The plot deals with a search for a valuable pearl, dubbed the Buddha's Relic, which is sold to an unwitting Japanese emissary by a corrupt Ching Dynasty prince who seeks to steal it back for his own purposes.

During the Manchurian invasion of China, the son of the Ming Dynasty General takes refuge in the Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts, so that he may seek revenge for his dead father. But he must first endure the rigorous test of the temple's legendary 18 Bronzemen.