For a first watch, follow this main-story route: Season 1 → Fate → Season 2 → Season 3 → Season 4 → Three-Year Agreement → the annual series. Add Song of Desert after Season 2 if you want Hai Bodong’s backstory. Origin retells the beginning and is optional if you have already watched the original first season.
This route keeps the main story intact without asking you to switch between playlists halfway through a season. The table below identifies the installments by title, year and length because services do not always agree on the season numbers. This guide covers the animated Doupo Cangqiong, also listed as Fights Break Sphere, not the live-action adaptations.
The recommended BTTH watch order
Scroll across to compare all columns →
| Watch next | Release and length | Why it belongs here |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 2017; 12 episodes | The original starting point for Xiao Yan, his setback and his training. |
| Special 1: Fate | 2017; 2 episodes | The early mountain encounter, often identified by Yun Yun’s name. Keep it in your route. |
| Season 2 | 2018; 12 episodes | Continue the main story. |
| Special 2: Song of Desert | 2019; 3 episodes | Optional earlier backstory associated with Hai Bodong. Release order gives it a useful place after Season 2. |
| Season 3 | 2019; 12 episodes | Resume Xiao Yan’s main journey. |
| Season 4 | 2021; 24 episodes | Watch before the Three-Year Agreement special. |
| Special 3: Three-Year Agreement | 2021; 13 episodes | Essential main-story continuation. WeTV calls it Three Years of Pledge. |
| Special 4: Origin | 2022; 3 episodes | Optional return to the beginning for viewers who watched Season 1. It is not the next event after Three-Year Agreement. |
| The annual series, or Nian Fan | Began in 2022; continuing numbered run | The main continuation after Three-Year Agreement, often labelled Season 5. |
The table includes optional specials in their release positions. Each title links to its official WeTV listing.
Watch our BTTH watch order guide
Should you start with Season 1 or Origin?
Choose the 2017 first season for the fuller introduction, or Origin for a shorter opening with newer visuals. The original twelve episodes give the early relationships and local conflicts more room. Origin condenses that material into three episodes.
Origin covers Xiao Yan’s fall in status, the broken engagement and his connection with Yao Lao. It is not a sequel to Three-Year Agreement: its 2022 release date explains why it appears late in a release-order list.
If you start with Origin, continue through Fate and Season 2 onward. Return to the original Season 1 if you want the fuller early context. Do not jump from Origin to the annual series just because the two were released close together.
Where the BTTH specials belong
Fate: the early two-part special
This is the 2017 special, not Song of Desert and not Origin. It expands the early mountain portion of the story and the encounter involving Yun Yun. Watching it after Season 1 follows its original release position and keeps the guide easy to use.
You may see chronological lists that insert it inside Season 2. Those lists are trying to align the mountain events with the surrounding main-season material. For a first watch, following complete releases is simpler than trying to match cuts across differently packaged uploads.
Song of Desert: earlier backstory
Song of Desert focuses on past events associated with Hai Bodong rather than taking Xiao Yan to the next point in his journey. Although its events occur earlier, watching it after Season 2 gives the character and setting more context. Starting the whole franchise here would delay the protagonist’s introduction.
Keep it if you are interested in Hai Bodong; otherwise, return to it after you have caught up with the main story.
Three-Year Agreement: part of the main story
Watch Three-Year Agreement after Season 4 and before the annual series. It develops the confrontation promised by the opening setup. Skipping it removes a major part of the story’s cause and effect, even though a streaming service files it under “Special 3.”
Look for Three Years of Pledge if a search for “Three-Year Agreement” does not return it on WeTV. The 13-episode length is another useful identifier. A trailer, compilation highlight or three-episode Origin listing is not this installment.
Release order versus chronological order
A chronological list may put Song of Desert before Xiao Yan’s opening story and insert Fate within Season 2. For a first viewing, the release route is easier to follow: you finish one installment before switching playlists. On a rewatch, those chronological rearrangements can help place the earlier encounters. Origin remains an alternative telling of the opening, not an extra event to fit after Three-Year Agreement.
Already started? Pick up here
Scroll across to compare all columns →
| Last completed installment | Your next step |
|---|---|
| Original Season 1 | Fate, then Season 2. |
| Season 2 | Song of Desert for backstory, or Season 3 to stay with the main journey. |
| Season 3 | Season 4. |
| Season 4 | Three-Year Agreement / Three Years of Pledge. |
| Three-Year Agreement | The annual series. Origin is an optional refresher, not a required bridge. |
| Only Origin | Fate, then Season 2. Revisit the original Season 1 if you want the fuller early context. |
Season 5, Nian Fan and confusing episode numbers
Nian Fan refers to the annual run, which began in 2022. It is commonly called Season 5, but services and uploaders may divide its episodes into smaller packages. A later “season” label can therefore describe a segment of the same continuing production rather than a new starting point.
Match three things before changing platforms: the installment title, the episode number inside that installment, and the opening scene of the episode you last watched. Do not match by “Season 6” or a total franchise episode number alone. Compilation videos may join several episodes and restart their own numbering.
Where to watch the correct version
Use the WeTV title links in the table and check that the page shows animation. Battle Through the Heavens, Doupo Cangqiong and Fights Break Sphere can lead to the same donghua, but the last title is also associated with live-action adaptations. A cast of live-action actors is a sign that you have opened a different adaptation.
Check subtitles and VIP requirements on the listing for each installment. Access can differ by region and episode, so an available first episode does not guarantee that the entire season is free.
For the story’s appeal and reservations rather than the viewing sequence, read our Battle Through the Heavens donghua review.
