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

A fierce wind howled, and dark clouds loomed over the city.

The entire provincial capital seemed to be covered by a giant, upside-down black cauldron. The air was thick with the smell of ozone, and the pressure was so low that it was hard to breathe.

"Boom—!"

Deep within the clouds, silver lightning bolts writhed and intertwined wildly, emitting a deafening roar. Each strike of lightning illuminated Chen Beixuan's face, contorted with rage, turning it deathly pale.

He hovered several meters above the ground, with nothing beneath his feet. A massive vortex of violent true energy formed around him, swirling up rubble and debris from the ground.

This is no longer within the realm of martial arts; this is true supernatural power and magic, a myth descending into reality!

"My God..."

Zhao Tiezhu gripped the riot shield tightly, his legs feeling as heavy as lead. He was a veteran of countless battles, never flinching even in the face of the most ruthless drug lords. But at this moment, facing the apocalyptic scene overhead, he inevitably felt a physical fear.

That was the instinctive terror of carbon-based life forms in the face of nature's thunderous wrath.

The surrounding SWAT team members also became agitated. Although their Type 95 automatic rifles were loaded, the muzzles were trembling slightly.

Should we shoot at the thunderclouds in the sky?

This is totally illogical!

"Hahahaha! Tremble! Despair!"

Bathed in lightning, Chen Beixuan raised his arms high, like a fanatical demon god wielding the power of life and death. "Mortal laws? Modern firearms? Before my Nine Heavens Profound Thunder, they all meet utter annihilation!"

He looked down at Lu Jingyan, who was standing on the ground, his eyes filled with cruel pleasure.

"Lu Jingyan! Weren't you just going to grab me and make me stomp on a sewing machine? Come on! What are you going to use to grab me? Those few scraps of paper in your hand, or those ridiculous handcuffs?"

Faced with this earth-shattering roar, Lu Jingyan stood still, not even blinking.

The wind whipped up sand and dust, making his police uniform flutter loudly. But his upright back remained perfectly straight, and his eyes, hidden behind his gold-rimmed glasses, were as cold and indifferent as a frozen deep sea.

"Your Nine Heavens Mystic Thunder looks pretty intimidating."

Lu Jingyan slowly raised his head, facing the blinding lightning, his tone flat and without any fluctuation.

"The pre-animation time is a bit long."

Chen Beixuan's maniacal laughter abruptly stopped.

He stared wide-eyed as Lu Jingyan calmly pulled a cell phone from his pocket at this critical moment, then slowly unlocked it and dialed a number.

"Are you crazy? You're about to die and you still want to call for help?" Chen Beixuan felt extremely insulted. He, a dignified Immortal Venerable, was preparing a powerful attack, and this ant was playing on his phone?!

Lu Jingyan completely ignored him.

The call was quickly connected, and an anxious middle-aged man's voice came through the speakerphone.

"Hello! This is the Provincial Meteorological Bureau's duty command center! Please speak!"

Lu Jingyan held the phone to his ear, and amidst the thunder, his voice was clear and steady.

"Hello, Director Liu. I am Lu Jingyan, the head of the cross-regional major crime supervision team of the Provincial Public Security Department."

Director Liu on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then his voice rose eight octaves: "Team Leader Lu?! What instructions do you have for us? Our monitoring center's radar is off the charts! A super-strong convective thunderstorm cloud has suddenly gathered near the Twin Towers in the city center, and the air pressure has dropped to an all-time low. This meteorological data is completely contrary to the laws of natural science!"

"Of course it doesn't follow the rules."

Lu Jingyan glanced up at Chen Beixuan, who was still trying to "bring in a big move" in mid-air, and a cold, mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"Because someone is illegally conducting artificial detonation within my jurisdiction."

"Man-made lightning?!" Director Liu was stunned. "What kind of organization is conducting such a high-risk meteorological experiment so late at night? Do they have approval from the Provincial Air Traffic Control Commission? Do they have an operating permit from our Meteorological Bureau?!"

"no."

Lu Jingyan's answer was crisp and clear: "Not only did the other party fail to report the incident, but they also intended to use the extreme weather to retaliate against law enforcement officers. This behavior has seriously endangered the lives and property of millions of citizens in the provincial capital."

"Absurd! Utterly absurd!" Director Liu slammed his fist on the table in anger on the other end of the phone. "Illegally altering the local meteorological environment is a criminal offense! Team Leader Lu, what kind of cooperation do you need?"

As Chen Beixuan floated in mid-air, listening to the conversation between the policeman and the civilian below, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Illegal artificial detonation?

No work permit?

He, a dignified Nascent Soul Immortal Venerable, drew upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to unleash divine punishment from the nine heavens, yet in the mouths of these mortals, it was reduced to an illegal construction project built without prior approval?!

"Arrogant ants! How dare you use worldly rules and regulations to measure the will of Heaven!"

Chen Beixuan frantically formed hand seals, pushing his true energy to its limit. The electrical charges in the thunderclouds rubbed together more violently, producing a heart-palpitating crackling sound.

"My tribulation has taken shape! Even if the Heavenly King himself were here today, he couldn't withstand my world-destroying lightning!"

Ignoring the shouts overhead, Lu Jingyan continued into the phone, "Director Liu, what is the current humidity level of the clouds?"

"Extremely abnormal!" Director Liu's voice was accompanied by the crisp sound of typing. "The humidity has reached 95%! All the conditions for a massive rainstorm are met, but because of that strange, strong electric field holding it up from below, the rain just won't fall!"

"Then let's lend it a hand."

Lu Jingyan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze cold and resolute.

"Director Liu, bring out all the artificial rainmaking bombs in your bureau's inventory. Launch them immediately."

"Understood! I will immediately dispatch a swarm of weather drones and anti-aircraft artillery units to intervene!"

The phone hangs up.

Zhao Tiezhu and the group of special police officers were stunned.

Using artificial rain bombs to attack the heavenly tribulation of cultivators?

What kind of hardcore science is this to exorcise magic? If magic can be defeated by physics, then cultivators become a joke.

"Hahahaha! Lu Jingyan, have you been so scared that you've gone insane?"

Chen Beixuan laughed so hard that tears almost came out. He looked down at Lu Jingyan as if he were looking at a hopeless clown.

"You think you can dispel my Nine Heavens Thunder by firing a few shells into the sky? That's utterly delusional!"

He suddenly spread his arms wide and roared to the sky, "The heavenly tribulation is complete! The might of heaven is unpredictable! Prepare to die!"

Within the dark, stormy clouds, a bolt of cyan lightning, as thick as a water bucket, was rapidly forming, carrying a terrifying pressure capable of destroying everything, and locked onto Lu Jingyan on the ground.

At this critical moment.

Lu Jingyan put his phone back in his pocket, looked up at the extremely arrogant cultivator in mid-air, and slowly curled a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

"The wrath of Heaven is indeed difficult to fathom."

He extended his long, slender index finger, pointing straight up at the sky.

"But Mr. Chen, look up."

"What's that flying in the sky?"