The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 97

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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 097
First, throw away that pathetic sword.
Ariana Ashford.
And.
Disciple.
Could these two words ever belong together?
At least, Lee Se-ah didn’t think so.
‘Ariana… is Black’s disciple?’
That made no sense.
Lee Se-ah had learned through the Management Bureau that Ariana was searching for Black for some reason.
But she never imagined the woman would be seeking out Kang Hyun as a master.
“Hello there.”
Min Seo-jun bowed respectfully.
“I’m also Master’s disciple. It’s an honor to meet you.”
The boy was so unfazed by most things outside of Array Technique that he simply accepted another family member with equanimity.
“……I’m Baek Yu-yeon. It’s quite surprising. To share the same master as someone so renowned.”
Baek Yu-yeon, meanwhile, regarded Ariana with compassion.
Through her Heavenly Pulse Sight, Ariana’s meridian pathways still burned like an active volcano.
She understood that maintaining composure while walking, breathing, and simply existing in such a state required superhuman endurance.
“You must be in great pain. I hope Master’s guidance will help you recover.”
And finally.
Do Jeong-hyeok had gone completely rigid.
Like Lee Se-ah, he too couldn’t believe the situation unfolding before him.
‘It’s remarkable.’
It had been astonishing enough when his former master Gye Mu-jin entered under Master as part of the Changgwi Corps. Now even one of the world’s five greatest Hunters was coming under Master?
What on earth was Master’s true identity?
They’d always known he existed in a realm of strength beyond their comprehension.
But now that even the famous Ariana was before them, it was beginning to feel terrifying.
“I’m… Do Jeong-hyeok.”
He bowed stiffly.
No matter how much he trained his Diamond Body, the person before him was one of the world’s five greatest Hunters.
Under normal circumstances, he would never have dared to speak to her.
After receiving the disciples’ greetings, Ariana gave a light nod and glanced around.
“But… where exactly is this? The climate is completely different.”
“The Philippines.”
Kang Hyun pulled out an Alcohol Bottle and answered without emotion.
“The Philippines?”
Ariana’s eyes widened.
“Weren’t we just at the Academy in Korea?”
“That boy opened a Spatial Movement Array.”
Kang Hyun pointed with his chin at Min Seo-jun, who sat on the ground fidgeting.
“……!”
Ariana’s jaw dropped.
Hardly daring to believe it, she pulled out her Smartphone and turned on the GPS.
‘It’s real.’
It felt like she was dreaming.
That young boy had conjured something like magic—something miraculous?
‘Who exactly is this man…’
Ariana’s gaze turned back to Kang Hyun.
She felt the exact same emotion that Do Jeong-hyeok had experienced.
A monster—an impossible monster—who counted such a child among his disciples.
And a monster who could cure even her incurable illness with ease.
What could his true identity possibly be?
“You’ll want to get used to it. I’m setting up another one in London.”
“……In London?”
“That way I can keep teaching you after the tournament ends. You weren’t planning to spend your whole life in Korea, were you?”
Ariana’s vacant eyes suddenly filled with joy.
‘If something like this can be in London…!’
The constraints of travel would vanish.
While managing the grueling schedule demanded by the British Royal Family, she could secretly come find this man, receive treatment for her illness, and gain his instruction—all without anyone knowing.
So this boy can just casually conjure up such an incredible miracle?
“Little one.”
Kang Hyun called out to Min Seo-jun, who sat slumped on the ground.
“Yes, Master.”
“Once you finish making the bag and completing the new building for the Academy, use whatever free time you have to slowly craft another gateway here. Set the coordinates for London. No rush.”
“Yes! Understood!”
Kang Hyun turned his attention back to Ariana.
“Since I’m putting in the effort specially for you, you’ll provide the location where the Array Technique is to be installed.”
“A location?”
“Right in the heart of London. Somewhere with heavy foot traffic—a decent-sized building in the city center will do. As one of the world’s five greatest Hunters, surely you have the means to acquire something like that?”
“Well…….”
Ariana was caught off guard by the sudden real estate demand.
And his utter confidence only added to her bewilderment.
Prime real estate in central London commanded astronomical prices.
But Ariana nodded without hesitation.
Her wealth transcended imagination.
As both a Hunter and an advertising model, she’d been accumulating vast sums of money.
Acquiring the building through legal channels posed no problem whatsoever.
More than anything, her life was worth infinitely more to her than any fortune.
‘If that man truly saves me, what’s a building in London? I’d willingly hand over my entire fortune.’
“No issue at all. It’s for my own sake anyway.”
Kang Hyun sipped his whiskey and smiled with satisfaction.
‘The English gateway is settled easily enough.’
He’d just tunneled one through to the Taejing Market as well.
The Array Technique was sensitive enough that installing it in major cities would normally be quite complicated, but Ariana would handle the legal complications smoothly enough.
Clap!
Kang Hyun clapped his hands lightly.
“Well then, introductions done—everyone back to what you were doing. Those training, train. Those leaving, go.”
His disciples moved with instant, coordinated precision.
Min Seo-jun sat back down on the ground to craft the Kun-gon, while Baek Yu-yeon set up the Crimson Lotus Furnace beside him.
Lee Se-ah positioned herself at a suitable spot near Kang Hyun, ready to interpret whenever needed.
In particular, Do Jeong-hyeok headed toward the Sand Beach and pulled out two additional Sand Weights, binding them firmly around his waist and ankles alongside his usual pair.
‘One of the world’s five greatest Hunters is my master’s disciple, just like me.’
This was an enormous stimulus to him.
He’d always considered himself first among the disciples in martial prowess, but now it felt as though that position had been stolen from him.
‘That can’t happen.’
Do Jeong-hyeok understood instinctively.
Right now, he was striking stone with an egg, but if he absorbed his master’s teachings with the same ferocity, one day he could stand alongside that world’s strongest fighter.
“Hyahhh!”
Watching him train with such fervor, Ariana swallowed hard.
‘What exactly does this man intend to teach?’
Kang Hyun gestured toward Ariana, who stood motionless and dazed.
“Why are you standing there gawking? Come here.”
“Yes.”
Ariana approached carefully, breathing steadily, when suddenly that burning sensation welled up inside her again.
“Master.”
She spoke the word—”master”—for the first time, her accent still awkward, and asked:
“Could you… press your hand against my back again, the way you did in Paris?”
That was the reason she’d hurried to Korea.
She craved that soothing sensation once more.
But.
“No.”
Kang Hyun refused flatly.
Disappointment flooded Ariana’s face.
“Why not?”
“I told you it was a temporary measure. That wasn’t real treatment—just a painkiller.”
Back then, he’d used Extreme Yin Energy to suppress her Yang Qi.
But the Extreme Yang Heart Method she’d be learning now floods Yang Qi with reckless abandon instead.
Extreme Yin would only become poison to her.
“First, throw away that garbage Red Flame Sword technique you’ve been using.”
The moment Lee Se-ah finished interpreting, Ariana’s expression hardened slightly.
“You’re saying my Red Flame Sword is garbage?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. With this blade, I claimed a place among the world’s five greatest Hunters. I’ve incinerated every monster that threatened England. I can’t count on my fingers alone the S-Class Hunters who’ve knelt before my Red Flame Sword. I even severed a Faceless Demon with it.”
She spoke with the directness typical of Westerners.
When discontent or doubt arose, she didn’t suppress it—she expressed it on the spot.
Kang Hyun appreciated that attitude.
When doubt was hidden and discontent forced down, it accumulated, festered, and eventually bred deep misunderstanding.
“That wasn’t your blade being strong. That was you being strong.”
“But my blade is me, isn’t it?”
“If you’re curious, draw your sword.”
“…You intend to fight me?”
Ariana couldn’t help but feel skeptical.
Though she’d taken him as her master to cure her illness, she’d never once believed he could be stronger than her in terms of martial ability.
“I’m going to show you.”
Kang Hyun picked up a tree branch and smiled faintly.
“How pathetic your sword is.”
Blue fire kindled in Ariana’s eyes.
Regardless of her circumstances in seeking his help, she had the pride of one of the world’s five greatest Hunters.
Snap!
A Long Sword drew from her waist.
In that instant.
Whoosh!
The surrounding air rippled violently, and enormous heat engulfed the Sand Beach.
Even Do Jeong-hyeok, training in the distance, and Min Seo-jun, making bags, flinched and turned their heads at the force of her aura.
‘Whoa….’
Do Jeong-hyeok broke out in cold sweat.
Merely by drawing the sword, the moisture around them withered and the sand began to bubble and boil.
And this monster was about to clash with the Master?
“This is my sword?”
Ariana asked, tilting her chin up.
She seemed intent on confirming the overwhelming heat her Red Flame Sword was unleashing.
But Kang Hyun’s expression remained calm.
“Come at me.”
He flicked his finger.
He was deliberately provoking her.
‘She’s spent her entire life with the Red Flame Sword.’
So she would have great attachment to it, and equally great pride in it.
But that couldn’t be allowed to continue.
If she clung halfway to what was hers while trying to accept something new, the Yang Qi of the Nine Yang Meridian Confluence would tangle, and she’d burn to death—neither this nor that.
‘I have to break it.’
Only by making her see clearly how worthless the sword she’d trusted her whole life truly was could he fill her from the ground up with something new.
“Draw your sword, sir.”
“A sword against the Red Flame Sword?”
“Then I’ll trust and attack! Don’t resent me if you’re hurt!”
Wounded in pride by his provocation, Ariana swung her blade without hesitation.
Whoosh!
A pillar of flame shot forward.
The very Secret Technique that had reduced the demons in Paris to ash in a single strike.
Crash!
But Kang Hyun didn’t meet that inferno head-on.
That made sense.
With his current inner strength, he couldn’t suppress the Yang Qi of the fire realm pouring from the Nine Yang Meridian Confluence through sheer force.
Instead, Kang Hyun’s body swayed lightly.
The First Extreme Sword Art Third Absolute.
Flow Light Scattered Shadows.
Whoosh!
The tip of the tree branch pierced the softest current within the pillar of flame.
The cascading inferno flowed smoothly around Kang Hyun’s body, dispersing gently to both sides.
Glide.
Before long, the tip of the Tree Branch came to rest just before Ariana’s throat.
“……!”
Ariana gasped in shock.
She hadn’t seen Kang Hyun’s movement at all.
‘Of course.’
A man who had spent his whole life mastering miscellaneous techniques had now encountered the Divine Technique—something revered as a Secret Technique even within the Martial World.
“Cough!”
In that instant, blood poured from Ariana’s mouth.
The Yang Qi she had recklessly poured into empty air had burned through her meridians once more.
Kang Hyun clicked his tongue.
“Look at yourself. You’re burning from within before you’ve even cut your opponent. Is that the mark of a good sword?”
“……Ugh, but——”
Ariana bit her lip hard, yet found no words to argue back.
If that had been true combat instead of a branch, her throat would already be severed.
Worse still.
Her opponent hadn’t even expended much inner power against her.
This made it plainly clear—her swordsmanship was inferior!
The hand gripping her blade began to tremble.
Thunk.
She hurled her Long Sword into the sand.
“I understand. You’re right. Teach me from the beginning, please.”
From that day forward, Kang Hyun postponed all his other commitments.
He devoted himself entirely to helping Ariana master the incantations of the Extreme Yang Heart Method and grasp the framework of the First Extreme Sword Art.
As the sun set and the sound of waves grew heavier, the disciples and Lee Se-ah returned to their lodgings.
But Kang Hyun remained at his post.
Ariana too abstained from food and drink, snatching only brief sleep as she threw herself into training.
So it went for four days.
“Hnngh……!”
Ariana’s eyes flew open.
She had finally achieved the First Stage of the Extreme Yang Heart Method!
Whirrrrr……!
For the first time, the Yang Qi that had always run wild began to move at her command.
It wasn’t perfect, but it settled obediently beneath her Dantian.
Just with that, Ariana felt the burning pain vanish and her breath return.
“……Is this actually working?”
Kang Hyun, who had been watching the whole time, smiled.
“Congratulations. You’ve finally taken your first steps.”

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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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