Director Zhang Xinyan / Yuen Woo-ping

Starring : Wu Jing / Yu Hai / Wai Ying-hung / Zhou Bilí / Fan Yimin

First broadcast : 1998

Plot Summary :

　　During the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, a young man named Yang Yuqian (played by Wu Jing) Shi has long followed his master in practicing external martial arts, but due to innate limitations, he has never managed to reach the pinnacle of mastery. Consequently, his master advised him to switch to internal martial arts, yet Yang Yuqian never had the chance. One day, when Yang Yuqian’s father returned home to celebrate his birthday, a group of intruders came to disrupt the festivities. Enraged, Yang’s father blamed his master for failing to train Yang Yuqian properly and drove him away. Later, while seeking revenge, Yang’s father was apprehended by the authorities; upon returning, feeling too ashamed to face his family, he left home. With his master gone, Yang Yuqian, determined to hone his martial skills, also bid farewell to his mother and set out to seek a new master.

　　Yang Yuqian arrived in the capital. Being honest and having never traveled far, he was swindled out of all his money and had no choice but to take a job as an assistant at a flower shop. One day, the shop received an order to have Yang Yuqian deliver a batch of flower baskets to the mourning hall of the leader of the Cao Gang. At the funeral parlor, Yang Yuqian encountered Dong Haichuan, a martial arts master who had come to pay his respects. Eager to become his disciple, Yang approached him—but Haichuan was preoccupied with other matters and could not accept him at that moment. Nevertheless, Haichuan remarked that Yang’s natural talent suggested he should study internal martial arts. Later, Chen Zhengying, a renowned master of Chen-style Taiji, (Yu Hai… The daughter of the deceased leader, Chen Shaoqi (played by Fan Yimin), has come to pay her respects on his behalf. At that very moment, members of the Cao Gang are locked in a fierce brawl over the leadership position, and one faction even kidnaps the late leader’s wife and child. Unable to stand by, Yang Yuqian steps in to help, only to be beaten and injured. In the critical instant, Chen Shaoqi uses Taiji boxing to save him, and the leader’s wife takes advantage of the chaos to rescue Yang Yuqian. Once saved, Yang Yuqian resolves to seek out a master of Taiji and begin his training…