Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!

“I see…”

Alan nodded thoughtfully.

Unlike the tangible, visible forms of shaping mana, this invisible, aura-like mana—capable of exerting psychological pressure—was not something apparent on the surface. It belonged to a deeper, more intangible domain, one that existed purely within the realm of the spirit.

Seeing that Alan seemed to have grasped the concept, Old Gayle moved forward again.

He once more infused mana into his body and shattered another stone giant with a single blow.

This time, he clutched the mana core of the fallen giant in his hand, returned to Alan’s side, and crushed it into dust right in front of him.

“This concept is too abstract for you to fully understand right now,” Gayle said patiently.

“I can only try to explain to you, as best as I can, some of the experiences I went through when I comprehended mana Overpressure.”

“Everyone’s mana Overpressure manifests a little differently.”

“Some people’s is sharp and aggressive—just standing near them makes you restless, uneasy.”

“Others are more subtle, hiding a dagger in the softness of their aura. They seem weak, like a breeze could knock them over—but when they get serious, their Overpressure is no less terrifying than the former.”

“The essence of mana Overpressure,” he continued, “is a mental elevation—placing yourself above all your opponents in spirit. No matter if you are outnumbered or outmatched, you must maintain an unwavering belief in victory.”

“If you persist long enough, your unique mana Overpressure will naturally manifest itself.”

“There was even a study conducted by Lioncrest Academy,” Gayle said, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“They once made a group of weak-willed freshmen spar with mutant griffins for over three hours a day.”

“The experiment lasted an entire month. In the beginning, no one had any real expectations for those kids. But surprisingly, after that month, their strength had skyrocketed.”

“Not only did they dominate their peers, but they also achieved a fifty-fifty win rate against students a few years their senior.”

Alan frowned slightly, puzzled.

“I don’t get it. Mutant griffins are rare, sure, but they’re not particularly strong. Could sparring with them really cause such a leap in strength?”

Old Gayle chuckled.

“Of course not. Even if they had found an opponent ten times stronger than a mutant griffin, those kids wouldn’t have improved that much based on battle experience alone. The real key lies in mana Overpressure.”

As he spoke, he suddenly cast a sharp, piercing gaze at Alan.

Instantly, Alan felt as though he had plunged into an icy abyss.

His skin stung as if countless tiny knives were slicing across him.

Seeing Alan’s reaction, Gayle quickly withdrew his gaze and said solemnly,

“Mutant griffins may not be particularly powerful, but their eyes carry both the sharpness of eagles and the ferocity of lions.”

“Prolonged eye contact with them, even for the most timid individuals, will naturally forge a foundation for building mana Overpressure.”

“I think… I’m starting to understand…”

Alan nodded slowly, feeling a moment of realization dawning upon him.

In simple terms, as long as one could dominate an opponent in spirit, even without overwhelming physical strength, they could generate a genuine mana Overpressure—substantially boosting their chance of victory.

It made perfect sense.

Someone who believed without a doubt that they would win, compared to someone who attacked and defended timidly, hesitating at every turn—

It was clear who would last longer in a true battle.

“I’ll give it a try!”

Alan’s eyes gleamed with determination.

He looked straight at the stone giants’ cores, then charged forward.

Just like Gayle had demonstrated, he focused all his mana into his right arm.

In an instant, the veins on his arm began to glow faintly blue, emitting a strange, intimidating light.

The sight was enough to make anyone’s heart race.

“Take this!”

BANG!

Alan’s fist slammed heavily into the head of one stone giant, creating a deep crater.

However—

The stone giant was far from defeated.

The blow hadn’t even cracked its mana core.

A moment later, the stone giant Alan had attacked raised its massive hand and swung it down toward him with terrifying force.

Even though it was just a mindless construct, the weight and momentum of its attack carried an overwhelming sense of pressure—

a kind of natural mana Overpressure without any conscious effort.

To Alan, it felt like a small mountain was collapsing right on top of him.

The mana Overpressure he had painstakingly gathered shattered instantly under the stone giant’s raw might.

With a cry of pain, Alan was knocked flying, crashing back down near Gayle’s feet.

Seeing this, Old Gayle couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Haha! That’s not how you do it! Your so-called mana Overpressure didn’t even faze it!”

Alan climbed out of the rubble, frustrated and covered in dust.

He looked at Old Gayle with a resentful expression.

Gayle shook his head, still smiling.

“It’s not that it didn’t work,” he explained,

“It’s that your mana Overpressure hasn’t yet reached the threshold needed for these creatures to even sense it.”

“Threshold?” Alan asked, puzzled.

Gayle pointed at the towering stone giants.

“Do you know why these stone golems were designed to be so massive? If they were just meant to act as guards, wouldn’t this size actually be a liability?”

Alan honestly couldn’t figure it out.

He stayed quiet, waiting for Gayle’s explanation.

“It’s simple,” Gayle said.

“Because these aren’t ordinary stone golems. They’re specialized stone golems. Their internal logic operates fundamentally differently.”

“Normal golems, once given a command, will attack any enemy—even ones far stronger than themselves—without hesitation.”

“But these special golems are different. While they lack true thoughts or awareness, they possess a primal instinct: fear.”

“The stronger your mana Overpressure, the weaker they become.”

“All their attributes—speed, defense, attack power—will be suppressed if they sense overwhelming pressure.”

“But if you fail to demonstrate sufficient mana Overpressure, they’ll see you as an easy target.”

“Their movements will become faster, and the stones composing their bodies will harden dramatically—just like what happened to you earlier. No matter how much mana you pump into your attacks, you won’t even scratch them.”

“No wonder!”

Realization struck Alan like a bolt of lightning.

Earlier, he and Old Gayle had used the same techniques,

and yet Gayle had shattered his stone golem like glass,

while Alan’s own attack felt like punching an unbreakable diamond.

“So it’s not just about the strength of my attack,” Alan muttered, clenching his fists.

“It’s about how much pressure I exert beforehand. Alright—I’ll try again!”

Just as Alan was about to rush forward again,

Old Gayle suddenly placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“No rush,” he said calmly.

“Mana Overpressure isn’t something you can improve through brute force.”

“More often than not, all it takes is a moment of sudden insight—a spark of understanding.”

He paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“In your case, among the people you know, the one who’s most skilled at using mana Overpressure… would be none other than Rose Duke, Alice.”

“Alice?”

Alan blinked in surprise.

“But I’ve never felt any mana Overpressure from her before.”