For over a thousand years ago China was ruled by a cruel government lead by the corrupt governor Kao Chu. His only resistance was a group of 108 brave and noble warriors who kept fighting for justice. To get rid of the strongest heroes, and be able to beat the rest, Kao Chu organizes a kung fu tournament.
In 1925, Gao Fengchun and his girlfriend He Li returned from studying in the UK, determined to save the country through medicine. They came to Dingzhou, a mountain city in western Fujian, to open a poor relief clinic. In the Wangjiang Tower, Gao Fengchun, He Li and their young friend Wang Zhanfei and Fang Liang, a student movement leader who recently met, debated how to save the country. In the bloody storm of counter-revolution, Gao Fengchun’s religious enlightenment teacher Charlie took off his disguise, Wang Zhanfei betrayed the revolution, Gao Fengchun’s hospital was destroyed, and He Li was deceived back to Shanghai. After a series of changes, Gao Fengchun's ideal of saving the nation through medicine was completely shattered. In the baptism of blood and fire, he gained a new life and plunged into the torrent of revolution.