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Borrowing from the family tree of the characters in The Romance of the Condor Heroes, Ni Kuang wrote a story about a handicapped hero who grows stronger after going through traumatic experiences, creating a tragic hero who faces persecution with stoicism. Taking inspiration from Zatoichi, the film character of the Japanese Jidaigeki, Chang Cheh endows him with the qualities of a chivalric knight-errant, as well as traditional Chinese notions of loyalty. Repaying injury with kindness, he risks his life to save his fellow disciples. The film uses a very positive and memorable heroic image to drive the plot development, which greatly increases its pathos. It became a big box-office hit, making Chang Cheh a million-dollar director and the newcomer Jimmy Wang Yu a martial arts superstar. It also created a craze for the new romantic wuxia films directed by Chang Cheh. Its plot also inspired the main storyline of the wuxia film The Blade (1995) by Tsui Hark.

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