In the late Qing dynasty, China suffered humiliating defeats in battles against foreign powers such as Britain and Japan and is forced to sign unequal treaties and cede territories to foreigners.

Huo Yuan Jia, Huo En Di's son, travels to Beijing to meet his father's friend, "Great Sword" Wang Wu. He is drawn into the affairs of the Hundred Days' Reform unknowingly. Wang is a supporter of the reformists, and he attempts to rescue the "Six Gentlemen", who have been imprisoned on Empress Dowager Cixi's order. Huo joins Wang in his quest, but they fail, and the six men are executed in public, while Wang dies a gruesome death later when he tries to avenge his comrades. Through his experiences, Huo Yuan Jia begins to see the declining state of China and realises that China needs to change in order to survive in the future.