Journey Through the Mortal World

In a famine year, corpses litter the land. The orphan Shi An, with nowhere else to turn, knocks at an ancient temple in the barren mountains. Everyone takes him for a menial laborer. He chops wood and carries water every day, enduring hardship after hardship. No one knows that this punishing labor is itself a path to physical mastery, and that his flesh and blood are quietly transforming through day after day of toil. When the old monk passes away, he leaves behind a manual of the Dragon-Elephant Art and tells Shi An to enter the world. He sheds his monk's robes and becomes Ming Chen. The martial world is tangled in the grudges and feuds of rival factions, while treacherous currents swirl through the imperial court. One punch can shatter weapons; one step can awe the crowds. Emerging from the ancient temple in the barren mountains, this brawny monk enters the world, sweeps through the martial realm, crushes the court's conspiracies, and ultimately earns glory on the battlefield.