The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 24

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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’s Absolute Professor Episode 24
A Ridiculous Situation
In front of the Professor Dormitory, where it met the Divine Hall.
Several large trucks lined up in succession.
“What on earth is all that?”
“Is someone moving in? Why are there so many trucks…….”
Just as some passing cadets were tilting their heads in confusion.
Squeak, thud!
The truck’s rear door opened, and muscular workers began carefully unloading cargo.
Inside sturdy boxes were premium whiskeys packed tightly together.
“Insane—how much liquor is that?”
“Wow, aren’t those all worth hundreds of thousands of won each?”
“Which professor is this for?”
“What professor would drink whiskey like that?”
“A contract professor?”
“……This is crazy. You think he’s secretly a conglomerate owner? Makes sense—money overflowing everywhere, that’s how he got in through a parachute appointment.”
As the cadets stood in shock, Kang Hyeon, approaching from a distance, was equally bewildered.
He’d just finished running the cadets through dawn drills—what was this commotion about?
And what was Lee Se-ah doing up front, waving a baton and barking orders at the workers?
“Oh, you’re here, Kang Hyeon?”
“What’s all this, Lee Se-ah?”
“What do you mean—elixir of life, of course!”
Lee Se-ah gestured proudly at the truck’s contents.
“I raised some hell at the Administrative Bureau yesterday. I told them to set up the budget properly and stop being stingy!”
“You did that?”
“Of course. Do you know how much the nation avoided losing because of what you handled?”
“So they’re just settling all that with these bottles of liquor?”
Some people would donate half their company for compensation.
Noticing Kang Hyeon’s unexpectedly indifferent expression, Lee Se-ah broke into an anxious cold sweat.
“Ha-ha, of course there’s more being prepared. Since the professor’s office space is a bit cramped…… we’ll keep filling it up as you drink your way through.”
“That’s enough. This amount of whiskey will do.”
“Sorry?”
“You don’t need to buy any more whiskey from now on.”
There was no need to use national funds to purchase liquor anymore.
Once Taejeong Material Commerce stabilized soon, he was planning to transcribe a few Secret Arts from his mind and sell them.
With that alone, wouldn’t he never have to worry about whiskey again?
“Then is there anything else you’d like? Actually, the budget was allocated quite generously as compensation for you this time.”
“Use that money for the families of those who died unjustly in this incident. Take better care of them.”
Mercenaries take their pay with death as the cost of business, but what crime did those left behind commit?
The orchestrator of this tragedy was Park Dong-chul.
And Park Dong-chul was none other than a key executive of Taejeong Material Commerce.
On the verge of receiving half the company’s shares and becoming its largest shareholder, he couldn’t simply ignore the blood spilled by innocent people over the company’s affairs.
‘I need to start by taking clear responsibility for what needs to be answered for.’
Emotion flickered across Lee Se-ah’s face as she considered his unspoken reasons.
“I thought you were completely cold-hearted, but you were thinking about those kinds of things too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Is that an insult? Praise?”
“Respect!”
Lee Se-ah hurriedly left her spot and pulled out a notebook, jotting notes down hastily.
— Mentions compensation for victims’ families before his own reward. Surprisingly considerate.
An observation log to be reflected in the Code Name Black report.

* * *
When Kang Hyeon entered his office.
“What are you doing here?”
Yun Hyeon-jong was waiting.
“Father told me about it.”
“Save your thanks—I’ve already received what I needed to receive, and now I’m swamped with all those bottles stacked outside. It’s driving me mad.”
“Gratitude can never be expressed enough, even a thousand or ten thousand times.”
“Did you hear that I once shared a boat with your father?”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Aren’t you disappointed? That share could have been yours one day.”
“On the contrary—I feel reassured. Father always says that even if I miss every regular class at the Academy, I should never skip the Professor’s lessons. I’ve never seen Father place such absolute faith in anyone before.”
“You talk smoothly enough. Instead of wasting breath with all that flattery, go practice your Horse Stance.”
“Yes, I’ll remember that!”
Click.
Kang Hyeon watched Yun Hyeon-jong leave with brisk efficiency, and his lips curled upward.
‘Grandfathers, are you watching?’
They had always told him, like a worn refrain.
That humans were beasts by nature, knowing nothing but themselves—that they had to be controlled and broken with fear and violence.
‘Ridiculous.’
They understood nothing but themselves, so they assumed everyone else was the same.
And even if humans truly were creatures of pure self-interest, what of it?
Give food to the hungry, show higher heights to those starved for affection, and they would choose to walk that path themselves.
So why had they resorted to such brutality? He still couldn’t fathom it.
‘I still don’t understand you. So watch carefully. I will prove here, unmistakably, that you were wrong.’
Pour.
Kang Hyeon poured whiskey into a glass, a gesture grown habitual.

* * *
Baek Yu-yeon’s condition as she walked past the Martial Medicine Building was precisely that of a newborn calf.
“Ahhh…….”
Her trembling legs barely obeyed, and her face twisted with each step.
From behind the window of her office, Professor Hwang Ye-rim watched this pitiful sight, and her brow creased.
‘If she ruins her body this way, what then?’
She could tell at a glance this was no ordinary injury.
It was the gait of classic muscle soreness—when the lower limb muscle fibers underwent microscopic tears and lactic acid accumulated to its extreme.
‘Why in the world is a Martial Medicine major putting herself through such crude lower-body training?’
She was puzzled.
Especially since this girl had always kept her distance from physical conditioning.
‘Something’s changed, though.’
The old Baek Yu-yeon used to visit the lab almost daily, burning with scholarly passion.
Her questions had always been sharp, incisive—she’d even been marked as a potential future chief researcher to lead the lab.
But for the past several days, the girl’s footsteps had ceased entirely.
Scrape.
Hwang Ye-rim rose from her seat and headed downstairs, cutting off Baek Yu-yeon’s path.
“Baek Yu-yeon.”
“Oh! Professor? Hello!”
“Take these.”
She extended several thick patches toward her.
“What are these?”
“Plasters made from an herbal base. They should work well for muscle recovery.”
“Ah, thank you so much.”
Baek Yu-yeon was moved.
The Professor had been worried about her.
“But this sudden lower-body training—are you learning martial arts or something?”
“Not exactly…….”
“Don’t minimize it. Learning martial arts firsthand for the sake of Martial Medicine is commendable. But I’d like you not to forget that your true calling is that of a healer.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You’re still preparing well for the lab selection exam?”
“Of course!”
The answer came without the slightest hesitation, and Hwang Ye-rim’s inner concern melted away.
Right, physical strength does matter for one’s studies, after all.
“Then, Yu-yeon—since we’ve run into each other, would you take a look at this?”
Hwang Ye-rim held out the tablet she’d been carrying.
On the screen was a complex diagram of the human meridian system.
“This is……”
Baek Yu-yeon gasped.
Nine major acupuncture points with an abnormal, frigid Qi gathered there, constricting the Heart Meridian—the pattern was unmistakable!
“That’s right. A meridian diagram I’ve structured based on your younger brother’s condition.”
“Even with everything keeping you busy, you’ve been continuing this……”
“Of course I have to look at it. Besides, I dug quite deep this time. I’ve pinpointed the exact location of the blood meridian causing the problem.”
“Really?”
“But the issue is that when I channel positive energy, the blood vessels around the Heart Meridian can’t withstand it.”
“I see.”
“Honestly, I’ve hit a wall right there. I wanted to hear what you think about it.”
Baek Yu-yeon felt moved all over again.
She was grateful that he’d examine her brother’s condition, and grateful that he asked for her opinion.
The professor was nothing less than the country’s foremost expert in this field.
“Thank you, Professor. I’ll look over this material and analyze it. I’ll have something to report by next week.”
“Good. Don’t overexert yourself.”

* * *
That evening.
In a dim corner of the Old Building Training Ground at the Academy.
Cha Yu-sik, having finished all his regular duties, remained alone in the Horse Stance.
At dawn he wielded the Samjae Sword Technique thousands of times under Yun Hyeon-jong’s instruction, and in the evenings he voluntarily stayed behind to strengthen his legs through the Horse Stance—this had become his new routine.
‘Lower. Hold. Pierce.’
Simple, yet the foundation of all martial arts.
Ever since his devastating defeat by Yun Hyeon-jong, Cha Yu-sik had been quietly rebuilding his fundamentals.
Buzz.
Just then, his smartphone vibrated on the side.
[Return to the main house. Highly confidential matter.]
The sender was Cha Ha-rang, the Master of the Cheorang Guild and his father—an S-rank Hunter.

* * *
“You’re here.”
“You called for me, Father.”
Before the sharp-featured man Cha Ha-rang stood his older son, Cha Doo-sik.
“Both of you, sit.”
Cha Ha-rang had his sons sit at his desk, on which lay an old tome and two thick interpretation volumes.
“I’ll be direct. We’ve secured a new Secret Technique from a Dungeon we recently conducted.”
Both brothers’ eyes widened at once.
“After mobilizing every translator in the guild, we’ve determined that this Secret Technique is far superior to the Nangah Sword Technique we’ve made our mainstay.”
Gulp.
Cha Yu-sik swallowed hard.
The Nangah Sword Technique alone could be called one of the three greatest sword techniques in the Republic of Korea.
It was the sword technique that founded the Cheorang.
And this surpassed it? By far?
“From now on, we will master this. If the Nangah Sword Technique is the martial art of the Cheorang, then this art will become the unique family martial art of the Cha clan alone.”
At those words, the firstborn Cha Doo-sik’s face hardened.
The atmosphere had solidified around him as the public successor to the Cheorang.
Yet his father was summoning his younger brother Yu-sik to this hall where the foundational martial art of the family would be transmitted?
‘Father hasn’t let go of Yu-sik after all.’
Regardless of how he conducted himself at the Academy, Father was declaring he would measure them by sword technique.
“Take these.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Both sons reached for the interpretation volumes with tense hands.
And the moment they saw the copy of the original text written on the cover.
Thump!
Cha Yu-sik’s heart trembled.
⪡Imperial Sword Form⪢
A martial art he didn’t even know—yet just seeing it sent shivers down his spine?
“Whoever first grasps the Essential Understanding of this Imperial Sword Form will prove themselves. Now go.”
“We will keep your words close to heart.”
Walking down the corridor after leaving the office.
“Yu-sik.”
Cha Doo-sik, who had made no effort to hide his discomfort all along, stopped him.
“Yes, hyung.”
“Lately you’ve been slacking off, and I hear you’re taking some strange contract professor’s class? The rumors are all over the place.”
Cha Yu-sik’s eyes narrowed.
He’d suspected surveillance would be placed on him, but it was far more blatant than anticipated.
“What you do at the Academy is no concern of mine.”
Cha Doo-sik tapped the Imperial Sword Form manual in his hand and spoke with cold precision.
“Don’t tarnish the Cheorang Guild’s name. You’re meant to carry on the family’s secret arts—not wallow with second-rate rabble.”
The old Cha Yu-sik would have bristled at those words.
He would have believed that the only answer was never to lose a war of wills.
But the present Cha Yu-sik felt only calm detachment.
‘Second-rate?’
A ridiculous notion.
Even if you gathered every celebrated professor at the Academy, not one could match Professor Kang Hyeon alone.
Cha Yu-sik was actually grateful that his brother didn’t know this fact.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
As Cha Yu-sik bowed and turned to leave, his gaze lingered on the cover of the Imperial Sword Form manual.
‘It must be an extraordinary sword technique. I want to learn it immediately.’
But when he returned to the Academy, it was certain that Professor Kang Hyeon would insist on the Samjae Sword Technique as always.
He knew well enough—he’d once had his very soul drained after carelessly deploying another sword style out of habit.
‘What should I do? What if I end up mastering it later than he does?’
Cha Yu-sik, helpless as he was, felt his heart quicken with impatience.

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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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