Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1684 The Cultivation of Air Pressure: Physics Makes Great Contribution
At this moment, Son Gohan, who had been standing quietly watching the battle, stepped forward steadily, his eyes revealing the composure of a scholar.

He picked up where his father, Sun Wukong, left off, his tone calm yet carrying a certain convincing penetrating power: "Simply put, 'air pressure' is the compression of the same amount of air into a smaller energy unit. This not only greatly increases the density and quality of energy, but also significantly reduces the loss during the release process, allowing every bit of air to exert a far greater effect than before."

"Gas... can actually be compressed?"

Future Trunks' face was filled with disbelief; this sudden concept seemed to shatter his entire understanding of energy.

In his limited experience of cultivation, the path to becoming stronger was always only linked to the total amount of "more" and "stronger" Qi—no one ever told him that energy also has a dimension of "quality".

He murmured, "I always thought that the stronger the energy, the more it should be released outwards. I never thought that... it could actually be improved and made more efficient through compression."

Seeing Trunks's still bewildered expression, Gohan couldn't help but sigh softly. His tone held no sarcasm, but rather a hint of understanding and sympathy: "Trunks, your physics grades probably weren't very good before, were they? These are essentially basic principles of energy physics—the inverse relationship between pressure and volume, form transformation under the law of conservation of energy…"

Before the other person could answer, he continued to explain: "When gas is compressed, the distance between particles decreases, and the interaction force between energy fields increases exponentially. At the same time, because the ratio of surface area to volume changes, the pathways for energy to dissipate are greatly reduced. In other words, it's not that your total gas volume is insufficient, but that you haven't been able to utilize it effectively."

Trunks was momentarily speechless, his eyes darting around slightly, before he replied in a low voice, "Well... actually, my grades are alright."

His words betrayed a hint of embarrassment.

In the future world he came from, ravaged by androids, schools and education systems had long since collapsed, and he grew up almost entirely through self-study amidst ruins and war.

Bulma is a rare scientific genius, but she specializes in mechanical engineering and spacetime theory, rather than in the systematic study of combat energy.

Sun Wukong laughed loudly and patted Trunks on the shoulder without any hesitation: "There's nothing to be ashamed of! Real combat is the best classroom. Come on, I'll demonstrate to you now what air pressure training is."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surging golden aura around him suddenly subsided, as if an invisible hand had pressed the sea of ​​light back down.

It still maintains the Super Saiyan form, but the light is no longer flamboyant and radiant. Instead, it clings tightly to the surface of its body, solid as a gilded armor.

The oppressive force of the energy did not diminish; instead, it became even more suffocating.

"The key is not to control the gas,"

Sun Wukong closed his eyes and pondered, his voice suddenly becoming deep and resonant.

"Instead, feel it, listen to it, and converse with your breath. You need to understand how it flows, how it breathes, and how it circulates within your body. It's not about forcibly restraining it, but about gently guiding it."

He slowly pushed his right hand forward, and a vortex of energy surged from his palm. At first, it was a hazy golden mist, which then gradually contracted and condensed, and the color changed from light gold to a bright, deep gold like lava, even showing a bit of transparent texture.

“Look closely, Trunks. This isn’t simply about lowering the air pressure; it’s about changing its structure and upgrading its ‘grade’.”

Trunks stared intently, clearly sensing the terrifying energy contained within that small wisp of energy—though less than a tenth of its previous size, it emanated a chilling aura.

He then closed his eyes and, for the first time, truly calmed his mind to "introspect" the flow of energy within his body.

He saw the Qi flowing like a river, yet dissipating and leaking away in countless tiny places, like a bucket full of water but with holes. He suddenly realized: in the past, he had only pursued expanding the scale of Qi, but had never paid attention to these unseen wastes.

"Relax, don't be impatient."

Sun Wukong's voice rang out again, as if he could see through his thoughts.

“Tension will only make your breathing more disordered. Power does indeed come from emotions, but to control it—you must be extremely calm. Find the balance between that calm and the explosion.”

Trunks took a deep breath, trying to draw the surging energy back into his body, reverse the flow, and force it into his core.

It was extremely difficult at first. He was used to explosive qi output, but now he was compressing it in the opposite direction, as if trying to stuff a gale back into a narrow-necked bottle.

The qi surged and raged through his meridians, completely out of his control, and nearly erupted uncontrollably several times.

Sun Wukong was not in a hurry, but repeatedly reminded him: "Pay attention to your breathing rhythm."

"Don't confront, guide."

Imagine you're not compressing, but sorting out.

Son Gohan occasionally chimed in, offering theoretical explanations: "Just like a star collapsing into a white dwarf—its volume decreases, but its density increases dramatically. The same goes for gas; the more you compress it, the higher its 'energy level' becomes."

After several failures, Trunks gradually grasped a trick: he no longer tried to forcefully suppress the Qi with willpower, but instead used his consciousness as a guide to slowly direct the Qi into the depths of his dantian, then applied even and continuous pressure. He felt the Qi begin to submit, as if the wild horse had finally recognized the rider's voice.

Several hours passed, the sun was setting, and he was soaked in sweat, but his eyes shone even brighter.

Finally, during a moment of focused concentration, he successfully compressed his own energy to about one-tenth of its original volume.

The feeling at that moment was extremely strange—the energy output that originally required all efforts to maintain was now much easier, while the surrounding air trembled slightly due to the highly condensed energy.

He opened his eyes, looking at his hands with a mixture of surprise and joy: "It worked... Although it's only a little, I can feel it—the energy consumption has slowed down, and the power has actually increased!"

Sun Wukong grinned, his eyes full of approval: "Very good! This is only the first step. Next, you need to train yourself to maintain this compressed state unconsciously, even during daily activities, intense battles, and even when you are sleeping—you must let your Qi automatically circulate in a high-density form."

Trunks nodded solemnly, a surge of unprecedented anticipation welling up inside him.

He saw a completely new and deeper path unfolding before him—not simply expanding outwards to become "stronger," but rather pursuing "deeper" inwards.

He finally realized that true power lies hidden in the smallest details.

This alone could make Trunks believe he can defeat numbers 17 and 18!
Yes, unlike before when there was no hope and we could only pin our hopes on the past and try to change it, this is real hope.

(End of this chapter)