This author really understands how to weave thoughtful plots and complicated characters. I of course compared it to her masterpiece, MDZS, and found this novel to be more uneven and drawn out, but nonetheless, it's a wonderful read. The main characters have a great deal of depth, and the ideas of love and loyalty really pull at you in this book. Beyond that, humanity and morality in general are tackled, which are never easy subjects. I'm excited for whatever work she comes up with next!

MXTX, she never fails to amaze me with her masterpieces. Finally, completed read all of her works. Especially this latest one, it really amazing the main characters and their relationship, the plots development, the characters development, and the side characters also impressed me so much with their solid backgrounds.

Can't wait to watch donghua and live-action version.

What's there left to be said exept that it's amazing? It's cute, there's comedy, it's touching, it's sad, even heart wrenching, I cried here and there.

I adore all characters and their relationships.

The romance is just on point, the couple precious, I mean (^-^*) /

With this one I've officially read all three MTXT novels and I'm definitely not disappointed by her works (^-^)

Just finished reading this giant book the other day and it blew me away. Due to the complicated setting it was hard to read in Chinese so I kind of gave up after a while then picked it up again then gave up again then went to read the English translation then couldn't wait for more translation and finished the last 45 chapters in Chinese with no regrets. It's been a long journey but it was worth it (along with watching MANY MANY youtube videos that's enough to make one... more>> tear up).

I loved the linking story line throughout that 800 long years period. The mystery, the cast (her books have the best assembly of side characters). There's no clear black and white, good and bad. All of them were individuals with their own motives. I love the slowburn too. The sweetest kind of romance that at the very end just punches one in the gut. Now off to read the extras. I do hope her next book comes out soon. <<less

This novel quickly became my favourite of all time!
I thoroughly enjoyed the characterization of both the main couple and the various other side-characters who each had something interesting to bring to the story.
Now, speaking of the story, I give it a 5/5 without reserve as it truly deserves it. I think that the story takes some time to truly pick up but by the appearance of the ML I was already hooked. The imagery is just fantastic, at multiple times I found myself thinking "if someones animates this-" because the description (full but not overbearing) is simply breath-taking. It's what one would qualify as "aesthetic", I'm sure. The imagery in relation to the ML is particularly pleasing to the brain. Back to the story, it's not only well-written but also well-paced in my opinion. Some might disagree with me on this but I felt that even the long (and painful) flashbacks were wonderfully done because the fact that they felt "long" and "painful" actually helps the reader immerse in the MC's feelings. I felt actual anguish and pain while reading at some points. Yet, the story is also light, comedic, and incredibly romantic which makes it all the more rewarding. The focus of this novel is obviously on the MC and ML; their trust in each other, love and affection is one of the purest I've ever had the pleasure of reading. These two capable beings are heavily burdened by their respective past which made them unable to fully believe in themselves, love themselves. However, they become each other's anchor and happiness in a healthy and natural way. The romance is most definitely enjoyable and they have become one of my favourite couples out of all the fiction I've consumed.

Characterization- This, to me, is very important. I've slightly mentioned it but I truly appreciate the characters of this novel. The MC had me skeptical at first but the more I read the more I realize that there are so many layers to this character, he keeps surprising me and I love him the more for it. He has lived 800 years and his experiences have made him the person he is at present time; which means that discovering who he was fundamentally and why he became the way he is is very important and interesting.
As for the ML, when I think that I couldn't love him more, he keeps proving me wrong. He's easily one of my favourite characters, ever. All-powerful and mysterious, we gradually find out that he is the most genuine, devoted, respectful love interest anyone could ask for. Similarly to the MC, he has lived for centuries and understanding the person he was in the past is one of the most enlightening experiences.

Overall, this novel covers all the bases to me. It is profound in a way I did not expect, lovely and warm in a way I found the most pleasing, exciting and rich in a way I thoroughly enjoyed. Very very satisfying. I'm glad I read it.

Although at first I found it a bit boring, and I couldn't connect with it. But as it progressed I couldn't stop reading. I think TGCF gives a glimpse of MXTX's progress.
It was a roller coaster ride for sure!
In this novel I felt that MXTX doesn't let you get 100% on any character's side.
Well except for

Each arc shows that there is more than one view, each one seems to be right, which way to go?

XL is a fantastic character, you start out having one idea of him but end up with a totally different one.
HC is perfection, you can sympathize with him if you really understand him. And it's so easy to understand him!

IT'S MY FAVORITE NOVEL! I LOVE IT

What got me into novels was tgcf's donghua, I started reading Svsss and then tried tgcf.

I liked the beginning, I was curious about the world setting. Ngl, it was quite entertaining. When the ML appeared, the truth is that I didn't like him. Little by little I got fed up with Xie Lian.

Then it got worse with Hua Cheng, he creeped me out, I found it unpleasant that he stalked Xie Lian. I can't even imagine what the statues were like.

later I understood that Hua Cheng admired Xie Lian for... more>> wanting to save the common people, but what about him? Hua Cheng had disgusting behavior towards anyone but Xie Lian.

I had high expectations for this novel because of the amount of fanart and the great fandom it has. I believe it's overrated. <<less

GOD-TIER DANMEI.

I don't care what you think before getting into this wonderful novel, it's literally god-tier. One of MXTX's best written novels, in my opinion. It was the second danmei novel I've read, and what really pulled me into danmei.

I reread this many times, seeing scenes I enjoyed : GHOST CITY ARC especially! As the ENG physical copies release, I will buy to support MXTX and the ones translating this masterpiece. I may not know how to say this in words, but just know, Heaven Official's Blessing is a novel... more>> to be recommended to anyone. Also, this novel has has a manhua available in Bilibili Comics drawn by STARember.. AND THE ART IS AS GOD-TIER.

If you're the type to not enjoy +18 scenes, this one is a go. As far as I recall, there was no papapa (slightly mentioned through words however). And if you're reluctant to try because of 240+ chapters, don't, please give this novel a try.

Spoiler

However, I wished we got more of Qi Rong and Gu Zi, sort of like a happy ending. And with Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan; I felt like their was more to their 'friendship, ' but no, Shi Qingxuan had to accept his fate and live as he currently does. But he feels guilty, no? Forgive me, as I might miss details or give wrong ones. It's been awhile since I last read.

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(Even though I wrote this review in April 2022, I finished reading this back in March 2021. I've just gotten to write this review, which I should've long ago)

tl;dr – recomendable; god-tier writing; wished for happier endings for some characters. <<less

This is my ALL time favorite novel. Very well written, I have never re-read a novel in my life with exception of this and mdzs. I already pre-ordered the book online. MXTX is just an excellent writer, absolutely my fav. I suggest everyone who can also buy the book and support the author.

Ok so this novel is probably one of my favorite all time novels. This story is really intriguing (tiny bit angsty), but its reallyyyyyy long though. Normally a 244 ch book isn't a lot for me but I had to skip almost an entire book cuz I was so bored. It was the backstory of Xie Lian. I know it's pretty important and there was a lot of details but there was just wayyy too many details/descriptions.

Although there's one thing I'm not sure if I liked or disliked about... more>> the novel. The lack of romance. Idk I feel like the author could have written more about how the 2 fell in love cuz they just get together at the end. But for people who are neutral to bl then ig it's pretty good since they don't really act lovey dovey.

The characters. Sooooo if I remember correctly, basically two books were dedicated to the backstory of Xie Lian. Hua Chen also appeared in there but this is the problem. Xie Lian has 2 books about his story but we barely know ANYTHING for Hua Chen. Literally all we know is:

Spoiler

he had some sort of curse, he died a bunch of times to protect the MC, he became a super strong ghost, has 1 friend that's helping him spy on MC, and that he looooves MC.

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I swear even his friend has backstory than he does AND it's in less than a couple chapters. Towards the last books, I grew more attached to the side characters like general Pei, Qi Rong and the chaotic duo Mu Qing and Feng Xin. I'm telling they made me laugh so many times.

Now the manhua...... WOW strarember's art style is just soooo beautiful god no words can describe it.

Anyways, the rest of the book is AMAZING. The intrigue and the unexpected twist was very well written.

Spoiler

Also that arc about Xie Lian turning bit evil and how Wu Ming died almost made me tear up. I've never cried for anything I've read or watched, not just danmei but other works.

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This novel is not very angsty like Meatbun's novels but the way the author describes everything makes it emotional.

But dedication to Hua Chen for waiting a whole 800 years for Xie Lian. I also realized that nobody would be willing to wait for me for that long 😔. <<less

Have read it two years ago and just remember to leave a review. TGCF is one of my all times favorites and it is such a well-written beautiful story. I swear I can't find any other danmei love story similar to this! This is the top-notch romance bl love story ever in my heart. The dedication, the devotion, the unconditional affection, literally the epitome of pure love <3<3<3 I still can't get out of the pit of this book ;) the manhwa and the donghwa adaptations are also really great!... more>> Sometimes I find myself crying listening to TGCF songs, reminiscing how hard they had gone through all these 800 years... this book will forever leave a deep impression in my heart. The five stars here are not the same level as while I review other books, they are not enough for me to express how I love this book. HUALIAN FOREVER!

"The one standing in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is 'you' and not the state of you."

"Last time, they spent eight hundred years running towards each other. This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other's embrace."

"For you, I will become invincible."

"I shall never rest in peace." <<less

This was the first web novel I read on the internet, LOVEDDDD it. I still read it all the time and hualian just make everything 15-150 times better. I got severly addicted to reading web novels because of her but this will always be my favourite, nothing can beat the happiness hob gave me

I loved MDZS, but this one didn’t do it for me in the same way.
I wish there had been more detail written about the life of the ML, he seems to only exist as an extension of the MC with not too many interests or backstory of his own that doesn’t involve MC.

Granted, this seems to be appealing to many of the readers so that might be something you like.
I prefer a bit more of a “meet you half way” coupling and I don’t like reading stories with inherent power imbalances.

MC is adorable and a very well written and complex character.
Once again MXTX’s writing style is captivating and fun to read regardless of whether you’re a super fan or not.

I can't decide whether I like MDZS or TGCF more. MDZS is better at the romance development, but TGCF is effing godly in its depiction of psychology, philosophy, historical setting, political setting, poetic sense, and cultural reference. I like MDZS as a danmei novel more, but I love the plot of TGCF as a pseudohistorical drama more. TGCF is MXTX's third work, after MDZS. The author said that she was experimenting with a lot of new things, and I'm of the opinion that she mainly succeeded with TGCF, except for... more>> the part where she kinda forgot about the romance in some part. It's not a perfect story by any mean, but for a schadenfreude like me, I love the drama in the story and how it explores the depth of human goodness and depravity.

Upsides:

• The designs of the MC and ML are effing beautiful. Throughout the story, both the MC and ML are tied to poetic images and literal poetry. Very beautiful imagery associated with both the MC and the ML, even when they're at their worst, especially when they're at their worst. I have read my fair share of danmei novels, but the poetic sense in this novel is truly something.
• Very good depiction and exploration of morality, ideology, and the depth of human goodness and depravity. A lot of bad events and actions she described have actually happened in real life history whenever chaos and war reigns, so it adds to the realism of the events and the analysis in the story even when there are clear fantasy elements in the story.
• The politics of heaven and earth are exceptionally well-written for a web novel, never mind the danmei genre. A lot of important plot points can be deduced early on if you think carefully about the political situation of heaven and earth. If you don't like danmei, you can read this for the politics, psychology exploration, and drama alone.
• The main villain is predictable and very easy to deduce. But the way the mystery was built kept me entertained till the end even when I already guessed correctly who the final boss was in chapter 1. Continuing the tradition of MDZS, the main villain is well-written, with complex motivation and sympathetic psychology, but still completely unforgivable. And that's why I love him. The resolution for him and his plot was very satisfying.
• All the side characters are well-written, with good backstory and realistic motivations for their actions. Even though the main couple has a happy end, the sheer tragedy in the plot and the side characters will surely keep any schadenfreude happy.
• A lot of cultural and literature references that are integrated well into the story, which is kinda rare among the danmei genre.
• Relatable and well-written MC, and through him, relatable and realistic messages to the reader. Honestly one of the few novels out there the messages of which are actually relatable, realistic, and actually conductive to your mental health. I was kinda depressed and unstable when I started reading this story. This story basically saved my life and helped me reorganize my head. I remember crying like a baby when the chapter about a certain heartbreaking scene that the MC had to suffer through was published. It was during New Year, I was alone at home and cried like a baby. Very cathartic crying spell. Then the next book was released, life went on for the MC, he still kept his ideology and kind heart, still living the best he could, just more mature now. That the MC managed to rebuild himself from the ground up and still kept his golden heart propelled me to face my problems head-on. I know that this part was written from the author's experience. I thank the author for writing this story and hope that she will still manage to stay healthy and keep her golden heart in this trying time.
• Despite the rough start, the romance is healthy, with the 2 characters supporting each other and understanding each other. True relationship goal. The ML is edgy and could have easily went the same way as the ML of Scum Villain, but he somehow managed to grow up to be a genuinely good person, a good leader, a good friend, and a good husband in a healthy relationship. Who knows. A rare specimen of a mentally sound and supportive ML in a sea of yandere obsessive ML in the danmei genre.

Downside:

• Just 1 downside. I wish the story had spent more screen time on the character development of the ML. Like the ML of Scum villain, he developed his feeling toward the MC during a time skip, when the narrative of the story (the MC) is still largely oblivious about the ML, so the romance development is kinda lackluster on his end. Furthermore, most of his character development was also during this period, so his entire character feels kinda lackluster. One one hand, at point A, you have this little yandere sassy child/teenager with a crush who doesn't care about anything other than the MC. Then at point B, you have this genuinely good person, good friend, good leader, good and supportive husband in a healthy relationship, and still sassy but in a good way. But the journey from point A to point B is too fragmented and depicted from the POV of a person mostly oblivious to ML's character development during that period. As such, despite point B ML being a very idealistic/mysterious ML and the backstory of point A interesting enough on paper, ML still feels rather lackluster. A few chapters dedicated to that journey from point A to point B from the POV of the ML would have done wonders to ML character development and the romance department in general. Though tbf, with the way TGCF is structured, it's kinda hard to squeeze a few ML-dedicated chapters in like MDZS did for LZ.

Overall, a near perfect story, had it not been for the 1 downside. For a danmei novel, that 1 downside is kinda large, so it's understandable if the more romance-minded of the audience doesn't like this story by much. However, if you don't consider this story to be a danmei novel but just a novel in the pseudohistorical drama genre with some BL mixed in, then this story is damn near perfect, much better than some of the dogblood fantasy drama-focused popular novels from well-established professional authors (*cough JK Rowling, SAO, Mahouka, cough*) out there. <<less

I've read this three times now and all I can say is that to me, this one is MXTX's masterpiece. You can see where she learned from MDZS and grew as an author. She's SO good at visuals and dynamic movement in scenes, the mental pictures paint themselves. Also must note the Suika & Rynn translation is absolutely top-notch.

The plot twists were well-executed and mostly foreshadowed in advance - they took me by surprise but made sense in retrospect with the hints that were dropped, no out-of-the-blue nonsense here. Xie... more>> Lian is a delightfully unreliable narrator, and all of the secondary characters are three-dimensional and distinct and fun to read. Also I LOVE morally grey characters and in that respect this is an absolute feast.

I see a lot of criticism about Xie Lian being bland, but to me it read as a coping mechanism - other than accepting a certain kind of numbness, how else is he supposed to get through 800 years of the universe's worst luck? (I mean, we see one of the other options and we watch him turn it down). It felt like it was a mask he wore out of necessity for so long that he forgot it was a mask in the first place. We watch him chip away at it over the course of the novel and rediscover what's underneath, and I think it's really beautiful. <<less

My favorite novel to date. It's amazing how it made me feel.
Xie Lian a character with amazing development and growth.
Hua Cheng shows us that belief can strengthen us to the point of achieving what we desire.

Out of all the bl novels novels that I've read, for me, this is certainly the best and my favorite one.

• Just like MDZS (one of MXTX's novel.) the story interchanges from the present, then the backstory will be shown, then back to the present.
• There is not much romance at the beginning and it focuses on trying to know what is the identity of Xie Lian since we have to unravel everything that happen during those 800 years. And that will bring you to a ride on a rollercoaster of emotion.
• Spoiler

  The backstory is both painful and frustrating to read. Specially the backstory of before and after his first banishment when he, who is already a god, descended once again and did everything he can to help the kingdom he grew up on only for it to be destroyed, thus he was banished as punishment. His frustrations and suffering are written here. This is also the time that he first met Hua Cheng (the male lead). The events depicted here are very crucial to the flow of the story. It made so much sense that once you connect the dots and understand the whole picture you can't forget just how painful this part of the story is. Specially Hua Cheng and Xie Lian's past.

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• The story has a lot of tragedy, but those made the happy ending more fulfilling.
• Although, its a shame that there are too few bonus chapter. After reading till the very end it made me want to ready a lot more. There are no smut scenes, but the relationship between the the main cp was very endearing.

Heaven Official's Blessing is a great high fantasy mystery. Each and every mystery is engaging and shows off just how clever the author is. To top it all off, none of the mysteries are just random bits of side material that's never mentioned again. Although it's not always revealed right away, every mystery is in some way connected to the main plot. I love the characters (other than Pei Ming and Qi Rong), I love the plot, and I love the setting!

The only real complaints I have actually are about... more>> the main couple. I don't really know how to describe my first complaint other than them being too harmonious for my liking? Don't get me wrong, I hate couples that only bicker or where one of them is obviously a manipulative a**hole. But in this case it feels like Xie Lian and Hua Cheng are just one person split into two bodies. They never really disagree about anything and when they do it's very, very quickly resolved usually by Hua Cheng pulling some strings behind the scenes. There never really seems to be a time where they have to reflect on the others bad points and instead just opt to accept eachother wholy. Maybe I'm just a sourpus, but I think it'd be nicer if there were traits they didn't like about eachother but still overall loved eachother. I just think it's sweeter when you can see the flaws in the one you love rather than brushing them aside. The couple's still sweet as is though. This is just a minor complaint.

My second complain is a recurring problem in MXTX novels, and honestly with love interest in general. Hua Cheng doesn't really seem to have a life (heh) without Xie Lian.

Spoiler

Sure we're told he runs the ghost city, but other than that we never really see him in friendly relations with anyone other than Xie Lian. There's at least hints towards him having some other interest, but sadly it seems like they're scraps of a canned backstory. Iirc, in an interview MXTX commented on Hua Cheng's butterfly motif originally being inspired by his mother. There's also the fact he seems to have a clear interest in fashion and the arts (based off of his painting and sculpting skills) much like how Xie Lian loves martial arts and swords, but it's never really brought up much.

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I feel like Hua Cheng could have been even more interesting if MXTX had just let him be more of his own person rather than this super devoted, OP follower of Xie Lian. I guess it could be explained as him being a bit single minded since he essentially

Spoiler

waited 800 years to see dianxia again,

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but it still feels a bit like a cop out...

Elgate already made a detailed review that I highly agree with so I don't feel the need to repeat what was already said. A lot pf their grievances and likes basically aligns with my taste (https://www. novelupdates. com/fdrev/?comid=176952&sid=13002) <<less

I want to say that I like it but I have to be honest. It was pretty boring. I feel like the MC and ML are great but I have a problem with the slow pace of the story. It's told in the present time and flashbacks which can be confusing. It's a pity that I got bored with it but I reckon I will still return to finish reading it when the translation is complete.

Im a big fan of this author already!! All the works are very good and interesting! The comedy and drama are well balanced so far, the plot is interesting and so are the characters.

I will edit this once the story progresses a bit more.