Finally, we’ve come to the third series by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Heaven Official’s Blessings is the most recent of the three she has written, originally being published as a web novel in 2017.
An interesting dynamic, the story revolves around a mortal man who transcended to become a god as a reward for his earthly achievements… and then was demoted for causing a great calamity in an attempt to protect his home nation during a time of war. Although he lost his residency in Heaven, Xie Lian retains his immortality. For centuries he lives among the Mortal Realm again and, to everyone’s shock, achieves divinity once more…only to lose 30 minutes later in an attempt to overthrow all of Heaven for casting him out the first time. Now, after a full 800 years of banishment, Xie Lian becomes the first person in human history to ascend for the third time. Unintentionally, his ascension causes outrage and destruction in Heaven. However, this time Xie Lian seems to have learned his lessons and wants to make amends to get along with the other gods.
And so the story begins.
Already hated for centuries for his ill deeds, destruction of heavenly property, and with zero people worshipping him in the Mortal Realm, Xie Lian begins to accept assignments from other gods to gain favor and repay a long-overdue debt that seemingly just continues to grow every time he so much as sneezes. His first assignment: track down and vanquish a vengeful ghost that has been stealing brides at random on their wedding day for over a century.
At first, it doesn’t seem all too different from what we read in Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation — a superior figure traveling between the Mortal Realm and the afterlife, tasked with exterminating ghosts or demons and getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. However, there are some distinctive key details that allow the two stories to split and develop as their own. Wei Wuxian (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) returns coincidentally and has no purpose for himself in mind for his newly rewarded life. Whereas, Xie Lian (Heaven Official’s Blessing) makes an effort to correct his behavior and put an end to all the bad blood he has with the universe.
Story arcs seamlessly flow into one another and nothing feels forced for the sake of relationship-building or story progression, as opposed to the other two series where it is common to see characters dragging each other, kicking and screaming (sometimes literally) into the next chapter. Heaven Official’s Blessing is a smooth read, and Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s most carefully crafted one of the three we’ve read (at least from first-volume comparisons).
For example, after the ghost is taken care of, Xie Lian decides to rebuild the abandoned temple he had been hiding in as a new house of worship for himself, and then worships himself in turn.
It sounds like a stupid idea, but in truth, it makes sense when you consider that Xie Lian is a god with no mortals worshiping him. When word gets out that he’s a god visiting the Mortal Realm and that he’s taking care of ghosts, people flock to his temple with offerings, which helps restore his spiritual power. He receives prayers, food offerings, gifts of all kinds, and… cries for help that lead him down the next story arc for the second half of the book.
Supporting characters in Heaven Official’s Blessing are introduced at a slower rate and the stories give each of them a few moments for the reader to become acquainted with them. In doing so, even characters that don’t have too big an impact on the story events can still leave an impression on the reader.
Xie Lian’s love interest, San Lang, has a later introduction than we had anticipated, but it is the time they share in the first volume that more than makes up for it when they hit it off during their first meeting, like they had known each other their entire lives. It’s just nice to see the two characters we’re to believe love each other act like they do. From the minute they meet, it’s clear they are equally adventurous, bold, and stupid for their own good. Heaven Official’s Blessing gives us a natural power couple that can’t be beaten, and that’s really endearing.
The first book ends on a tender moment between them both revealing secret identities and a promise to see each other again before parting ways. Although a bit bittersweet, it’s not exactly sad when you know their relationship has only just begun to develop, and Xie Lian has a lot more work cut out for him as a heavenly official.
Available now wherever fine books are sold and on Amazon Kindle.
