The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 44

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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 44
Let’s just wait and see for a moment.
[Okay guys, we have to admit it now. Professor Kang really does seem to be the real deal.]
[Admitted. And who keeps saying he’s a drunk? Has anyone actually seen that professor drunk?]
└ Hahahaha
└ Hahahaha
└ That’s hilarious ㅋㅋㅋ
└ Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it
└ He drinks insanely well
└ Isn’t his tolerance already on another level? Honestly, I can’t remember a time I didn’t see him drinking. And hard liquor at that.
└ He was drinking during this match too haha
[(Attachment) Seo Hae-in’s expression. Look at that face after winning in one blow. Honestly, that kind of thing moves me?]
└ Haha
└ Like he didn’t realize he did it himself
└ He’s not cheering or getting excited haha Just realizing he’s actually strong?
└ Ah, so he never lacked talent! haha
└ Ah, Professor!
[I feel bad for the Dean. Honestly, I wondered why he was protecting a contract professor so hard? But look at the result. The Dean was right.]
└ Why would he be S-rank for nothing?
└ True, he’s putting his name on it—there’s no way he’d accept some kind of parachuting appointment
└ He should honestly be made a tenured professor.
Public opinion on AcaNet had flipped entirely.
The cadets who had been watching with uncertainty and suspicion could no longer deny Kang Hyeon’s teaching ability.
Look at the results.
Cha Yu-sik – 1st place
Gwak Do-jin – 2nd place
Seo Hae-in – 1st place
Yun Hyeon-jong – 2nd place
Han Tae-ho – Still pending
Apart from Han Tae-ho, weren’t they the top of their year?
Now Professor Kang’s class was no different from an elite division rather than a problem section.
[But what happens to Han Tae-ho’s ranking then?]
└ I heard the evaluation starts after the match ends. Probably a meeting tomorrow morning?
└ But the tenured professors don’t like Professor Kang
└ So
└ What if they give Han Tae-ho 8th place?
└ Han Tae-ho in 8th?
└ Does that make sense?
└ Even if it doesn’t make sense, what if they insist and give him 6th?
From here on, the gossip about Han Tae-ho’s ranking began rolling continuously.
And behind all of it.
“The page generation is slow? Come on guys, let’s push it up more.”
“Yes, sir. We’re posting comments all over the anonymous boards.”
O In-bang was gathered together waging a propaganda campaign.
Even Yun Hyeon-jong, his hand wrapped in bandages, pecked away at the keyboard with hunt-and-peck typing.
“……Seniors.”
Han Tae-ho clasped his hands together with an apologetic expression.
“You don’t have to go this far because of me.”
“Shut up, is this because of you? It’s because of us.”
Gwak Do-jin rebuked him and posted a new comment on the anonymous board.
[But let’s be honest, isn’t Han Tae-ho 2nd place? Do Jung-hyeok took out Kim Jin-chul in one hit, and in the finals he did an exact eight-second knockout. But? Han Tae-ho went at it with Do Jung-hyeok for over three minutes straight and held his ground. Do Jung-hyeok even got pushed back for a moment, didn’t he? He only fell through because of a bad bracket draw. If it had been on the other side, Han Tae-ho definitely would’ve made the finals. Right?]
“Honestly, that’s the truth, isn’t it? Pushing you below 6th in this situation is basically advertising to the entire school that their evaluation is unreasonable.”
“But…… everyone already knows that professors are unreasonable anyway.”
When Seo Hae-in asked worriedly, Cha Yu-sik, who had been leaning against the window, opened his mouth.
“That’s why I just finished visiting every single professor one by one.”
“……!”
“Really?”
“What did you say to them?”
All eyes turned to Cha Yu-sik at once.
If the second son of Cheonrang had applied pressure, this would be a completely different story.
“I didn’t say anything special. I just said I’d trust in your fairness as professors. I asked you to evaluate based solely on what you saw and felt.”
The words were polite, but they amounted to a soft threat.
When Cha Yu-sik eventually stepped into society under the banner of Cheonrang, how his former teachers at the Academy remembered him would depend on this outcome—an unspoken pressure that hung in the air.
“Hah.”
Gwak Do-jin let out a hollow breath.
“That’s our junior Cha for you. You’ve got to hand it to him—the sheer audacity…….”
I mean, the man had swung a sword at a professor. He was mad.
“You know, there might actually be a real shot at this? There are plenty of professors who haven’t sided with the anti-Kang faction.”
Han Tae-ho felt as though a halo shone behind Cha Yu-sik.
‘That’s senior Cha for you……! So reliable!’
Han Tae-ho clenched both fists, swelling with emotion.
When he’d first arrived, he’d signed up for a certain contract professor’s class—lured in by promises of getting stronger.
Now his whole body trembled with the realization that this impulsive choice was a momentous stroke of fortune that would reshape his entire life.

* * *
Knock, knock.
At the sound, Dean Seo Il-hyeon rose from his seat.
“Who is it? Come in.”
The door opened, and there stood Kang Hyeon.
“Ah, you! You’ve come? I was just about to call for you!”
In truth, the dean had been greatly surprised by these results.
When he’d established the Special Guidance Course and entrusted Kang Hyeon with the problem students, he’d never imagined they’d achieve this level of success.
“Have a seat first. Would you like some tea?”
“No, sir.”
Kang Hyeon, now seated on the sofa, withdrew a Whiskey Bottle from his pocket.
Glug.
“This is enough for me.”
“Ha ha, always consistent, aren’t you.”
Seo Il-hyeon didn’t know.
The true reason Kang Hyeon drank spirits at all hours of the day and night.
That he was constantly suppressing the agony brought on by the Asura Toxin.
“Would you care for a drink, Dean?”
“Well now, perhaps I will.”
A glass was brought, and as Seo Il-hyeon took it, he spoke without preamble.
“Thank you.”
“For what, sir?”
“Thanks to you, raw talents like Seo Hae-in, Han Tae-ho, and Yun Hyeon-jong have come to shine. Not to mention Cha Yu-sik and Gwak Do-jin.”
Without Kang Hyeon, there was a high probability they would never have flowered.
“It’s shameful to admit, but our domestic Academy level truly lags far behind the global standard. Every summer when the Exchange Tournament comes around, we’ve tasted bitter defeat. Yet watching the students you’ve cultivated this time, I saw hope for our Academy.”
Clink.
Glass met glass.
Kang Hyeon’s eyes, cradling the whiskey, took on a strange light.
“What’s this summer tournament, sir?”
“You don’t know? It’s the Global Hunter Academy Exchange Tournament, held every July.”
July…….
That was right after final exams, just before summer break began.
“The elite students from the top-tier Academies gather in one place to test their strength—it’s a world-class event.”
‘Oh.’
Kang Hyeon marveled inwardly.
If something like that existed?
Talented people from all over the world would assemble in one place.
‘This is an unexpected windfall.’
Originally, Kang Hyeon had planned to either venture overseas or tour Academies in other countries if he couldn’t find all the candidates for the Chilyo Formation within this Academy.
But if there was a tournament where the world’s geniuses came of their own volition to one location?
There was no need to bother with the tedious footwork of traveling around.
“Fascinating. Can I participate as well, sir?”
“Oh, so you’re interested too?”
Seo Il-hyeon’s face brightened for a moment, but then he heaved a deep sigh.
“Aah, but right now the meeting tomorrow is a more pressing problem. Let me have one more glass.”
“Of course, sir.”
Clink.
As Kang Hyeon filled the glass, Seo Il-hyeon drained it in one swallow.
The sharp bite of the whiskey burned down his throat, yet his expression remained taut.
“You’re far too composed. Can’t you see how tomorrow’s meeting will unfold? Those people will do whatever it takes to push Han Tae-ho outside the top five. And then they’ll use that to justify removing you just as smoothly.”
“It doesn’t matter. If I’m dismissed, so be it.”
“Huh?”
In that instant, Seo Il-hyeon’s heart lurched.
‘That’s exactly why I’m worried!’
He opened his mouth reflexively, then stopped.
The man across from him truly seemed without attachment.
“About something else.”
Kang Hyeon shifted the subject with languid eyes.
“You mentioned you successfully broke through the third gate of the Cheongheo Heart Method.”
“Ah yes, thanks to the technique you taught me. I’ve been grateful ever since.”
“But lately, haven’t you felt soreness near your meridians every night?”
“……!”
Dead accurate.
His inner power had exploded with the joy of breaching the gate, and he’d been greedily forcing his circulation upward to reach even greater heights.
A pain he’d told no one about—pierced through in a single glance.
Kang Hyeon continued matter-of-factly.
“You got excited and recklessly drew the energy up to your Upper Dantian. Don’t forget—the essence of Cheongheo is emptiness. The point is to empty, not to fill.”
“Ah……!”
Seo Il-hyeon’s face twisted as if struck by a hammer.
The man was right. He’d been drunk on his own power.
A few more days of forcing his cultivation, and his meridians could have ruptured, plunging him into Demonic Cultivation Deviation.
“……I nearly brought disaster upon myself.”
“Not disaster. You have Professor Hwang Ye-rim, who’s quite skilled, doesn’t the Academy?”
Don’t jest. Even Hwang wouldn’t be able to help if I fell into Demonic Cultivation Deviation. I truly owe you my thanks.”
“It was merely a word in passing. Even without my saying it, you would surely have found your own way.”
Kang Hyeon rose from the sofa.
“You’re leaving already?”
Seo Il-hyeon felt a pang of reluctance.
Whatever he discussed with Kang Hyeon, he always gained something.
That made him want to draw closer.
“Yes, I’ve had a drink and offered my counsel. Now I should leave the real matter and go.”
“The real matter?”
“Tomorrow’s meeting.”
Kang Hyeon grasped the door handle and turned his head slowly.
“Watch carefully who tries to push Han Tae-ho outside the top five.”
“……?”
“That person will be the one eating away at this Academy.”
Click.
Watching Kang Hyeon leave the dean’s office with only those words behind, Seo Il-hyeon closed his eyes quietly.
There was no mistaking his meaning.
‘The martial prowess Han Tae-ho displayed at this tournament was beyond question.’
Despite his elimination in the quarterfinals, he alone had fought the most fiercely against Do Jung-hyeok, the tournament’s overwhelming champion.
Judged by raw skill alone, he deserved to rank in the top five—or even second place.
Yet if there were a professor attempting to push that student outside the top five simply because he was Kang Hyeon’s disciple, or out of personal spite?
‘That would be a man who had abandoned his conscience as an educator and buried himself in self-interest.’
Kang Hyeon had not come asking him to prevent his own dismissal.
Rather, he had given the dean—Seo Il-hyeon himself—a standard by which to recognize the rotting wood of the Academy and cut it away.
A reminder that, for the Academy to leap onto the world stage and grow authentically, such people must be purged.
“Heh.”
A deep smile spread across Seo Il-hyeon’s lips.
Gazing at the empty whiskey glass Kang Hyeon had left behind, his eyes softened as he murmured.
“Don’t worry about that, Professor Kang.”
When it comes to pruning the rotten branches and protecting this Academy with resolve—
“I’m second to none.”

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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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