Chapter 70: An Unbridgeable Gap

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Yi Qiu! Wang Yiran's fiancé!

Qin Anyi felt as if his mind had been struck by a heavy blow, his pupils contracting slightly, yet he forced himself to keep his breathing steady, betraying no sign of disturbance. "So you are Yiran's fiancé. Is there something you need from me?" Qin Anyi's voice remained calm, his face still carrying that faint, gentle smile. Yet beneath the surface, he was deeply uneasy. According to Wang Yiran, her fiancé was far from an ordinary man; he was the youngest ever to achieve the honor of becoming a Glory Dragon Knight. Although Qin Anyi's understanding of this elite department was limited to its name, he knew well enough that its power and influence likely surpassed anything he could imagine.

He and Yi Qiu should never have crossed paths, and yet, because of Wang Yiran, they had become adversaries forced to confront each other. Even if Yi Qiu disliked Wang Yiran as much as Qin Anyi did, pride alone would prohibit any peaceful coexistence. Moreover, Wang Yiran possessed extraordinary charm—Qin Anyi doubted that any man could be immune to her allure. The pursuit of beautiful women had always been a man's innate drive.

Though Wang Yiran had already granted him the status of a trainee Dragon Knight and had told him that internal strife—of any kind or manner—was forbidden among the Knights, Qin Anyi still felt uneasy facing Yi Qiu, the youngest Dragon Knight in history. If Yi Qiu decided to break the rules and kill him, would the organization really execute this prodigy? At best, they would make a token gesture, impose some limited punishment...

On one side was an ordinary trainee with no background; on the other, a super genius whose connections within the Dragon Knights ran deep and strong. The choice was obvious to anyone. As for rules—rules were made by people, and could be changed for those with enough influence. Yi Qiu surely had that influence.

"Actually, it's nothing much," Yi Qiu began, "I know Yiran wants to meet the minimum standards to become a Dragon Knight within a year, hoping to break free from our engagement. But whether she succeeds or not is irrelevant. Among the younger generation of the Dragon Group, only I am worthy of her."

His expression radiated innate arrogance. Qin Anyi could easily read a sense of disdain in Yi Qiu's eyes. "Yiran is still young. A bit of rebelliousness is normal, and I don't intend to correct her mistakes. With enough time, she'll realize how childish her ideas are. Girls always have the right to be a little capricious."

Qin Anyi listened quietly, his body tense. He knew he was no match for this young Dragon Knight, but he refused to sit and wait for death. If Yi Qiu truly intended to kill him, Qin Anyi would fight with all he had—for the sake of the Kirin, his greatest advantage.

"Relax," Yi Qiu said, as if noticing Qin Anyi's wariness, a mocking tone in his voice. "I'm not here to kill you—you don't even deserve that. If I wanted you dead, you would be already."

"Truthfully, I hadn't planned to waste time meeting you. But events of the past week made me reconsider. You probably have no idea what trouble your stupidity has caused Yiran. Her personality would never allow her to tell you, so I had to warn you."

"Trouble?" Qin Anyi frowned, uncertain of the extent to which this matter had affected Wang Yiran—he only had a vague sense that it was serious.

"Of course," Yi Qiu snorted. "Even as a trainee, members of the Glory Dragon Knights must maintain their purity and transcendence. The Knights' greatest taboo is involvement in political struggles. We are the nation's sharpest blade! We are its strongest shield! We are its most powerful weapon! And weapons—do not need, nor can they have, independent thoughts."

His expression grew stern. "But because of your foolishness, Yiran recklessly crossed that line. To extricate herself and shield you from any repercussions, Yiran mobilized every resource at her disposal within the Dragon Group—including her father, the Tiger General, one of the four great Dragon Knights. Even with his status, resolving this mess required enormous concessions to all parties involved."

At that moment, Yi Qiu's demeanor became dangerous. Qin Anyi could clearly see a flicker of murderous intent in his eyes, causing his guard to rise to its highest level.

"I don't mind Yiran being a little willful. She's my fiancé, and I can tolerate her caprice. But the condition is that it must not harm her family's power. I will marry her not just for herself, but for the alliance between our two families. Your actions weakened her family's influence, which means you have damaged my interests."

Yi Qiu sneered. "There won't be a next time. Since Yiran values you highly, I can let you off once. I don't want others to think I killed you out of fear. But if you continue in your foolishness, I will take your life, even if your filthy blood sullies my noble hands."

Qin Anyi frowned again. "Yiran is not a commodity. Being with her should bring her happiness, not be measured by profit."

As soon as he finished speaking, his vision blurred, and a tremendous force slammed into his abdomen, sending him flying backward. He crashed to the ground nearly ten meters away, rolled several times, and only then managed to stop. The intense pain left him gasping for breath, while Yi Qiu's final words echoed in his ears:

"Though I can't be bothered to kill you, don't test my patience. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to crush you like an ant."

"An ant..." Qin Anyi clenched his fists, his face pale from the difficulty of breathing. Gritting his teeth, he asked, "Kirin, what is his true strength?"

"Displayed speed: one hundred milliseconds. The punch to your abdomen carried forty to fifty kilograms of force, at the threshold of human limits. Departure speed exceeded the range of visual perception. Both speed and power are likely being held back."

"So this—this is the power of a true Dragon Knight..." Qin Anyi struggled to rise, one hand pressed against his aching abdomen. Yi Qiu was right: his current strength was a joke before a real Dragon Knight. His understanding of power was crude at best; his only advantages—speed and analytical ability—were rendered useless by a Knight whose physical abilities eclipsed his own.

He had to become stronger. Strong enough to at least control his own right to survive, not depend on the charity of others. For the first time, Qin Anyi's desire for strength was so intense. Yi Qiu's impact on him was unprecedented, especially after obtaining the Kirin. Though he'd never admit it, he'd secretly felt pride and complacency.

But Yi Qiu's arrival had awakened him. If his previous motivation for strength came from family, now survival itself was driving him. The threat of life and death was always the most powerful force to change a person.

"If everything is measured by profit, no wonder Yiran doesn't want to be with him... One year! Yiran needs a year to win her relative freedom. And I must gain the right to speak to her as an equal!"

Qin Anyi gripped his fist tightly, lifted his eyes to the dim starry sky, and murmured as if swearing an oath.