Yang Sheng

Yang Mengchi is a spoiled, rich do-nothing whose habit of smoking opium has cost him his entire fortune and the family mansion, the Garden of Repose, now due to be sold to Yao Guodong. Fearing that Yao's spoiled and unruly son Siaofu will follow in Yang's footsteps, Yao's stepwife Wan Zhaohua tries to instil discipline in the child but her efforts are undermined by the child's indulging and protective father and grandmother. Unable to reform himself despite his own son's chastisement, Yang leaves home to lead a reclusive life in a destitute temple, only helped out by his filial daughter Han'er. The poverty-stricken Yang is drafted into the army and tragedy ensues.

A villain steals a kung fu manual and kills the good swordsmen it belongs to. He masters the powers it offers and goes on to commit various evils. Twenty years later, a young swordsman heads off to take him to account. On the way he meets a couple of feisty young swordswomen, and his life gets more complicated.