 Another noticeable difference in the storyline takes place when Zhou travels with his teenage disciples to visit his friend the Abbot . Instead of Yue wandering behind the temple to battle the magical snake , he stays with Zhou and the Abbot , while the other disciples go off to explore . Zhou watches as the Abbot tests Yue 's strength by asking him to move an ornate three @-@ hundred pound copper stove dating from the Han Dynasty . The abbot then lifts a stone floor tile and presents the boy with a large book on military strategy . He goes 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 has no heir of his own , the Abbot presents Yue with his own personal spear and instructs him in the proper use of the weapon . Zhou kindly protests the gift at first , but allows Yue to keep it out of friendship . 
