Chapter 500: Couldn't Resist Mimicking a Wave First

To the cultivators of the Morning Star Sea, the vast and boundless waters lying far to the west—a realm where few had ever dared to venture—were known simply as the Outer Sea.

Teeming with endless hordes of sea monsters and demonic aberrations, this desolate expanse had remained an untamed, forbidden sanctuary of death since time immemorial.

"What foul sorcery is this?!"

The strains of song drifting upon the sea breeze wafted over them, ethereal and unmoored, as if seeking to drag their very souls down into a ruinous dream.

"Guard your minds! Maintain your focus!"

Among the company, there were still several elite disciples who had ventured out for worldly trial.

Yet these monsters, appearing from nowhere, were clearly of terrifying power; those of lesser cultivation, like Mo Xian and his peers, were already growing dazed and unsteady, and though their attainments reached the True Lake Realm and some even neared the Divine Ocean Realm, they still fell far too short compared to the others.

In his mounting agitation, Mo Xian suddenly caught sight of Yue Yan beside him: "Junior Sister... how are you completely unaffected?!"

Her lips were moving in a soft, rhythmic murmur: "Let the mind be clear as ice, though the heavens collapse, remain unshaken..."

"Junior Sister Liu, how are you fine as well?!" He stared open-mouthed at the other junior sisters gathered around.

"Haven't you ever watched *The Storm Riders*?!"

"No, I haven't..." Mo Xian was utterly bewildered.

"Then there's no saving you."

"Ah...!"

...

"What is this Final Fantasy, and what is this nonsense about someone being handsome? Just what on earth could be that magnificent?!"

Although completing the system's task only required expanding Yuanyang City shop to over a thousand computers, the reality of accommodating a vast influx of ordinary customers, along with other noble families and sect disciples outside the great ancient clans, had already pushed the shop's capacity well beyond two thousand seats.

Calculated at eight hours of playtime per person across a sixteen-hour business day, even if everyone maximized their daily eight-hour limit, the establishment could easily host over four thousand patrons.

With the expansion of the Yuanyang City branch, the players, no longer plagued by the agony of queuing, were in less of a hurry to claim a machine, and a good number of them now crowded behind Jiang Xiaoyue.

Throughout the entire duration, they heard nothing but a succession of startled shrieks escaping her lips.

"Oh, just look at it yourselves!" Jiang Xiaoyue had just reached the ultimate showdown between Cloud and Sephiroth; utterly enthralled, she sat perfectly upright, completely immovable.

Both combatants possessed the genetic traits of Jenova, the cell organism infamous for destroying planets, making them the most elite of soldiers; their blades clashed, every strike and stance executed with absolute precision, entirely devoid of superfluous motion, clean and sharp to the utmost limit, yet Sephiroth's swordsmanship was grander still, resembling a flawless, consummate killing machine as he wielded that exaggeratedly long, slender blade with such seamless grace that not a single drop of water could pierce his defense, and wherever the edge fell, whether it was thick steel or heavy stone, it was sliced through as smoothly and cleanly as if it were mere tofu.

"Senior Sister, are we going to watch or not?" Mu Qing muttered indignantly from the side, "What kind of thing is it anyway, to make her so entranced? She won't even pay attention to us!"

At that moment, Gu Tingyun was seen cradling a large bottle of iced black tea in his arms, taking a long, blissful gulp: "Ah—!"

He let out a deep, satisfied sigh.

"Hmm? Why are you all gathered here?"

"We were asking Junior Sister Xiaoyue if *Final Fantasy* is actually good, but she won't give us the time of day!"

"Hmph, she's just keeping all the entertainment to herself!"

"Come on, let's go watch it on our own!"

Tang Yu, Xun Yuan, and the others hesitated: "Then we..."

Gu Tingyun mused: "...Perhaps this old master should try watching it as well?"

The crowd immediately settled down to watch.

Meanwhile, those who had started earlier, such as Su Tianji and Song Qingfeng, had already reached the final, gripping climax.

Sephiroth was the mightiest existence among that generation of soldiers, hailed as a legendary hero and the most perfect creation of the Jenova Project, possessing a terrifying power capable of planetary destruction; even though he commanded less than half of his original strength following his resurrection, the sheer oppression wrought by his supreme combat techniques and horrific battle experience was still enough to plunge any onlooker into despair.

"Too powerful!" Song Qingfeng and the others who were watching felt their eyes nearly pop out of their sockets, their blood pumping fiercely at the sight of a battle where every fist met flesh and every blade drew blood.

"How does this man even have wings?!" Even Su Tianji cried out in surprise, nearly dropping the spicy gluten strip she was chewing onto the floor.

With a casual, nonchalant thrust, the long blade—measuring nearly three meters (and closer to four in the actual Final Fantasy game)—pierced clean through the layered defenses of Cloud's massive broadsword, impaling him through the chest and pinning him brutally in mid-air.

As the single black wing upon his back unfurled, everyone present could feel Sephiroth's aura ascending to a terrifying, unfathomable height!

The entire scene, fully restored by the system, was arguably far more breathtaking; the combat arts of this legendary warrior, seemingly forged solely for slaughter, revealed but a mere fraction of their true, chilling grandeur in this moment.

The blade flicked violently upward.

His body transformed into a streak of lightning and a flying shadow, his sword-light swiftly pursuing Cloud as he was launched into the sky; the absurdly long nodachi produced a low, resonant hum, delivering eight consecutive strikes in the blink of an eye, the blade flashing like streaming light.

"This Sephiroth is magnificent! Absolutely incredible!"

"What's magnificent now?" Lin Shao and his group, who had not yet reached this part, looked entirely lost, "Isn't Sephiroth the villain?"

"Just watch until the end, alright? It's too brilliant!"

"Ah—!" Dong Qingli, a dedicated story enthusiast who never missed a movie or show, let out a sharp cry of excitement, nearly jumping out of her seat in an impromptu dance.

"What's all this fuss about being handsome or not...?" A certain dark shadow hidden away in a corner of the internet cafe was logged into a machine, also taking the opportunity to watch the newly released movie today, sipping on iced black tea as he spectated.

In the sky, the dark clouds resembled a massive vortex, swirling directly above Sephiroth's head; in his One-Winged Angel form, Sephiroth stood poised in the void with his long blade in hand, his silver hair whipping wildly in the wind, his entire aura growing increasingly terrifying and profound, like a vast abyss, making him resemble a demon god descended straight from the heavens.

"Pfft—!" Upon witnessing this scene, the black tea in the shadow's mouth was nearly sprayed across the screen.

In that instant, he felt...

Now *this* is what a proper villain is supposed to look like!

He felt as though he had wasted all his years of villainy for nothing.

The battle raged on; relying on the horrific regenerative capabilities of the Jenova cells, Cloud managed to stay in the fight despite sustaining repeated wounds, and after enduring countless setbacks, he unleashed a staggering one hundred and twenty percent of his combat potential.

Finally, at the absolute precipice of life and death...

"What kind of technique is this again?!"

The cultivators and warriors watching across all three shops cried out almost in unison once more.

The massive blade in Cloud's hands glowed with a faint, ghostly blue light, suddenly splitting apart.

Five distinct blades encircled the two of them in the center from all directions, as if possessed by a spiritual will of their own.

The weapon Cloud wielded was the Fusion Sword (popularly known as the Six-Style due to being composed of six individual blades), a greatsword formed by the combination of six swords; at this moment, as if shifting forms and changing shadows, his entire being blurred into a spectral silhouette of ghostly light, the brilliance of the swords slashing inward from every corner of the sky as black feathers drifted through the air, and despite Sephiroth using his wing to shield his body, he was severely wounded in almost the blink of an eye.

No figures could be seen in the heavens any longer, only streaks of spectral blue light and shadow repeatedly tearing the sky asunder.

"How is it that every single one of them can look this magnificent?!"

"I feel as though I've suddenly learned the Greatsword Technique!" Song Qingfeng went sprinting out the door.

"I feel like I've mastered the saber as well!" Lin Shao dashed out behind him, his saber whistling through the air with ferocious intensity.

"What could you lot possibly have learned?!" Su Tianji snorted coldly, having somehow pilfered a clotheslining pole from somewhere—an item that was, if nothing else, exceptionally long, "Behold this master's Eight Stabs and a Flick!"

She mimicked the exact move Sephiroth used to launch Cloud into the sky, though she naturally had no idea what it was actually called.

Regardless, her estimation of her own prowess was exceedingly high.

The onlookers simply stared as she brandished the clotheslining pole, engaging in a fierce battle of wits against the empty air: "..."

.