A young martial artist's unparalleled Tai Chi skills land him in a highly lucrative underworld fight club.
Tiger Chen is a Tai Chi student who is rather rebellious and uses Tai Chi to fight despite his master's concerns. When the temple where he studies get threatened from modern redevelopment, he fights in an underground fight club to get money the temple needs. However he soon realizes that his employer has other negative motives.—Immanuel A.
Hong Kong tycoon Donaka Mark runs an underground network of martial arts applied in bloody duels for paying audiences, live on site or pay per view. The police hasn't got anywhere investigating him after the suspicious death of an informer who was put down after a fight. Donaka also recruits in mainland China, looking for novelties at mainstream martial arts events. In Beijing he spots and invites Tiger' Chen Lin Hu, a bike courier and the last student of tai chi master Yang, who almost despairs if his gifted disciple will finally embrace the meditation-based lifestyle or be destroyed by the destructive logic of violent ambition. To make tiger accept fighting for cash, Donaka arranges for the temple to need a small fortune within a month to avoid demolition. Tiger wins fast, but descends in an amoral spiral and the police is on their trail.—KGF Vissers
HKPD officer Sun-Jing Shi (Karen Mok) leads an investigation into Security System Alliance (SSA), a private security firm owned by the mysterious Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves). Suspecting Donaka of hosting an illegal fighting operation, Sun-Jing turns one of his fighters (Chi Tak) into a mole who gets killed by him. Without any evidence against Donaka, Superintendent Wong (Simon Yam) orders the case closed, but Sun-Jing secretly continues investigating.Donaka then sees Tiger (Tiger Chen), a young, working-class disciple of Tai Chi at a Wu Lin Wang Competition, gets impressed with his fighting skills and sends him a job offer at SSA. Tiger practices Tai Chi with his master daily. His master cautions Tiger that Tai Chi should be used as a force for good and not for killing and destruction. He sees a dark streak in Tiger. Tiger lives in a decrepit house, with his parents.
Tired of his menial courier job, Tiger flies to Hong Kong for the job interview which turns out to be a test of his combat ability. He passes the test and is welcomed by Donaka who offers him great financial rewards for joining his underground fighting ring. Tiger refuses as fighting for money would compromise his honor, and leaves.Soon after, land inspectors declare the Tai Chi temple belonging to Tiger's master structurally unsafe and plan to evict its occupants to demolish the temple for real estate development. Tiger seeks help from Qing Sha (Ye Qing), a paralegal friend, and finds a means to save the temple through historic preservation and government protection. However, the need of money for repairing the temple within a month's time prompts Tiger to accept Donaka's offer.
After each fight, which is a form of modern gladiatorial combat enjoyed by rich individuals, Tiger wins larger sums of money. He quits his job, buys his parents presents, and begins having the temple repaired. With time, Tiger develops a more efficient and brutal style. Noticing the change in him, Master Yang (Yu Hai) warns Tiger not to let his Chi control him; however, intoxicated with the new life, Tiger ignores the warning.
tiger learns that his fights for Donaka are being live streamed to an exclusive audience all over the world. But he is now hooked and continues to fight for Donaka. Meanwhile Tiger continues his participation in the Wu Lin competition. One night, Donaka flies Tiger to a ship in the middle of the ocean. An exclusive gathering pays to witness the fight between Tiger and his 2 opponents. Tiger is easily overwhelmed by 2 opponents and is goaded by Donaka to start using lethal strokes. Tiger wins.In the Wu Lin Competition, Tiger viciously injures his opponent by breaking his arms and legs and is disqualified.
When Tiger comes back to train at the temple, a fight ensues and Master Yang is forced to use his internal Chi energies to palm-strike Tiger, reminding him that he is yet to completely master Tai Chi. Tiger ignores his advice to meditate and finds out that the authority has rejected his petition to gain historical protection for the temple due to his actions at the Wu Lin Competition, which are against his temple's philosophy. An enraged Tiger demands a fight and Donaka has him face a mercenary named Uri Romanov (Silvio Simac). Using his rage, he quickly defeats Uri and almost kills him, but relents at the end. Donaka finishes off Uri. Realizing how much he has changed, Tiger declares his intention to stop participating in underground fighting and contacts Sun-Jing, unaware of the constant surveillance Donaka had put him under for a long time.
Donaka sets up a private tournament for a death match, in which Tiger is to participate. Sun-Jing trails Tiger's escort, but her car is run off the road by a truck. Surviving the crash (and an attack by the truck driver), Sun-Jing calls her colleague for assistance and discovers Superintendent Wong had been working for Donaka (Wong had given instructions not to track anyone's phones that evening). At the tournament, Donaka plays a video composed of surveillance footage, revealing how Tiger had been manipulated, "corrupted" and transformed from an innocent martial arts practitioner to a ruthless fighter. Tiger refuses to fight his assigned opponent, and challenges Donaka instead. The fight is interrupted by the HKPD, who storm the compound and arrest participants and audience.
Fleeing from the scene, Donaka arrives at the temple and starts fighting with Tiger. Donaka initially has the upper hand, but Tiger re-embraces his Tai Chi training and manages to palm-strike Donaka despite getting stabbed. A dying Donaka smiles, pleased for having pushed Tiger to become a killer.
Tiger and his master then reconcile, Sun-Jing gets promoted to Superintendent and Tiger reaches an agreement with both Qing Sha's law firm and the real estate developers. The government decides to protect the village and tourists are invited to visit and learn more about the 600-year history of the Ling Kong Temple. Tiger tells Qing-Sha that he intends to open his own Tai Chi school in the city to continue the legacy of the Ling Kong Tai Chi.
