Fu Siheng climbed up from the grassroots, one step at a time, to become Secretary Fu. At thirty, his future looked boundless. Then he went to the countryside to inspect some work and was headbutted to death by a villager's pig.
When he opened his eyes again, he'd transmigrated into an adult novel. He'd become the heartless lotus's NPC master.
In the original story, he had three disciples. The eldest was cruel and unscrupulous, while the second helped the wicked. At least the first two wore their villainy on their sleeves.
But the third disciple, Chu Nanxing, was different. He was a fake-decent, manipulative little tea-drinker.
He treated his NPC master like a sex toy.
Fu Siheng was furious. Where was that Chu fellow? He was going to clean house!
Good news: He hadn't taken on the third disciple yet.
Bad news: The boy was already on his way.
Then he wouldn't take him on. Perfect. Political screening, written exam, interview, background check: no one was getting out of it!
This is where you get stuck.
Just then, an unsigned note drifted down:
"You must not alter the main plot. If you want to survive, you must set the villain straight."
Set him straight? What nonsense. After all those years as an official, Fu Siheng understood one thing better than anyone:
If you want your subordinates to stay loyal, a good system works better than trying to win them over.
So Fu Siheng made a decision: Want to cultivate immortality? Take the civil service exam first!
Want spirit stones and resources to advance? Earn them all through aptitude tests!
Want to enter a secret realm? Write an essay. No going unless you score at least 80.
A minor test every three days, a major one every five. Since he couldn't escape his fate, he'd keep their cultivation levels firmly in check.
-
Chu Nanxing had a secret: He kept a white moonlight in his heart, someone he was willing to follow but didn't dare profane.
He spent ten years trying to catch up with that person's footsteps.
After ten years, he finally got his wish and became that person's disciple. But Chu Nanxing discovered...
His white moonlight had gone mad.
No meditation, no alchemy, no seclusion. All day long, he clutched a book as thick as a brick called Regulations on Political Screening for Cultivators, revising Chu Nanxing's name over and over. His white moonlight used to look at him with compassion and distance. Now, that gaze had become... an appraisal.
Just like the way Elder Zonglu looked when he summoned Chu Nanxing for a talk.
His eldest senior brother sneered in private: "What is Master up to? Is he going to manage us like ordinary people?"
His second senior brother chimed in sarcastically: "Maybe he's been struck by lightning too many times and lost his mind."
Chu Nanxing never joined in.
Because he'd noticed that whenever Master returned his paperwork, he would write on it by hand. His elegant, neat strokes made it seem as if he was taking Chu Nanxing himself seriously. As for his senior brothers' forms, Master only stamped them with "Reviewed."
No one had ever paid such close attention to him.
His white moonlight was still there.
So Chu Nanxing started deliberately getting his social connections wrong and leaving information blank. Every time his paperwork was returned, he kept the rejection slip and tucked it under his pillow.
Master's handwriting was on it: "Chu Nanxing, social connections unclear. Further investigation required."
He thought: Master's handwriting is so beautiful.
-
"Chu Nanxing, why have you left your third uncle off the social connections section of your political screening form again?"
"Master, my third uncle cultivates demonic arts."
"That still needs to be reported. Concealing it costs you ten points."
Chu Nanxing looked up at him and suddenly smiled. "Master, you're taking this so seriously. Are you especially afraid of me?"
Fu Siheng kept a straight face. "Afraid of you? I'm afraid you'll fail the political screening and delay your ascension."
Later, Chu Nanxing's political screening materials were returned seven times.
On the seventh, he cornered Fu Siheng outside the study.
"Master, what exactly do you want me to write?"
"The truth."
"Then I'll write the truth: I want to lock Master up and keep you all to myself."
The red pen in Fu Siheng's hand nearly pierced the paper. "...You don't need to write that."
"Why not?" Chu Nanxing stepped closer, his voice low and husky. "Isn't this exactly the kind of 'improper thinking' you're most afraid of?"
Fu Siheng took a deep breath and thought: Is this villain challenging his teaching credentials?
In the cultivation world, I pose no threat to you.
But in the education world, you can't ruin my reputation!
*
1. One-on-one romance, both are each other's only partner, no System.
2. The white moonlight is not the original body's master. The original body is just an NPC.
3. The exam questions in this story are fictional. Please don't read too much into them.
4. If you like it, please bookmark it!
(Screenshot of the blurb archived on May 26, 2026.)
Theme: Hold high the banner and set an example.
