"Today, we will be covering combat!"

Lan Qiren had taken the guest disciples out to an open field for the day's combat lesson. Both male and female disciples were present.

This surprised Pan Wukun. But she supposed that there were many of Lan Qiren's lessons that weren't covered after Wei Wuxian was kicked out of the Cloud Recesses in canon.

Lan Qiren must've given these combat lessons so often in the past that he paired everyone up in no time.

Pan Wukun with Qin Su.

Luo Qingyang with Jiang Yanli.

Jiang Cheng with Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian with Nie Huaisang.

Meng Xingyao with Jin Zixuan.

Lan Qiren placed his arm out. "Ready…"

Everyone got into fighting positions, their hands hovering near their swords.

"Begin!" Lan Qiren shouted.

Jin Zixuan gritted his teeth as Meng Xingyao's sword clashed against his.

Meng Xingyao relentlessly attacked Jin Zixuan with all of his might, refusing to go easy to save the pride of his pampered sect heir half-brother.

Fanhua spun and changed shape, wrapping around Suihua.

"What?!" Jin Zixuan cried.

Fanhua wrenched Suihua out of Jin Zixuan's grasp. After Suihua fell to the ground, Fanhua pushed against Jin Zixuan's chest, knocking him to the ground.

"End match! The victor is Meng Xingyao!"

Jin Zixuan stood up, wiping the dirt off his robes.

"You fought well, Meng-xiushi. Not many people could use a soft sword so skillfully," Jin Zixuan said without a hint of condescension and sarcasm.

Meng Xingyao paused, unsure how to feel about Jin Zixuan being sincere in praising his abilities. Why wasn't Jin Zixuan acting arrogant like he expected him to? Jin Zixuan didn't even pull any dirty moves when he fought him.

"…Thank you. You fought well too, Jin-gongzi," Meng Xingyao managed to say as he sharply turned his head away.

Meanwhile, Pan Wukun clashed swords with Qin Su.

Qin Su panted. "I don't recognize your sword style from any of the major sects! Which sect is it from?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"My master never told me."

"Your master is that secretive?!"

The two of them talked casually as they swung their swords.

Then Pan Wukun moved like a blur, hitting Qin Su's hand hard with the butt of Yuyun.

"Ah!" Qin Su was forced to let go of her sword. Her sword was tossed in the air and it fell, piercing into the ground.

Pan Wukun pointed Yuyun at Qin Su.

"End match! The victory goes to Pan Wukun!"

Qin Su looked at Pan Wukun with wide eyes, stunned at what she just did. Then she pointed at Pan Wukun. "I declare you my rival, Pan Wukun!"

Pan Wukun blinked. "Huh?! Um…"

Qin Su walked up to Pan Wukun, looking into her eyes with determination. "I'll best you in sword fighting one day! Just you wait!"

"Oh! I-uh-look forward to that, Qin-guniang."

Other than Kang Xieren, Pan Wukun now had another rival, Qin Su. How interesting…

Meanwhile, Nie Huaisang yelped as he blocked Suibian with his sword.

"Please have mercy, Wei-xiong!"

Wei Wuxian laughed. "Sorry, Nie-xiong!" Then he swiftly defeated Nie Huaisang.

Jiang Cheng put up a good fight against Lan Wangji but was ultimately beaten by Lan Wangji's strength.

Luo Qingyang and Jiang Yanli were evenly matched. Suddenly, Jiang Yanli collapsed to her knees, coughing harshly.

Luo Qingyang sheathed her sword and rushed to Jiang Yanli's side. "Jiang-guniang! Are you all right?"

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian rushed over to Jiang Yanli.

"A-jie!"

"Shijie!"

Lan Qiren also ran to Jiang Yanli with concern. "Jiang-guniang! Are you hurt? Do you need to be escorted to the infirmary?"

Jiang Yanli's coughs subsided and she managed a smile. "I'm fine! I'm just a bit tired…"

Lan Qiren allowed Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng to help Jiang Yanli rest at a tree.

From where Pan Wukun stood watching Jiang Yanli with the others from a distance, she relaxed.

Once everyone's sword duels were over, Pan Wukun looked around at her fellow guest disciples who panted from exhaustion.

If they got this tired from sparring, just how would they handle a fight to the death during the Sunshot Campaign?

And how would they even bear fighting without their swords?

She needed to do something about this.

Pan Wukun stepped up to Lan Qiren. "Lan-xiansheng. May I please demonstrate something?"

"Hm? What did you have in mind, Pan Wukun?"

"I wish to demonstrate hand-to-hand combat."

Lan Qiren and the other guest disciples gaped at Pan Wukun in surprise. "But why, Pan Wukun? Cultivators already have their swords to fight."

"What if an enemy or supernatural creature knocked your sword out of your hands? What if your sword got stolen? Do you just stand there and wait to be killed?"

At Pan Wukun's words, Qin Su thought about how Pan Wukun had knocked her sword out of her grasp earlier.

Pan Wukun needed to prepare her fellow cultivators for when the QishanWen sect stole their swords away during indoctrination and the Sunshot Campaign. Especially when they faced the Xuanwu of Slaughter.

Lan Qiren stroked his goatee in thought. There was still time to spare. So perhaps this could serve as an enlightening class exercise. "Hmmm…is this part of your expertise as a rogue cultivator, Pan Wukun?"

"Yes. I had my sword knocked away from me when I fought a cave beast once."

Pan Wukun was talking about when Yuyun got knocked away from her during her fight with the cave beast while gathering materials for Meng Xingyao's sword.

"Lan-xiansheng, I wish to help my fellow guest disciples in hand-to-hand combat should they find themselves without their swords in a difficult battle."

Lan Qiren nodded. "Very well. You may proceed, Pan Wukun."

Pan Wukun turned to face the guest disciples. "I'll need a volunteer."

To everyone's surprise, Lan Wangji stepped forward. "Shufu. I wish to participate in this lesson and spar against Pan Wukun."

Wei Wuxian was especially surprised. "Aw! I wanted to be the one to spar with Chun-ge!"

Lan Qiren nodded. "Go ahead, Wangji."

Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji placed their swords aside and faced each other.

Pan Wukun couldn't break her concentration here.

If Lan Wangji was able to carry her and Wei Wuxian on his back at Biling Lake, just how strong was he in hand-to-hand combat?

"Begin!" Lan Qiren shouted.

Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji charged at each other. They blocked each other's hits with the sides of their arms. Their arms pushed against each other. They gritted their teeth as their feet dragged across the ground from the forces of their individual strengths.

Pan Wukun tried to knee Lan Wangji in the stomach. But Lan Wangji blocked with his own knee.

Lan Wangji used his strength to push Pan Wukun down.

Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji rolled around on the ground, attempting to pin the other person down.

They looked into each other's eyes, seeing total concentration in both their gazes.

Pan Wukun pushed herself away from Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji went after her and the two exchanged hits again.

Pan Wukun threw her fist forward.

Lan Wangji narrowly dodged.

Pan Wukun's fist struck the tree beside Lan Wangji instead of his chest.

Lan Wangji was stunned, indirectly feeling the force of Pan Wukun's punch as the tree trembled.

Her fist left a deep imprint in the tree.

Pan Wukun didn't hold back. If she went easy on Lan Wangji, she'd be disrespecting his skills.

Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji lunged at each other again, their fists flying at each other's cheeks. They struck each other hard. Their bodies flew away from each other and slid across the ground.

Everyone watching gasped.

Pan Wukun took the harder hit to her cheek since her arm was shorter than Lan Wangji's. Such was the struggle of having short limbs.

The guest disciples whispered to each other, wondering who would win.

Wei Wuxian never took his eyes off either Pan Wukun or Lan Wangji the entire time. He watched them enthusiastically with anticipation.

Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji lay on the ground, both unable to stand up again.

"Tie!" Lan Qiren shouted.

The guest disciples murmured in awe. "Whoa! Pan-xiong and Lan-er-gongzi are really strong even without their swords!"

Wei Wuxian's mouth hung open. He was stunned and amazed by Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji. He considered himself fortunate to know and befriend such capable cultivators.

Lan Qiren moved to Lan Wangji's side. "Wangji? Are you alright?"

With a throbbing cheek, Lan Wangji managed to whisper, "Yes, shufu."

Lan Qiren turned his head to Pan Wukun. "And you, Pan Wukun. How are you faring?"

Pan Wukun coughed. "Fine, Lan-xiansheng."

Some GusuLan sect disciples moved to help Lan Wangji and Pan Wukun stand up.

Once the GusuLan sect disciple let go of Pan Wukun's arm, she shakily tried standing on her own, her hand holding onto a tree for support.

She winced as she massaged her cheek. "Ow…"

Wei Wuxian punched hard. But Lan Wangji punched harder.

She was lucky she didn't lose any teeth.

Pan Wukun was surprised she even managed a tie against Lan Wangji in hand-to-hand combat. She thought she was going to lose to the famous Lan Family strength.

Lan Wangji walked over to her. "Do you need to be taken to the infirmary?"

Pan Wukun transmitted spiritual energy to her cheek to heal it. "It's fine, Lan-er-gongzi. I'm grateful that you didn't hold back."

Lan Wangji stared at Pan Wukun intently. "...You are strong."

"Thanks. So are you, Lan-er-gongzi."

"…And you're fast."

Pan Wukun and Lan Wangji nodded at each other in respect.

Everyone else in the class started wrestling and grappling with each other.

Wei Wuxian in particular had a tight hold on Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng yelled about finally using his strength from lifting weights under Yu Ziyuan's watch.

Wei Wuxian pinned Jiang Cheng to the ground. "I win, Jiang Cheng!"

Jiang Cheng groaned in frustration.

"A good fight, A-Cheng!" Jiang Yanli said to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng smiled and thanked her, feeling better about his loss.

Wei Wuxian ran over to Pan Wukun. "I'd like to fight you in hand-to-hand combat one day, Chun-ge!"

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. "Of course, you would want to wrestle Pan-xiushi. More chances for you to grab hold of him?"

Wei Wuxian snickered. "Yeah! That way, I'll be closer to him than ever!"

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes again.

Pan Wukun sighed. "You can challenge me when I'm not recovering from Lan-er-gongzi's punch, Wei Ying."

Wei Wuxian laughed. "Of course! Lan Zhan's strength is not easy to deal with!"

Pan Wukun rested against a tree, looking over the state of her classmates. Lan Qiren supervised them, making sure they made proper stances and movements. The guest disciples grinned and laughed as they playfully smacked each other. Would they still be the same once the Sunshot Campaign arrived?

Pan Wukun shut her eyes and sighed.

Her classmates better give their enemies a good ass-whooping in the future.