Despite the national resistance, the Manchurians have taken over China, but the Ching Emperor fears that the Shaolin Temple disciples would overthrow the dynasty. So he disguises himself as a disciple, in order to become a kung fu master and control the Shaolin monks. But according to custom, he must pass the test of the legendary 18 Bronzemen before he can leave the Temple.

After bandits hijack a shipment of rice, a local government official frames, tortures and imprisons the man in charge of the shipment in a desperate power play to take control of the region.

Ton Chard is a vicious murderer, who terrifies people with his crimes. He is protected by his father, the powerful Shi Fong, ruler of the district. Su Ma offers herself to seek and arrest the criminal. Once done that, she has to take him to the law court where he will be judged. But Shi Fong will do everything to stop her.

The Emperor is under attack by marauders and he is so depressed with his failure to protect his people, that he sees no other option than to kill himself. In his grief, he also decides to maim his daughter by cutting of her arm (there is a long tradition of one armed fighters in Hong Kong cinema). After being maimed, the Princess wanders around trying to enlist help from anyone who will listen to her, but no matter whom she meets they either prove too weak to fight off the marauders or they wind up betraying her. Things take a turn for the surreal when her faithful servant girl cuts off her own arm to impersonate the Princess and dies. The Princess goes crazy until she meets handsome Carter Wong, the gentle brute of a butcher who is caring for his Buddhist nun mother. He promises his mom on her death bed he will marry the now lunatic princess. Serious kicking ensues, including sword wielding women, and some high kicking action from Mr. Carter Wong. Enjoy!

Turmoil outside the walls of the temple lead Cliff Lok to go there and find the answers to save his country from the Manchus. Nothing could prepare him for the tests and trials he will face inside the walls of Shaolin: martial monks, hidden chambers, and the 18 Bronzemen.

An orphan boy seeks revenge upon a villainous kung-fu sect that killed his friends. He chances upon two old kung fu masters who are fighting to determine who's the better fighter; one is a drunk, the other puffs constantly on a pipe. Fei Fei convinces them to teach him kung fu, and then he'll fight using both of their techniques and will discover which is superior. So Fei Fei ends up fighting his way up the ranks of the evil sect with the two old men trailing after him, evaluating the battles and counting how many of their individual moves Fei Fei uses. The final battle with the white-haired master of the sect, using new kung fu moves inspired by dancers in a brothel, is amazingly gymnastic. --Bret Fetzer