Ren Shaoming, nicknamed "Azure Flood Dragon," had once led the Iron Rider Society, one of the Eight Gangs and Ten Associations. His true identity was Qu Ao's only son, the Tiele master known as "Flying Eagle." He secretly aided Lin Shihong in expanding his territory through an alliance with the Yin Kui Sect, taking Wuxi, Jinling, Jiujiang, and other places. His Meteor Hammer technique had long since earned him a place among the ranks of the most remarkable martial arts.
He first stirred up trouble in Lingnan, only to be driven into a panicked flight by Song Que, the "Heavenly Saber." Then, not long after he was forced out of Lingnan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling joined forces to assassinate him. From then on, the once-mighty Iron Rider Society was suddenly left without a leader and fell into disarray.
In fact, not long after Ren Shaoming's death, the Iron Rider Society, now beyond anyone's control, even clashed with Lin Shihong's forces, with whom it had once been on close terms.
That was precisely why, just a month later, when the Iron Rider Society and Lin Shihong's forces had fought each other to exhaustion and left both sides badly battered, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's twin-dragon army scored a tremendous victory with a surprise attack. They not only routed the remnants of the Iron Rider Society and seized Jiujiang City, driving out the remnants of Lin Shihong's forces that had tried to take it, but also pushed the battle line several hundred li south of Jiujiang, dealing Lin Shihong a crushing blow that he could do nothing about.
That was because, almost simultaneously, the Song Clan responded to Kou Zhong's request and began moving troops around the border between Lingnan and Lin Shihong's territory. Lin Shihong was suddenly caught between two