Another noticeable difference in the storyline take place when Zhou travel with his teenage disciples to visit his friend the Abbot . Instead of Yue wandering behind the temple to battle the magical snake , he stay with Zhou and the Abbot , while the other disciples go off to explore . Zhou watch as the Abbot test Yue 's strength by asking him to move an ornate three @-@ hundred pound copper stove dating from the Han Dynasty . The abbot then lift a stone floor tile and present the boy with a large book on military strategy . He go on to tell Yue how he was once a great soldier who fought in campaigns against the Liao and Western Xia empires , but became a monk after the Song agreed to become a vassal of each state . He later made a name for himself by teaching military skills to youths from the surrounding area . Since he have no heir of his own , the Abbot present Yue with his own personal spear and instruct him in the proper use of the weapon . Zhou kindly protest the gift at first , but allow Yue to keep it out of friendship .