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A 1993 Wuxia film directed by Wong Jing and starring the inimitable Jet Li, based on the Jin Yong novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre.

Long ago, a sword and a sabre were made from Yeung Guo's Heavy Iron Sword and the finest gold, and which contained within themselves the military strategies of Yue Fei and the fabled Nine Yin Manual of martial arts. It is said whoever possesses the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, then, would have the power to rule the martial arts world. Soon enough, two groups emerge to do battle over the two weapons: the Six Large Sects, a faction formed from a who's who of famous martial arts factions, led by the Shaolin; and the Ming Cult of Persia, also known as the Evil Cult.

Cheung Mo-Kei (Jet Li) is the son of a disciple of the Wu Tang sect's Cheung San Fung, and the daughter of White Brows Eagle King, who was raised by Cheung San Fung after his parents were forced to commit suicide to protect their friend, and the Heaven Sword, from being found by the Six Large Sects. And if that wasn't enough, Mo-Kei was also wounded by the Xuanming Divine Palm just before his parents died, which left him weak and unable to learn kung fu.

However, a turn of events causes Mo-Kei to learn the Nine Yang Divine Skill from a crazed Shaolin monk strapped to a boulder, curing his wound and bestowing superhuman chi levels onto him. With his new kung fu, Mo-Kei sets out to find the Ming cult, and take his revenge on the people who drove his parents to death.

Compare Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre, an older duology of films which this movie is based upon.

Instead of a sequel, Wong Jing created The Remake, New Kung Fu Cult Master, released in 2022.


Contains examples of:

  • Action Girl: Most of the female characters.
  • Actor Allusion: Jet Li learns tai chi from Cheung San Fung. Amusingly enough, Cheung San Fung/ Zhang San Feng was his role in Tai Chi Master.
  • Chick Magnet: Mo-Kei.
  • Cool Old Guy: Cheung San Fung.
  • Cut Short: The film ends with Mo-Kei and the Ming Cult just about to set off to rescue the Six Large Sects from the Imperial Government. A sequel was intended, but never filmed, leaving the film to end on an unresolved Cliffhanger.
  • Ensemble Cast: Jet Li, Chingmy Yau, Carina Lau, Sammo Hung... basically every big name in 90s Hong Kong cinema plays a significant role in this movie.
  • Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting
  • Half the Man He Used to Be: Multiple mooks get their bodies ripped into chunks by Mistress No-Mercy during the desert battle, with multiple body parts of victims she halved littering the battlefield.
  • Instant Expert: One of the abilities that learning the Nine Yang Divine Skill gives Mo-Kei, enabling him to learn the Heaven and Earth Great Shift in 6 hours.
  • Instrument of Murder: Used by Zhao Man when Mo-Kei confronts her.
  • Ki Manipulation: One of the abilities the Nine Yang Divine Skill gives Mo-Kei.
  • Mood Whiplash: Way too frequently, especially if the two guys from the Mount Hua Sect are in a scene...
  • Off with His Head!: No-Mercy can rip off heads with her hands, doing this to four of her own acolytes who tried leaving during the desert battle. Without any blood, however.
  • Raging Stiffie: Mo-Kei gets one when he spends the night with Siu Chao, receiving her chi to keep him from dying of cold.
  • Sequel Hook: Towards the end of the movie after defeating the main villains, Zhang Wu-ji is informed by Zhao Min to meet her in the capital city to seek the remaining members of the great sects. The movie then ends abruptly. Unfortunately, the planned sequel that follows this hook never happens.
  • Supernatural Martial Arts: Nine Yang Divine Skill, and Heaven and Earth Great Shift.
  • Training from Hell: How Mo-Kei learns the Nine Yang Divine Skill.
  • Virgin Power: Cheung San Fung tells Mo-Kei that in order to be a true master, he must remain a virgin. But it's subverted at the end, when Cheung San Fung admits he just can't attract women, and being a virgin isn't really necessary.
  • Wire Fu

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