The World of Joy of Life

Fans of this drama have been waiting impatiently since (the first day of) 2020 (when JOL 1 airs its final episode on January 1st, 2020) and speculating when the sequel will be filmed and if the original cast will return. Despite the first joint announcement on JOL 2 by the production companies in October 2020 and subsequent premiere lineup announcements in 2021 and 2022, the drama started official filming only in May 2023, due to a delay in script completion and efforts to reunite as many original cast as possible since JOL 1 filming in 2018. 

JOL 2 finally dropped on our small screens one year later on May 16th, 2024 to much fanfare, topping the day’s hot searches with 2.5 billion views and almost 0.7 million interactions on social media (Baidu). The 36-episode JOL 2 ended with 174 commercials for 23 brands, an average of 8.2 commercials per episode (Baidu), and a promise of a Season 3 (JOL 3).

Whether you have watched JOL 1 and/or JOL 2 or neither, this article is for you to get a headstart in your JOL journey, familiarize yourself with the world-building of JOL for new viewers, a quick recap of the key developments in JOL 1 to continue JOL 2, and what to expect for JOL 3.

JOL depicts the historical fiction written by a present-day student (Zhang Qing), to elaborate his perspective of analyzing ancient literature history with modern concepts, in his attempt to make Professor Ye accept him in her class.

The historical fiction is set in ancient times consisting of three Kingdoms/States, each anchored by a Great Grandmaster of martial arts, namely:

1. Qing Kingdom in the South (i.e. Southern Qing) – a military strong country
2. Qi Kingdom in the North (i.e. Northern Qi) – a military strong country
3. Dong Yi City in the East and its vassal states – economically strong with vibrant commercial activities.

The protagonist and male lead, Fan Xian (范闲) (middle top), hails from the Southern Qing. His mother, Ye Qing Mei (叶轻眉), was killed soon after he was born and he was saved by a blind-folded man, Wu Zu (a loyal servant of his mother), and brought to stay at Dan Zhou with Grandma Fan, as an illegitimate son of Fan Jian (Vice Minister of Revenue). One day, he was summoned back to the Qing capital in a political marriage to the Prime Minister’s illegitimate daughter with the Grand Princess.

Fan Xian's Family and Friends
		Clockwise from Fan Xian Fan Ruo Ruo (范若若) Fan Jian's daughter with first wife (deceased), Fan Xian's younger sister, and Fan Si Zhe's elder sister. The most talented girl in the capital.
		Fan Jian (范建) Vice Minister of Revenue and Fan Xian's father who genuinely cares for Fan Xian and his family. He grows up with the Qing Emperor.
		Fan Si Zhe (范思辙) Fan Jian's son with his second wife Liu Ru Yu. He loves money and has a talent for business and finance.
Liu Ru Yu (柳如玉) Fan Jian's second wife and Fan Si Zhe's mother. Daughter of the Royal Advisor.	Grandma Fan (范老太太) Fan Jian’s mother. She stays in Dan Zhou and looks after Fan Xian during his childhood years.	Ye Qing Mei (叶轻眉) Fan Xian's mother. A mysterious and amazing woman from the Divine Temple. She died after giving birth to Fan Xian.
Wu Zu (五竹) Fan Xian’s martial arts teacher, and servant of Fan Xian’s mother who left the Divine Temple with her. Highly skilled and blindfolded man of few words, his martial arts skills rival that of the Great Grandmasters.	Wang Qi Nian (王启年) Fan Xian’s right-hand man and skilled in stealth. He is a clerical staff at the Investigator's Office and was sent by Chen Ping Ping to support Fan Xian.	Teng Zi Jing (滕梓荆) Fan Xian’s bodyguard in JOL 1, a Grade 7 martial arts expert. He works for Division 4 of the Investigator's Office and is the subordinate of Yan Bing Yun.
Lin Wan Er (林婉儿) Lin Ruo Fu’s illegitimate daughter with the Grand Princess. Nicknamed "Drumstick Lady", she is the love interest of Fan Xian.	Lin Ruo Fu (林若甫) Prime Minister of the Qing Kingdom and Lin Wan Er’s father.	Lin Da Bao (林大宝) Lin Ruo Fu's eldest son. He suffered an illness at a young age which impacted his mental development. Lin Gong (林珙) Lin Ruo Fu's second son, who genuinely cares for his sister Lin Wan Er.
Qing Royal Family and Officials
Qing Emperor (庆帝) Ruler of the Southern Qing Kingdom, who is cunning and ambitious with a vision to unite the kingdoms and rule the world.	Grand Princess Li Yun Rui  (李云睿) Younger foster sister of the Qing Emperor. Lin Wan Er is her illegitimate daughter with Lin Ruo Fu. She controls the Royal Treasury which will be passed on to Lin Wan Er’s future husband.	Bottom image (left to right) Crown Prince Li Cheng Qian  (李承乾) Born by the Empress, he is the third eldest prince by birth order, but selected by the Qing Emperor to succeed the throne Second Prince Li Cheng Ze  (李承泽) Born by Noble Consort Shu, he appears laidback but is scheming and fighting with the Crown Prince over the throne. Third Prince Li Cheng Ping  (李承平) Appears in JOL 2 Born by Liu Ru Yu's cousin; he is the Fourth Prince by birth order, but becomes the Third Prince as the Crown Prince is not counted. First Prince Li Chengru (李承儒) Appears in JOL 2 Born by Lady Ning of Dong Yi City, his mother’s foreign blood bars him from the throne succession. He is a military general stationed at the borders and is engaged to Northern Qi's Eldest Princess.
Ye Zhong (叶重) Chief Guard, father of Ye Ling Er, and nephew-cum-disciple of Ye Liu Yun. Leader of one of two great military families in the Qing Kingdom.
Ye Ling Er (叶灵儿)  (center JOL 1, right JOL 2) Daughter of Ye Zhong, close friend of Lin Wan Er, and grand niece of Ye Liu Yun. A martial arts enthusiast, she is ordered by the Qing Emperor to marry the Second Prince.
Gong Dian (宫典) Vice-Commander of the Imperial Guards. Ye Zhong's junior and a Grade 8 martial arts expert.
Qin Ye (秦业) Chief Councillor and leader of the other great military family in the Qing Kingdom. A Grade 9+ martial arts expert.	Guo You Zhi (郭攸之) Minister of Rites and father of Guo Bao Kun.	Guo Bao Kun (郭保坤) Guo You Zhi's son and friend of the Crown Prince.
Qi Kingdom
Qi Emperor Zhan Doudou  (战豆豆) Newly crowned puppet Emperor of Qi Kingdom, who schemes to be free from the control of the Empress Dowager of Qi, to be a true ruler.	Haitang Duoduo (海棠朵朵) Saintess of the Qi Kingdom, and trusted advisor of the Qi Emperor. Youngest disciple of Ku He and a Grade 9+ martial arts expert.	Shi Li Li (司理理) Noble Consort of Northern Qi. Started as a famous courtesan in the Qing capital, who is in reality a spy of Northern Qi.
Empress Dowager of Qi (北齐太后) Mother of the Qi Emperor, who controls the newly crowned Qi Emperor.	Lang Tao (狼桃) Ally of the Dowager Empress. The eldest disciple of Ku He and a Grade 9 martial arts expert.	Shang Shan Hu (上杉虎) Northern Qi general. Fillial god-son of Xiao En, and a Grade 9 martial arts expert.
Eldest Princess of Qi (北齐公主) Appears in JOL 2 Engaged to the First Prince of the Qing Kingdom in a political marriage.	Shen Zhong (沈重) Commander of the Qi Imperial Guards who is loyal to the Empress Dowager and patriotic to the Qi Kingdom. He has a sister who loves Yan Bing Yun.	Xiao En (消恩) Zhuang Mo Han's younger brother and former Head Spy of Northern Qi who was captured and imprisoned by the Investigator's Office for 20 years. Ex-Grade 9 martial arts experts, and one of only two people in the world who know the location of the divine temple.

Originally established by Ye Qingmei to realize the concept of "all men are created equal", the Investigator's Office is an independent unit responsible for supervising the Qing officials and has the power to call or bring people before a court to answer criminal charges. Its power is above the Qing Ministries and is not subject to the Qing Law. After the passing of Ye Qingmei, the Investigator's Office comes directly under the Qing Emperor. It acts only under the commands of the Qing Emperor and is used by the Qing Emperor to rid dissidents and maintain his rule. No one else, including the Crown Prince, can interfere with the Investigator's Office, and both the imperial guards and city guards are under the jurisdiction of the Investigator's Office.

Led by Chen Pingping (陈萍萍) under the directions of the Qing Emperor, with Fan Xian as the Director-General, the Investigator's Office has 8 Divisions, namely:

	The most powerful Division 1, akin to the FBI in the US, is responsible for watching and investigating law abuses by the Qing officials inside the Qing capital. It is headed by Zhu Ge (朱格).  Wang Qi Nian (王启年) is a clerical staff in Division 1. Deng Ziyue (邓子越), registrar of Division 1, appears in JOL 2.	Division 2 is responsible for intelligence gathering and analysis. It is headed by Murong Yan (慕容燕) who has been away on a work trip.
Division 3 is responsible for researching and developing drugs, poisons, and secret weapons. It is headed by Fei Jie (费介), who imparted medicine and poison knowledge to little Fan Xian when he was in Dan Zhou. Senior Leng is the acting head, after Fei Jie.	The second most powerful Division 4 is responsible for watching over officials outside the Qing capital, including foreign espionage and intelligence gathering outside the national borders, and in neighboring countries Northern Qi and Dongyi City. It is headed by Yan Ruohai (言若海), father of Yan Bing Yun (言冰云) (top right JOL 1, bottom right JOL 2)
Division 5 is the armed division comprising the powerful Black Knights Army. It is primarily responsible for ensuring Chen Pingping's safety and can be deployed for secret adversarial missions. It is headed by Wu Xin (无心), and deputized by Jing Ge (荆戈) who appears in JOL 2.	Division 6 is responsible for both secret assassinations and protecting specific personnel as instructed by the Qing Emperor. It is headed by Shadow (影子), a Grade 9+ martial arts expert.	Division 7 takes care of the prison and is responsible for detaining and interrogating prisoners. The head is on a work trip in Jiangnan.
		Division 8 is responsible for watching over and controlling the media and book publications. It is headed by Xuan Jiu (宣九).

Martial arts experts in the JOL are ranked from Grade 1 to 9, with Grade 9 being the highest before the Great Grandmaster, which is attained only after breaking through the human limit.

Here’s a guide to the JOL martial arts experts by kingdoms and grades³.

Great Grandmasters

There are four Great Grandmasters in JOL, with each of the three known Great Grandmasters anchoring a kingdom, striking balance among the kingdoms. The fourth Great Grandmaster is rumoured to be hidden in the Qing palace in JOL 1 and rumoured to be Eunuch Hong (洪四庠), a eunuch in the Qing palace serving Queen Dowager. Wu Zu whose martial arts skills rival the Great Grandmasters, is rumored to be at this level but not ranked.

Martial Arts Experts

Qing Kingdom	Qi Kingdom	Dong Yi City
9+ Fan Xian (范闲) JOL protagonist is Wu Zhu's only disciple, trained under him since young, and practicing the skills in the marital arts manuals left by his mother. He levels up through the series, fighting first with Grade 7 Teng Zi Jing, then Grade 8 Cheng Ju Shu, and also squares off against Grade 9 martial arts experts from Qi Kingdom.	9+ Haitang Duo Duo (海棠朵朵) Saintess of the Qi Kingdom and youngest disciple of Ku He, she serves the Northern Qi emperor.	9+ Wang Yi (王十三郎王羲) Likely to appear in JOL 3 A direct disciple of Si Gu Sword.
9+ Shadow (影子) Head of Division 6 of Investigation Office which is responsible for both secret assassinations and protecting specific personnel as instructed by the Qing Emperor. He wears a black hood and a mask.	9+ Xiao En (肖恩) Former Head Spy of Northern Qi who is captured and imprisoned by the Investigator's Office for 20 years. He is one of only two people in the world who knows the location of the divine temple.	9 Yun Zi Yuan (云之澜) Likely to appear in JOL 3 Eldest disciple of Si Gu Sword.
9+ Yan Xiao Yi (燕小乙) Originally a hunter rescued by the Grand Princess and thus loyal only to the Grand Princess and is the only person in the world who has reached Grade 9 in archery.	9+ Shang Sang Hu (上杉虎) Northern Qi general. Filial god-son of Xiao En.	9 Sword Hut Disciple (剑庐弟子) Likely to appear in JOL 3 Disciple of Si Gu Sword.
9+ Ye Zhong (叶重) Chief Guard, father of Ye Ling Er and nephew-cum-disciple of Ye Liu Yun. Leader of one of two great military families in the Qing Kingdom.	9 He Dao Ren (何道人)  Disciple of Great Grandmaster Ku He, he is the bodyguard of the Qi Emperor.	Yan Xiao Yi
9+ Qin Ye (秦业) Chief Councillor and leader of the other great military family in the Qing Kingdom.	9 Lang Tao (狼桃) Eldest disciple of Ku He and ally of the Dowager Empress.
8 Wang Qi Nian (王启年) Fan Xian’s right-hand man and skilled in stealth.	8 Cheng Ju Shu (程巨树) Ultra ferocious and strong man who killed Teng Zi Jing at Niu Lan Street in JOL 1.
8 Jing Ge (荆戈) Appears in JOL 2 Deputy head of Division 6 of the Investigator's Office.
8 Gong Dian (宫典) Vice-Commander of the Imperial Guards.
8 Gao Da (高达) Sent by Fan Xian's father Fan Jian to be Fan Xian's bodyguard.
8 Xie Bi An (谢必安) Bodyguard of Second Prince.
7+ First Prince Li Chengru  (李承儒) Appears in JOL 2 Born by Lady Ning of Dong Yi City, he is a military general stationed at the borders.		7 Female assassinators Yun Zi Yuan's disciples sent to assassinate Fan Xian at Niu Lan Street in JOL 1.
7 Ye Ling Er (叶灵儿) Daughter of Ye Zhong, close friend of Lin Wan Er, and grand niece of Ye Liu Yun. A martial arts enthusiast.

Here's a chronological recap of what happened in JOL 1 for those who watched JOL 1 some time ago, and would like a recap before starting JOL 2.

The Divine Temple and Ye Qing Mei

In a post-apocalypse world, after the modern world was destroyed, life and civilization restarted from the Ice Age and had advanced from the primitive and slavery society to the current feudal society.

Revived from a frozen state, Ye Qing Mei carrying a wooden luggage stepped out of the Divine Temple, pursued by something powerful, and met Xiao En and Ku He, who were sent to the bitter cold far north by the late Northern Qi Emperor, to search for the Divine Temple for immortality. Ye Qing Mei passed a martial arts book to Ku He (which turned him into a Great Grandmaster 2 - 3 years later) and the trio left for the Qi Kingdom together. On the way, after asking the duo to keep the location of the Divine Temple a secret, Ye Qing Mei separated from them to help her friend who had been pursued by something powerful.

Ye Qing Mei subsequently traveled the world with a blind servant (Wu Zhu) and visited Dong Yi City and met Great Grandmaster Si Gu Sword, and later to the Southern Qing Kingdom and met Great Grandmaster Ye Liu Yun. She stayed in the Qing Kingdom for 10+ years, establishing firms, manufacturing modern goods, and becoming the richest person. She later married the Qing Emperor. established the Royal Treasury and the Investigator’s Office, and bore him a son, Fan Xian. She died after Fan Xian was born. Before she died, she left (in the locked wooden luggage) a sniper rifle and a letter to Fan Xian informing him he was the only successful experiment outcome involving digitalization of memories, and thus had memories of the modern world, and that the secrets of the Divine Temple were behind a secret door in Tai Ping Villa, which could be opened by a mechanism in the lake of Tai Ping Villa.

Fan Xian was raised in Dan Zhou as the illegitimate son of Fan Jian, Vice Minister of Revenue of the Qing Kingdom, and was trained by Wu Zhu in martial arts and Fei Jie (sent by Chen Ping Ping) in medicine and poison. They soon left, leaving Fan Xian waiting every day for someone to fetch him to the capital.

Meanwhile, the Qing Emperor asked the Grand Princess to manage the Royal Treasury, while through Chen Ping Ping, he used the Investigator’s Office to rid dissidents and maintain his rule. He instructed the Investigator’s Office to catch Xiao En and torture him to reveal the location of the Divine Temple without success. The Divine Temple held incredible resources that transcended this era and would enable the Qing Kingdom to override others and rule the world.

The Qing Emperor, assisted by Chen Ping Ping, orchestrated an elaborate plan over the years to trick the tight-lipped Xiao En into believing Fan Xian was his grandson. He subsequently sent men to fetch Fan Xian to the capital to marry Lin Wan Er (the illegitimate daughter of Grand Princess and Prime Minister Lin) and take over the Royal Treasury, and arranged for Fan Xian to meet Xiao En. Meanwhile, Chen Ping Ping had secretly raised Xiao En's real grandson as a patriotic Qing officer.

On the way to the capital, Fan Xian ran into Fei Jie who was on a mission to send Yan Bing Yun to Qi Kingdom for a spy mission, as punishment for his failure to supervise his subordinate Teng Zi Jing. Fan Xian also met and fell in love with a lady holding a drumstick at a temple, not knowing that the lady was Lin Wan Er, to eventually find out after several attempts to push away the marriage.

From Dan Zhou to Qing Capital

However, the Grand Princess (who was supporting the Crown Prince)  did not want her daughter to marry Fan Xian for fear of losing the management of the Royal Treasury and its financial resources. Besides the first assassination of Fan Xian at Dan Zhou, she also masterminded the second assassination at Niu Lan Street via Lin Gong (brother of Lin Wan Er who worked for the Grand Princess), which caused Teng Zi Jing to be killed by a Grade 8 martial arts expert from Qi Kingdom (Cheng Ju Shu) in his attempt to protect Fan Xian. The enraged Fan Xian eventually killed Cheng Ju Shu in a busy street in broad daylight.

Fan Xian later found out that Shi Li Li, a famous Qing courtesan, was a Qi spy and learnt from her Lin Gong’s part in the Niu Lan Street assassination. Fan Xian decided to get revenge for Teng Zi Jing, but Wu Zhu was one step ahead and killed Lin Gong instead. The Qing Emperor used Qi spy activities in the Qing Kingdom as a reason to attack the Qi Kingdom.

After the war started between the Qing Kingdom and the Qi Kingdom, the Qi Kingdom came to the Qing Kingdom to seek peace, accompanied by Zhuang Mo Han, a respected Qi Literary Master. Both parties agreed to exchange Yan Bing Yun with Shi Li Li and Xiao En. At the dinner banquet after the peace negotiation, Zhuang Mo Han (Xiao En’s brother), blackmailed by the Grand Princess, accused Fan Xian of poetry plagiarism. However, the drunk Fan Xian recited 300 poems that he had memorized that night, shocking both Zhuang Mo Han and the Qing literary world. (At the end of JOL 1, upon Zhuang Mo Han's death, Zhuang Mo Han passed on his literary inheritance to Fan Xian).

After the dinner, Fan Xian, who had pretended to be drunk and sleeping in his room, sneaked into the palace to retrieve his mother’s luggage key and overheard the conversation between the Grand Princess and Zhuang Mo Han that the Grand Princess had blackmailed Zhuang Mo Han to accuse Fan Xian of poetry plagiarism and also leaked Yan Bing Yun’s undercover to the Qi Kingdom, causing Yan Bing Yun to be captured by the Qi Kingdom.

In front of Emperor Qing, the Grand Princess admitted to work with Gou You Zi (Guo Bao Kun’s father and Minister of Rites), but accused Fan Xian as the one who betrayed the Qing Kingdom, as he had met Yan Bing Yun when the latter was sent to Qi Kingdom for a spy mission. Realising the Grand Princess had access to the secret missions of the Investigator’s Office, Emperor Qing banished her from the Qing Kingdom to a faraway place, jailed Guo You Zi, and instructed Fan Xian to escort Xiao En and Shi Li Li to the Qi Kingdom to exchange for Yan Bing Yun.

Northbound to Qi Kingdom

On the road trip to the Qi Kingdom, Shi Li Li revealed that she was of Qing royal blood but was forced to work as a Qi spy as his younger brother was in Qi’s hands. At the same time, Fan Xian was targeted by three Grade 9  martial arts experts – Yan Xiao Yi (sent by the Grand Princess to kill Fan Xian), Shang Shan Hu (Xiao En’s godson to save Xiao En), and Qi Saintess Haitang Duo Duo (sent by Great Grandmaster Ku He to kill Xiao En) – and Guo Bao Kun (to revenge against Fan Xian).

Fan Xian not only cleverly averted the dangers by inciting Yan Xiao Yi to attack Shang Shan Hu, and Haitang Duo Duo to work with Shang Shan Hu against Yan Xiao Yi, but he also got Guo Bao Kun to work for him (promising to get his father out of jail), and worked with Shang Shan Hu to save Xiao En. Knowing that Fan Xian grew up in Dan Zhou, Xiao En mistook Fan Xian as his grandson and revealed to him before his death, his encounter with the Divine Temple. Fan Xian also realized then that the Qing Emperor was his father.

Fan Xian managed to arrive at Qi Kingdom safely, took over the spy network (as instructed by Chen Ping Ping), and got Guo Bao Kun to remain in Qi Kingdom to manage the network. He also saved Yan Bing Yun with the help of Shen Zhong's sister who loved Yan Bing Yun, and reached an agreement with the newly crowned puppet Qi Emperor to get rid of Shen Zhong, a powerful officer loyal to the Qi Empress Dowager. He did so by inciting Shang Shan Hu against Shen Zhong with Xiao En's death. Using Sheng Zhong's defiance of Qi Empress Dowager's instruction to keep Xiao En alive, and his objection to her decision to have commercial activities with Fan Xian, Shang Shan Hu accused Shen Zhong of betraying the Qi Kingdom by working with Qing's Investigator Office, and that his sister was in a relationship with Yan Bing Yun from the Investigator's Office. Shen Zhong was demoted by the Empress Dowager.

From separate verifications with Guo Bao Kun and Yan Bing Yun, Fan Xian realised that his encounters were planned and Yan Bing Yun was the real grandson of Xiao En. Fan Xian also realised that he was a mere chess piece and became wary of Chen Ping Ping. He decided to take over the Investigator's Office and investigate the truth behind his mother's death. He asked Yan Bing Yun to work with him to defeat Chen Ping Ping.

En route to the Qi Kingdom, the Qing convoy was ambushed by Shen Zhong. When he stabbed Yan Bing Yun, his sister jumped in and took the stab. Knowing he would die as the Qi soldiers surrounded him, Shen Zhong asked Fan Xian to bring his sister to the Qing Kingdom with them and shared that he was smuggling with the Second Prince and Grand Princess. Shen Zhong was brought away by Qi guards and was subsequently killed by Shang Shan Hu.

At a rest stop, Xie Bi An (the Second Prince's bodyguard) passed two letters, one to Fan Xian and one to Yan Bing Yun. In the letter to Fan Xian, the Second Prince admitted to his conspiracy with the Grand Princess and asked Fan Xian to help him defeat the Crown Prince to become the next Emperor. The Second Prince also shared that Teng Zi Jing's sons, Fan Shi Zhe and Fei Jie were in his hands. In the letter to Yan Bing Yun, the Second Prince said if Yan Bing Yun reported his crimes, he would definitely revolt causing turmoil in the Qing Kingdom.

When Fan Xian woke up the next day, he was surrounded by Second Prince's men. Fan Xian not only refused to help the Second Prince but also dared Xie Bi An to kill him and the whole convoy, committing treason against the Qing Kingdom. As Xie Bi An hesitated, Yan Bing Yun stabbed Fan Xian from behind declaring this was his choice (as his duty was to ensure peace in the Qing Kingdom). JOL 1 ended with Fan Xian collapsed to the ground, motionless, and finally closed his eyes.

JOL2 continues directly from JOL1 and the last scene of Yan Bing Yun stabbing Fan Xian was re-enacted by the new Yan Bing Yun actor and Fan Xian in JOL2.

From JOL 1 (left) to JOL 2 (right)

Key story arcs in JOL 2

1. Fan Xian faked his death,  returned to the Qing capital, and appeased the Qing Emperor.
2. Embracing Moon Pavilion incident and an old man's death steeled Fan Xian's resolve to be a chess player, to defeat the Second Prince and fulfill her late mother's wish for everyone to be equal.
3. Fan Xian was sent to the Investigator's Office First Division to oversee the Spring Exams and got himself new allies - Deng Zi Yue, Yang Wan Li, and Shi Chan Li.
4. Appearances of First Prince and Third Prince as allies of Fan Xian.
5. Marriage of Fan Xian and Lin Wan Er, and Lin Wan Er finds out that Wu Zhu killed his brother. Meanwhile, Lin Wan Er's father, the Prime Minister, was forced by the Qing Emperor to retire early.
6. Assassination at the flower viewing event that unveiled the face and identity of Shadow; Fan Xian also almost lost his life and had to undergo surgery performed by his sister Fan Run Run.
7. A Wu Zhu look-alike (blindfolded and dressed in black) appeared fighting Wu Zhu, and Wu Zhu trained Fan Ruo Ruo to hold a gun, to protect Fan Xian.
8. Emperor Qing acknowledged Fan Xian as his son and Great Grandmaster Ye Liu Yun appeared.
9. Fan Xian went to Jiang Nan with the Third Prince to take over the three workshops of Jiang Nan (run by the Ming family).
10. Fan Xian regaining his martial strength qi at the end of JOL 2.

JOL 3 is expected to be the third and final season for JOL and we can thus expect the following revelations, which have yet to unfold in JOL 2, and which we hope will not be another 5-year wait, as promised by the scriptwriter:

1. The secrets of the Divine Temple, and the mystery behind Ye Qing Mei, Wu Zhu, and Wu Zhu look-a-like. JOL 1 mentioned the secrets of the Divine Temple were behind a secret door in Tai Ping Villa, which could be opened by a mechanism in the lake of Tai Ping Villa.
2. The truth behind Ye Qing Mei's death.
3. Dong Yi City and the Great Grandmaster of Dong Yi City, Si Gu Sword.
4. The identity of the fourth Great Grandmaster - Is he really Eunuch Hong or someone else?
5. The use of the sniper rifle. Fan Ruo Ruo has started training to hold the sniper rifle in JOL 2.
6. The identity of the woman in the Crown Prince's face-less woman drawings. JOL 1 shows the Crown Prince with his many face-less woman drawings, and his mother (the Empress) finding those drawings and reprimanding him in JOL 2.
7. The secret behind the Qi Emperor, with a female actress cross-dressing and playing the role of Qi Emperor. 
8. Chen Ping Ping's secrets - Is he an ally or enemy of Fan Xian? Why is he shown repeatedly touching his wheelchair, and why is his wheelchair super heavy (as shown in JOL 2)?

We hope this editorial has been useful to you to better understand the world of Joy of Life. Share with us your thoughts and theories of JOL. Remember to use spoiler tags to keep this editorial and its comments safe for all users.