Hogg

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Family and the Declining Clan

Hogg inherited a Baruch Clan reduced to the small fief of Wushan Town, where even maintaining a basic livelihood was difficult. He regarded the clan’s decline and the loss of its ancestral saber, Slaughter, as sources of personal shame 2 6.

He met Lina in Fenlai City and married her despite the clan’s objections to her commoner background. They had twin sons, Linley and An, followed by Wharton. Hogg named An to express hopes of perseverance, later explaining that the name also meant protection in the clan’s ancient language 1 2 20.

After Wharton’s birth in Fenlai City, mysterious men abducted Lina from the family’s hotel. Hogg fought to save her but was outnumbered and could only protect Wharton. He returned home and told others that Lina had died in childbirth, fearing that pursuing her abductors would endanger his children 20.

Preparing His Sons

Hogg taught An and Linley their clan’s history and tested their bloodline concentrations with the Dragonblood Needle. Neither initially qualified to awaken naturally. Rather than treating this as the end of their prospects, he encouraged them to pursue physical cultivation or magic and told them about the need to recover Slaughter 3.

He promised to take the twins to Fenlai City’s magus admissions tests. When they gained admission to Ernst Institute, he celebrated with the household’s guards and their families, then entrusted each son with a copy of the Dragonblood Codex 4 6.

During a later homecoming, the brothers brought Magic Crystal Cores worth roughly fifty thousand gold coins and proposed awakening the family’s bloodline using living dragon blood and blue heart grass. The possibility gave Hogg hope that he could become a Dragonblood Warrior and avenge Lina himself 12.

Lina’s Abduction and Slaughter’s Return

Hogg eventually traced Lina’s abductors through their leader’s red spider birthmark. After investigating in disguise in Fenlai City, he identified Duke Paterson as the man behind them 20.

When An and Linley returned as awakened Dragonblood Warriors, Hogg revealed the abduction to them. He accepted their plan to enter the Fenlai Kingdom’s service and investigate Paterson, but warned them against acting rashly. During the same visit, they returned Slaughter, which Hogg placed before the ancestral tablets while praying for the clan’s restoration 20.

The brothers later informed him that King Clayde had orchestrated the abduction and that Paterson, his accomplice, had already been killed. Although furious, Hogg agreed to remain at home while his sons pursued Clayde 23.

Wushan Town’s Destruction and Exile

During the magical beast invasion, Hogg ordered Hillman to shelter townspeople in cellars and basements while he and the remaining guards held out aboveground. He survived with a deep claw wound to his left arm and numerous scrapes and bruises, but much of the town and its guard force were lost 25.

An and Linley rescued him and the other survivors, then joined the Dawson convoy heading north. Hogg recovered in a village near the northern border fortress before agreeing to travel with An and Hillman to the O’Brien Empire 25 27.

After a year of travel, they reached Chiyan City and reunited with Wharton. Linley returned to the family seven years later, bringing the three brothers together at the Earl Baruch manor 28 29.

Bloodline Awakening and the Baruch Empire

Hogg presided over Wharton and Nina’s wedding and gave the couple a pair of ancestral dragon-shaped jade pendants 35.

An later brought three Saint-level dragons to Chiyan City to supply blood for the clan. Hogg chose the Thunder Dragon and successfully awakened his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, fulfilling a dream he had held since youth 37.

By An’s return from fourteen years of training on the Arctic Icefield, Wharton ruled the Baruch Empire and Hogg was described as its retired emperor. Before An and Linley’s expedition to the Necropolis of the Gods, An reassured Hogg that he would look after Linley 44 47.

Appearance

Hogg has sharply chiseled features, short brown hair, deep eyes, and an aristocratic bearing. At Wharton’s wedding, he is described as powerfully built, with a resolute face strongly resembling those of An and Linley 1 35.

• Height: Approximately 1.8 meters in human form; increased to 2 meters during his bloodline awakening 37.
• Formal clothing: Wears a deep blue robe embroidered with the clan’s coiled-dragon emblem for ancestral ceremonies; wears a dark red robe and golden belt at Wharton’s wedding 3 35.
• Dragon Transformation: Blue-green scales, a forehead horn, fine spinal spikes, and a dragon tail 37.
• Rejuvenation: Appears twenty years younger after awakening his bloodline 37 38.

Personality

Hogg usually maintains a stern, restrained expression, concealing grief over Lina and shame over the clan’s decline. His composure repeatedly breaks when his sons succeed: their admission to Ernst Institute, awakening as Dragonblood Warriors, and return home bring him to tears 2 6 12 20 29.

He values the Baruch legacy but does not insist that his children follow only one path to strength. He encourages alternatives when their bloodline tests fail and supports their pursuit of magic. His protectiveness also shapes his caution toward Lina’s abductors and his warnings about Paterson’s influence 3 4 20.

His concern extends beyond his family. He helps defend Wushan Town during the invasion and watches displaced refugees with compassion, remembering his own lost neighbors 25 27.

Abilities & Skills

Dragon Transformation

Awakening his dormant bloodline allows Hogg to assume a draconic humanoid form and return to human form 37.

• Gains scales, a horn, spinal spikes, and a tail, alongside enlarged muscles and a broader frame 37.
• Experiences a surge of strength after awakening 37.
• Releases a roar powerful enough to shake leaves from courtyard trees 37.
• No specific elemental ability or numerical combat rank is documented in the supplied passages.

Clan Lore and Bloodline Testing

Hogg preserves and passes down the Baruch Clan’s history and cultivation knowledge 3 6.

• Uses the Dragonblood Needle to test his sons’ bloodline concentrations 3.
• Explains the clan’s ancestors, bloodline decline, and lost heirloom 3.
• Provides Dragonblood Codex copies containing cultivation methods, clan history, needle-making instructions, and other secrets 6.

Investigation

Hogg identifies a lead in Lina’s abduction despite the danger posed by Fenlai’s powerful figures 20.

• Remembers the abductors’ leader by a red spider birthmark 20.
• Travels to Fenlai City in disguise and follows the lead to Duke Paterson 20.
• Cannot establish Lina’s location or the reason for her abduction through his own investigation 20.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Dragonblood Needle — Clan instrument kept in the ancestral hall and used by Hogg to test An and Linley 3.
• Dragonblood Codex — Preserved clan records; Hogg gives copies to both twins before their departure for Ernst Institute 6.
• Slaughter — Ancestral battle saber recovered by his sons and returned by Hogg to the ancestral hall 20.
• Dragon-shaped jade pendants — Paired family heirlooms entrusted to Wharton and Nina at their wedding 35.
• Blue heart grass and Thunder Dragon blood — Consumed together to awaken his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline; the grass moderates the blood’s violent properties 37.

Relationships

• Lina — Wife. Hogg married her against clan objections and remained determined to discover her fate and avenge her abduction 20.
• Linley Baruch — Eldest son. Shares responsibility for recovering Slaughter and investigating Lina’s disappearance; reunites with Hogg after seven years apart 20 23 29.
• An Baruch — Second son and Linley’s twin. Hogg entrusts him with protecting the clan; An later rescues him and supplies the resources for his awakening 2 25 37.
• Wharton Baruch — Youngest son. Hogg protects him during Lina’s abduction and later travels to the O’Brien Empire to reunite with him 20 27 28.
• Nina — Daughter-in-law. Receives Hogg’s blessing and one of the clan’s jade pendants when she marries Wharton 35.
• Hillman — Guard captain and trusted companion. Defends Wushan Town and accompanies Hogg and An to the O’Brien Empire 25 27.
• Hiri — Household steward. Assists with family ceremonies and celebrations and joins Hogg’s reunited family at dinner 3 6 29.
• Duke Paterson and King Clayde — Figures implicated in Lina’s abduction: Paterson is Hogg’s initial discovery, while his sons identify Clayde as the mastermind 20 23.

Notable Quotes

“I hope you will protect this clan, protect your older and younger brothers, and protect the glory of the Baruch surname.” 2

“Alive, I must see her. Dead, I must see her body. Even if she truly is dead, I will avenge her.” 20

Trivia

• An remembers that, in the original story, Hogg sought revenge alone and died in an unknown location. In this version, he survives Wushan Town’s destruction, reunites with his family, and awakens as a Dragonblood Warrior 20 25 37.