The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 69

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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 069
Students Taking Their Seats
A weekend evening, the sun bleeding into dusk.
Cha Yu-sik’s heart felt heavy.
Another summons from his father had arrived.
His older brother, Cha Du-sik, had been called too—a tip from a Guild executive that made Cha Yu-sik let out a hollow laugh.
‘It’s not like we’re running a conglomerate. Why succession disputes in the twenty-first century?’
Then again.
These days, the power held by the three great Guilds outweighed even the largest corporations.
“Hah.”
A sigh escaped unbidden.
‘Do I have to go?’
Of course he had to go.
He needed to speak to his father from the heart.
‘About my decision to follow Professor Kang Hyun.’

* * *
Upon arrival at the family estate, he was shown to the Underground Training Hall.
“You came.”
Cha Ha-rang, hands clasped behind his back, greeted Cha Yu-sik.
His older brother was already there.
“Yes, Father.”
“I’ve called you for a mid-term assessment. Draw your sword.”
At his father’s gesture, Cha Du-sik snickered.
An infuriating older brother, as always.
From the look of things, he had already demonstrated his swordsmanship to their father.
“Top of your class at the Academy, and you’re not just loafing around, are you, little brother? Father has high expectations.”
Cha Yu-sik did not rise to his brother’s provocation.
“Yu-sik.”
Cha Ha-rang opened his mouth.
“Yes.”
“What are you doing? Show me the Imperial Sword Form, third stance.”
But at his father’s command, Cha Yu-sik did not move.
Then.
“I apologize, Father.”
“Hmm?”
“Since the last assessment, I have not trained in the Imperial Sword Form even once.”
The air in the training hall froze.
Cha Du-sik’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He, of all people, knew how much his younger brother coveted the Heavenly Wolf.
“What did you just say?”
“I am currently learning the Cangqiong Wuya Swordsmanship from Professor Kang Hyun. I intend to reach Grand Completion with that first, and then train in the Imperial Sword Form.”
‘Father, and you, brother—I have made this clear. This is the right path.’
He swallowed the thought that followed without speaking it aloud.
They wouldn’t believe it anyway.
What Cha Yu-sik had learned at the Academy was this: a strong foundation was essential.
‘If I hadn’t been beaten down by the Samjae Sword Technique, I never would have understood.’
“Cangqiong Wuya? You’re postponing the Imperial Sword Form?”
“That’s correct. I believe all martial skills must be built sequentially from the ground up.”
The corner of Cha Du-sik’s mouth twitched upward.
‘Why has this bastard suddenly lost his mind?’
Inwardly, he was exultant.
Here was someone who’d been threatening at times, now digging his own grave before their eyes!
“Yu-sik. Are you saying—”
Cha Du-sik cut in with a grave expression.
“That you’re renouncing your claim to the succession? Dismissing the sword technique Father gave you in favor of another professor’s technique?”
Cha Yu-sik’s brow narrowed.
Since childhood, he had wanted to possess the Heavenly Wolf.
He had wanted to take what his brother held.
Yet somehow now, strangely enough… the Heavenly Wolf no longer gleamed so brightly in his eyes.
Rather, he’d developed a desire to nurture Eel Wolf under Professor Kang Hyun’s guidance, making it even stronger than at the Tiger Research Institute.
So in a fit of irritation, he spoke.
“Sure, I don’t mind giving it up.”
“What?”
“Successor—if you want it, go ahead and take it.”
“……!”
Cha Du-sik’s mouth fell open in genuine shock.
“I can protect the organization even from outside it.”
Cha Yu-sik bowed respectfully to his father.
“Father. The path I wish to walk is not one of power, but the true Martial Way. It was Professor Kang Hyun who helped me understand that. I’ll take my leave now.”
Then he simply turned and walked out.
Time was precious.
He needed to return and swing his sword at least once more.
‘I’m the captain of Eel Wolf’s team. I have to grow stronger than anyone else.’
Cha Ha-rang did not try to stop him.
Rather, he could not.
‘Insolent brat.’
Fury churned within, but as a martial practitioner, Cha Ha-rang’s eye was sharp and true.
Even standing still, the boy’s lower center held perfectly upright.
His foundation was solid.
More than that.
‘Was my second son’s will always this firm?’
“Father! Did you hear what that bastard Yusik just said? How dare he be so insolent—”
“Enough.”
Cha Du-sik’s mouth snapped shut at his father’s rebuke.
“Go back upstairs.”
“Yes, Father.”
Left alone in the darkness, Cha Ha-rang reflected.
‘My son has gone thoroughly astray lately.’
And he knew the cause: this man called Professor Kang Hyun.
‘I’ll need to look into this more carefully.’
What scheme had the man concocted to enchant his boy like this?
A low growl rumbled from deep within.
Around Cha Ha-rang’s body, an aura rose like a wolf baring its fangs.

* * *
After Cassar entered the Tiger Research Institute, Han Tae-ho grew especially anxious.
‘At this rate, isn’t our team Blossom going to be left behind?!’
He couldn’t even call it “our team”.
Practically speaking, it was just him.
Just by looking at how Cassar had been sent over to Senior Seo Hae-in’s side, he could read Kang Hyun’s intent.
The man was not someone who would ever concern himself with maintaining balance between teams.
‘This won’t do.’
Senior Cha Yu-sik had the prestige of being the second son of Cheonlang, so students would naturally flock to him.
What about Senior Yun Hyun-jong?
He could gather people by buying them meals with his overflowing wealth.
Senior Gwak Do-jin’s Seven Kills Sword had a reputation as the flashiest technique among the Five Danzas.
‘And that senior will be graduating soon.’
That meant he could even attract real hunters from outside the Academy.
But himself?
‘I’m just a first-year with the Six Harmonies Sword Technique.’
Han Tae-ho wept inwardly.
What student would abandon all those brilliant martial arts and come study the Six Harmonies Sword Technique?
No matter how much he promised they could later learn the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, people were always drawn to what they could obtain immediately.
So Han Tae-ho made a decision.
For the first time, he—who had always ignored his classmates’ calls and devoted himself solely to training—showed his face.
“Tae-ho?”
“Oh, Han Tae-ho! What brings you here?”
Among first-year students, Han Tae-ho’s standing had soared to the heavens.
“Hey, can you gather some people who want to sign up for special instruction next semester? I’ll buy you drinks.”
“Ah, I understand!”
At those words, promising twenty-first-year cohorts swarmed toward him like a nest of bees.
They meant to hear the strategy from someone who’d already passed.
“You guys, I’ll tell you the tips for doing well on Professor Kang’s exam.”
“Really?”
“But there’s a condition.”
“A condition? What is it? Do you want money? How much?”
“I don’t need money.”
Han Tae-ho’s eyes grew serious.
Inwardly he was pleading with them to take the bait, but outwardly he spoke as coldly and haughtily as he could.
“If you end up in Professor Kang’s class next semester, you come to my team—no exceptions.”
“……Your team?”
For a moment, something strange flickered across his classmates’ faces.
No student was unaware that he’d been peddling nothing but the Six Harmonies Sword Technique lately.
The shift in atmosphere drove a dagger into Han Tae-ho’s chest, but he laid down a poker face and pushed forward with even greater audacity.
“Hey, did you forget I demolished the midterm with the Samjae Sword Technique? Martial prowess is all about foundation—foundation! Come train with me and master the Six Harmonies Sword Technique properly. Honestly, wouldn’t you rather roll around with me than throw yourselves under those scary seniors?”
Some shook their heads and left, but more than half remained.
“Fine! I promise. My goal is to become Professor Kang’s disciple anyway, so I’ll join your faction!”
“Me too! So what’s the secret?”
“Write your names down first. I hold grudges for a long time, you know? Anyone who betrays me later is cut off for good.”
As he pressed insistently for commitments, several dozen more dropped out, leaving roughly thirty in the end.
Han Tae-ho’s eyes gleamed as he finally opened his mouth to the waiting cohorts.
“Hire a high-ranking hunter or mercenary with real combat experience—get your parents to help, pool money together, whatever. Then ask them to project killing intent at you. Real killing intent, as if they’re about to end you right then and there.”
“……Killing intent?”
“Yeah. Whether you pass out or piss yourself, spend the entire break doing nothing but practicing to endure that killing intent. And don’t tell the others. You know everything down here is competition, right?”

* * *
Meanwhile, Kang Hyun set out for the City Center that weekend.
Of course, his secretary Lee Se-ah drove.
“Aren’t you tired? Running students all week, and then tutoring separately on weekends too.”
“What’s there to be tired about? I’m not the one training.”
A farmer sowing seeds and watering couldn’t afford to complain about the work.
Seven seeds he had to cultivate.
He’d already found four of them.
‘Let me organize this.’
Monday position – Baek Yu-seol
Tuesday position – Empty
Wednesday position – Baek Yu-yeon
Thursday position – Empty
Friday position – Do Jeong-hyeok
Saturday position – Min Seo-jun
Sunday position – Empty
He’d already filled all but Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
‘The Old Monsters searched for me for decades, so they said.’
Kang Hyun had been under his professorship contract for less than a semester, so his pace was quite impressive.
‘I’d like to fill the remaining three quickly, though.’
For now, he’d decided to strengthen his foundation first.
“I’ll be back in three hours, so come pick me up then.”
“Yes, I have some shopping to do in this neighborhood anyway.”
He got out of the car and headed toward Baek Yu-seol’s home.
“Professor!”
The girl came running out in quick, eager steps.
Baek Yu-seol’s mother, watching the scene, had to marvel once more.
‘Our Yu-seol has become so bright.’
She was both amazed and grateful to the professor again and again.
“Don’t call me professor—call me Master instead.”
“Oh, really?”
Baek Yu-seol’s eyes lit up as she stepped into the room.
“I’m your disciple?”
“That’s right.”
“My sister told me. She said it’s not easy to become your disciple. That it’s something you can’t do even if you want to.”
“True.”
“So how am I supposed to get in?”
“You’re a special case.”
Kang Hyun answered matter-of-factly.
“Your sister has been performing her duties admirably under me. I’m accepting you specially in recognition of her achievements.”
Baek Yu-seol, who had been watching Professor Kang Hyun’s eyes, flinched in surprise.
Until now, she had thought his emotions were difficult to read.
But.
‘A lie?’
The professor was clearly lying.
What did that mean?
That was it!
It wasn’t that she had failed to read Kang Hyun’s emotions all this time.
It was simply that he had never once told a lie until now.
“Master.”
“What.”
“You just lied, didn’t you?”
Kang Hyun’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“It wasn’t because of my sister, was it?”
Watching the girl stare at him boldly, Kang Hyun let out an inward chuckle.
With the Nine-Section Meridian, does she also practice Mind Reading?
“Yes, it was a lie.”
“Then why did you accept me as your disciple?”
“Your talent would be wasted otherwise.”
“……!”
“Even if your sister hadn’t existed, you would have been my disciple.”
Baek Yu-seol’s pupils trembled.
There was no pity in his eyes.
He was genuinely acknowledging her worth.
‘This is the truth!’
Her chest swelled.
When you’ve lived your whole life as someone’s burden, as a patient, even something so small makes your heart race.
“So in the end, you need my talent too, Master?”
“Stop fooling around and get up. We’re going to combine physical conditioning with your training from now on.”
“……Physical conditioning?”
For someone who had never exercised a day in her life?
“If you’re going to enroll next year, you need to loosen up your body. Spread your feet wider than shoulder-width and bend your knees. Keep your back straight and your gaze forward.”
Now it was Baek Yu-seol’s turn to experience hell.
The Horse Stance hell that everyone under Kang Hyun endured.

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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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