AX 2025: HEAVEN OFFICIAL’S BLESSING releases new trailer for Lantern Festival short film

We may not have Heaven Official’s Blessing Season 3 (yet), but Hualian returns to the screen at Anime Expo this year.

The official Tian Guan Ci Fu: Heaven Official’s Blessing account dropped a new trailer for the Lantern Festival short film, which will premiere globally at Anime Expo in just a few short days. The trailer adapts the Lantern Riddles side story, which takes place after the main story ends. In the trailer, we see Xie Lian remembering how picky he was as a child. In the present day, he and Hua Cheng walk the streets of Ghost City, where someone challenges Xie Lian to answer a riddle.

Bilibili unveiled two new key visuals to build anticipation for the world premiere.

The world premiere takes place during a Bilibili panel featuring Li Haoling, director of the first season of Heaven Official’s Blessing, To Be Hero X, and Link Click. The panel will also include premieres for several upcoming Bilibili titles.

Details for the panel:

• Date: July 4, 2025
• Time: 7:15 PM – 8:35 PM PST
• Location: 403AB

Although not everyone will be able to attend the premiere in person, Bilibili reassured fans that it plans to release the short film online later so everyone can enjoy it.

Li directed the first season, which premiered on October 31, 2020, and ran for 11 episodes plus a special. Haoliners Animation League animated the season. The second season premiered on October 18, 2023, with Hu Ya replacing Li as director and Red Dog Culture House handling animation. Season 2 wrapped with 12 episodes on January 17, 2024.

Heaven Official’s Blessing, the third danmei series written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, remains the author’s longest work. The story follows Xie Lian, once the beloved crown prince of Xianle and the darling of the heavens. At only 17, he ascended to the heavens—but after a series of events, he was banished. Eight hundred years later, Xie Lian ascends again for the third time and receives the task of investigating a ghost bride case. When he descends to the mortal realm, he finds more than he bargained for—a red-robed man whose past intertwines with his own.

Seven Seas Entertainment licenses the danmei novel and is currently releasing deluxe hardcover editions. A manhua adaptation, illustrated by STARember, is available to read on Lezhin, although it’s currently on hiatus. Inklore will publish the English print edition later this year, while TOKYOPOP handles the Spanish release.

You can stream the first two seasons of the donghua on Crunchyroll and, in some regions, on Netflix.

For more coverage on Anime Expo 2025 news, you can find it right here on the Anime Expo 2025 archive on The Beat and K-Comics Beat!

Source: X, formerly known as Twitter