Dimensional Storekeeper

Chapter 210: Please Don’t Let the Ancestors Join

Time passed, and the store remained lively.

In the corner of the store, four disciples sat hunched over, their faces tense with focus. They looked exactly how readers do when they hit a cliffhanger Chapter at 3AM.

The type of scheming that erupts when the main character finally learns the enemy’s secret technique and the entire comment section turns into a battlefield of theories and panic.

They had all come to a perfectly mutual, perfectly silent agreement.

Not. A. Word. To. Their. Elders. Sect Masters.

“Why?” you ask?

Simple.

More competitors = less chance of winning.

And with the storekeeper putting a whole tournament on the line with real prizes?

That was practically life and death stakes right there.

One mention to their Sect Master and the next day they’d have a queue of uncles, aunties, elder cousins, their master, two pillar elders, and probably one of the ancestors crawling out of a portrait ready to take the cue stick and sweep the whole bracket.

Sure, the store wasn’t known to the entire sect.

Only a few trusted members had ever stumbled into it.

But was that truly secure?

Boundless possibilities hung in the air. What if word slipped?

What if one of them turned out to be another Old Tiger Zhao?

No thanks.

No way.

Not happening.

It’s not always bad to keep secrets. Mind-your-business jutsu.

Xiao Lianfeng’s fingers curled into a tight ball.

’For the sake of righteous balance… we must fight this battle alone.’

Together, they were united in sacred selfishness.

And truly, wasn’t that what brotherhood and sisterhood were all about sometimes?

Strategic silence. Tactical gatekeeping. Cultivated secrecy.

And let’s be honest – they weren’t doing this out of malice.

They were doing it out of survival.

If the elders knew about the billiard room?

Gone. All of it.

The prize pool?

Gone.

The chance to win?

Gone.

The moment Sect Master Jiang Xianwei found out he could win ten free products by casually poking colored balls into holes with a stick?

That man would show up in full ceremonial robe, summon a celestial weapon in the form of a cue stick, and obliterate them all with one perfect break shot.

Sure, there was no guarantee Sect Master Jiang Xianwei would actually be good at billiards – but were they really about to roll those dice?

The man was a mystery wrapped in robe, sealed in golden threads of legend. A “young-looking” monster past a hundred years old, whose talents seemed to casually bend the heavens sideways.

So no.

Absolutely not.

No flyers.

No letters.

Not even whispers.

If they find it on their own, good for them.

But if they don’t…? Then that’s fate.

Perfect fate.

The longer it took for their elders to discover the new billiard room, the less time they had to train.

No practice. No strategy. No sneaky insights from Senior Hao.

Just pure, blissful ignorance.

They could show up at the last second, clueless and confused, and the disciples would pretend to be surprised too.

“Oh no, Elder? You came? Oh wow! There’s a tournament going on? Haha, small world, huh?”

Then absolutely wipe the floor with them.

It wasn’t selfishness.

It was… opportunity maximization.

Sometimes, the path to victory wasn’t through brute strength or divine talent.

Sometimes, it was through good, old-fashioned, perfectly timed loophole exploitation.

And that’s exactly what they did.

No announcements. No pointing.

As far as they were concerned? The billiard room didn’t exist. Not until time – or misfortune – forced it into the open.

And time… did its thing.

It wasn’t until four whole days later that the elders and sect masters finally noticed the door.

Not because of whispers. Not because of suspicious behavior.

Just because their scheduled visit happened to line up.

After all, these powerful figures only swung by the Dimensional Convenience Store once every week or two. Especially the sect masters.

Busy people. Big responsibilities.

And the current hot mess?

Trade negotiations with Old Tiger Zhao over transporting Scorching Soul City’s goods to Sovereign City.

Add to that, the Drifting Sword Sect had their hands full.

Why?

Cola-Inspired Pills.

Despite it being a supposedly classified product, someone – somewhere -had leaked its existence.

Now every sect, rogue cultivator, and nosy wandering alchemist was swarming them with questions.

“Where’s the formula?”

“Can you sell us some?”

“Can I try one for…research?”

It didn’t help that the pills had flipped conventional alchemy on its head.

And the fortunate part?

Nobody knew the truth:

That the genius who concocted those pills wasn’t some ancient elder, nor a hidden dragon of the alchemy world.

It was just a young rogue alchemist.

Not completely unknown, but in the grand scale of the cultivation world, Ji Yunzhi was still a small ripple. A rising name in niche circles at best.

The kind no one would expect to be the creator of the most sought-after pills in Sovereign City right now.

And while his name was quietly climbing, Ji Yunzhi himself was still holed up in his alchemy chamber.

Deep in research.

Focused on his next breakthrough.

This time? A pill inspired by another canned drink – Wing Blast.

He had no idea he was becoming a hot topic among sects and rogue factions alike.

And even if he did, he’d probably just sigh, call it a hassle, and go back to tweaking the flavor profile and reaction cycle.

Fame?

Troublesome.

Recognition?

Distracting.

Still, the secret held.

And the Drifting Sword Sect wasn’t planning on letting that slip anytime soon.

So, while all the old monsters were tangled in politics, logistics, and rogue pill chasers, the billiard table remained untouched by their gaze.

At least… for four glorious days.

Then the elders arrived.

They didn’t even need to be told. The moment they stepped inside and saw the new archway at the store, gleaming innocently, they knew.

They had been played.

Their own disciples.

Those cheeky little things had gone full covert ops.

The elders exchanged glances. It was betrayal, sure. But… strategic betrayal.

They understood. Truly.

After all, if they had discovered a hidden room first, they might’ve also considered “accidentally” forgetting to report it. Especially if a tournament was involved. And prizes. Ten free items.

Besides, what could they even do? Drag their disciples back to the sect? For what? Winning a few games and keeping secrets?

Wouldn’t that be power tripping?

And would the storekeeper just stand by and watch that happen?

If they pushed it too far, they wouldn’t just lose face – they might lose access to the store altogether.

Or worse… their lives.

So no. No punishments today.

They simply blamed their own schedules for arriving late.

Luckily, they still had time.

According to the poster, the tournament would begin midnight Monday, which meant they had all of Saturday, Sunday, and the rest of today to practice.

Three whole days to catch up.

The elders and sect masters immediately paused everything they had been handling – trading reports, negotiation scrolls, even one in-progress talisman lecture was passed off mid-sentence to an inner sect disciple. Urgency called, and it came in the form of cue sticks and colored balls.

They needed practice. Desperately.

Their first impressions?

Confusion.

Then fascination.

Then full-blown obsession.

“This is ridiculous.” Elder Tang Sheng muttered as he lined up a shot.

’Why do I want to keep playing?’

He missed. He cursed. Then he tried again.

And again.

By the end of their second round, Sect Master Jiang Xianwei had already begun calculating angles in his head and muttering about kinetic transfers, while Elder Bai Qingshui had narrowed his eyes and started testing his grip the same way he did with his sword.

They liked it.

No – they loved it!

But more than the game itself, it was the bubbling pettiness brewing inside their chests. Their own disciples, sneaky little foxes, had dared to keep this from them?

This wasn’t just training anymore.

This was revenge.

They were going to win. Not just because of pride. But because their juniors had secretly enjoyed three entire days of billiards while smiling innocently in front of them.

This tournament?

It was personal now.

But that wasn’t all. They weren’t the only ones who had discovered the new room.

On the royalty’s side of the Shrouded Cloud Empire, news had traveled fast – because Princess Yunlan Qingyi and her ever-dutiful assistant Li Mei had paid the store a visit. Just another quiet drop-by.

And there it was.

A strange new space. A table that seemed simple, but pulsed with quiet mystery. Colored balls. Long wooden sticks. And a tournament poster taped proudly to the wall.

It didn’t take long for Qingyi to light up with excitement.

’Mei Mei, this… this is a game of power and precision, is it not?’

Li Mei, completely unsure but loyal to a fault, nodded immediately. ’Absolutely, Princess.’

Naturally, the moment they returned to the palace, Princess Yunlan Qingyi recounted everything to her mother, the Empress – complete with dramatic retellings and sound effects. And as expected, Her Majesty Empress Shen Qianrou showed genuine interest in it.

Not even because she understood the game yet – but because the idea of casually dominating it after hearing about it secondhand sounded far too fun.

“A contest of strategy? Balance? Aim? Hm… how quaint.”

And thus, she signed up.

Well, not just her.

Several core members of the Shrouded Blade followed suit. Then, of course, the Emperor himself.

Yunlan Haorang wasn’t about to let everyone else go aura-farming without him.

He didn’t survive 300 royal meetings for this. Try again in another timeline.

And just like that, one by one, nearly all the regulars of the Dimensional Convenience Store found their way to the counter – scribbling their names onto the sign-up sheet.

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