The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Academy Absolute Professor Episode 115
I won’t breathe the same air as those creatures
“Here, everyone take one.”
Lee Se-ah brought three wooden permit tokens and handed them over.
“What are these?”
Dang So-yu tilted her head in confusion, and Lee Se-ah laughed.
“Temporary pass tokens. Keep them clutched tight in your pocket. The Taejeong Martial Hall has several array formations laid inside, so you’ll get lost without these.”
“Ah.”
“Give one each to your parents. It’ll be much more convenient if they wear them around their necks.”
Dang So-yu quickly explained in Chinese to her parents.
‘This really is a fascinating place.’
Even when imprisoned, she’d been able to use the internet so long as she caused no trouble — but she’d never heard of a Korean academy having anything like this.
“Shall we go in then?”
They stepped onto the grounds, and the wooden token tokens emitted a faint glow.
At the same moment, the full expanse of the Taejeong Martial Hall began to come alive before them.
“Wow.”
An exclamation escaped Dang So-yu’s lips unbidden.
“So-yu!”
A familiar voice called from within the martial hall.
It was Baek Yu-yeon, rushing toward them trailing the scent of herbs.
“Yu-yeon!”
They’d last met in Paris just days ago.
Their exchanges had been few and far between.
But bonds of connection don’t measure time.
Two people drawn to each other opened their hearts quickly, and they were already friends.
“Your poison’s stabilized a bit now?”
“Yeah, my teacher taught me.”
“You could take the mask off then?”
“Better safe than sorry.”
Dang So-yu now understood that Baek Yu-yeon perceived her state through some special ability.
It was her parents who were startled by the reunion.
They were seeing for the first time how their daughter’s eyes could transform like this.
Was it really the right choice to come to Korea? The thought had barely formed when a man emerged slowly from behind Baek Yu-yeon.
‘Who is that?’
Though he wore neither mask nor hat, there could be no mistaking him.
The man who had saved her family in the Underground Research Facility.
The monster who had vaporized an entire building with a single flash of light.
“Our savior!”
Dang So-yu’s father suddenly fell to his knees right there.
Her mother too wept and prostrated herself on the ground.
“Thank you for saving our family! We will never forget this debt, not even in death!”
“Please, stand up.”
Kang Hyun approached and helped both of them to their feet.
His manner was courteous, unlike his usual indifferent tone.
“There is no need for you to bow to me.”
Rather, it is I who should bow.
For giving birth to such a daughter.
‘And truthfully, I am the one who will lead that child down a difficult path from now on.’
Even setting that aside.
To show courtesy to the parents of one who would become a direct disciple in the Martial World was itself a master’s duty.
“Now then, let us dispense with the formalities and move inside.”
Kang Hyun led the way, and the group made their way into the Taejeong Residential Hall situated within the martial hall.
“This will be your room from now on.”
When Kang Hyun opened the door, a lavish suite revealed itself.
It bore no comparison to the solitary cell in the research facility.
“……So this is where our daughter will stay.”
Her parents were moved to tears.
“You are welcome to visit this martial hall whenever you wish to see your daughter. Morning or night, with no restrictions whatsoever.”
“Ah.”
Dang So-yu’s mother’s hand covered her mouth.
It was vastly different from China, where once a month she could only confirm they were alive through bulletproof glass.
“Thank you, thank you so much.”
“When she said our daughter was coming, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this seems like a good choice.”
Dang So-yu’s eyes grew red as well.
From now on, she would trust the path this man was pointing toward.
At least he was seeing her as a person, not as an asset.
“Lee Se-ah.”
Kang Hyun called to the girl standing behind him.
“Take these two to the residence outside. They must be tired—let them rest well for today.”
“Yes, Professor!”
It was an apartment he’d arranged for beforehand.
For now it would serve as temporary lodging, but eventually he planned to build a residential complex for his disciples’ families.
‘I’ll give them every luxury. Enough that they’ll feel the world has been saved well.’
Once her parents had left, Dang So-yu’s expression had grown lighter, and Kang Hyun called to her.
“Dang So-yu.”
“Yes.”
“Follow me.”
They left Taejeong Residential Hall and walked to the adjacent building—Taejeong Library Medical Hall.
“I have something to show you.”

* * *
“First, take this.”
At the first floor’s Secret Technique Archive, Kang Hyun pulled three thick volumes from a shelf and handed them to Dang So-yu.
“What are these?”
“Things you’ll need to master by grinding yourself to the bone.”
Dang So-yu carefully wiped the cover of the first book.
Ten Thousand Poisons Introduction Classic.
That was the title of the first book.
“Burning poison, cold poison, blood poison, nerve poison, corrosive poison, and spirit poison that gnaws at the mind—it contains the principles to distinguish every poison that exists in this world, to gather it in your dantian like qi, to control it, and the methods for deploying poison in real combat.”
Dang So-yu’s eyes widened.
To gather poison in the dantian and control it like qi?
Was that even possible?
‘Ah, that time!’
That technique seemed to be the very one she’d used to absorb her formless poison.
The next two volumes were the comprehensive compilation of poisons that Yellow Spring Poison Master had devoted his lifetime to recording.
Yellow Spring Poison Compendium – Volume One.
Yellow Spring Poison Compendium – Volume Two.
“From poison plants and poison creatures, poison snakes and toxic beasts, to poisonous ores—think of it as containing all records about poison: how to cultivate poison plants, how to raise poison creatures, the principles of mutual restraint and mutual generation, matching them with antidote plants, and everything else.”
Kang Hyun’s eyes met hers directly.
“To finish learning the Incantation I taught you back then, first carve this into your mind and body.”
“Yes, Master.”
“And one more thing.”
Kang Hyun gestured toward the Poison Mask covering Dang So-yu’s face.
“Take off that suffocating mask now.”
“Oh.”
Dang So-yu flinched.
It felt strange to go without something she’d worn her entire life.
“If you depend on tools, you can never fully command your power. Don’t be dragged along by poison—become its master.”
“…Yes.”
Swish.
She slowly untied the strings around her ears and slipped the mask away.
A youthful but refined face was revealed.
“Baek Yu-yeon.”
“Yes, Master!”
“Poison technique and martial medicine are separated by nothing but paper. At first, you’ll need some help. If we do joint research together, we’ll both win.”
“Just leave it to me!”
“Good, then it’s time to show you now…”
“The third floor?”
“Yes. It’s time to open the gift Min Seo-jun prepared.”
They passed the second floor’s pharmaceutical laboratory and climbed steadily to the third.
Click-click-click!
When the thick triple-layered iron door swung open, Dang So-yu had to catch her breath at the vista that unfolded before her.
“This is inside a building?”
A forest existed within the interior.
The ceiling, stretched impossibly high by a spatial-expansion array formation, was a massive expanse of glass through which sunlight poured down.
Trickle, trickle, trickle.
A flowing stream.
Whoosh!
A breeze drifting through.
“Come inside.”
Under Kang Hyun’s guidance, Dang So-yu toured the forest from one corner to another.
“This space is yours from now on. For now it’s empty, but filling it is your responsibility. If you need any toxic plants or venomous creatures, tell Lee Se-ah. We’ll procure them from anywhere in the world and bring them here.”
Her chest felt ready to burst.
Wasn’t this the very dream she’d harbored every time she learned a new poison technique?
The mere thought of this forest one day teeming with spiritual creatures she’d carefully nurtured sent a shiver through her entire body.
“I’ll work really hard.”
“You’d better. If you’re going to face demons in the future.”
Kang Hyun’s gaze settled into calm clarity.
Now that he’d provided the environment, it was time to test her resolve.
“Dang So-yu.”
“Yes.”
“If you become my disciple, you’ll have to face demons.”
“I know.”
“You’ll fight beings far more terrifying than the one you’ve already seen.”
The true form of the Six Inauspicious, and Asura.
“Master, even if I’m not your disciple, I won’t breathe under the same sky as those creatures.”
In an instant, a deadly aura—the Heaven-Slaying Body—flickered across Dang So-yu’s clear eyes.
Those who had locked her away since childhood and later tried to kill her mother and father.
“They wanted my poison. So now I’m going to give it freely.”
“I like that look in your eyes.”
The corner of Kang Hyun’s mouth lifted.
“Don’t forget that resolve. The poison you carry will end up saving both your parents and the world.”
“Yes, Master!”
“Good. Then let’s leave off the tour here and head outside.”
Kang Hyun turned around.
“You’ve committed yourself to this school, so you should meet the rest of the family.”
Dang So-yu’s heart quickened again.
‘Family.’
Those who, like her, received the master’s teachings.
Outside, Kang Hyun introduced Dang So-yu in turn to Min Seo-jun, Do Jeong-hyeok, and Baek Yu-yeon.
Since Dang So-yu spoke Korean well, communication posed no obstacle.
“Baek Yu-seol and Ariana are here too, but I’ll introduce them separately later.”
“Ah, okay!”
Dang So-yu nodded, then stopped short.
‘Ariana? That sounds like a Western name.’
But why did it feel so familiar?
‘Surely not.’
That person who’d appeared at the Paris exchange tournament… one of the world’s top five rankers?
‘No way.’
Dang So-yu let out a silent laugh to herself.
‘It’s a common foreign name. There’s no way it could be Ariana Ashford. However formidable the master is, that doesn’t make sense.’

* * *
Summer passed before long.
Hunter Academy was tense in anticipation of the second-semester midterm examination.
While the first-semester group midterm had been in the format of a martial world tournament, the second-semester group midterm was a dungeon practical training!
Students were divided into teams and sent into actual dungeons—a test fraught with real danger, scarcely different from true combat.
Because of this, general students were consumed with reading dungeon guides every night.
But for the Taejeong Martial Hall students, the midterm examination was hardly a concern.
Of course it wasn’t.
They were the cream of the crop, selected through competition, and they’d all endured Kang Hyun’s killing intent—what was a dungeon to them?
What sharpened their nerves was none other than the team assignments at Taejeong Martial Hall.
That’s right.
The month-long grace period had ended, and now they too had to choose their martial arts.
At last, the day had come to move beyond the Horse Stance and the Samjae Sword Technique.

* * *
Early dawn at the Main Training Grounds.
Unlike most days, there was no training today.
The team leaders stood arrayed on the platform, and below them, twenty-four second-generation students lined up in neat rows.
“You’ve finally shed that greenhorn look.”
Kang Hyun knew how much these students had suffered over the past month.
He’d been ready to push them harder if they slacked off, but there’d been no need.
The first-generation students had been venting on them with even more ferocity than what they’d endured themselves.
‘…This is only going to get harsher with each new generation.’
He didn’t mind.
In fact, he saw it as a positive effect.
Kang Hyun shook his tumbler as he continued speaking.
“The fundamentals seem solid enough, so shall we start putting flesh on the bones?”
There were six team leaders in total.
Ma Chul-ung, Gye Mu-jin, Gwak Do-jin, Cha Yu-sik, Yun Hyun-jong, and Han Tae-ho.
“Over this past month, watching you all constantly—have you made your choices in your hearts?”
As if they’d been waiting for exactly this, all twenty-four students simultaneously drew power from their dantians and answered.
“Yes!”
The roar was so tremendous that birds in the eaves took flight in alarm.
At their resounding affirmation, Kang Hyun nodded.
“Good.”
He raised his hand, gesturing to the team leaders standing behind him.
“Then, go stand before whichever team leader you choose.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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