In 18th-century Korea, Prince Yi San is a perfectionist haunted by his father's murder. He's set to inherit the throne once his cruel grandfather, the current king, passes away. Despite the emotional scars left by his father's death, Yi San aspires to be a benevolent ruler who reforms the kingdom's laws. At court, he encounters Sung Deok Im, a spirited and intelligent young woman. While Yi San falls in love and proposes she become his concubine, Sung Deok Im grapples with the restrictions and responsibilities that come with royal life. However, as their love deepens, she begins to see the potential to bring positive change to the troubled realm through their union.
In the mid-17th century, the Manchus take over sovereignty of China and establish the Qing Dynasty. While nationalistic sentiments start brewing within the martial artists' community (jianghu), the Qing government immediately imposes a ban forbidding the common people from practising martial arts. Fire-Wind sees the new law as an opportunity to for himself to make a fortune and offers to help the government execute the new rule. Greedy, cruel and immoral, Fire-Wind ravages northwest China with his army, killing thousands of pugilists as well as innocent civilians. His next goal is to attack Martial Village, which houses a large number of martial artists...
Episodic saga from the first half of the 20th century follows Hero Hua from an ill-omened June day in his youth to a showdown 17 years later with a disaffected member of his martial-arts school, a Japanese named Invincible. Tensions between Chinese and Japanese, plus U.S. racism, mark the tale. Hero marries Jade, leaves her in China when he goes to America as an indentured servant, rebels against cruel labor conditions, and is joined by her in New York City where she has twins. Jump ahead 16 years: their son Sword comes to New York looking for his father. There, Sword hears many stories of his father, which we see in flashbacks, and the stage is set for the battle with Invincible.
