WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Season 1 of Heaven Official's Blessing.
The first trailer for Season 2 of the popular BL donghua Heaven Official's Blessing was recently shared by Chinese video site Bilibili, revealing what to expect this upcoming season in terms of new characters, old wounds and what more is to come in the story.
Heaven Official's Blessing, based on the novel by Chinese author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, tells the story of Xie Lian, a god who recently ascended to the Heavens for his third time after being banished in disgrace twice before. Xie Lian is happy to go build a small shrine and keep to himself but ends up getting roped into trouble. While hunting out a particularly gruesome enemy, Xie Lian has a brief encounter with a man with an umbrella and elegant red robes, but he never sees the man's face as he is guided out of danger. However, upon describing his association with silver butterflies, his companions are horrified to realize that the man was probably Hua Cheng, one of the four ghost kings.
Immediately following the incident, Xie Lian makes the acquaintance of San Lang, a young man of knowledge surpassing his age who comes to live with Xie Lian and help him with his shrine. He doesn't seem like a ghost king, no matter how hard Xie Lian tries to break what he's sure must be an illusion, to no avail. As time passes, the two grow closer despite deceptions, and Season 1 ends with Xie Lian calling San Lang out with his true name. Hua Cheng departs but promises to reveal his true appearance the next time they meet.
That promise will be fulfilled in Season 2, which looks to be packed with new characters and developments. Although the Emperor of the Heavenly Realm didn't make an appearance in Season 1, Jun Wu will become one of the donghua's most important characters from now on, not only due to his position but also his history and personal relationship with Xie Lian. They are friendly in a way that doesn't match a god in disgrace, which hints at Xie Lian's complicated past as a martial god who has existed as a penniless wanderer in his exiled immortality.
Generals Xuan Zhen and Nan Yang also make an appearance in the trailer. Details about Xuan Zhen and Nan Yang will likely not come for some time, but their presence is noteworthy considering the topic of Xie Lian's past. Season 2 will also introduce Ghost City -- a hotbed of vice ruled over by none other than Hua Cheng, who, as promised, will show his true form upon his reunion with Xie Lian. In the midst of scandal in the Heavens, a myriad of new mysteries will branch off to begin forming the multilayered story of Xie Lian's past, his relationship with Hua Cheng and the growing certainty that something has gone terribly wrong in the Heavenly Court.
A release date has not yet been confirmed but is speculated for early 2022.
Season 1 of Heaven Official's Blessing can be streamed on both Funimation and Netflix.
