In Dengfeng, Henan during the warlord era of Republic of China (1912–1949), a warlord named Hou Jie defeats a rival, Huo Long, and seizes control of Dengfeng. Huo Long flees to Shaolin Monastery to hide, but Hou Jie appears and shoots him after tricking him out of his treasure map. Hou Jie ridicules the Shaolin monks before leaving.