중원을 차지한 청나라는 무당파를 앞세워 연무대를 만들고 한족 무술인들을 제거해 나갈 음모를 꾸민다. 이런 결과로 수많은 한족 무술인들이 희생되었는데, 이 가운데엔 방세옥의 부친도 포함돼 있었다. 집안마저 풍비박산이 나고 원수들에 의해 쫓기는 신세가 된 방세옥은 복수를 위해 이를 악물고 동피철골공을 연마하게 된다. 동피철골공은 소림에서 은밀히 전해지는 비전으로, 일단 연마하게 되면 도검이 불침하게 되는 절정의 무공이다.

Wang Yu plays Hsiao Chien, a con artist vagabond who uses his kung fu skills and parlor tricks to convince superstitious villagers that he can use his body as a vessel for angry gods. However, when the villagers are threatened by a hostile force, Chien must learn to use his skills to protect the innocent.

Wong Fei-hung goes up against members of the underworld

The film takes up the tale of Shaolin students Fong Si Yu and Hung Si Kwan (joined here by a third comrade, Lu Ka Chai) and their efforts to battle Ching oppressors. Their chief antagonist is the Abbot of Wutang who makes it his job to get rid of the three heroes and actually comes up with a clever plan to do so. He creates three exact doubles of the heroes and trains them to fight their counterparts.

A band of fighting Ming Dynasty loyalists branded as enemies of the state are driven underground following the burning of the Shaolin Temple by Qing Dynasty officials. Due to a misunderstanding, Shaolin kung fu prodigy Fong Sai-yuk is duped into helping Qing agents to capture leading Shaolin rebel Hung Hei-gun. Upon discovering his mistake, Sai-yuk teams up with the remaining rebels to free Hei-gun before his planned execution. Plotting to stop them is General Che Kang, a formidable Tibetan kung fu master who commands an army of fighters including four deadly Tibetan llamas.

Two Ming patriots spend their days helping the weak and rescuing damsels in distress. This alum gets them in trouble, though, as they are captured and then volunteered to go after the fearsome Dragon Gang, a tribe of bandits that have been terrorizing the land. They must fight their way through the ranks, including a Taoist monk and his nearly invulnerable "demon," before they can finally face off against the beautiful and sinister leader of the Dragon Gang.