Slap!
The sound of a slap resonated in the Fire Remuneration Palace that had fallen silent due to Duan Ling Tian intentionally blocking Wen Yan's path. The sound of a slap was so abrupt that it caught everyone off guard.
Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!
As the sound of the slap echoed in the Fire Remuneration Palace, the sound of people gasping could be heard as well.
The Saint Land disciples looked at Duan Ling Tian in confusion and disbelief.
Dear Lord!
What did they just witness?
Apart from intentionally blocking Wen Yan's path, Duan Ling Tian had slapped her. When they saw one side of her face that was beginning to swell, they felt chills running up their spines immediately.
Although Wen Yan was a female true disciple, she was very strong. Among over 170 true disciples in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect, her strength was ranked in the top ten. She was ranked ninth on the True Ranking.
Even then, Duan Ling Tian, someone who had just become a true disciple and was not even ranked on the True Ranking, took the initiative to provoke Wen Yan by blocking her path and slapping her publicly?
'Is he seeking death?!' At this moment, this was the only thought in the Saint Land disciples' minds.
Meanwhile, Wen Yan whose path had been blocked and then slapped for seemingly no reason was dumbfounded. Due to this reason, she could not react in time. She only regained her senses when she heard the sounds of gasping in her surroundings.
Her expression darkened immediately when she regained her senses. The side of her face that was swollen made her look even fiercer.
Many Saint Land disciples could not help but shake their heads. How come they never realized that Wen Yan had such an ugly side to her?
"Y-you dare to slap me?!" Wen Yan looked at Duan Ling Tian with a twisted expression. Rage filled her eyes, but there was also a small hint of dread in it.
Due to this feeling of dread, she did not instantly make a move against the person standing before her.
Based on Wen Yan's reaction, one could see she was someone who knew when to endure. For example, she had endured for a long time as she bid her time before she reported Gan Ru Yan, Ke'er's sister, to the Saint Land Enforcement Hall.
There were more than 170 true disciples in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sects, and there were not more than twenty female disciples. Among over 170 true disciples in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect, only two female disciples were ranked in the top ten of the True Ranking.
Apart from Wen Yan, the other person was Gan Ru Yan, Ke'er's sister, who brought Ke'er back to the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect.
Gan Ru Yan was ranked seventh on the True Ranking. Gan Ru Yan was superior to Wen Yan in both appearance and strength.
In the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect, Gan Ru Yan was like a G.o.ddess. As long as Gan Ru Yan was around, Wen Yan was destined to be like a leaf that served as the backdrop.
For this reason, Wen Yan hated Gan Ru Yan very much. Every time she saw Gan Ru Yan, she would curse G.o.d for putting them together in the same place.

It was only recently that Wen Yan found an opportunity to get rid of this eyesore. Gan Ru Yan was imprisoned due to her reporting it to the Enforcement Hall.
In any case, it did not cross Wen Yan's mind that a young man who seemed to be a stranger and was wearing a true disciple's uniform had blocked her path and humiliated her by slapping her because she had reported Gan Ru Yan.
"Why did I slap you?" Duan Ling Tian's opinion of Wen Yan rose a little when he saw she did not instantly make a move. When he heard Wen Yan questioning him through clenched teeth while enduring her anger, he answered indifferently, "No reason. I just can't stand the sight of you."
I just can't stand the sight of you!
Duan Ling Tian's indifferent reply caused the Fire Remuneration Palace to fall silent.
Everyone in the Fire Remuneration Palace, including the Fire Remuneration Palace's elders, looked at Duan Ling Tian in shock.
Duan Ling Tian was being too bold, right?
After slapping Wen Yan who was ranked ninth on the True Ranking, he even said he could not stand the sight of her.
Was he not intentionally looking for trouble?
"Wait a minute! Duan Ling Tian must have enmity with Wen Yan. Otherwise, why did he find everybody pleasing to the eyes but not Wen Yan? It's okay if he thinks she's an eyesore, but he actually blocked her path and slapped her!" There were many people in the Fire Remuneration Palace who still had clear minds.
They did not believe Duan Ling Tian's words.
They were not the only ones who did not believe his words. Even Wen Yan did not believe him.
"Who are you? I know for a fact this is our first time meeting, and I have no enmity with you. Why would you humiliate me like this?" Wen Yan's expression turned even more twisted. Her voice became much lower as she suppressed her flames of fury that seemed as though it would erupt at any time. One could imagine if it erupted, it would be a sight to see.
"Humiliate you?" Duan Ling Tian looked at her indifferently as he smiled contemptuously. "Huh? You really have a high opinion of yourself!"
"YOU!" Faced with his contemptuous smile, Wen Yan's expression turned ugly. Her eyes were bloodshot as killing intent surged out of her body as though she was about to lose her cool.
"Get lost! Don't block my path!" Duan Ling Tian said. It was apparent he wanted her to move out of the way. He ignored her killing intent.
Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!
The sound of gaspings resonated again in the air. Soon after, many Saint Land disciples began to whisper among themselves.
"Duan Ling Tian is too bold. Not only did he block Senior Sister Wen Yan's path, but he even slapped her. Now, he even asked her to get lost and make way for him. If I didn't witness this with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe he would dare to act this way."
"Although Senior Sister Wen Yan and Yang Wen whom he killed are true disciples, Senior Sister Wen Yan is not someone Yang Wen could compare to. Yang Wen wasn't even ranked on the True Ranking, but Senior Sister Wen Yan is a powerhouse who's ranked ninth on the True Ranking! Duan Ling Tian actually dares to look for trouble with her? Where does he get his courage from?"
"Perhaps, he really finds Senior Sister Wen Yan to be an eyesore and doesn't know about her strength?"
"How can you say such nonsensical words? I can't speak for everyone, but since Duan Ling Tian joined the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect, he has never taken the initiative to look for trouble. All the incidents that involved him were started by the other parties. He had merely retaliated. Do you think someone like that would block Senior Sister Wen Yan's path and slap her just because he finds her displeasing to look at?"
"I don't believe Duan Ling Tian's excuse either! Senior Sister Wen Yan must have offended Duan Ling Tian at some time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have acted like this!"
"However, even if Senior Sister Wen Yan has offended Duan Ling Tian, where did he get his courage from? To think he dares to humiliate her in such a way!"
In the Saint Land disciples' opinion, although Duan Ling Tian was strong and managed to kill the true disciple, Yang Wen, they did not think Duan Ling Tian was a match for Wen Yan who was ranked ninth on the True Ranking. The strength between Yang Wen and Wen Yan was just too wide.
"Duan Ling Tian?" Wen Yan, naturally, heard the whispering in her surroundings. Her eyes instantly narrowed as it flashed coldly. She was no stranger to the name Duan Ling Tian. She had heard about the recent incident that caused a commotion in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect when Duan Ling Tian killed Yang Wen in the Palace of Death.
In the history of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect, this was the first time an elite disciple had killed a true disciple. One could say Duan Ling Tian had rewritten history in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect.
"So you're Duan Ling Tian!" Wen Yan looked at Duan Ling Tian with narrowed eyes. The hint of dread had disappeared, it was replaced with a cold look instead. "I'll give you a chance! Kneel and kowtow to me as an apology. On top of that, let me slap you ten times! Otherwise, I'll make you leave by crawling out the door today!" Initially, Wen Yan had thought this unknown true disciple must have some sort of support for being so bold as to humiliate her. However, when she found out this disciple was Duan Ling Tian who had recently risen to fame, she was no longer wary of him.
Duan Ling Tian might be strong. However, he was just a commoner with a yellow Innate Spiritual Root. He was destined to not have any great accomplishments. Moreover, no powerhouse would accept him as a disciple. For this reason, Wen Yan was not worried Duan Ling Tian had support or some extraordinary background.
As for Duan Ling Tian's strength, she was not concerned at all even though it was not bad.
Although Duan Ling Tian managed to kill Yang Wen, the true disciple, whose Saint Origin had risen to the Second Form of the Saint Celestial Stage after consuming the forbidden pill, she could also kill Yang Wen just as easily.
The Saint Origin of a true powerhouse at the Second Form of the Saint Celestial Stage was not the only thing that made him or her strong. There were other aspects that made them strong.
Wen Yan knew her strength could be considered as being in the middle among all powerhouses at the Second Form of the Saint Celestial Stage in the Dao Martial Saint Land so she was not afraid of Duan Ling Tian who had killed Yang Wen.
"You're giving me a chance to kneel and kowtow to you as an apology and let you slap me ten times?" Duan Ling Tian was momentarily stunned when he heard Wen Yan's words. Then, he looked at her with a smirk as though she was an idiot. "Wen Yan, have you gone insane?"