Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel), Vol. 1

  I've read a pretty good amount of novels that were originally written in Chinese and translated into English.  Sometimes they can be awkward due to how different the languages are.  This is especially true for wuxia novels, as in the original Chinese they use poetic and elegant terms for fighting moves and names that do not translate in a smooth way.  However I do think that this book, the first in a series of eight print versions of a web novel, does not suffer from the same translation issues that a lot of wuxia novels do.  This is because the translators didn't even try to translate the names.  It's amazing how natural the book feels to read as a result of this decision.  Sometimes less is more when it comes to translation and this book shows that.  
Good translation aside, this book is a damn good time!  It tells the story of Xianle, a former prince who becomes a god before being kicked out from heaven, then repeating this process before finally sticking as a god on his third ascension.  The book mostly focuses on his adventures after ascending for the third time and I think that's a smart decision.  We don't need to linger on Xianle's past too much.  During his adventures he encounters a number of fun situations and meets some very interesting figures.  One thing that I like about the book is how everything ties together.  Minute details mentioned in one chapter often become very relevant a few chapters later.  This attribute rewards those who read carefully while also allowing for fun surprises for those who don't.  While the twist of ‘this character was actually this one in disguise' does wear out a bit by the end I still had a really fun time reading it and I look forward to reading more of the story in future installments.
 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I watched the Donghua first, but I much prefer the novel as it goes into more detail on personalities of the characters and fills in some of the gaps that the Donghua couldn't get to yet. One example is that the novel explains what Xie Lian is thinking. I actually prefer novel!XL over Donghua!XL. I would recommend reading the novel first.

The first book is basically season 1 (if anyone is curious). If I'm remembering correctly, event-wise, the Donghua and novel are very similar for the most part with only a few exceptions (spoilers ahead):

(1) The last chapter was definitely my favorite as we see more interaction between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Specifically, there is a scene that's slightly different from the Donghua. In the Donghua on the last episode, Xie Lian cups Hua Cheng's face and thoroughly inspects it before realizing he's being weird. In the novel (and Manhua!), however, Xie Lian POKES Hua Cheng's face instead and is MORTIFIED by the realization.

“He was only curious to see what a supreme Ghost King's skin would feel like, but apparently, his body moved faster than his mind and poked him! How extremely outrageous of him!” (Page 363)

The novel gave me a greater impression of Xie Lian's embarrassment. And funny enough, poking another person's face just seems bolder to me than straight out cupping, and funnier too since it was just one curious POKE. It truly was just an endearing moment between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. On the other hand, the donghua made it a more “sensual” moment in a way since they zoom in on Hua Cheng's expression. It's not a bad thing, but I prefer that the novel made the scene more of a comedic moment between the two as Hua Cheng laughed it off. It was a great scene showing how their friendship is growing, which I deeply appreciate. I'm also a sucker for the “slow-burn” romances, which probably affects my preference for the novel's version.

(2) In the Donghua, XL is very private about the black cursed shackles - going so far as to cover them if he notices someone looking at them. In the novel however, XL is less reserved, explaining what is it when Nan Feng and Fu Yao notice the mark for the first time (Page 57). When San Lang notices them, XL allowes him to look and just shrugs it off (Page 195).

(3) The curtain at the Puqi Shrine. In the Donghua, XL purposefully puts lots of talismans on the curtain to try to expose SL as a ghost. In the novel, he merely changes the curtain for a new one which already had a seal drawn on it (XL did it in the past). My impression from this scene is that XL put the new curtain up for protection, not to test SL. It was only after SL left that XL considered that the seal may be preventing SL from entering the shrine (Page 200).

There are a few other differences, but these stuck out the most to me. I can't wait to read the next novel :)