After chatting with the man for a while, Su Yu, combined with the conversations of many players in the regional channel, quickly figured out the specific situation of the so-called River God battle.
In short, Cangshui has two River Gods: the original Cangshui River God and a new River God appointed by the Chixiao Sword Peak Lord from the Xuanzhen Immortal Sect.
The two Water Gods each occupy a section of the Cangshui River and have been fighting fiercely for control of Cangshui.
They not only recruit and build a massive navy for warfare but also issue tasks to many players. Completing tasks and killing enemy navy members grant a 20% experience bonus and River God reputation, which can be exchanged for good items.
There are battles almost every day, and a large-scale war occurs every so often, roughly every six months after both sides have gathered enough strength, even involving the River Gods occasionally.
Su Yu came at just the right time, coincidentally during a large-scale war that occurs around every six months.
He now sees the navy of the new River God and player guilds that have joined the new River God faction. Their main forces are divided at this basin, occupying the upstream, while the old River God occupies the downstream.
The River God battle allows any player to participate.
After thinking for a while, Su Yu decides to join the new River God’s faction.
Since it’s all leveling up, joining the River God battle comes with a 20% experience bonus anyway.
Joining is simple; there are River God Temples in any small town by the river. Lighting an incense stick in the River God Temple will draw the River God’s attention, equivalent to joining their faction, where all kills in the great war will be crystal clear.
Su Yu checked the map, found the nearest riverside town, and flew over. He entered the River God Temple, lit an incense stick, and immediately received a BUFF on his body.
Cangshui River God’s Mark (Appointed by Xuanzhen Immortal Sect): Gain 20% extra combat experience and cultivation when killing enemies of the River God. Temporarily gain friendly reputation with the River God’s faction.
Having obtained the mark, he returned to the riverside. To his surprise, all the navy members floating in the water changed from yellow name to green name, and the originally red wild creatures also turned into neutral yellow names, meaning he wouldn’t be attacked as long as he didn’t attack first.
Conversely, the enemy navy from the old River God changed from neutral yellow name to hostile red, while the wild creatures on their side remained red and didn’t become neutral yellow names.
Su Yu followed the fleet for a while, waiting patiently with no action starting, so he simply dived into the water to kill some creatures and level up first.
Upon entering the water, the Spirit Cage Belt manifested a vortex, and a dragon as thick as an arm flew out of it, growing to over 150 meters in length in the blink of an eye.
"Finally, freedom!"
Ao Run opened his mouth and inhaled sharply, targeting a group of roaming creatures nearby, then rushed over and started a wild assault with his thick dragon tail.
Su Yu shook his head, his hands forming a hollow grip, and the Concealed Sun Azure Finch flew out, hovering in front of him, its sharp blade glinting uncertainly.
With a thought, the Sword Qi of the two flying swords expanded rapidly then shrank quickly, and the sword light rapidly condensed.
Holding his breath to the extreme, he reached out with a finger, and it transformed into a sword rainbow, piercing through the air, quickly flying over three hundred meters away, sweeping up a group of fifty-plus-level Cyan Fish Spirits, slicing them into two with each pass.
With two mere passes of the flying swords, the twelve Cyan Fish Spirits were already dealt with.
"Amazing!"
Su Yu marveled inwardly. With a thought, the twin swords soared through the air again, sweeping up another nearby group of creatures.
The sword light darted back and forth, with blood splattering, extremely efficient.
After taking out several waves and regaining his state, Su Yu refocused, putting his mind back on his swordsmanship.
Revisiting Xiao Qingli’s previous teachings in his mind, he attached his spirit to the twin swords, continuously refining Sword Qi, compressing the sword glow.
As time went by, the Sword Qi became ever smaller and sharper.
Su Yu vaguely sensed the change in his Sword Qi, as if some kind of qualitative transformation was happening as the Sword Qi was continuously refined and compressed.
He knew this was likely the opportunity to break through to the second stage of swordsmanship—Condensing Sword into Silk. As long as he continued refining his Sword Qi, he would one day break through the limit and comprehend this realm.
He wasn’t sure to what extent he needed to refine it, but he wasn’t in a hurry, just kept refining.
In the water, Su Yu and the dragon rampaged around. Whenever they encountered a creature, they killed it. Unknowingly, after two hours, while he was crazily slaughtering at a depth of over two thousand meters, a deep chime suddenly resounded in his ears, and a loud voice exploded in his mind.
Su Yu instantly realized the River God battle had begun.
He communed with a thought to call back Ao Run, but Ao Run spoke first:
"I was just summoned by the River God of this river, who drafted me as a navy admiral."
"Did you agree?"
"No, too dangerous."
Su Yu exclaimed in surprise:
"You also know about danger? I thought those words weren’t in your dictionary."
In response, the large dragon body wrapped around him, and Ao Run opened his mouth, splashing him with a mouthful of water.
Laughing and joking, the dragon and serpent swam forward until they saw the densely packed navy in the water, at which point they broke through the surface, just in time to see the fleet lined up ahead.
These fleets were divided into five units, and from the flags and ship emblems above, it was clear they belonged to five different guilds.
Looking from afar, a massive fleet was also anchored on the water’s surface a dozen kilometers away, slightly smaller in scale than on this side.
On the expansive Cangshui River surface stretching dozens of kilometers across, there was an uncountable number of navy members.
They were all various Fish Spirits, mostly transformed from various Fish Spirits in Cangshui, with levels starting at fifty or above, and sixty-plus elite level, all ordinary templates. However, with the River God BUFF and navy battle formations, coupled with each possessing a weapon, their combat power was far stronger than the same-level creatures.