Krie sat alone in his office, waiting for him. Upon seeing him enter, he said, "I knew you'd come to find me."
"Is it the Demon Artifact?" Liu Lei asked directly.
"Yes..." Krie responded. Liu Lei turned and walked away.
Krie grabbed his arm. "Liu, listen to me, it's just the Demon's Horn, not the Eye of the Night Demon. This doesn't concern you..."
Liu Lei shook off his hand. "No, Krie. I won't run away anymore. Sooner or later, it will be the Eye of the Night Demon. I must stop it. I can't continue avoiding this. These things are something I'll have to face sooner or later, even if I can't fight the Dark Association right now. I must do what I'm meant to do!"
Krie let go of his hand, shaking his head and sighing. Liu Lei looked at him and said, "I appreciate all your care these past few days, but I hope we don't cross paths again..." He turned and walked downstairs.
In the basement, Liu Lei took the "Spirit Corpse" and found an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city to settle it. After securing the "Spirit Corpse," he booked a flight to Moscow.
"Mr. President!" Liu Lei stood loudly in the castle hall and announced, "I come to announce two things."
The President smiled, unfazed by Liu Lei's disrespectful tone. "Oh? Go ahead."
"First, I am withdrawing from the Dark Association. Second, I am destroying the Eye of the Night Demon!"
A wave of astonished murmurs spread through the hall. Liu Lei stood proudly, unmoving.
The President's face darkened. "Do you know what you're doing, Liu?"
"I know. I know everything, including how you used a super Tier 10 'Emotional Manipulation' on me when we first met..." Liu Lei decided to tear off the mask entirely.
The President's expression grew grim, his brows furrowed. What was once a friendly face now seemed ominous and terrifying. "What are you here for?"
"I've already told you!" Liu Lei replied.
"That's impossible!" The President waved his hand, and three Tier 3 Werewolves who had been standing to the side transformed instantly, lunging toward Liu Lei.
Liu Lei stood his ground, his palm crackling with electric light. With lightning speed, he struck out three times, each blow hitting a werewolf's claws. After the three resounding crashes, Liu Lei remained unmoving, and the three werewolves, charred black, lay on the ground.
Having studied werewolves' fear of fire, Liu Lei had used his palm lightning to defeat them, establishing his dominance.
A black light flickered around the President's body, and a black tornado appeared, sweeping Liu Lei into its vortex. After the violent wind subsided, Liu Lei's figure reappeared, surrounded by a faint mist. The furious wind had no effect on him, for he had achieved the "Pure Sword" form of the "Celestial Sword."
The President nodded in acknowledgment. "Very well, let me see what else the Easterners can surprise me with." He extended his right hand, and a ball of black energy rose from it, gradually forming into a grotesque demon head. With a shake of his hand, the demon head screamed in agony and lunged at Liu Lei.
Liu Lei chuckled. "This demonic theatrics can't scare me!" The mist around him condensed into a blue dragon, and as the demon head neared, the dragon roared and tore it apart with a single swipe of its massive claw.
"It seems you've made quite a bit of progress these past days," the President said ominously.
Liu Lei nodded. "Indeed, now I rank highly in my homeland. I was nothing before."
The President's aura surged higher, and Liu Lei stood firm, matching his strength. The clash of their energies shook the hall, and the surrounding onlookers struggled to maintain their footing. When their energies reached about thirty percent of their full strength, the stone castle itself began to tremble.
Losing a stone castle wouldn't be a big deal for the Dark Association, but this particular castle had been built since the Association's early days, and within its hall lay secrets unknown to outsiders. The President could not allow it to sustain any damage.
"Get outside!" The President shouted, flying out of the hall with Liu Lei close behind. The onlookers rushed to follow, but by the time they reached the exit, the two figures were already mere black dots in the sky.
The President led Liu Lei out to a mountaintop several dozen kilometers away, and they stopped. Liu Lei didn't waste words. He drew out "Thunderfire" and swung it down, releasing five bolts of thick lightning, each encased in seven rings of heavenly fire. The mountain was nearly flattened with the five deafening booms, displaying far greater power than when he had faced the Tremere family's castle.
The President, caught off guard, was struck by one bolt of lightning. His entire body charred, but with a dark gleam, his wounds healed instantaneously, astonishing Liu Lei. His regenerative ability, while not as impressive as Liu Lei's, was still formidable. It was even stronger than Liu Lei before he had obtained the meteorite energy!
Furious, the President retrieved the Demon's Horn, and Liu Lei once again felt its immense dark power. When considering only the energy contained within, the Demon's Horn was the most powerful of the three magical artifacts. The Eye of the Night Demon, which Liu Lei had helped to create, had strong offensive capabilities due to the celestial formation embedded in it, making it the deadliest of the three. The third, the Demon's Wings, could endlessly amplify the user's attacking power. These three artifacts were a perfect combination—immense energy, powerful offensive methods, and an item capable of magnifying attacks infinitely.
Empowered by the Demon's Horn, the President was able to wield magic that was otherwise beyond his reach. Dark energy arrows began to form around him, and with a wave of his hand, a barrage of arrows rained down on Liu Lei. With the Horn's endless energy supply, the President unleashed a continuous onslaught of powerful magic. The barrage lasted over ten minutes before Liu Lei, filled with rage, activated his Celestial Sword, which transformed into a mist, obliterating every energy arrow that came near.
The President, engulfed in black flames, abandoned his magical assault and casually swung a black energy sword dozens of meters long toward Liu Lei. Liu Lei evaded with a swift leap, leaving a deep crack in the ground.
With a counterattack, Liu Lei struck the President with a thunderous blow, but the President blocked it with his sword. The clash caused three bolts of lightning to strike the ground, creating two more deep craters.
As Liu Lei struck again, the President stood his ground, absorbing the full force of the blow, then retaliating with a sword thrust. Both exchanged brutal attacks, their bodies riddled with injuries, yet their regenerative powers kept them in the fight.
Enraged, the President summoned the Eye of the Night Demon, which unleashed a storm of black rays that pierced everything in its path. Liu Lei summoned the full force of the Celestial Sword to block the rays, but the President intensified the attack by augmenting the Eye with the Demon's Wings, tripling its power. Liu Lei was struck and sent flying, but the President was not content to let him recover.
Laughing maniacally, the President charged after him, but Liu Lei, determined to resist, summoned an ancient spell. As the sky darkened with storm clouds and thunder rumbled, Liu Lei cast the Grand Five Elements Annihilation Curse, summoning a devastating lightning storm. The President struggled to defend himself, but with his magical defenses shattered, he was left vulnerable. After taking several blows, the President fell to the ground, bloodied and battered.
Liu Lei was surprised by his resilience, but he did not let his guard down. Just as he was about to press his advantage, a dark figure emerged from a crack in the ground—the Stone Fortress's guardian giant. Liu Lei had not expected this treacherous attack. The giant, wielding a massive sword, struck Liu Lei down with a single blow, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Enraged, Liu Lei channeled his remaining energy and summoned the Pangu Axe, unleashing a cataclysmic strike that tore through the battlefield, annihilating the giant and creating a massive rift in the earth. As dust and smoke filled the air, Liu Lei retreated, knowing the battle was far from over.