A look back in time to the ancient beginnings of the art of self defense. A kingdom and ruler come under attack from hidden rebels attempting to assassinate and overthrow the ruler. In deadly combat scenes - one after another - the true hero overcomes vicious obstacles to ensure the life of the emperor.

Childhood friend Joey and Gary are the only survivors of a coup against Gary's family. Joey lands in hell, and sells his loyalty to the devil in return for magic powers. As part of the deal, Joey has nine demons enter his body. The demons demand a daily feed of blood, but they must obey Joey. He uses the new powers to help Gary, and to kill the plotters. But events soon get even more complicated.

Raised to be a righteous martial artist, Yuan kicks off the story proper by finding a cave containing a skeleton, a treasure map, and a manual teaching him the Golden Snake style. Obeying a request hidden in the manual to give a portion of the treasure to the Golden Snake's old girlfriend, Yuan begins to seek the woman out - on the way solving the riddle of the Golden Snake, and how he came to his end.