The Top Swordsman in School Says He Wants to Take Me In

Bai Shi is the last modern-day heir to the puppet-master lineage. After cramming at the last minute, he finally gets into the only institution of higher learning for modern cultivators, Qingya Academy, only to be knocked flat by the puppet department's exorbitant tuition fees.

With no support from his family, and a brutal policy of expelling the lowest-ranked students every semester, Bai Shi grits his teeth and thinks: Since I'm already here, there's only one way forward.

Work part-time and study hard until I graduate.

Bai Shi has a real knack for odd jobs. He walks spirit pets for the summoning department, operates little puppet figures to scrub pill cauldrons for the alchemists, tunes strings for the music cultivators, and poses as a background model for promotional photos for various departments. Before long, everyone at the academy knows there's a work-study king in the puppet department.

But his favorite job is still testing swords for that aloof beauty in the sword cultivation department. It's easy work and pays well. No wonder sword cultivators are so foolishly rich.

-

The tuition problem hasn't even been solved, and now academic troubles follow one after another. Bai Shi's family has fallen into decline, so he started cultivating late, and no matter how hard he tries, he can't master the puppet master's most essential skill: controlling puppets.

Before midterms, Bai Shi practices deep into the night. As usual, he recites the incantation, but the puppet still lies flat on the floor.

Watching from the side, the aloof sword cultivator blurts out, "If nothing else, I'll support you..."

Before he can finish speaking, the spell takes effect. The life-sized puppet Bai Shi is controlling finally stands up. Bai Shi cheers, "That's amazing! I did it!"

He turns to the sword cultivator. "What did you just say?"

The sword cultivator: "..."

One-on-one, happy ending.

Theme: Study hard.