The movie begins with a martial arts tournament, in which fighters are competing for the right to begin a quest to challenge Zetan, who possesses a special book of enlightenment that is supposed to contain all the world's wisdom. Arrogant brawler Cord (Jeff Cooper) defeats every opponent, but is disqualified for fighting dishonorably. Cord decides to follow the eventual winner Morthond (Anthony de Longis), hoping that he can lead him to Zetan.
Le film raconte l'histoire de deux orphelins dont les parents ont été tués par le même assassin, l'un est envoyé à l'école de shaolin du nord et l'autre à celle du sud. Une fois la date de l'anniversaire du meurtrier arrivée, ils essaient de se venger.
Dans la Chine des années 1920, Kuan Yu-lo, un acteur d'opéra, se rend compte que sa femme lui est infidèle. Furieux, il se rend chez Feng Kai-shan, l'amant de cette dernière, et le défie. Peu après, il est attaqué dans un restaurant et meurt dans d'atroces souffrances. Plus tard, un mystérieux jeune homme arrive en ville. Il s'agit de Kuan Hsiao-lo, le frère de Yu-lo, qui est venu pour le venger.
In 2015, Demon Princess Elzebub plots to conquer the Earth. She destroys a few major cities in China to prove her power to a terror-stricken humanity. Returning to her lair in Inner-Earth, she awakens her army of Skeleton Ghosts and various ferocious mutant humanoids to wreak havoc on the surface.
Wei Fung (David Chiang), a young scholar recruited by the Emperor to infiltrate a group of rebels in the Tien Clan in order to get evidence of the clan's connection to Ming loyalists, the rebel spy network and anti-Ching activities. If Wei fails in his mission, his own well-connected family will be punished.
Yi-Lang est un jeune orphelin élevé dans un temple de Shaolin. Une nuit, le livre des "7 Commandements", un manuscrit ancestral dans lequel sont décrites des techniques de combat très puissantes gardées secrètes, a été dérobé. Un moine aveugle demande à Yi-Lang de découvrir qui est le voleur car lui seul peut rivaliser avec lui en utilisant la technique des "5 Forces"...
Hu Te et al. escape the burning Shaolin temple after the Qing soldiers destroyed it in Shaolin Temple. The group of 5 decide to develop secret codes to identify fellow patriots, enlist those patriots and eventually meet up again to escape to the south away from the Qings, and also identify the traitor who sold out Shaolin temple. Ma Fu Yi (the traitor, played by Wang Lung Wei), joins the Qing top fighters to eliminate the rebels but is exposed by Ma Chao-Tsing who gets captured by Ma Fu Yi. Hu meets up with a group of Shaolin men secretly posing as bandits to rescue Ma as their leader is killed in the process, thus the bandits join the rest of the Shaolin patriots.
The film opens with the chief Shaolin Monks realizing that time is not on their side and they must train more fighters to fight the Qings. The monk Hai Hsien (Shan Mao) opposes this as he is secretly working for the court. Outside many men are sitting in front of the temple waiting to be accepted in, Fang Shih Yu (Fu Sheng), Ma Chao-hsing (Tony Liu) and others, as the temple tests the will of potential students by making them wait outside for days, eventually the two are accepted in for "training". Fang Shih Yu becomes frustrated immediately as Shaolin methods of teaching martial arts are rather obscure, although Ma Chao-hsing begins learning the five animal styles from the start.
The title scene is a battle between Pai Mei and a master of the Shaolin temple in an empty red backdrop (this type of opening is a trademark of director Lau Kar-leung). Here we get the first display of Pai Mei's mastery of internal kung-fu techniques that allow him to retract his privates into his groin. After using his body protection techniques to ward off a clawing attack to the face, he traps a kick to the groin from Master Zhishan and delivers his own coup de grâce.
A young student named Liu Yude, later known as San Te, is drawn by his activist teacher into the local rebellion against the Manchu government. The government officials suppress the uprising and liquidate the school, killing friends and family members as well. San Te then decides to seek vengeance. Wounded in an attack by Manchu henchmen, he flees to the Shaolin temple and seeks training in kung fu. Initially the Buddhist monks reject him, since he is an outsider, but the chief abbot takes mercy on the young man and lets him stay. One year later, he begins his martial arts training in the temple's 35 chambers and advances more rapidly than any previous student. Along the way, he is depicted as inventing the three section staff.
À la suite de la mort de son frère Pai Mei, Lotus Blanc cherche vengeance avec une seule idée en tête : tuer les assassins de son frère. Une nuit, il décide de leur rendre une visite surprise et assassine un des deux. Mais le survivant de cette nuit, va se retirer du monde et, avec l'aide de la veuve du défunt, va perfectionner sa technique pour prendre sa revanche...
A short-tempered, violent criminal named the "White Tiger" is on the run from the police and joins a theater troupe to hide out, killing anyone who angers him or who suspects his identity. One person he unsuccessfully tries to kill several times is a cowardly laundry man named "Mousy" who manages to escape by fleeing. When a very close friend of Mousy's is killed by the White Tiger, Mousy overcomes his cowardliness enough to seek revenge.
Hsu Ying Fung quickly makes it known (with some help) that he possesses the "Eight Steps of the Snake and Crane", a martial arts manual illustrating the ultimate fighting style. The book was written by eight Shaolin masters shortly before their disappearance, and Hsu is suspected of killing them, or at least knowing what happened. In reality, Hsu is looking for the man responsible for the masters' disappearance, whom he will know by a certain mark.
Master Wang is actually the 11th prince of Manchuria in disguise. Posing as a sophisticated jewellery dealer and connoisseur of fine art and wine, the prince is trying to determine which of the other 14 heirs to the throne is trying to assassinate him. A jewel thief, Dirty Ho (Wong Yue) runs afoul of the prince, who uses Wong Yue to help him flush out his enemies.
Tang How-yuen (Jackie Chan) is a disciple of kung fu master San-thye. San-thye wins a martial arts tournament, only to be killed by evil kung fu master, Master Li (Yen Shi-kwan). Tang tries unsuccessfully to fight Chung, and leaves the evil master unharmed. Tang, along with San-thye's wife and daughter head after the killer to seek revenge. When they find him, Chung has repented and has cut off his own leg as penance. The master's widow becomes ill, so Tang goes to work for a gang in order to get her medicine. However, whilst in their employ, he is blamed for the death of a young boy, and San-Thye's widow is poisoned. Tang and the one-legged master join forces to defeat the evil lord who poisoned San-thye's widow.