Aftermath Healing and Foundation Establishment Consolidation

Inside the highest-specification medical room of Capsule Corporation, the air was filled with the scent of disinfectant and the faint, clean fragrance of a high-grade nutrient solution.

Lin Fan lay on a soft treatment bed, connected to several thin tubes that were slowly delivering nanomedicine to repair his body tissues along with energy supplements.

His face remained pale, eyes closed, with long eyelashes casting small shadows beneath them; his breathing was faint but steady.

The battle with Mercenary Tao had been an immense drain, leaving him with severe internal and external injuries. Had he not forcibly achieved Foundation Establishment at the final moment, causing his vitality to leap forward, he likely would have perished.

Bulma sat by the bedside, her eyes still red as if she had just finished crying.

She held a tablet displaying Lin Fan's detailed physiological monitoring charts, while her other hand carefully touched his bandaged arm with her fingertips—where a terrifying puncture wound had once been, now replaced by tender new flesh covered by medical gel.

"What a monster..."

She muttered under her breath, her tone laced with lingering fear and disbelief. "To be hurt like that... and actually survive... and recover this quickly..."

Amidst the soft humming of medical instruments, Lin Fan's consciousness had already sunk deep into his body.

Looking inward, he saw that while his internal state was a mess, it was also brimming with vigorous vitality.

Many delicate meridians had developed cracks from the previous energy shock, muscle fibers were torn over large areas, and his bones suffered from multiple hidden injuries.

Yet, at the same time, an energy far purer and more mellow than the Qi Refining Stage True Qi—Foundation Establishment True Essence—was flowing like gentle, abundant spring water through his now wider and tougher meridians. Wherever it passed, it nourished damaged tissues and repaired hidden wounds.

The purity of this Foundation Establishment True Essence was more than ten times that of his previous True Qi!

If his former True Qi was a stream mixed with mud and sand, then this True Essence was mercury that had been tempered a thousand times and stripped of all impurities—condensed, calm, yet containing even greater power.

Every wisp of True Essence seemed to possess its own spirit, connected more closely to his divine sense, responding to his will like an extension of his own arm.

He guided the True Essence, circulating it through his meridians over and over to consolidate his early-stage Foundation Establishment realm, while simultaneously accelerating the absorption of nutrients delivered by the medical fluid, converting them into his own energy.

This process was slow and meticulous; it could not be rushed.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of slightly turbid air.

He felt that the pain inside his body had lessened by more than half. Although he remained weak, his foundation was now stable, and there was no longer any danger of his cultivation realm falling.

The moment he opened his eyes, he was met by Bulma's wide, round blue eyes, which were filled with endless curiosity and a desire to study him; she was almost pressed against his face.

"Wow! You're awake!"

Bulma was startled and jerked backward, but immediately leaned in again with excitement, the tablet in her hand nearly poking Lin Fan's face. "How do you feel? Is anything different? Tell me, tell me!"

Lin Fan, feeling somewhat helpless at her rapid-fire questioning, moved his still-aching body slightly and whispered, "I'm fine... I won't die."

"What do you mean 'fine'!"

Bulma cried out in dissatisfaction. "Do you have any idea how exaggerated the energy readings in your body were just now? One moment it looked like it was going to explode, the next it was as calm as a deep pool! And, and! That hole in your chest! It actually healed itself! This is not a recovery speed humans should have!"

She waved the tablet, which displayed various charts and spectral analyses that Lin Fan couldn't understand. "Look! This is your cellular activity data while you were unconscious; the peak was over a hundred times that of an ordinary person! And this wavelength of unknown energy... it's too stable, scientifically impossibly stable! It's completely different from the fluctuation pattern of your previous 'True Qi'!"

Her eyes shone as she stared at Lin Fan, as if she had discovered the ultimate secret of the universe. "Is this what you call 'Foundation Establishment'? Does it mean infrastructure construction? Was your body 'rebuilt'? How was it rebuilt? What is the energy source? What's the principle?"

Lin Fan looked at Bulma, who was on the verge of scientific mania, and sighed, knowing he wouldn't have any peace unless he satisfied her curiosity. He weighed his words, trying to explain in a way she could understand:

"You can think of it as... an optimization and evolution of one's life level. Breaking the old framework to establish a more efficient, more powerful new foundation. The energy is more condensed, control over the body is stronger, and recovery and perception are both enhanced."

He pointed to his healed wound. "As for the recovery... it's just one manifestation of the new foundation's capabilities."

"Evolution? Optimization?"

Bulma blinked, quickly recording on her tablet. "Like a genetic mutation? Or like how a Saiyan's combat power increases after recovering from an injury?"

"Slightly similar, but the essence is different."

Lin Fan shook his head. "It doesn't rely on external stimuli to be passively triggered, but rather actively guiding energy to reshape oneself from the root. It is... the natural result of cultivation."

"Active evolution..."

Bulma murmured to herself, her eyes growing brighter. "That's much more scientific than the Saiyan setup! No, it's more unscientific but even cooler! Wait!"

She suddenly remembered something, stood up abruptly, ran to a complex-looking instrument nearby, and pushed it over. "Quick! Let's measure your detailed data again! Cell energy levels, energy radiation spectrum, neural reaction speed, metabolic rate... I want it all!"

Lin Fan looked at the pile of cold, gleaming instrument probes and felt a headache coming on, but seeing Bulma's insistent gaze, which burned with scientific fervor, he could only helplessly cooperate.

Beams of scanning light moved back and forth over his body, and various sensor patches attached themselves to his skin.

"Incredible... cellular strength has increased threefold!"

"Energy density... unmeasurable! The instrument's limit isn't high enough!"

"Brain activity... my god, this neuron firing speed..."

"This energy wavelength... I've never seen it before! It's extremely active yet stable!"

Bulma watched the data on the screen breaking through every limit, exclaiming constantly, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

Lin Fan closed his eyes, continuing to guide his True Essence to repair his body, ignoring the outside world.

He could feel that after Foundation Establishment, his body was like a container that had been enlarged and reinforced, capable of holding and converting far more energy.

The effect of the [Qi Recovery Powder] he had refined previously had already diminished significantly; it seemed he would have to start preparing higher-grade pills.

There was also that Z-1 alloy flying sword blank; previously, he had only been able to nourish it with Qi Refining Stage True Qi, and progress had been slow.

Now, with Foundation Establishment True Essence, the efficiency of that nourishment would surely increase significantly.

More importantly, the battle with Mercenary Tao had made him truly feel the dangers of this world.

He had to increase his strength as quickly as possible! The early Foundation Establishment Stage was far from enough!

Dr. Gero... the Red Ribbon Army... and the even stronger enemies that might appear in the future...

A sense of urgency surged within Lin Fan.

"Are you done yet?"

He couldn't help but urge Bulma, who was still frantically recording data.

"Almost, almost! Just one last full-body energy field scan!"

Bulma didn't even look up, her eyes locked onto a complex 3D model of energy distribution on the screen as she muttered, "This energy structure... it's so interesting... If I could simulate it... if I could apply it..."

Watching her completely immersed in her work, Lin Fan shook his head helplessly.

It seemed that this path of "Scientific Cultivation" was destined to be followed.

He just wondered what kind of turmoil would ensue if this "Foundation Establishment Stage Data," which Bulma was recording with such fervor, were to fall into the hands of those with ulterior motives...

Inside the healing room, instruments hummed; one was focused on repair and stabilization, while the other was obsessed with data analysis.

Beneath this brief calm, the undercurrents remained turbulent.