Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Благословение небожителей, том 2

Xie Lian is questioned about his red-clothed companion from the events of the last volume. Later he is sent off on a mission to investigate a distress call near Ghost City, Hua Cheng's territory. There is adventure, tenderness and some of Xie Lian's past surfacing. Many questions are still left unanswered and there are now even more questions.

I've been enjoying the build up on the relationship between the two leads, but want to mention that there are dark themes and situations in this story. There is more world building with the ghost realm revealed to us in this volume. This time Xie Lian has different companions. It was exciting to see his dynamic with new people. We also get to witness Hua Cheng being himself. I'm looking forward to more developments in their relationship.

The pacing was exciting at the beginning, started to trail off as we approached the end and immediately picked up at the last second. But then the story pivoted to a flashback arc suddenly. Some of the language and dialogue choices in this translation feel unexpected and there is noticeably more cursing.

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comicsandbookdragon's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Overall I enjoyed the story. This entire arc was unserious, and had a Scooby Doo vibe. MXTX got lucky, because I don't think that was the intent, but here we are. I was having a great time right up to "SEIZE HIM! SEIZE THAT WEIRD GUY!".

The way AAVE was used during the initial scenes with Qi Rong nearly soured everything. This says A LOT not only about the translators, but the editors too. I nearly didn't finish it. What actually kept me reading was the back story. While that was a bit longer than it needed to be, I was too nosy to just skip it.

Of note: I am not feeling the way the footnotes were done. They are a little too non -academic for my tastes. They didn't inspire down the rabbit hole reaction. Which was.....disappointing.

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angelie_jelly's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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zia_c's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

“If that should happen, then the heavens are wrong. I am right. I will stand against the heavens and defy them until the end.” — Xie Lian

Even the devil wouldn't know how happy it makes me when the MC defies the god himself with every step he takes. 🤌🏼❤️✨

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amberboo61997's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Since the characters are for the majority hundreds of years old you can imagine that there is a lot of backstory. It seems that we got a nice chunk of a flashback of it in this volume.

In the previous volume this was handled more as telling history or sharing gossip which was amusing because of the lens it was told from. For the flashback it was more of a lived experience so not much humor.

I'm still enjoying the story and since it is predominantly character based with some "baddie-of-the-week" elements the previous experiences of a nigh immortal character are integral.

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rhi_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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squinnittowinit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Xiè Lián continues to be a wonderful main character, kind and thoughtful no matter what's happening around him. His unlucky nature leads to quite a bit of hilarity even in the midst of the very serious situations he finds himself in.

Huā Chéng is funny and entertaining in his own way as he casually meddles once again in the affairs of the heavenly realm.

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