Ch 127: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

In the afternoon, Shi Yan and his team informed Lu Yao that the team interviewed in the morning had been targeted.

Lu Yao went to the lounge to watch the replay. Despite the targeting, the team performed well in the afternoon, winning two matches decisively before encountering the celestials in the third match. The celestials crushed their morale, forcing them to withdraw regretfully.

By the evening, other teams inspired by the interview and attempting cross-racial team formations also faced celestial retaliation.

Due to lack of coordination, these hastily formed teams were inconsistent in strength and couldn’t secure victories as cleanly as the morning’s top-ranked team. When they later encountered celestials, they were utterly decimated, unable to put up any resistance.

However, the reactions sparked by cross-racial teams were far more entertaining than those of single-race teams. Players found the experience novel, and spectators equally enjoyed watching them.

For tens of thousands of years, the six realms had been plagued by constant conflict.

Only in the past millennium had the disputes gradually calmed, though the realms remained almost completely isolated from each other.

In the human world, a few cities had come under demon control for various reasons, resulting in mixed human and demon populations, though the demons dominated.

The strong have always held power—it’s been this way for millennia.

This Celestial-Demon Conference, however, allowed the realms to witness something new and different.

The atmosphere in the venue grew livelier in the afternoon as spectators adjusted to the environment.

Many began selectively watching matches involving mixed-race teams, but the celestials disrupted this enthusiastic vibe.

Celestial techniques and artifacts were naturally advantageous against demons and devils, and the celestials leveraged this to win multiple matches.

During the evening break, the newly prominent celestial team appeared in an interview.

The host asked, “What is your advantage?”

The young celestial, with a stoic expression, replied, “Righteousness always prevails over evil. That’s all.”

In the audience, demons grumbled in discontent. “Who’s he calling evil?”

The devils were equally displeased. “It’s just a few matches. Why bring up good and evil? Does he have a screw loose?”

The café had initially relied on demon customers to stay afloat and later attracted devils as well. They were the most familiar with the café and had the deepest attachment to it, with the largest spectator turnout.

The venue erupted in arguments following the celestial interview.

The celestials in the audience remained cold and detached, watching the commotion unfold.

Nearby, mortals, irritated by the noise, dared not intervene.

If the celestials were provoked, they could immediately retaliate and regain face. But mortals, forever bystanders in the six realms, didn’t even dare to raise their voices.

By the afternoon, most shops in the shopping street had closed. The shopkeepers, instead of heading home, gathered at the café to join the excitement, watching the livestream from the lounge and chatting.

Bai Yi remarked, “Well, this has stirred up some trouble.”

Ji Qingyan clicked her tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Celestials sure hold grudges.”

Shi Yan, holding Xiong An’an in his arms, winced in pain. “…An’an, take it easy.”

The little bear demon, enraged by the celestial’s interview, hadn’t held back, leaving five holes in Shi Yan’s arm.

Someone nearby quickly whisked the bear demon away, while Shi Yan, too pained to speak, gritted his teeth.

Just then, Lu Yao returned from outside.

The lounge was in chaos, and everyone was preparing to send Shi Yan to the hospital.

Lu Yao pulled out Regulation Rod and traced a glowing magic formation on Shi Yan’s arm.

A gentle warmth spread over his skin. The bleeding stopped, and within a minute, the wounds had healed.

Bai Yi pressed on Shi Yan’s arm and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Shi Yan blinked rapidly and shook his head.

The gaming team and other staff watched the whole process in awe.

The staff from the shopping street were already accustomed to the boss occasionally showcasing her abilities.

The gaming team, however, had always thought the true marvel was the street itself, doubting that the boss was all that powerful. Now, they weren’t so sure.

Lu Yao took out a bottle of healing pills, poured out two, and handed them to Shi Yan to take. Then she looked down at An’an and said, “Control your temper. Think things through before acting, and don’t lose control so easily.”

Xiong An’an clung to Lu Yao’s leg, his large face filled with grievance. “Those celestials are awful.”

Hearing the phrase “righteousness prevails over evil” had triggered memories for Xiong An’an. Years ago, demon hunters had said the same thing about his mother, calling the demon clan evil, before killing her right in front of him.

They had lived far from human settlements, peacefully in the mountains, never harming humans.

At the time, he was too young and powerless to resist. His mother had hidden him, and he had watched helplessly as she died from her injuries.

To him, the demon hunters were the true evil.

But he had been too small, too weak.

He couldn’t save his mother and couldn’t even protect himself. If his sister hadn’t found him, he would likely have starved to death in the mountains.

Xiong An’an carried a secret he had never shared with anyone: When his sister first came to take him in, he didn’t like her.

She smelled of humans, and her behavior was unlike their mother’s. Instead, it reminded him of the demon hunters.

But his sister had taken him in and tried her best to raise him. She wasn’t as strong as their mother and, being a half-demon, couldn’t even take on a demon form. She had no choice but to raise him the human way.

Xiong An’an’s feelings were tangled and confused.

Later, after he stumbled upon the café by accident, he met many humans and demons and gradually began to understand the world.

He realized that not all humans were the same, just as not all demons were alike.

He resolved to cultivate and become strong, to protect his sister, Lu Yao, and his master.

And, most importantly, to take revenge on the demon hunters who had climbed the mountain that day.

But when he heard the celestial’s interview earlier, memories of those self-righteous demon hunters came flooding back, and he lost control.

Lu Yao crouched down, cupping the little bear demon’s round face. “Then you should go argue with the celestials. What does stabbing Uncle Shi Yan accomplish?”

Xiong An’an lowered his head.

Lu Yao nudged him. “Go apologize to Uncle Shi Yan.”

Xiong An’an turned to look at Shi Yan, his innocent, shiny eyes full of regret.

Shi Yan’s heart melted. “It’s fine. Just a scratch, and it’s already healed. But if you call me ‘big brother,’ I’ll buy you a cake tomorrow.”

Xiong An’an’s eyes lit up. Still remembering Lu Yao’s words, he said, “Uncle, I’m sorry.”

Then, almost instantly, he added, “Big brother, I want strawberry cake and chocolate cake.”

Shi Yan covered his face. That first part was definitely unnecessary, but he couldn’t help replying, “Alright, alright. Big brother will buy them for you tomorrow.”

At that moment, Qiuyu pushed the door open, kicked Xiong An’an aside, and clung to Lu Yao’s arm. “The celestials are bullying people. When are we going on?”

Qiuyu was stunningly beautiful, dressed in the dark-style children’s clothes Lu Yao had bought for her—a black camisole paired with denim bell-bottoms. Though she looked adorable, her aura was too commanding to hide the maturity of her soul.

Xiong An’an, now lying on the floor, said nothing, blinking pitifully as he looked up.

A team member monitoring the group competition said, “If you want to face the celestials, you’ll have to go on tomorrow at the latest—and you’ll need to keep winning.”

The group competition was single-elimination, but to ensure fairness, after the first round of random matchups, teams were paired based on similar win counts and win rate deviations of no more than 10%.

The celestials had won four consecutive matches in the afternoon. If the marketplace team wanted to match with them, they’d need to catch up in win rate.

Lu Yao patted Qiuyu. “Go find Little Ginseng and Tangkang. We’ll run two more practice matches tonight and head in tomorrow.”

The first day of the tournament had ended, and participants were leaving the venue in order. The third floor was being cleared of spectators.

During the Celestial-Demon Conference, the café’s online services were suspended.

As the café quickly emptied, the shopping street team gathered to review the team compositions and strategies they had observed on the first day. They also watched several rounds of matches featuring celestial teams before starting their own practice matches against disciples from the Six Realms Sect.

…

Late at night, in the Demon Realm.

Deep in the eighteenth layer of the Shadow Prison, Yu Yao leaned against the wall, her head tilted back as she gazed at the illusion of the demon moon outside the small window.

Eighteen layers underground, there was no sky to be seen.

What lay beyond the window was merely an illusion.

Yet Yu Yao stared at it, lost in thought—a crimson moon once again.

She had been here long enough to reflect on many things.

If there were a next time, she would definitely…

Click—

A barely audible sound came from above. With her sharp senses, Yu Yao could tell it wasn’t the usual guards.

She slowly sat upright, smoothing out her disheveled hair.

About half an hour later, two figures appeared outside the cell of the eighteenth layer.

A tall man with silver hair and crimson eyes stood at the door, his hoarse voice calling, “Yao’er.”

Yu Yao turned her head to see Jizhuang and Wuling. A faint, complex smile played at her lips. “It’s actually you.”

Five hundred years ago, if she hadn’t met him, she wouldn’t have mistaken the wrong person, nor ended up in her current predicament.

Jizhuang, oblivious to the complexity in Yu Yao’s expression, was simply relieved and satisfied to see her again.

Wuling had previously uncovered that the once-renowned Immortal Yu Yao had last disappeared near the boundary gate between the human and demon realms.

However, in recent centuries, the Demon Lord had strictly guarded the boundary gate. The two demons had gone to great lengths to sneak from the human realm into the demon domain.

Unfortunately, while they were searching for her in the vast demon realm, Yu Yao had gone to the human realm.

Not long after, Yu Yao was captured by the Demon Lord and brought back.

The news spread through the Abyss of Weak Waters, allowing Jizhuang and Wuling to finally locate her.

The Shadow Prison was within the Tianyuan Demon Palace, but despite several attempts, the two demons had been unable to infiltrate it.

This time, the Demon Lord had left the palace for unknown reasons and had been absent for half a month.

Something seemed to be happening in the human realm, and even the demon domain was abuzz with speculation.

But Jizhuang paid no attention to such matters. Taking advantage of the Demon Lord’s absence and the relaxed guards, he and Wuling finally snuck into the Shadow Prison.

Jizhuang used his life-bound sword to break the seals binding Yu Yao, then crafted a substitute using magic and placed it in her stead. Finally, he carried her out.

Leaning on Jizhuang’s shoulder, Yu Yao spoke calmly, “Take me to Baixian Mountain.”

Wuling frowned. “What are you planning to do?”

Lu Yao closed her eyes, ignoring him.

Jizhuang sighed and, after a brief pause, began walking out. “Alright, as you wish.”

…

The next day, the second day of the Celestial-Demon Conference.

The path up Baixian Mountain was lined with tightly packed stalls.

Not only were there humans selling food and trinkets, but also demon vendors offering spiritual plants and rare magical items.

The influx of visitors over the past two days had turned the mountain into a bustling market—a perfect opportunity to make money.

Having learned from the first day, guests ascending the mountain on the second day were much more at ease. Many took their time browsing stalls from the base of the mountain all the way to the café, buying plenty of goods along the way.

Upon reaching the café, they checked their tickets and entered.

Once seated, the spectators began scanning the floating screens overhead, looking for matches that piqued their interest.

The five members of the marketplace team also took their seats, preparing for their match.

The little bear demon, Little Ginseng, and Xiao Zhong kept sneaking glances out of the corners of their eyes, surreptitiously observing the ghost official seated at the far right.

This was their first time meeting the ghost official teammate, and they hadn’t even trained together—yet here they were about to play a match.

The ghost official had a pale face, refined features, and a tall stature. He introduced himself as Xue Li, a minor errand ghost from the Tenth Court of the Netherworld.

Perhaps due to an instinctive reaction among the living, Little Bear demon, Little Ginseng, and Xiao Zhong all felt that Xue Li carried an aura of importance and wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Lu Yao adjusted the black dragon bracelet on her wrist. “Ready?”

The little Tangkang perched on Lu Yao’s head let out a snort, signaling its agreement.

The team members all pressed the “load” key on their keyboards simultaneously. The screen flickered, and when they opened their eyes, they found themselves in the familiar map.

The shopping street team’s first opponents of the day were another group starting their matches today.

The opposing team consisted of two human cultivators, a demon, and a devil.

Among the cultivators, there were two sword cultivators and one refiner.

The map was a traditional three-lane setup, but with some differences in the game mechanics.

At the start of the game, all players’ cultivation levels and realms were suppressed. Players would need to level up from 0 to 30 by farming minions and collecting resources. Upon reaching max level, their real-world cultivation levels would be unlocked.

Each player had a six-slot inventory for items, including magical artifacts, spirit pets, elixirs, talismans, tools, and materials.

However, the inventory had a restriction: only one slot was unlocked at the start, and a new slot would unlock every five levels. Only when all six slots were unlocked could players freely use all their items.

Both Qiuyu and the little Tangkang had been placed in Lu Yao’s inventory as tools. Tangkang occupied the first slot, while Qiuyu was in the sixth.

Skill configurations also followed the rules of Tales of the Six Realms. Each player could equip three skills in their slots, which had to be set before leaving the base. Once they left, the skills couldn’t be changed for the rest of the match.

The game’s design, while adhering to its established rules, was highly flexible, making the matches engaging and increasingly popular among spectators.

The shopping street team hadn’t competed on the first day, so they hadn’t drawn much attention yet.

When the opposing team noticed the shopping street team had two humans, one without any cultivation, they were both surprised and delighted.

“Isn’t this just a free win?”

Lu Yao pulled the little Tangkang out of her inventory and headed to the top lane with it. The ghost official and Little Ginseng went to the bottom lane, while Xiao Zhong handled the jungle, clearing camps and buff points. Lu Yao wandered alone in the mid lane.

Holding the Regulation Rod in her hand, Lu Yao stayed safely under the turret, waiting for the minion wave to come. When the enemy team didn’t show up, her guard went up. “Xiao Zhong, watch out. They might be ganking you.”

Xiao Zhong, the only human on the team without cultivation, was likely the enemy’s primary target.

Carrying the custom weapon Lu Yao had crafted for him, Xiao Zhong was busy slashing at jungle monsters. “Couldn’t they wait a bit longer?”

Hearing the warning, the little Tangkang dashed toward the jungle, where Xiao Zhong was farming in the upper half.

Spirit pets weren’t considered players, so they didn’t have inventories or skill slots.

However, spirit pets had one passive and one active skill and shared experience points with their bonded player.

The little Tangkang’s passive skill provided double experience and gold income to allies within a 500-yard radius. Its active skill, Luck Barrier, could be used every 50 seconds to shield nearby allies for 35 seconds.

In the lounge, Shi Yan and his team were huddled together, watching the shopping street team’s debut match.

“That was close! The piglet’s shield is surprisingly tough—it blocked three sword strikes.”

“That’s why they call it an auspicious beast.”

“And Zhong’s weapon is insane. It works just like the mantis claw effect.”

“Well, this isn’t the mortal version of the game. The boss specially made that weapon for him. Let’s see if he can use it properly.”

Meanwhile, in the game, Xiao Zhong was experiencing some new sensations. He felt as if he had fully immersed himself in the character, farming minions while constantly staying alert to hidden threats.

The pressure of the official match was worlds apart from the training matches. It was like jumping from bot games straight into ranked battles—his adrenaline was surging.

He was nervous, but also exhilarated.

The shopping street team had thoroughly studied the matches from the first day and made predictions about their opponents’ potential strategies.

The shallow strategy of targeting Xiao Zhong as a weak point was something the Shopping Street team had anticipated.

Their countermeasure was straightforward: they used Xiao Zhong as bait to ensure the rest of the team could develop.

In less than fifteen minutes, the opposing team became overly fixated on targeting Xiao Zhong, neglecting their economy and development on the lanes. This led to their inability to win small skirmishes.

Before the twenty-minute mark, the Shopping Street team pushed through the middle lane and destroyed the opposing team’s base, securing the victory.

By the end of the day, the Shopping Street team had played and won six matches.

However, luck wasn’t on their side—they still hadn’t matched against a celestial team.

Despite their initial low profile, the Shopping Street team gradually caught the audience’s attention, especially among mortals. Xiao Zhong became known as the “last hope of the human race,” and many mortals began enthusiastically recommending their matches to others.

Lu Yao’s plan to remain under the radar until encountering a celestial team was foiled. By midday, the mortal audience had already propelled the team’s popularity.

Not only celestials but also cultivators, demons, devils, and ghosts started paying attention to their matches.

On the second day of the conference, the Shopping Street team won every match, but they still didn’t encounter a celestial team by the end of the day.

The audience began eagerly anticipating a showdown between the two teams.

…

On the third day of the conference, only four screens floated in the air above the third-floor venue.

The individual competition had concluded the previous day.

The group competition now had eight teams remaining. With a single-elimination format, three more rounds would determine the strongest team.

The final eight teams were surprising:

• Two celestial teams
• One all-devil team
• One all-demon team
• One all-ghost team
• One all-cultivator team
• Two mixed teams with members from multiple realms

The Shopping Street team was the only team with a mortal member.

In their first match of the day, the Shopping Street team was matched against a celestial team, sparking cheers from the live audience.

The spectators had been waiting for this showdown since the previous day.

During the pre-match preparation, discussions broke out:

“Who’s stronger?”

“Probably the celestials. The Shopping Street team’s boss and that network admin guy aren’t particularly strong. The boss’s cultivation is low, and the admin is just a mortal. Their victories so far have been narrow. The ghost official and the panda demon, though—they’re beasts.”

“How can you root for them? I’m putting my bets on the admin guy. He’s the last hope of the human race.”

“In the six realms, aside from the devils, no one can truly contend with the celestials. Haven’t you been watching these past few days?”

Celestial techniques and artifacts naturally countered demons, devils, and even ghosts, who had to tread carefully.

Even the devils struggled against celestials, though their high attack and health stats made them difficult to eliminate. Battles between the two were often drawn-out stalemates.

As harsh as the assessments were, they were grounded in fact.

The match hadn’t even started, yet many spectators seemed to think the outcome was already decided.

By the third day of matches, the celestials were no longer as arrogant as they had been initially. They had spent the previous night studying the Shopping Street team in detail.

As the match began, the celestials ignored Lu Yao and Xiao Zhong, focusing their attacks on the top and bottom lanes. Translated on Hololo novels

Xiong An’an, under pressure, complained in the team voice chat, “I hate celestials.”

His opponent was a young celestial wielding a mirror artifact with mysterious properties. Whenever its light reflected on him, Xiong An’an lost all his strength. For the first time, the energetic little bear demon found himself utterly stymied by such an infuriating tactic.

Without the little Tangkang’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to hold the lane.

The Tangkang, being an auspicious beast, was less affected by the celestial artifact.

Little Ginseng was also frustrated. “My healing skill is being suppressed—its effect is halved, and the activation time is longer.”

Little Ginseng was naturally brimming with spiritual energy and excelled at healing. In previous matches, no opponent had managed to counter her abilities like this.

After observing for a while, Xue Li, the ghost official, suggested, “Lu Yao, switch with me. Little Ginseng, take mid.”

Lu Yao, having reached level five, pulled a pre-forged Firewood Rifle from her second inventory slot and swapped lanes with Little Ginseng.

Lu Yao had two skill slots geared toward long-range output, which she enhanced by continually upgrading her weapons during the match. Her third skill slot was allocated to an auxiliary refinement ability.

Taking over the bottom lane, Lu Yao assumed the main output role, while the ghost official shifted to support.

This ghost official was quite interesting.

His skill slots included Soul Hook as the first skill, Six Paths Reincarnation (Transformation) as the second, and Life Force Drain as his ultimate.

Soul Hook immobilized an opponent for 15 seconds in a soul-separated state, rendering them unable to move. Six Paths Reincarnation randomly transformed the target into one of the six realms of existence, excluding their own species, for 10 seconds. Life Force Drain was straightforwardly brutal, directly reducing the opponent’s health bar.

In the Shopping Street team’s earlier matches, their strategy relied heavily on Xue Li’s unique skill mechanics, with the bear demon serving as the main tank and the ginseng demon frantically healing.

Lu Yao and Xiao Zhong played seriously, but compared to the demon and ghost official, they seemed more like bystanders, relatively inconspicuous.

When Lu Yao switched to the bottom lane, the enemy’s oppressive control weakened.

On the top lane, the bear demon also swapped with Xiao Zhong.

Xiao Zhong carried an enormous broad-bladed sword and wore bizarrely bulky armor, causing chaos on the top lane.

The celestial team began to sense something was amiss.

Their artifacts, which were highly effective at suppressing demons and evil entities, seemed to lose much of their potency when used against humans.

The audience noticed the anomaly as well.

“What’s going on? The network admin is so strong! He’s actually holding his ground against the celestials suppressing the panda demon.”

“It’s the same on the bottom lane. I never realized the shopkeeper’s aim was this steady—almost no missed shots.”

“Remove the ‘almost.’ I haven’t seen her miss a single one.”

Lu Yao’s weapon fired willpower bullets that packed immense power.

By using willpower instead of spiritual energy, both Lu Yao and Xiao Zhong disguised themselves as weak and powerless mortals, countering the celestials’ techniques and artifacts.

Ironically, the humans, considered the most peaceful and mundane of the six realms, were both the celestials’ charges and their greatest weakness.

The seemingly powerless mortals turned out to be the perfect counter to celestial artifacts.

The human spectators in the audience stared wide-eyed, slowly digesting this startling truth.

The celestials in the spectator area, meanwhile, were expressionless under the weight of countless gazes, though internally, they were deeply uneasy.

If they had known, they might have forfeited.

Now that this vulnerability was exposed to the demons and devils, peace across the six realms could be at risk.

As the match entered the mid-game, both teams had destroyed three towers, leading to frequent skirmishes.

The two human players on the Shopping Street team took over the match. Despite lacking cultivation, the mortal Xiao Zhong wielded his sword fearlessly at the forefront, exuding a presence rivaling that of a sword cultivator.

The bear demon, ginseng demon, and ghost official focused on protecting Lu Yao, ensuring the celestials couldn’t get close to her.

A burst of golden light flashed as Lu Yao reached level 25, unlocking the sixth slot in her inventory.

Lu Yao discarded the Firewood Rifle and retrieved her final weapon: the Qiuyu Bow.

The golden bow’s limbs were entwined by a pitch-black, red-eyed demon dragon. The dragon’s head bit onto the bowstring, its tail coiled around the bow’s limbs, exuding an awe-inspiring presence.

…

Since breaking out of her shell, Qiuyu had occasionally fallen into uncontrollable rages, her state and temperament volatile.

Seeking guidance, Lu Yao consulted Zeyuan, who explained that as a dragon, Qiuyu was inherently powerful. Having fallen into demonic ways, her deep obsessions and inexperience as a newly-hatched being made it hard for her to control her desires and demonic aura.

The solution was simple: find someone capable of withstanding Qiuyu’s immense demonic energy and temper, and form a bond to share her burdens. Translated on Hololo novels.

To guide Qiuyu, Lu Yao attempted to form a contract with her and succeeded on the first try.

Not long after the contract was formed, Lu Yao once dozed off in the lounge. When she awoke, the dragon bracelet coiled around her wrist had transformed into a bow.

Qiuyu herself couldn’t explain it, only recalling a strange dream she couldn’t fully remember.

This was the first time Lu Yao had wielded the Qiuyu Bow in a match.

She drew the bowstring, and the empty bow limbs swirled with demonic energy. Three black arrows materialized out of thin air, resting between the bow limbs and string.

The little demon dragon coiled around the bow spat out three dark red flames, igniting the arrow tails with a “pop pop pop.”

Lu Yao adjusted her aim, targeting the celestial youth wielding the mirror, and released the string.

The arrows whooshed through the air and struck their target. The celestial youth’s health bar was immediately reduced by half, and his legs nearly gave out beneath him.

With the Qiuyu Bow in play, the Shopping Street team coordinated fully with Lu Yao and Xiao Zhong. Despite their best efforts, the celestial team couldn’t resist the tide turning against them.

…

The Shopping Street team pushed through and destroyed the celestial team’s main base, securing a decisive victory.

In the spectator stands, humans, cultivators, demons, and devils all stared blankly for a moment before finally reacting.

The only team with a mortal had won!

In the competition area, the team members returned from the virtual realm.

Lu Yao tilted her head as she sat in her chair, her fingers massaging her temples nonstop. “I’m exhausted. Let’s forfeit the next match.”

The Qiuyu Bow was powerful, but using it was utterly draining.

Having defeated the celestial team once, both Qiuyu and the bear demon had stopped fussing.

After two continuous days of competition, everyone was tired, and no one objected.

Lu Yao used a voice-transmission jade talisman to inform Shi Yan and his group to announce the Shopping Street team’s withdrawal.

Just then, the long-silent system notification sounded:

[Congratulations! Lu Yao’s Interdimensional Internet Café has successfully hosted the Celestial-Demon Conference. Task complete. Rewards: Popularity +1,000,000, Spirit Gathering Stones x10, Undying Fruit x1, Mustard Seed x1, God-Slaying Arrow x1. Please keep up the good work!]

[Ultimate mission unlocked! The Evil God is reviving, bringing disaster upon the six realms. Please seal the Evil God and restore peace and clarity to the six realms!]

🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️🛍️