The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor [Novel] Chapter 30

Chapter 30
Put Your Necks on the Line

“Oh, that’s!”

Seah’s eyes widened.

Comprehensive Theory of the Heavenly Veins.

Having assisted Kang Hyeon when he authored it, she would never mistake it.

‘I knew it back then.’

Black possessed not only incredible penmanship but also staggering drawing skills.

She had nearly dropped her jaw watching him sketch out complex meridian charts and organ structures without a single moment’s hesitation.

Even if you gathered the world’s most eccentric geniuses, his technique stood in a league of its own.

Yet, right before her eyes stood another eccentric genius.

She memorized that thick, ancient-looking book?

And in just one week?

“Did you really memorize it all?”

Kang Hyeon asked.

“Yes. You may test me.”

“I’m not asking about rote memorization. I’m asking if you comprehended the principles within it.”

“If I were just going to memorize it without understanding, it would be faster to scan it with my smartphone and search it. I believe merely memorizing the letters is meaningless.”

“Is that so?”

The corner of Kang Hyeon’s mouth curled up slightly.

“Then I’ll ask you one thing. If an excess of Yang energy boils the pericardium, and that heat surges up the Governing Vessel, threatening to burst the brain’s blood vessels, what must be done?”

Seah blinked.

‘What in the world is he babbling about?’

Baek Yuyeon answered without hesitation.

“The standard procedure would be to pierce the Great Vertebra acupoint to vent the heat. However, attempting to abruptly cool rampaging Yang energy carries a high risk of causing the qi and blood to clash, which could rupture the heart meridians.”

“And then?”

“You must simultaneously open the Lesser Rushing and Extending Vessel acupoints to create a detour, slowly expelling the Yang energy from the body. Then, inject Yin energy into the Spring at the Crook acupoint to neutralize the boiling heat of the pericardium.”

“Correct.”

Kang Hyeon nodded in satisfaction.

Had she merely memorized the letters on the page, she would have suggested piercing the Great Vertebra acupoint.

But because she perfectly understood the underlying principles, she had deduced a flawless prescription on her own.

A photographic memory paired with sharp insight.

She was the real deal.

“Ah, my pride just took a massive hit.”

Watching the exchange, Seah clutched her head.

“I’m supposed to be a top agent, too… Why are there so many monsters in this world?”

Casually ignoring Seah’s muttering, Kang Hyeon declared to Yuyeon.

“You pass. Go back to your dorm and get some sleep for today. Starting tomorrow, report to this office.”

Kang Hyeon pulled one of the secret manuals displayed behind him and tossed it onto the table.

[Divine Physician’s Ghost Needles]

“You’ve memorized the Comprehensive Theory of the Heavenly Veins, so return it. This is your next curriculum. When it comes to acupuncture, there is nothing better than this.”

In the past, it was the acupuncture technique of the Divine Physician—a man said to be capable of bringing the dead back to life in Murim.

A spark of life briefly returned to Yuyeon’s exhaustion-filled eyes.

Curiosity had taken hold.

The Comprehensive Theory of the Heavenly Veins had already left her in awe. What kind of knowledge could this one possibly hold?

Truthfully, she wanted to flip the cover open right then and there.

However, her physical body couldn’t keep up with her mind’s desire.

‘I’m so sleepy I could die…!’

Pinching her thigh to keep from dozing off on the spot, Yuyeon bowed.

“Thank you, Professor! I’ll get some proper rest and see you tomorrow!”

The door closed, and silence fell over the room.

“Chick.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is it possible to request another desk in here?”

“A desk?”

Seah’s gaze swept across the interior of the faculty office.

It was designed as a single-occupancy office, so the space wasn’t particularly large to begin with.

“…If I don’t get one, are you going to kick me out and give her my spot?”

“You catch on fast.”

“I’ll get one. The highest quality.”

Seah hurriedly nodded.

When he was casually tossing out secret manuals that would save the lives of the Bureau’s agents, how could she fail to secure a single desk?

But first, she needed to quickly report the matter regarding the Shadowless Art to the Director.

* * *

Late at night in the training ground.

“Hah, pant!”

Cha Yusik gasped for breath, holding his horse-riding stance.

His mind was consumed by what had happened during their dawn training.

‘This makes zero sense… This is sheer madness.’

A steep rock face where no hiking trail even existed.

He had scaled the rocks like a madman, nearly tumbling down several times, but he had persevered and reached the peak first after two grueling hours.

What the professor said to him then still shocked him.

– Good. Sit down. The chant I will impart to you now is the introductory section of the Emperor’s Divine Art.

The Emperor’s Divine Art?

As Yusik stared back with an expression that screamed, ‘What is that?’, the professor explained.

To properly master the Emperor’s Sword Form, it had to be backed by a mind art known as the Emperor’s Divine Art.

An Emperor’s Sword Form without it was like a steamed bun without the filling.

At first, Yusik was half in doubt.

But the moment he sat cross-legged and circulated his qi according to the chant Kang Hyeon recited, he felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.

‘This is it!’

The stances of the Emperor’s Sword Form he had read in the translated manual.

Whenever he tried to infuse them with qi, there were points where his energy flow abruptly severed.

Yusik had originally assumed that was simply the nature of such a tyrannical swordsmanship.

But he was wrong.

When he applied the chant Professor Kang Hyeon recited?

The severed points linked flawlessly, like a rushing river, as if the blockage had never existed.

Suddenly, Yusik felt terrified.

‘Just what is the professor’s true identity?’

It was a secret manual his father, an S-Rank Hunter, treated as a top-secret serendipitous encounter.

Yet Kang Hyeon had not only seen through it but held the very mind art that formed a complete set with it.

‘Besides, didn’t he say he would give the other cadets higher-level martial arts of comparable caliber?’

He knew now.

Even if all the third-rate professors here combined their strength, they wouldn’t be a match for Professor Kang Hyeon alone.

He had no intention of spreading rumors.

Honey always tastes sweetest when only a few are sucking on it.

If cadets flocked to the class, the professor’s already scarce time would be divided. His individual attention would vanish.

‘It’s best not to tell Father for now, either.’

He didn’t know whether his father knew of this divine art or not, but his older brother certainly did not.

He wanted to become stronger than his brother.

Regardless.

The professor had spent the remaining hour teaching him the chant and guiding his qi circulation, but the time was far, far too short.

Had there ever been a time he so desperately wanted to attend a class longer?

However, the professor was mercilessly punctual.

– It’s 9 AM. Class is dismissed for today.

With those words, his figure had already plummeted off the cliff.

It was a movement technique straight out of a ghost story!

If anyone doubted him after seeing that, their brain was just for decoration.

“Hah, pant!”

Yusik didn’t break his horse-riding stance.

‘I need to build more stamina.’

From tomorrow on, he would scale that peak faster. Just to hear a single second more of the professor’s chant.

“Haaaaah!”

Gritting his teeth, Yusik lowered his stance even further.

* * *

“Senior Professor! Have you heard the news?”

The middle-aged professor who had slapped Seo Haein’s cheek was fuming in front of Jin Myeonghun.

“What news are you referring to?”

“The contract professor! Acanet is in an uproar over it.”

Acanet was still buzzing.

[I guess the professor’s condition was actually real]

– You mean the thing where he gives a higher-level martial art if they make the top five using only the Three Calamities Swordsmanship?
– Yeah, one of the female cadets used it today and got slapped by a professor.
– For real?
– It’s famous lol. Pretty much all the female cadets saw it.
– You’re talking about S.H.I, right? lol She straight up told a full professor to his face that the contract professor is better than him lol
– But it is kind of weird; seeing C.Y.S and the mad dog still diligently attending…
– At this point, doesn’t it mean there’s actually something to it?
– We’ll have to see. Sounds like the midterms are going to be crazy fun to watch??

“I can’t just stand by and watch this any longer. He’s treating the cadets like playthings. How long do we have to leave that lunatic be?”

“Hmm.”

Jin Myeonghun crossed his arms.

He, too, found this recent incident highly displeasing.

This was the National Academy, not a playground for messing around with cadets.

‘Even the Dean won’t have any justification to protect him this time.’

While lost in thought, his gaze settled on the middle-aged professor’s right hand.

“Professor Kim.”

“Yes.”

“What happened to your wrist? Did you hurt yourself?”

“Ah, this.”

The middle-aged professor subtly hid the white bandage.

“…I pushed myself a little too hard during personal training and got cut.”

He was too embarrassed to tell the truth.

How could he admit that he had been so terrified of a mere contract professor that he had nodded in submission like a beggar?

That was the very reason he was venting his frustration in front of Jin Myeonghun.

“Tch, you should be more careful. You’re an A-Rank Hunter, after all.”

“Haha, of course. It’s quite embarrassing.”

“Regardless, just as you said, Professor Kim, we cannot afford to just stand by and watch this.”

“Exactly, right?”

“First, we need to have a showdown with the Dean. Professor Kim, please gather some professors who share our sentiment.”

“Yes, I will start making calls immediately.”

A short while later, a staggering ten full professors gathered in one place.

It was nearly half of the Academy’s entire faculty.

“I assume you all gathered here out of anger at Professor Kang Hyeon’s irrational behavior.”

Jin Myeonghun’s gaze swept across the professors one by one.

“So I will ask you. Are you prepared to go as far as a class boycott in the worst-case scenario to pressure the Dean?”

“A-A strike, you mean?”

“The professors at a National Academy going on a mass strike? If this goes wrong, the backlash will be immense…”

As the professors wavered, Jin Myeonghun clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Idiots. Who said we’re actually going on strike? It’s just for pressure.’

However, the words that left his mouth were different.

“If we collectively boycott our classes, it will inevitably leak to the external press. The National Assembly and public opinion will rise up demanding an investigation. The target will then become Kang Hyeon, who pulled a scam on the cadets, and the Dean, who shielded him, will not be able to avoid responsibility either.”

“…!”

“I am asking if you possess that level of resolve to kick out a drunkard professor.”

After a brief silence.

Led by Professor Kim, the professors began nodding solemnly one by one.

“Very well. Rather than seeing the faculty’s authority dragged through the mud because of that lunatic, I will join you, even if it means risking my position.”

“I will join as well!”

“Excellent. Let us go, then.”

The ten professors barged into the Dean’s office with grim expressions. Seo Ilhyeon, who had been reviewing paperwork, stood up in surprise.

“What brings you all here so suddenly?”

“Dean.”

Jin Myeonghun stepped forward as their representative.

“I will get straight to the point. We can no longer tolerate Professor Kang Hyeon’s eccentricities. Therefore, we have made a resolution. If you continue to shield him, Dean, we intend to fully boycott all regular classes starting tomorrow.”

“What do you think you’re doing? A mass strike by National Academy professors!”

A fierce aura erupted from Seo Ilhyeon’s body.

The air in the Dean’s office became several times heavier, but the professors gritted their teeth and endured it.

“The ones who provided the cause are Professor Kang Hyeon and you, Dean, for shielding him unconditionally.”

Seo Ilhyeon was rendered speechless.

His head throbbed.

‘I can’t exactly tell these frustrating old men about Kang Hyeon’s true worth, either.’

But he couldn’t let them push through with a strike, either.

The top Hunter training institution in South Korea grinding to a halt would be a national scandal, and the blame would inevitably fall entirely on Kang Hyeon.

That certainly wasn’t a situation the Management Bureau wanted.

“Let’s stop here and call the person in question first.”

Seo Ilhyeon summoned Kang Hyeon, and not long after…

“You called?”

Holding a whiskey bottle, he strolled in leisurely.

“What are you all doing? Gathering around in a swarm like this?”

At his carefree demeanor, the professors’ faces simultaneously contorted.

The sheer arrogance to waltz into the Dean’s office clinking a liquor bottle!

“Professor Kang Hyeon. Your knack for stirring up trouble in the Academy has only grown, I see.”

Jin Myeonghun snapped coldly.

“Trouble?”

“I heard you pulled a nasty scam on the cadets. Telling them to make the top five in their grade using only a cheap, third-rate martial art like the Three Calamities Swordsmanship during the midterms? And if they do, you’ll give them a higher-level martial art?”

The veins in Jin Myeonghun’s neck bulged as he shouted.

“Causing the cadets to waste their time with such an absurd condition. Can you take responsibility for the outcome?”

“Responsibility?”

Kang Hyeon tilted his head, his tone utterly devoid of care.

“I offered a choice. They chose to take it. What exactly is there to take responsibility for?”

“This isn’t the time for wordplay. Are you unaware that an educator’s words carry responsibility? If you misled the cadets onto the wrong path by dangling an illusory condition, you must pay the price.”

“That’s why I’m asking. What price are you saying I should pay?”

“If even a single one of those five fails to meet that standard, how about you take responsibility for deceiving the cadets and resign voluntarily?”

Jin Myeonghun’s lips twisted into a sneer.

The moment he refused, it would be tantamount to admitting from his own mouth that his education was an illusory scam.

Just as everyone’s gaze converged on Kang Hyeon.

“Fine.”

“What?”

Jin Myeonghun furrowed his brows.

He accepted it this easily?

“If those brats fail to meet the standard, I will step down from my position as professor.”

Answering languidly, the corner of Kang Hyeon’s mouth curled up slightly.

“But it’s a bit unfair if I’m the only one putting something on the line, isn’t it?”

Kang Hyeon slowly looked around at the professors.

“Put your own necks on the line. Then, we can talk.”

* * *