Hogg

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Declining bloodline and family secrecy

Hogg inherited the Baruch Clan’s ambition to restore the Dragonblood Warriors’ former glory. His own attempts to practice the ancestral cultivation art instead caused damaging bloodline backlash. Unable to advance beyond the sixth level at that time, he concealed the clan’s heritage and lived quietly in Wushan Town to protect his children from the Radiant Church 5.

Hogg and Hillman grew up together and treated each other as brothers. Hogg’s father had taken Hillman in, a kindness Hillman later cited as a reason for his devotion to the family. Hogg also forged a refined-iron shortsword for Hillman, which eventually became Hillman’s first gift to Linley 1 15.

Lina’s disappearance

Shortly after Wharton’s birth, Hogg took Lina to the Fenlai Kingdom’s capital to worship. She was abducted from their hotel, and his reports to the authorities and subsequent inquiries met repeated obstructions. He returned to Wushan Town without her, but continued searching for years 15.

The new trade routes later gave him discreet access to information from Fenlai City. Early accounts describe him investigating his wife’s apparent death; he nevertheless remained convinced that she might still be alive. Hillman eventually told him that Clayde had arranged her abduction as an offering to the Radiant Church in exchange for power and support 9 15.

Overwhelmed by the strength of those enemies, Hogg accepted Hillman’s offer of personal training. Hillman urged him to wait until they were strong enough and promised to help pursue Lina’s rescue after reaching Saint-level. No rescue is documented in the supplied chapters 15.

Protecting Linley and rebuilding Wushan Town

After noticing Hillman’s more careful leadership and dedication to Linley, Hogg disclosed the clan’s Dragonblood Warrior ancestry. He entrusted Hillman with the Chronicles of the Dragonblood Warrior and a Dragonblood Pill, asking him to protect Linley and help awaken his bloodline 4 5.

When Hillman discovered that an Ironclad Berserk Bear had been deliberately driven berserk, Hogg suspected the Radiant Church. Following Hillman’s advice, he established a merchant association and negotiated trade routes with neighboring towns and Fenlai City. Sales of beast hides, medicinal herbs, and local ores increased prosperity and helped finance better garrison equipment 8 9.

Hogg also took a direct role in Linley’s cultivation. He taught ancestral methods, adjusted body-tempering exercises, and personally prepared medicinal meals. When the Dragonblood Needle failed to react to Linley, Hogg encouraged him to pursue strength rather than accept the test as a verdict on his future 8 9.

Move to Fenlai City

Hogg accompanied Linley and Hillman to the magic aptitude test, where Linley earned an invitation to Ernst Academy. He celebrated the result as renewed hope for the Baruch Clan 17.

To support Linley’s studies and obtain a better education for Wharton, Hogg moved the household to a courtyard residence near the institute. Hiri brought Wharton and the family’s valuables from Wushan Town. Hogg then reluctantly supported Hillman’s decision to train in the Magical Beast Forest, repeatedly urging him to value his safety over a rapid breakthrough 18 19.

Return to the ancestral home

During Hillman’s two-year absence, the clan renovated its ancestral residence, established a martial hall, and honored members who had ventured into the world with a stele at Wushan Town’s entrance. Hogg welcomed Hillman home with visible relief and pride 40 41.

Returning together to Wushan Town, Hogg agreed to be the first to attempt Hillman’s method of awakening dormant dragon blood. After his successful awakening and permanent eighth-level breakthrough, he turned toward passing that strength on to the younger generation 42 43 44.

Hogg identified Wharton’s unusually pure bloodline and guided his natural awakening in the ancestral hall. Father-son bloodline resonance helped him stabilize the boy’s power during the painful transformation. He subsequently reassured Wharton as the child learned to control his tail and newly transformed body 45 46 47.

The clan’s awakened strength opened further income through caravan escort work and responses to magical beast incursions. When Linley returned home, Hogg explained how Hillman had obtained the awakening materials and impressed upon him the importance of remembering his uncle’s sacrifices 48 49 50.

Appearance

• Human form: Bronze skin, heavily developed muscles, rough palms, and an upright bearing. He trains with a hundred-jin longsword through physical strength alone before his awakening 16.
• Signs of age: Weathered temples, a few silver strands of hair, and deepening wrinkles at the corners of his eyes are noted after Hillman’s two-year absence 40 41.
• After awakening: Appears composed and vigorous in fitted black clothing, with a sharper gaze and a faint but unmistakable pressure 49 50.
• Dragon form: Exceeds two and a half meters in height, with blue-gold scales, forehead horns, clawed hands, and a long, spike-covered tail 43 44.

Personality

Hogg’s caution is rooted in responsibility for his family. He suppresses his ambition and hides the clan’s identity when he believes exposure would endanger his sons. His instructions to Linley emphasize safety, humility, and avoiding arrogance despite exceptional talent 5 16 18.

He is an affectionate and patient father. He comforts Linley after the failed bloodline test, cooks restorative meals himself, and responds to Wharton’s accidental damage in the ancestral hall with reassurance rather than punishment 9 47.

His grief over Lina coexists with considerable determination. Once given a practical path forward, he accepts demanding training and later endures half a month of painful cultivation to make his eighth-level strength permanent. He is equally open about gratitude, reminding Linley that the family’s improved circumstances came through Hillman’s efforts 15 44 50.

Abilities & Skills

Physical Strength and Swordsmanship

• Reached sixth-level physical strength without Battle Qi and could overpower ordinary fifth-level warriors through brute force 16.
• Practices cleaves, chops, rising cuts, and sweeps with a Fine Iron Longsword weighing one hundred jin 16.
• Receives instruction from Hillman on using momentum and driving strikes through the waist and abdomen 16.

Stacked Wave Force

• Hillman begins teaching him a technique that stacks explosive muscular bursts without requiring Battle Qi 16.
• At sufficient mastery, one sword strike can deliver three layers of force and contend with a seventh-level warrior. Hogg’s mastery of that benchmark is not documented 16.

Dragon Transformation

• Awakening requires external dragon blood and Blue Heart Grass because Hogg’s bloodline is insufficient for natural awakening 43 50.
• His initial transformation more than triples strength and defense and grants eighth-level combat strength 44.
• Can withdraw his scales, horns, and tail at will to resume human form 44.

Dragonblood Battle Qi

• Uses the Dragonblood Secret Manual to fuse bloodline power with Battle Qi rather than rely solely on temporary transformation 44.
• Produces blue-gold Battle Qi carrying dragon’s might; after his permanent breakthrough, a punch blasts a several-inch-deep impression into the courtyard wall 44.
• Can channel Battle Qi into another person to inspect and guide bloodline power 45 46.

Bloodline Guidance

• Detects Wharton’s bloodline purity through Battle Qi circulation and confirms his aptitude with the Dragonblood Needle 45.
• Uses father-son bloodline resonance and controlled Dragonblood Battle Qi to stabilize Wharton’s awakening 46.
• Guides the circulating power along the route recorded in the Dragonblood Secret Manual 46.

Trade and Cultivation Support

• Organizes merchants, negotiates routes, checks cargo handling, and arranges caravan payments and security precautions 8 9.
• Prepares ancestral medicinal meals using magical beast bones, herbs, and other ingredients to support Linley’s recovery 9.
• Forges the refined-iron shortsword originally given to Hillman and later passed to Linley 1.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Fine Iron Longsword — Hundred-jin training weapon used before his bloodline awakening 16.
• Chronicles of the Dragonblood Warrior — Ancestral record of the clan’s origins, cultivation methods, and awakening knowledge; entrusted to Hillman 5.
• Dragonblood Secret Manual — Used to integrate dragon blood with Battle Qi and establish permanent eighth-level strength 44.
• Dragonblood Needle — Ancestral bloodline-testing instrument administered to Linley and Wharton 9 45.
• Dragonblood Pill — Entrusted to Hillman for Linley’s future cultivation 5.
• Iron Armor’s blood and Blue Heart Grass — Consumed during his external awakening; the grass counteracts the blood’s dangerous power 43 50.
• Wine gourd — Long-carried personal possession, polished through use and carved with simple cloud patterns 50.

Relationships

• Lina — Wife. Her abduction drives his prolonged investigation and renewed determination to become stronger 15.
• Linley Baruch — Elder son. Hogg supports his martial and magical education while refusing to let a failed bloodline test define his potential 9 17 18.
• Wharton Baruch — Younger son. Personally guides his natural Dragonblood awakening and patiently helps him adjust to transformation 45 46 47.
• Hillman — Childhood companion regarded as a brother; later his trainer and the person who makes his Dragonblood awakening possible 1 15 43 44.
• Hiri — Family steward who manages household arrangements and brings Wharton and the family’s valuables to Fenlai City 18.
• Iron Armor — Hillman’s dragon companion, whose voluntarily donated blood enables Hogg’s awakening 42 43.
• Clayde and the Radiant Church — Enemies implicated in Lina’s abduction. Hogg also fears the Church’s hostility toward the Dragonblood Warrior lineage 5 15.

Notable Quotes

“Bloodline has never been the only measure of the strong. The Dragonblood Needle's silence doesn't mean you can't succeed.” 9

“Linley, nothing in this world comes for free. You must remember what your uncle has done for us.” 50

Trivia

• The Divine Guardian System offers Hogg as a potential ward alongside Linley and Wharton. Hillman considers choosing him but ultimately selects Linley 2.
• Wanghou remembers an original storyline in which Hogg dies while investigating Lina’s disappearance. That remembered fate is a danger he intends to prevent, not Hogg’s documented outcome in this story 1 2.
• Hogg’s improved finances mean he no longer sells off family property as in the remembered storyline. This indirectly delays Linley’s discovery of the Coiling Dragon Ring until Hillman arranges for him to clean the ancestral house 11.