Sha ren zhe tang zhan (1993)

It is the time of the Ming dynasty. Po Ka is thrown into prison and subjected to cruel torture because of his forbidden love for Yiu. When he kills seven of his fellow prisoners in a fight for his life, the trainer Sung Chung selects him to be trained as an assassin. From then on, he is to serve the cruel and powerful Ngai Chun Ying as an enforcer, eliminating his enemies as part of the “Western Chamber,” an order of assassins. Ngai gives him a new name: “Tong Chop,” which to Ngai means “the man who splits my enemies in two.” Tong Chop carries out his assignments bloodily and without mercy, wielding a massive sword. During one of them, he meets Mon Kau, a young and carefree assassin who looks up to him as a mentor. At a banquet Ngai holds in honor of the assassins, a quarrel breaks out between the boastful Mon Kau and Sung Chung, and they decide to settle it in a duel. Knowing his pupil would lose, Tong Chop pretends to be ill so Mon Kau will have to help him, thereby preventing the duel. The assassins are ordered to eliminate the leader of a Buddhist sect, and teacher and pupil now cut their way through a festival procession. When Tong Chop spots Yiu in the crowd, he can no longer carry out the assignment and flees. Mon Kau, however, does not hesitate to murder the monk, who turns out to be only a little boy. Meanwhile, Ngai himself becomes the target of an assassination attempt: his concubines want him dead, and when their poison fails to work, they take up weapons. Though Ngai appears old and frail, he is an excellent fighter and kills his attackers from the shadows. When Mon Kau and Sung Chung eliminate those who arranged the attack, Sung praises Kau, further spurring him on. Hunted by the Western Chamber, Tong Chop has taken refuge with Yiu, his lost love, who now lives peacefully with her husband and son. When the enforcers burn down Yiu’s village while searching for Tong, he reveals himself and kills them all, including Sung Chung. Tong Chop returns to the Western Chamber, where Ngai welcomes him back, forgives his failure, and immediately assigns him another assassination. The target is one of Ngai’s loyal advisers, who wants to end his dictatorship; afterward, Mon Kau is to kill his mentor on Ngai’s behalf. While celebrating their latest success at a small tavern, Tong Chop and Mon Kau fight, and the duel ends with Mon Kau’s beheading. Tong Chop then faces Ngai himself, who once again uses the darkness of his palace to his advantage. Tong Chop is pierced by throwing weapons and bound, and it looks as though Ngai will win. But Tong manages to sever his former master’s arm and kill him with his sword. Tong Chop returns to Yiu and her family, sits crouched as he looks out over the idyllic countryside, and asks Yiu’s son his name (Sam Po).