Directed by Ching Siu-tung,[2] Swordsman II starred Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan and Michelle Reis in the leading roles.

Set in the Ming dynasty, the plot follows Ling Wu-chung (Li), a swordsman from the Wah Mountain school, who travels the Chinese countryside with his female sidekick Kiddo (Reid) who secretly loves him.

Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan and members of the Mount Hua School are planning to retire from the jianghu (martial artists' community).

They learn that Dongfang Bubai has seized control of the Sun Moon Holy Cult and is secretly plotting with some Japanese rōnin to rebel against the Ming Empire and dominate China.

Linghu Chong meets Dongfang Bubai by chance without knowing his true identity, mistakes him for a beautiful young woman, and falls in love with "her".

'A Sound of Laughter in the Vast Sea'), performed in Cantonese by Samuel Hui in the first film, was played in a few scenes in Swordsman II.