"Your overall sword technique is splendid." Apparently, not splendid enough that Hou Lu was too pressured to talk while fighting. I, on the other hand, was feeling more pressured than I'd ever been even against Kunlun Jong. Instead of using Repelling Sword Strike to create an opening, I'd had to use it more than ever just to reduce the pressure on myself. He was right that in terms of pure swordsmanship, I still had an edge over him even if he was better than the others I'd faced, but it didn't seem to matter.
Every time it seemed like I'd managed to create a vulnerable moment, my sword would eat air and Hou Lu would suddenly be well out of reach, only to just as suddenly press the attack again. I couldn't let my concentration on fending him off lapse for an instant, so I wasn't able to form any Spirit Arrows. Even if I did, I'd have had to aim it indirectly at the ground near him rather than to actually hit him, or I'd be caught in the blast; he was staying on me that well.
I was so intent on the battle—I had to be—that I almost missed it when the disciple observer shouted "Time!"
"It's your win, then," said Hou Lu, "after all, I didn't land a single blow, and I'm the challenger. Very impressive, Xu Zuhui. I believe I'll remember your name."
"Ah, with this, you have earned the right to attempt to enter the rankings," said the disciple on duty for the match, "three days from now, you will be informed of the day and time for the match, as well as the name of your opponent and their current rank. Until your official match is resolved, you are temporarily removed from the normal practice matches. Congratulations."
I told Shokoya what happened at the Invigoration Pavillion. "I don't have a clue who this Hou Lu guy is," he said, "so I don't think he comes to the dueling courts often. Only it sounds like he was using a good movement technique. Spirit Rank, maybe even Heaven Rank if it's his only technique."
"A movement technique, that would explain a lot. Only, I find it hard to believe a movement technique is his only one, even if it is Heaven Rank."
"Well, him aside, you're definitely getting more of a reputation now. He might have done you a slight favor by outing you as the new A Rank disciple."
I shrugged. "It probably would have come out sooner or later after I got the result I did, anyway. It does speed things up a little." I stood up, having finished eating before Shokoya as usual. "Well, I don't have as many contacts as you, but maybe I'll get lucky. I'm going back to the residential district for now."
"Hold on," said Shokoya, "I'll come with you. I had a feeling something like this would happen, so I made today my last day working the dueling courts. I'm sure people will start asking me about you if they get me alone. And anyway, I've already worked there enough to fulfill my mission quota for a while."
I nodded. "Might be time to start forming a posse. It's a risk, but I don't even want to contemplate the alternatives." Plenty of Outer Court Disciples went around in groups like that, since the haughtier ones were less prone to pick on disciples that had that kind of safety in numbers. I'd avoided this in spite of going it alone through a combination of how little time I'd so far spent both in the sect and outside my room or the Concentration Garden or Mission Hall, Academy-practiced confident body language, and I had to assume a helping of genuine luck. Now that I was going to be spending more time in the sect, it was too dangerous to stay an outright nobody.
Of course, something like that wasn't as simple as going up to some random resident of the A or B Districts and saying "oi you, come hang out with me!" Over the three days leading up to when I'd be told about my ranking challenge, Shokoya and I showed ourselves more at the places in the sect where disciples socialized. There was the Invigoration Pavillion, of course, and a few other places.
We approached anyone we could. Shokoya did most of the talking, though I tried to be as friendly as I could when they asked me questions. They had plenty of questions, too. Mostly about the Academy, once they confirmed I had entered the sect through them. Naturally, they knew very little about it that I didn't tell them, since it only ever took people from my world as students.
Early on the third day, we got an unexpected result. We'd decided to take the evening meal by ourselves, when another disciple approached our table. They were ill at ease doing so, in fact their bearing reminded me a little of the nervous Wang Jing. Although, they weren't nearly as short and they were pretty clearly a guy. "I—pardon me, senior brother, you are the new A Rank disciple, Xu Zuhui, right?"
I inclined my head. "And you are?"
"Ah, this one is Lo Kien."
"Well then, junior brother Lo Kien, you seem to have some reason to seek me out?"
"Yes! I, well…I saw your training match with Hou Lu and I thought you were amazing. Then I noticed ever since then, the two of you are talking with the other disciples a lot so I really wanted to try to ask, if you could help me learn better swordsmanship?"
"You want me to tutor you in swordsmanship? I'm guessing to try and surpass your peers who don't seem to care about that sort of thing very much. I fought enough of that sort before Hou Lu."
"Yes, exactly."
"Well, as it happens, I am trying to find a few people to let into my circle right now, but you're asking me to take time away from my own pursuits. What were you intending to offer in exchange for this favor?"
"Well that's, um, I…" Lo Kien's face fell.