Martial Soul? Annihilation!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several rust-colored streaks of light tore through the air, moving at an impossibly fast speed!

Yan didn't even see what had flown toward him before he felt a piercing, heart-wrenching pain shoot through his limbs.

"Squelch!"

Four jagged scraps of metal effortlessly pierced through his pride-and-joy flame defense, accurately pinning his shoulders and knees!

The immense momentum carried Yan's body flying backward.

Then, with a loud "bang."

Yan was sent flying and slammed firmly against a thick concrete wall behind him!

His Spirit Avatar state instantly collapsed.

The dark red flames dissipated without a trace, and his five spirit rings faded into specks of light.

"Ah--!"

Yan let out a shrill, miserable scream as blood snaked down the wall.

He struggled desperately, only to find that the metal scraps were imbued with an overwhelming, mountain-toppling force that left him completely unable to move an inch.

The young man controlling the metal shards hadn't budged from his seat the entire time; he continued to wipe his dagger in a leisurely manner before finally speaking for the first time.

"No need to talk to him. Cripple him first, then we can ask questions slowly."

The youth then gave his teammate, the Heavy Hammer Warrior, a look.

The Heavy Hammer Warrior let out a sinister laugh, walked slowly over to Yan, placed his heavy hammer right next to Yan's head, and chuckled.

"Kid, with just this much strength, you wanted to rob our Fire Hammer Squad?"

How could anyone dare to venture deep into the Wilderness Zone without some guaranteed strength?

The strongest member of their squad wasn't the captain, nor was it him, despite his robust physique; it was the youth who rarely spoke. That youth was their squad's Spirit Master!

Furthermore, he wasn't just some apprentice-level Spirit Master, but a primary-level Spirit Master—a powerhouse only half a step away from becoming an intermediate-level Spirit Master!

An average warrior squad only had five members, but their Fire Hammer Squad had six.

That extra person had forced his way into the team purely through his overwhelming strength!

Facing the Heavy Hammer Warrior's sinister grin, Yan, his limbs now crippled, fell into a state of extreme panic.

Spirit City, Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong's face turned livid. She gripped her scepter tightly, gritting her teeth as she hissed two words through the gaps.

"Idiot!"

Yan was an absolute idiot!

Before he left, she had personally instructed him, warning him repeatedly.

Do not underestimate them!

This warning wasn't about Yan's strength, but about the strength she had witnessed!

The shockwaves from the battle between the War General Class monster and the human warrior that had previously killed Yu Tianheng in an instant—she had seen it with her own eyes. That immense power was on par with her ninth spirit skill!

And above the War General Class, there were even God of War ranks!

Yan, that fool, had actually thought about robbing them!

"Sigh..."

Bibi Dong let out a long sigh, rubbing her temples with a headache.

The Sky Screen had chosen people from the Spirit Hall twice, which should have been a stroke of luck, allowing the Spirit Hall to seize the initiative in exploring the other world.

However, the first person chosen, Su Yuntao, lacked the necessary strength.

She had assumed that Yan, being the strongest among those chosen by the Sky Screen and the most likely to survive a year and bring back more intelligence about the other world, would be capable—yet he was acting so foolishly!

Even if he weren't killed by the warrior squad, having his limbs crippled meant he would be slaughtered by the monsters in the wild. How could he possibly survive a year in the other world?!

It could be said that the moment Yan decided to rob the warrior squad, his exploration had reached its end.

At this moment, on the Sky Screen in the sky, the interrogation had reached its final stage.

In the warrior squad, the Heavy Hammer Warrior was clearly an expert at interrogation. He didn't ask questions right away, but instead warned Yan, "Like you, we in the Fire Hammer Squad like people who cooperate."

"From now on, I will torture you slowly. Whenever you feel like cooperating, just beg for mercy!"

As he finished speaking, the Heavy Hammer Warrior took action. He reached out, grabbed Yan's limbs, and twisted them until they were knotted like a pretzel!

Immediately afterward, he used his heavy hammer to mercilessly smash Yan's left arm to pieces!

"Ah--"

Another shrill, miserable scream echoed out.

Yan, having realized his inevitable death, originally did not want to speak, but faced with that unbearable, agonizing pain racking his body, he completely broke down.

Having always lived a life of luxury, where had Yan ever suffered such a severe injury?

Even when injured during daily sparring, with the behemoth that was the Spirit Hall backing him, he had always used the finest natural treasures and been treated by the most renowned healing-type Spirit Masters on the continent!

Now, facing such pain firsthand, compounded by the threat of death, his mental defenses crumbled entirely.

"I beg you, I'll cooperate, I'll cooperate with everything! Whatever you want to ask, I'll tell you!"

Yan screamed in a breakdown, tears and snot streaming uncontrollably.

The Heavy Hammer Warrior laughed like a demon, then shook his head to signal the Squad Leader.

The man dressed as a Squad Leader stepped forward, crouched in front of Yan, and smiled. "What's the deal with the flames on your body? Did you cultivate some special technique?"

"Hand over this technique first."

Although this technique could not be used during the nights in the Wilderness Zone, one could never have too many skills; no one would complain about having more abilities, and besides, after obtaining the technique, there was no need to practice it himself—it could easily be sold at auction.

A special technique would surely have some special use for someone.

Unexpectedly, Yan, who had just said he would cooperate with everything, shook his head and said with a sobbing voice, "It's a Martial Soul! I didn't cultivate any special technique!"

"Martial Soul?"

The Squad Leader froze for a moment, then, as if he had discovered a new world, pressed further, "What kind of thing is that?"

"That is the Dou..."

The moment Yan tried to utter the words "Douluo Continent," a mysterious force silently enveloped the area.

His eyes widened.

Then, his head simply lolled to the side.

He was dead.

The sudden turn of events left the Squad Leader stunned, and he roared at the Heavy Hammer Warrior behind him.

"You were too heavy-handed! He died before we could ask anything! What a waste of effort!"

The Heavy Hammer Warrior stepped forward to take a look, clicked his tongue, and said sheepishly, "Captain, don't blame me. Who knew this kid was so fragile? He couldn't even reach the physical standards of a Junior Martial Artist. He wasn't built to take a beating; he died just from having his limbs broken. What kind of physique is this..."

As the Heavy Hammer Warrior continued to mutter, the screen belonging to Yan dimmed, leaving behind only a line of blood-red text.

[Explorer of Spirit Hall, Yan, has died.]

[Cause of death: Attempting to disclose information regarding Douluo Continent, erased.]

On the Douluo Continent, countless people remained silent.

After all, Yan was one of their own, and seeing people from another world torture him left them, as fellow inhabitants of the Douluo Continent, feeling a sense of shared sorrow.

"Dying like this is for the best, at least he doesn't have to suffer any more torture."

And so, a little trick for exploring other worlds emerged: when falling into the hands of people from another world, if one does not wish to suffer torture, one can proactively reveal information about the Douluo Continent to seek death.