The One-and-Only Sect Master

Gu Buqiong is a half-recluse with a natural knack for losing money, barely scraping by repairing mobile phones, and his life's ambition is simply to "earn enough to cover living expenses." One day, a long-legged girl claiming to be from the Mohist Mechanism Sect shows up at his door, tearfully throws her arms around him, calls him "Sect Master," and tries to drag him into rebuilding the sect and—while they're at it—conquering the world, with the first step being to "take down" the ice cream shop next door. And so this ordinary young man, a graduate of Hangcheng University's archaeology program, is identified as the heir of an ancient sect lost for thousands of years, and must lead a group of beast disciples who drop from the sky with no common sense whatsoever to prop up the facade of the "Four Nothings Sect" in the city. The story is set in Hangzhou, twisting mechanism arts with modern technology and cultivation marvels with urban daily life into a single rope: phones need fixing, rent needs paying, disciples need managing, while on the other side lie old grudges and wars spanning a thousand years of time and space. The reincarnated Grand Princess Huayang, Palace Master Fengzi of the Great Qin Red Dragon Palace, and others appear one after another, turning Gu Buqiong's quiet life into a chaotic stew. The novel generates laughs through exaggerated narration and dense snark, aiming on one hand at the trivial struggles of small people making a living and on the other unfolding a wildly imaginative fantasy scroll, writing about young people's entrepreneurship, friendship, and love amid the banter, while beneath the bustle retaining a lingering note about choice and growth. Serialization began in late 2016 and concluded in December 2017, totaling about 860,000 characters; it was selected for the 2017 China Online Novel Rankings.