After the Japanese invasion of China, people were living in poverty. The country youth Chen Zhen (played by Donnie Yen) came to the prosperous Shanghai with his sister Xiaoyan to make a living. After arriving in Shanghai, Chen Zhen became a rickshaw driver, and Xiaoyan entered a hospital as a nurse. Every day, Chen Zhen would pull the Japanese girl Takeda Yumi (played by Joey Meng), who was a nurse in the same hospital as Xiaoyan, to and from get off work, and the two gradually fell in love. Chen Zhen loved martial arts and often practiced the moves in the book in his spare time. By chance, his skills were discovered by the Qing Gang boss Cai Liujin, so he was recruited into the Qing Gang as a thug. Chen Zhen soon became the first thug of the Qing Gang, and his sister Xiaoyan was always very worried about her brother. She always believed that her brother would not have a good end if he mixed in the underworld. Later, Xiaoyan was unfortunately killed by a horse thief. The grief-stricken Chen Zhen finally woke up and retired from the Qing Gang. At that time, Huo Yuanjia, the head of the anti-Japanese organization Jingwu Sect, found that Chen Zhen was a good martial artist, so he gave him some advice. After receiving the advice, Chen Zhen's martial arts improved rapidly, and he finally avenged Xiaoyan. Chen Zhen was grateful to Huo Yuanjia and joined Jingwu Sect. At this time, Yumi's Japanese fiancé came to Shanghai. When he learned about the relationship between Yumi and Chen Zhen, he decided to challenge Chen Zhen, and the winner could get the beauty. Although Chen Zhen was reluctant, he finally accepted the challenge.