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Cinematographer Andrew Lau directed this Hong Kong martial arts fantasy from a Manfred Wong screenplay. Wong based his script on a Chau Ting screenplay adapted from the long-running manga by Ma Wing-shing. Martial arts ruler Lord Conqueror (Sonny Chiba) adopts two youngsters as disciples, and a decade later, the two -- Wind (Ekin Cheng) and Cloud (Aaron Kwok) -- are rivals for the affections of the Lord Conqueror's daughter Charity (Kristy Yang). When they duel, Charity is accidentally killed, and Cloud loses an arm. Muse (Shu Qi) takes care of Cloud, and her father gives Cloud his own arm for future fights. Wind seeks some magical stones, needed to help him in his duel with the Sword Saint (Anthony Wong). Filming began May 1997 in China's Sichuan province with CGI effects added by Hong Kong's post-production house Centro, co-producers of the film. This manga has been serialized since 1989, but only the first third has been adapted here.