*Deep exhale*
In a sitting position, Tang Lin meditated as he assessed his body condition.
"So, this is the Strength Training realm?" he asked, clenching his fists.
"Although my external wounds healed for some reason and I look fine on the outside, I still have many internal injuries. I also need to slowly consolidate my cultivation or I won't have a solid foundation", he pondered.
*Swirl*
"Hmm? What was that?" Tang Lin asked, closing his eyes in order to heighten his senses.
Within his mind, the room was completely black and void of energy. All of a sudden, colourful lights started to blossom, while moving through the air. A tear unexpectedly rolled down his cheek from his left eye before he started bawling.
"I can see it again. I can finally sense qi within the air again. My meridians must've somehow been fixed back then", said Tang Lin, holding his shoulders, while realising what the familiar energy he felt back at the showers was.
"Xu Yang, Xu Ming, wait for me! I swear that with my talent and meridians fixed, I will pay you back with interest for what you have taken from me!" he resolved.
Feeling determined, Tang Lin instantly started meditating again to hasten his recovery and start consolidating his Strength Training realm. Slowly, a whirlpool started in the room with all of the qi in the room being sucked into the centre where Tang Lin was. He could feel the energy circulating throughout his body and thanks to the condensed blood crystal, his meridians were also strengthened and expanded. His meridians were now three times the size of someone at the same cultivation level.
"First, I need to break through to the 1st stage of Qi Condensation within these last three remaining days", Tang Lin decided.
***
Three days later, the day of the expedition.
"Tang Lin still hasn't come out of his room yet? He still has a lot of spirit wood to cut, but I guess he must be feeling uneasy knowing he's about to be sent to his death today. I guess I'll go finish his task after I send them off", Old Gu sighed tiredly.
Meanwhile, in Tang Lin's room.
*Huuu, exhale*
All of his injuries and wounds had been recovered since the first night, but he still continued to cultivate without much rest in order to fulfill his goal. He could feel the threshold to the Qi Condensation realm starting to break as qi started to fluctuate violently in the air.
"I've almost reached Qi Condensation now. Now this is the most important part, which is to extract the qi from my surroundings to create the first droplet of heaven and earth qi within my dantian", thought Tang Lin stressfully as sweat covered his whole body from gathering qi non-stop for the past three days.
There are nine ranks that distinguish the quality of someone's foundation, which is determined by how compressed their principle qi was when they first cultivated. Level achieved with each compression from one to nine:
Most cultivators would immediately break through to the Qi Condensation realm with ease by compressing their principle qi only once or twice before forming their droplet, but this wasn't the case for Tang Lin. This is because he has to gather three times the normal amount of qi than your average cultivator, due to the abnormal size of his meridians and dantian. Not only that, but he wanted to achieve the purest and densest form of qi by compressing his qi to the highest degree.
At this point, the qi in the air within the room had become so dense that even a mortal would be able to see the tangible dew forming atop Tang Lin's body. Unsure of what to do, he started concentrating all of the qi into a massive crystal that was rock solid in front of him. It was around half the size of him as he felt a chilly aura being exuded that made him feel uneasy.