CHAPTER 245: CHAPTER 0245: ZHANG BIN, DO YOU PLEAD GUILTY?_1

"Indeed, I was the one who asked her to resign," Zhang Bin said.

"You are harming the nation’s interests. Liu Ruomei is linked to the Hacker Rabbit King, Chen Junheng. If we can’t properly monitor her, it will be very difficult to catch him," Zhao Dawei said seriously.

"I don’t care what heinous crime Rabbit King Chen Junheng has committed, but I must protect my Taiqing Sect’s secrets from being leaked," Zhang Bin said coldly. "Liu Ruomei has long been a disciple of our Taiqing Sect, and the cultivation technique she practices is also ours. Yet, someone is using a Mind-Reading Ability to read her thoughts every day. They know perfectly well that the Hacker Rabbit King won’t appear again, but they persist. This is undoubtedly an attempt to spy on our Taiqing Sect’s cultivation methods and secrets. Our Taiqing Sect keeps to itself and doesn’t look for trouble, but we are not to be trifled with. I haven’t come looking for trouble with your Special Action Team, yet you’ve come to me."

Zhao Dawei was taken aback, then he said repeatedly, "This is a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding. We have absolutely no intention of prying into the Taiqing Sect’s cultivation methods. We are simply trying to catch the Hacker Rabbit King, Chen Junheng."

"Not only is Liu Ruomei my junior disciple, but she is also my sister-in-law. I absolutely will not allow anyone to read her thoughts or spy on her secrets every day. And I will never permit the secrets of the Taiqing Sect to be leaked," Zhang Bin said. "Therefore, I asked her to resign. Is that a problem?"

"This..." Zhao Dawei was at a loss for words.

"Dawei, the Hacker Rabbit King himself has said that he will never appear again," Zhang Bin said. "At the very least, he won’t come looking for Liu Ruomei anymore. Monitoring her is of no use to you. It will only infuriate him, making it even less likely for the nation to get his assistance."

"But this is the only lead we have," Zhao Dawei said dejectedly.

"This lead is already useless," Zhang Bin said. "Chen Junheng and Liu Ruomei have no real feelings for each other; they’ve only met once. With a genius like Chen Junheng, he could successfully court any beautiful woman he desires, and this world is certainly not lacking in them. I reckon he’s happily rolling in the sheets with some other beauty right now. If you stop monitoring Liu Ruomei, he might actually calm down and contact you voluntarily."

"Your analysis makes sense, my friend," Zhao Dawei said. "I will explain this to my superiors."

"Then I thank you," Zhang Bin said. "Besides the reasons I’ve mentioned, I had Liu Ruomei resign so she could focus on her cultivation and reach the Golden Core Realm as soon as possible. That would also be beneficial to our country."

"Liu Ruomei can cultivate to the Golden Core Realm? How is that possible?" Zhao Dawei was completely dumbfounded, unable to believe his ears.

"Liu Ruomei’s talent is excellent, not much less than my own. Reaching the Golden Core Realm will be no problem for her," Zhang Bin said in an unquestionable tone.

Liu Ruomei’s talent was indeed good, though not the kind of genius seen once in a century. But with Spiritual Water, Gathering Qi Pills, and the right cultivation techniques, her progress was very fast. Zhang Bin estimated that with enough cultivation resources, Liu Ruomei could reach the Great Perfection of the Liquid Phase in just five years. With some luck, she could advance to the Golden Core Realm in twenty years. After that, however, her cultivation path would be cut off, as there were no cultivation techniques for the Nascent Soul Stage. Although the Tao Te Ching contained many insights and secrets about cultivation, it didn’t include Nascent Soul Stage cultivation techniques. Zhang Bin figured that the cultivation methods for the Nascent Soul Stage were passed down orally and never recorded in books. That was why Daoist Elder Taiqing had never advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage. However, Zhang Bin himself had no such worries. He was cultivating the Qingmu Longevity Technique, which was a complete method that could be practiced all the way to the Divine Tree Realm. That was equivalent to the Ascension Realm for Earth Cultivators.

If Liu Ruomei cultivated to the Golden Core Realm, the Taiqing Sect would have another powerful member. And if Tian Bingbing could also reach the Golden Core Realm, my personal power base would become even stronger. Then, anyone who wanted to deal with me, Zhang Bin, would have to think twice.

"It seems your Taiqing Sect has quite a knack for cultivating disciples," Zhao Dawei sighed. "In that case, I look forward to Liu Ruomei growing strong, cultivating to the Golden Core Realm, and becoming a deterrent force for the nation."

A radiant smile appeared on Zhang Bin’s face; he knew the matter of Liu Ruomei’s resignation was essentially resolved. The government would likely no longer pursue the issue, nor would they try to capture the Rabbit King through her.

He promptly changed the subject, saying indignantly, "My friend, you guys don’t play fair. Last time, I gave Dr. Hanbing Yun some suggestions about Genetically Enhanced Humans that were worth a fortune. But the two five-hundred-year-old ginseng you promised still haven’t been delivered."

"About that..." Zhao Dawei stammered. "Dr. Han said you should go get them from her yourself. She’s probably taken a liking to you and wants to see you. After all, you’re the only young man who wasn’t captivated by her."

Seeing Zhao Dawei’s expression, Zhang Bin knew he was talking nonsense. The reality was probably that Dr. Hanbing Yun planned to use the two ginseng roots as bait to lure him to Capital City, a place he might never return from. After all, there were far too many masters in Capital City, and Master Tianlong wasn’t even the strongest among them. Therefore, he would absolutely not walk into a trap by going to Capital City. Since he was unwilling to go, he was doomed never to get his hands on the five-hundred-year-old ginseng. Naturally, he was displeased, and his impression of Dr. Hanbing Yun had soured completely. For now, however, he was still too weak and lacked the ability to cause her any trouble.

"She likes me? Give me a break. She’s interested in Gene Transformation Humans," Zhang Bin said dismissively. "Tell her I don’t have time to go to Capital City. The most she’ll accomplish is cheating me out of two ginseng roots. She can forget about ever getting any more help from me."

"My friend, you should still go and see her," Zhao Dawei said, his brow furrowed. "She’s so beautiful. Don’t you like her? Don’t you want to meet her?"

"She’s the one who wants to see me, not the other way around," Zhang Bin said. "Trying to get my help with such despicable tactics will only backfire."

"I’ll pass your words on to her, my friend," Zhao Dawei said, looking truly embarrassed.

Qian Bing and Sun Tie also looked ashamed and apologetic. They knew how helpful Zhang Bin’s suggestions were to Dr. Hanbing Yun’s research, yet she hadn’t even given him his payment and was still plotting against him. And yet, they had no choice but to cooperate with her work.

Having failed to achieve his goal, Zhao Dawei left with Qian Bing and Sun Tie in the helicopter.

Zhang Bin thought the matter with Liu Ruomei was completely resolved. That night, however, he received a phone call from Dr. Hanbing Yun. She said sharply, "Zhang Bin, what gives you the nerve to instigate Liu Ruomei into resigning and moving in with you? You’ve cut off our lead on Hacker Chen Junheng! This has greatly hindered the progress of my research on Genetically Enhanced Humans. Do you realize your crime?"