Chapter 499: Battle of Legends

The great ocean teemed with endless perils, which was precisely why, even though the ancestors of the three Great Sacred Sects had long since discovered a flourishing world of cultivators on the opposite shore, there had been scarce communication or trade between them over the past millennia.

The maritime tempests and a multitude of unknown, formidable demonic beasts thwarted the footsteps of at least ninety-nine percent of all cultivators.

In the distance, thunder rumbled and flashed; above the raging, surging sea hung dark, heavy clouds, and the torrential rain was whipped by the wild wind, pelting into the ocean like scattered beans.

Even at such a time, several streaks of sword-shadow, swift as startled swans, sliced through the void like flashes of lightning.

Boom!

A bolt of striking thunder flashed past, nearly grazing the convergence of sword-light.

"Do not fly too high!"

The sword-light sped along, shearing past waves that swelled as massive as hills.

"We are about to fly out of the storm zone!"

"Watch your step! Beware the demonic beasts in the sea!"

This flowing stream of flying swords split into two currents. Within one, some of the cultivators were Daoists clad in black-and-white Daoist robes, while others wore plain white garments that fluttered in the wind—a few peerless, elegant women who stood at the prows of their swords, their robes rustling loudly in the gale, looking truly like celestial immortals.

These were the forces from the Morning Star Sea Realm, such as the Nanhua Sect and the Yimu Dao Palace.

The other current consisted of people in varied attire: there were cultivators in black robes exuding a grim, malevolent aura; voluptuous women in green robes with emerald eyes, carrying an air of seductive charm; and a silver-haired youth who possessed a countenance as beautiful as carved jade yet emanated a chilling aura.

These were the cultivators of the Half-City faction.

"They all say how perilous this outer sea is, but in my eyes, it is nothing more than this!" A middle-aged cultivator in black robes, his black hair draping over his shoulders, laughed. "The way I see it, before long, we shall reach the continent where the Jiuhua City shop is located."

"Old Black, when the time comes, you must have a proper contest against those martial artists of the Great Jin Country to see who truly deserves to be the Lord of the Sand City!"

"Hahaha!"

"Be careful." Mo Tianxing peered into the distance with a pair of cloudy eyes. "Everything in the outer sea remains an unknown to us. Take care to preserve your spiritual essence; before we arrive, there will be no opportunity to land and rest."

"Did you all hear that?" Suddenly, Duan Yue of the Haoran Sword Sect spoke in a deep voice.

"There is a sound."

The cultivators frowned slightly. As they flew forward, they listened closely, and indeed they seemed to catch a thread of faint sound drifting along with the sea wind.

It felt like someone whispering softly by their ears, or like a melancholic song gradually drifting far away.

"Have you noticed?!" someone suddenly spoke up. "We have been flying for so long, yet we are still at the edge of this storm zone!"

Looking up, dark clouds still blotted out the sky.

...

Inside the Jiuhua City shop.

After Su Tianji began watching this newly released movie, only a few cultivators and martial artists who did not lack crystals followed suit.

The Final Fantasy series almost encompassed magic, technology, and cold-weapon warfare, and the Final Fantasy 7 movie depicted precisely such a world.

Given that these cultivators already possessed a certain understanding of magic and science fiction from before, supplemented by the background introduction at the beginning of the film, it was by no means incomprehensible to them.

This was a very strange world indeed, where the Lifestream circulated through the planet, bestowing life upon the world and serving as the source of all things.

Yet humanity, utilizing powerful technology, liquified this stream of life into energy. Mankind then began a period of supreme prosperity, and the Shinra Company, which had created this technology, stood at the pinnacle of the world.

Naturally, there were detractors, though they perished under brutal suppression.

Under Shinra's command was a legion of SOLDIERs, warriors whose bodies contained the cells of "Jenova"—a calamity that had fallen from the heavens in the ancient past, bent on destroying the planet.

A warrior named Sephiroth was the most outstanding among them. However, upon discovering that he was born from a horrific experiment, he harbored a deep resentment toward Shinra. Over time, his hatred extended to all existence, and he did not hesitate to let the entire planet dissolve within his animosity.

Throughout the prolonged wars, story after story resembled brilliant waves in the long river of history, surging up only to vanish. Heroic deeds were as grand and magnificent as epics, yet there was no shortage of tragic elegies.

Ultimately, the planet used its own power to quiet all strife. The Lifestream, erupting from the earth, wiped away conflict, desire, and sorrow alike, leaving the remaining humans to scrape a living among the ruined walls.

Yet after the disaster, war still did not cease.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Just as it began, Jiang Xiaoyue was captivated by a splendid battle scene. It was worth mentioning that the combat scenes were not merely more detailed than the original version; this was a battle completely true to reality.

For instance, the protagonist Cloud, or Kadaj, the manifestation of Sephiroth's will—both existed as entities comparable to weapons of war, so their clash was naturally beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

In truth, before Fang Qi crossed over, the target audience for movies and games consisted of ordinary people. Due to certain limitations, almost any combat was established within a visually perceivable range, regardless of how strong or weak the characters in the game or movie were.

But the system's version was different. Aside from some necessary slow-motion shots, whatever speed, power, and technique should be there, it was presented with that exact speed, power, and technique.

Of course, the movies and television could be slowed down for playback, and the games had the protagonist's attribute enhancements, so it was not as though they were unplayable or unwatchable.

And only such realistic combat could truly offer them improvement.

"Why are they all martial artists... though why do these fellows seem impossible to kill too?! Just like Dante in Devil May Cry...?" Su Tianji watched with a furrowed brow.

She constantly felt as if these moves and combat experiences were being imprinted into her mind, just like when she watched Resident Evil 1; after finishing it, she had inexplicably learned martial arts. She felt that after watching this movie, she might well be able to go out and brandish a greatsword with both hands.

"Eh...? Could it be the same as it was back during Resident Evil?" She hurriedly continued to watch.

Setting aside the meanings beyond the film that the entire movie sought to express, the main storyline of the movie was actually very simple—the legendary warrior Sephiroth had returned from legend.

With his return, the combat escalated tier by tier, from the battles among various warriors, culminating in the resurrection of Sephiroth, and the arrival once more of the legendary battle!

"Young Master Song, is this actually good or not!" Lin Shao looked anxious beside him.

At this moment, before Song Qingfeng's eyes, Cloud, holding a great blade as tall as a man, cleaved downward from a height of a hundred meters.

The surrounding earth cracked and then violently collapsed, exploding into pieces.

Terrifying energy dissipated across the field. With silver hair fluttering, beneath that double-handed great blade, a slender blade so long it was somewhat exaggerated had actually blocked the strike with nonchalant ease!

Beneath the silver hair, that familiar face, looking as though it had returned from ancient times, slowly lifted.

"Holy crap! It's amazing! Come quick and watch, this person is so cool!" Song Qingfeng exclaimed in surprise.