"Chen Hui, that guy clearly already failed. What's there to admire?"
The Flag Bearer of the Heavens Starfield asked.
He couldn't understand Chen Hui's behavior.
"Judging by the final result, he did indeed fail. But just now, within that brief window, he did manage to fuse that massive chess power into his body."
"The duration was short, but he ultimately accomplished it."
"For that amount of chess power to enter one's body — whether or not you can ultimately control it within you, as long as you're still standing inside the chess formation, that alone is already remarkable. And this guy… he seems completely unaffected by it."
"His ability — I don't have it. I'm afraid even Nangong Yifan might not be able to pull it off," Chen Hui said.
Hearing Chen Hui's words, the crowd felt there was some logic to what he said.
But the looks they directed at Chu Feng were still filled with contempt.
Winner takes all, losers perish. They didn't care about the process — only the result.
And the result before them was clear: Chu Feng had caused all that commotion, but in the end, it had been completely useless.
"Everyone, listen up. From now on, stand still and don't move."
But who could have predicted that at that very moment, Chu Feng would suddenly speak up.
"Huh?"
"What is he saying?"
"Is he talking to us?"
When he opened his mouth, the crowd initially didn't quite understand what he meant.
But Chu Feng had no intention of explaining anything to anyone. He seemed entirely unconcerned with what they thought.
Instead, he straightened his chest, lifted his head, and spread his arms wide — his posture radiating pure arrogance, as if the entire world belonged to him.
"Did this guy's brain get damaged from that failed fusion of chess power earlier?"
"What a clown, always showing off."
"So what if he's a Saint Cloak Spirit World Master? If his brain doesn't work right, he's still useless."
Seeing Chu Feng like this, the juniors of the Heavens Starfield felt nothing but disgust.
Their hatred for Chu Feng ran deeper than just the series of baffling things he had done.
The real reason was that, just moments ago, during that brief interval, Chu Feng had genuinely threatened them — and they had truly feared him from the bottom of their hearts.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
But suddenly, the ground began to tremble once more.
This time, it wasn't the heavens and earth shaking — only the ground itself was quaking.
And the tremors were far more violent than before. Cracks appeared in many places, and sections of terrain began to collapse entirely.
Billowing clouds of dust shot skyward from all corners of the world. All manner of beasts began fleeing in panic.
Looking out across the landscape, fires of smoke and debris rose everywhere — it was as if this entire world was on the verge of destruction.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—
Before long, streaks of light shot out from within the earth and soared through the air, flying straight toward them.
"Oh my — what are those?!!!"
One look was all it took. Every person's expression changed dramatically.
Those luminous objects were coming from every corner of this first world — armor, helmets, even weapons.
Most importantly, they contained extraordinarily powerful chess power. They were… Chess Power Treasures — treasures that could help them enhance their chess power.
If they equipped these treasures, their chess power would increase. Moreover, these treasures boosted chess power without placing any burden whatsoever on one's ability to control it.
"How can this be? How did these hidden treasures suddenly appear — and in such huge numbers?"
"Could it be… connected to that guy?"
At that moment, not only the juniors of the Ancestral Martial Starfield, but even the juniors of the Heavens Starfield turned their gazes one by one toward Chu Feng.