Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The roar of the water cannon truck finally stopped.

The white tear gas gradually dissipated in the morning breeze, and the scene in the square in front of the provincial government building was simply too horrible to bear.

The hundreds of ancient martial arts masters who had been so imposing just moments before now resembled refugees who had just survived a mudslide. Broken swords and shards lay scattered on the ground, soaking in filthy water, accompanied by groans and coughs. The elders and hall masters who usually held themselves in high esteem before their disciples and followers were now curled up on the ground like boiled shrimp, clutching their legs swollen from rubber bullets.

"Go! Copy them all!"

Zhao Tiezhu roared, and the SWAT team members pounced on them like wolves and tigers, skillfully pulling out cable ties and handcuffs, and began to "pack them up" one by one.

Lu Jingyan trudged through the mud and water, taking unhurried steps, and walked straight to the center of the crowd.

There, Lin Zhentian and Xiao Wanli were helping each other up, scrambling to their feet.

These two grandmasters, whose mere presence in the provincial martial arts world could cause an earthquake, were now covered in mud. Lin Zhentian's expensive black Tang suit had been torn open by a high-pressure water gun, revealing his shriveled chest; Xiao Wanli's hair was a mess, and his face was covered in black ash from who-knows-where.

Seeing Lu Jingyan striding towards him, Lin Zhentian instinctively gripped the dragon-headed cane in his hand, suddenly channeling his inner energy in a final, desperate struggle.

"You brat! I'll fight you to the death!"

He roared and raised his cane to charge forward.

However, before he could take even half a step, several blinding red lasers instantly locked onto his brow, throat, and heart from all directions.

The sniper, hidden on a high vantage point, used the coldest laws of physics to sever the vital energy that had just been drawn up in his meridians.

Lin Zhentian froze.

He could feel that if the cane in his hand dropped even an inch further, those dark gun muzzles would instantly blast his head into a bloody pulp.

"spell?"

Lu Jingyan stopped two meters in front of him, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Patriarch Lin, what do you think you're going to use to fight? Your cane, made of pure copper and impenetrable even to bulletproof vests, is going to take on our country's latest sniper rifle?"

He turned his head and glanced at Xiao Wanli, whose face was ashen, beside him.

"Or is it that Patriarch Xiao plans to use your family's prized 'Eight Extremes Collapse' technique to dismantle that armed police riot control vehicle with your bare hands?"

silence.

A deathly silence.

The two martial arts giants, who once looked down upon the world, looked at the young policeman who hadn't even lost his breath, and then looked at the cold, precise modern war machine around them that exuded absolute killing intent. The tower of faith in their hearts called "Martial Arts Supreme" collapsed with a crash.

Zhao Tiezhu strode forward, snatched the cane from Lin Zhentian's hand without any politeness, and threw it aside.

"Snap! Snap!"

Two cold, heavy steel handcuffs slammed down on the wrists of the two family heads.

The crisp metallic clanging sound was like a resounding slap, completely shattering their decades-long dream of martial arts.

"Lu Jingyan..."

Xiao Wanli allowed the special police to twist his hands behind his back. He did not struggle, but stared blankly at the armored vehicles that looked like steel beasts, his voice hoarse as if rubbing sandpaper.

"I have practiced martial arts since childhood, enduring the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, and after sixty years of arduous training, I have reached my current level. I thought... I thought that the pinnacle of martial arts was enough to make me proud and unrivaled in the world..."

He turned his head with difficulty, looking at Lu Jingyan's young and cold face, his cloudy eyes filled with confusion and resentment.

"Have times really changed?"

At this moment, this once-powerful head of an ancient martial arts family seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, turning into a pitiful old man abandoned by the times.

Lu Jingyan looked at him, but there was not a trace of sympathy in his eyes behind those gold-rimmed glasses.

Any mercy shown to this privileged class that thinks too highly of itself and treats human life as worthless is a desecration of the law.

"grown ups."

Lu Jingyan leaned slightly forward and spoke softly in an extremely calm yet incredibly powerful tone.

"The times haven't changed; it's just that the Qing Dynasty has fallen."

Xiao Wanli shuddered violently, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"What are you talking to me about the pinnacle of martial arts, or about sixty years of arduous training?"

Lu Jingyan straightened up, pointed at the ancient martial arts disciples around him who were being successively put onto police buses, and his voice suddenly turned cold.

"Let me tell you, this is the 21st century. It's a society governed by the rule of law, and it's an age of technology!"

"Your tricks of seeking revenge and settling scores were swept into the dustbin of history more than a hundred years ago!"

He stepped forward, and the powerful aura of a law enforcer completely enveloped the two family heads.

"In my jurisdiction, whether you're a grandmaster who unleashes internal energy or the world's greatest swordsman, if you break the law, even if you can fly or teleport, you'll be handcuffed and made to copy the 'Public Security Administration Punishment Law' a hundred times!"

"take away!"

Lu Jingyan gave a cold shout.

Zhao Tiezhu and several special police officers roughly shoved the two distraught family heads and escorted them to the bomb disposal vehicle.

Lin Zhentian and Xiao Wanli were unable to utter another word until they were shoved into the dark carriage.

Their pride and their heritage were crushed to the bone by the steel torrent of the modern state apparatus.

The area in front of the provincial government building gradually returned to calm.

Only the water stains on the ground and a few lost cloth shoes proved what an absurd "martial arts catastrophe" had just occurred here.

Several hundred martial arts disciples were crammed into more than a dozen buses in batches.

The burly men who had been shouting "Kill!" were now squatting in the carriage with their heads in their hands, as obedient as children lining up for candy in kindergarten.

Lu Jingyan stood on the steps, looking at the grand procession, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Captain Lu, arrest them all!"

Zhao Tiezhu ran over excitedly to report, his face beaming with the triumph of victory. "This time, we've really taught those charlatans a lesson! Let's see if they dare to come here and act like big shots again!"

"The arrests have been made, but the problem remains unresolved."

Lu Jingyan took the thermos cup handed to him by Su Xiaoxiao, took a sip of water, and gazed intently into the distance.

"Several hundred people, causing a disturbance, detained for ten days or so for 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble,' fined a little money, and then what?"

"Once they get out, won't they continue to be a destabilizing force in society, relying on their martial arts skills?"

Zhao Tiezhu was stunned for a moment: "Then... what should we do? We can't all be sentenced to life imprisonment, can we? Their crimes aren't enough."

"It's better to guide than to block."

In Lu Jingyan's mind, the scattered, awakening "abnormal energy" dots on the map replayed when the system alerted earlier.

The trend of spiritual energy revival is irreversible, and in the future, there will only be more and more ancient martial artists and superhumans with supernatural powers.

If we rely on armed police armored vehicles to suppress the protests every time, it will not only waste national resources but also cause social panic.

Since these people still have the habits of the martial arts world, and feel that their martial arts skills have nowhere to be used, he has to find them a "good place".

We must establish a modern management system specifically for these "superpowered individuals" from the root.

We must rein in these unruly wild horses with the rule of law!

"Xiaoxiao."

Lu Jingyan turned around, a "capitalist" smile curling at the corner of his mouth that sent chills down the spines of those who knew him.

"Could you help me find out how large the current security market gap is in the province?"

"In addition, draft a plan. I want to work with the provincial martial arts association to find some proper jobs for these idle martial arts masters."