy, the useless MC that can't do anything right, the awkward cheesy times the ML chose to come save his princess.

I get why people like it. I can see why a 800 years devoted handsome young ghost king would be romantic, but it just isn't for me. <<less
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chuwanning2
chuwanning2 rated it
August 23, 2021
Status: --
i will only say two things:

1- mxtx needs to learn with meatbun how to write a novel with more than one point of view.

2- l think there's something wrong with a novel when I care more about the supporting characters than the mains. I will never understand the hype with Hua Cheng. The author didn't develop the character, it's like they exist only to be Xie Lian's love interest.
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