When he was about ten years old, his parents brought him back to China and they soon found themselves the target of several martial artists trying to force them to reveal the whereabouts of Xie Xun, who possesses the highly coveted Dragon-Slaying Saber.

Although Zhou Zhiruo is in love with Zhang Wuji, she has no choice but to turn against him because she is bound by an oath she made to her martial arts master, Abbess Miejue of the Emei School, who hates anyone related to the Ming Cult.

Before her death, Miejue devises a vicious scheme for Zhou Zhiruo to seize the Dragon-Slaying Saber and Heaven-Reliant Sword by exploiting Zhang Wuji's love for her apprentice.

Zhao Min is a Mongol princess and formerly Zhang Wuji's arch-rival as she keeps thwarting his plans to improve the Ming Cult's relations with the "orthodox" schools.

Although they start off on opposing sides, they gradually fall in love, and Zhao Min reluctantly turns against her fellow Mongols to help Zhang Wuji.

Below are the martial arts and skills he possesses: Notable actors who have portrayed Zhang Wuji in films and television series include Derek Yee (1978), Adam Cheng (1978), Tony Leung (1986), Jet Li (1993), Steve Ma (1994), Lawrence Ng (2000), Alec Su (2003), Deng Chao (2009), Zeng Shunxi (2019) and Raymond Lam (2022).