The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber

Set in China towards the end of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (c. mid 14th century), the story revolves around a pair of highly coveted and allegedly unrivalled weapons, the Heaven-Reliant Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber. According to a widely circulated mantra, either or both of them are thought to allow their wielder to rule the wulin (martial artists' community), which is divided into an "orthodox" side comprising schools such as Wudang and Shaolin, and an "evil" side represented by the Ming Cult, which is also unflatteringly called the "Demonic Cult". At the start of the novel, the Heaven-Reliant Sword is in the possession of Abbess Miejue, the leader of the "orthodox" Emei School, while the Dragon-Slaying Saber is seized by "Golden-Haired Lion King" Xie Xun, a senior member of the Ming Cult.

The protagonist, Zhang Wuji, has a mixed background: his father, Zhang Cuishan, is an apprentice of Zhang Sanfeng, the highly revered founder of the Wudang School; his mother, Yin Susu, is the daughter of Yin Tianzheng, the chief of the Heavenly Eagle Cult which is affiliated to the Ming Cult. He was born on a reclusive volcanic island, where he spent his childhood with only his parents and his godfather, Xie Xun. When Zhang Wuji was about 10 years old, his parents brought him back to the mainland; Xie Xun remained on the island. After their return, the Zhang family soon find themselves the target of many wulin figures seeking the whereabouts of Xie Xun and the Dragon-Slaying Saber. Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu refuse to reveal Xie Xun's location and ultimately commit suicide when they are cornered, leaving behind Zhang Wuji as an orphan.

Zhang Wuji, who had been kidnapped and injured earlier, roams the land in search of a cure. By chance, he wanders into an isolated valley, where he discovers the long-lost Nine Yang Manual and uses the inner energy skills described in the manual to heal himself and become a formidable martial artist. Through a series of serendipitous events, he also learns the Ming Cult's most powerful skill, "Heaven and Earth Great Shift". He gets involved in the conflict between the Ming Cult and the six major "orthodox" schools, which are bent on destroying the cult, and helps both sides resolve their past misunderstandings and make peace with each other. The cult members are grateful to Zhang Wuji and insist that he takes up the cult's leadership position, which has been vacant for years. After becoming the Ming Cult's leader, Zhang Wuji reforms the cult and becomes a key figure in leading the wulin and rebel forces to overthrow the Yuan dynasty.

Throughout his adventures, Zhang Wuji finds himself entangled in a complex web of love relationships with four maidens. The first, Zhu'er, is a horribly disfigured girl who is actually his maternal cousin. The second, Xiaozhao, is a Chinese-Persian servant girl who understands him very well. Xiaozhao has to leave China after learning that she is destined to return to Persia to lead the Persian Ming Cult.

The third maiden, Zhou Zhiruo, is Zhang Wuji's childhood friend. She falls in love with him, but has to turn against him as she is bound by an oath she made to her martial arts master, Abbess Miejue, who hates and distrusts Zhang Wuji and anyone related to the Ming Cult. Miejue devises a vicious scheme for Zhou Zhiruo to seize the two weapons by exploiting Zhang Wuji's love for her apprentice. Zhou Zhiruo also turns vicious after Zhang Wuji reneges his promise to marry her and swears vengeance on him.

The fourth maiden, Zhao Min, is a Mongol princess and Zhang Wuji's former arch-rival. Although Zhao Min and Zhang Wuji are initially on opposing sides, Zhao Min gradually falls in love with Zhang Wuji after their various encounters and eventually turns against her fellow Mongols to help him.

At the end of the novel, Zhang Wuji decides to retire from the wulin after he mistakenly believes that the Ming Cult's members are plotting to betray him. He decides that Zhao Min is his true love and they leave to lead a reclusive life far away from society. The second edition of the novel has an ambiguous ending about Zhang Wuji's relationship with Zhou Zhiruo. Zhang Wuji gave up an opportunity to become a ruler when the Ming Cult is on the verge of overthrowing the Yuan dynasty. Ideally, Zhang Wuji would have become the new emperor. In reality, however, his subordinate Zhu Yuanzhang seizes control of the Ming Cult and unites most of China's rebel forces under his leadership. After capturing Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang becomes the new emperor and establishes the Ming dynasty.

In 2005, Jin Yong published a third edition of the novel, which has a slightly different ending from the earlier versions. In this edition, Zhang Wuji feels disillusioned after failing to save a general's life and addressing Han Lin'er's death. He relinquishes his leadership of the Ming Cult to his deputies, Yang Xiao and Fan Yao, and then leaves the Central Plain with Zhao Min.[3]