Hogg

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Fallen noble heritage

Hogg belongs to the Basik Family, a lineage capable of producing Divine Beast Warriors. His bloodline concentration was tested in childhood and fell below the standard required for transformation. His inability to become a Divine Beast Warrior—and thereby restore his family’s former glory—remained a lasting regret 27.

His early ambitions were to restore the family’s viscount title and recover its lost Blood Slaughter Battle Blade. He also hoped to return to the family territory after reaching the sixth level, inherit his title, marry, and continue the Basik bloodline 12 15.

Mountain Range expedition

Hogg and Hillman led reinforcements from the Feng Lai Kingdom during the Radiant Church’s struggle with the Shadow Alliance over a level-nine magical beast cub. Their force was surrounded by Wind Wolves before Shiheng’s squad arrived to help. After the combined force killed the sixth-level Wind Wolf King, Hogg thanked Shiheng and explained the larger conflict 7.

He subsequently joined a seven-person special operations squad assigned to secure a three-hundred-li stretch of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts’ outskirts, protect the military camp, and watch for Shadow Alliance spies. Hogg helped organize the party’s supplies, scouting, and camp arrangements before its clearing operations began 8 9.

The squad developed close coordination through repeated battles, defeating the Eastern Swamp’s Man Snakes, the Red-Blue Bee swarm, Wind Wolf Canyon’s pack, and the sixth-level Black Bear King. Hogg frequently fought at the front and directed the group’s movements 10 11 13 14 16 17.

Swift Raptor attack and reunion

Immediately after the Black Bear King’s defeat, a seventh-level Swift Raptor attacked the exhausted party. Hogg shielded Nalan Ruoshui from its tail with his own body. His inherited toughness kept the blow from killing him outright, but he was left severely wounded and unable to fight 17.

After recovering most of their strength, Hogg and the remaining companions searched for the missing Shiheng and Kelin Xiaoman. They killed a sixth-level Shadow Leopard, then were overwhelmed by a Black Iron Demon Bear and two Red-Patterned Tigers. Hogg was badly injured again before Shiheng and Xiaoman returned and helped defeat the beasts 25 26.

Back at camp, Shiheng offered to teach the companions his Berserk Secret Method. Hogg was especially moved because it offered a route beyond the limitations of his weak bloodline. He and Kelan Kai were the only two learners in the group to master it during the ensuing training period 27 28.

Earl of the Feng Lai Kingdom

When the squad returned to military command, Hogg concealed Shiheng’s victory over the Swift Raptor. Instead, he reported that the party had killed three Shadow Alliance warriors after their attempt to lure the beast toward the camp backfired, presenting their heads as evidence 29.

The squad’s magical beast cores and credited military accomplishments earned substantial rewards. Hogg received an earldom and three towns around Wu Mountain Town, surpassing his original ambition of inheriting the family’s viscount title. Hillman chose to accompany him as his right hand, while Hogg promised continued assistance to Shiheng, who remained in the army 31.

Sanctuary in Wu Mountain Town

Hogg later fulfilled his promise to help Hillman avenge his family, assisting in the destruction of the Azure Wolf Mountain bandits. The bandits had a seventh-level warrior among them, making Hogg’s help crucial to Hillman’s survival and success 12 41.

Afterward, the two found Shiheng unconscious beside a river and immediately carried him toward Feng Lai City for treatment. On the way, they encountered Nalan Ruoshui fleeing with her injured sister, Nalan Xue, after attackers massacred their household. Judging Feng Lai City unsafe, Hogg redirected everyone to the Basik Family’s old residence in Wu Mountain Town 41 42.

He sheltered the sisters under their new names, Lindana and Lindajin, despite wanted notices offering a princely title and ten million gold coins for their capture. He also protected the secret of Shiheng’s discovered level-eight magic crystal vein, guarded the residence, and monitored developments in the ensuing conflict. The Radiant Church rewarded Hogg and Hillman for rescuing Shiheng 43 44.

Marriage

After Shiheng’s three and a half years of secluded cultivation, Hogg married Lindana on the same day that Hillman married Lindajin. To mark the occasion, Hogg announced a year’s tax relief for the three towns under his rule 45.

When Shiheng entered an enlightenment during the wedding celebrations, Hogg personally led the clan’s elites in guarding him. They kept guests and townspeople away throughout the three-day breakthrough 45.

Hogg, Lindana, Hillman, and Lindajin reluctantly saw Shiheng off when he subsequently left Wu Mountain Town to resume his military duties and pursue further training. They assured him that he would always be welcome to return 46.

Reunions in the Klan capital

When Shiheng’s fame spread across the continent, Hogg reacted with heartfelt pride and gratification rather than jealousy. Lindana and her sister shared his happiness at their old companion’s accomplishments 63.

Upon receiving news of Shiheng’s engagement to Kelin Xiaoman, Hogg promptly traveled day and night to the Klan capital with Hillman, Lindana, and her sister. During the reunion, Shiheng offered Hogg and Hillman cultivation guidance 66.

Over the following three peaceful months, Hogg and Hillman frequently visited Shiheng. His advice resolved longstanding cultivation problems and helped both men firmly establish themselves at the seventh-level peak, with unusually concentrated battle qi. Despite this progress and the warmth of their gatherings, Hogg remained disappointed that he and Lindana had been married for years without having children 68.

Birth of Lin Feng

After more than a decade of marriage and hoping for a child, Hogg and Lindana finally became parents. When Shiheng and Kelin Xiaoman returned to Wu Mountain Town, they found Hogg anxiously pacing outside the birthing room, sweating and repeatedly asking about his wife’s condition. His agitation contrasted sharply with his customary composure 75 76.

The midwife announced the birth of a healthy son and confirmed that Lindana was safe. Overwhelmed with joy, Hogg ordered generous rewards for the entire household, carefully took the infant in his arms, and went to thank his wife for what she had endured. He named their son Lin Feng Basik, fulfilling his longstanding desire to continue the family bloodline 76.

Hogg and Lindana recognized Shiheng’s assistance after he nourished her with the Life Law and were deeply grateful. When Shiheng entered another enlightenment, Hogg quietly helped Lindana move to a side room and left the main room undisturbed for his friend’s cultivation 76.

At Lin Feng’s one-month celebration, Hogg announced three years of reduced or waived taxes for Wu Mountain Town’s residents. The Basik Family was by then prosperous, supported by his earldom and the substantial rewards associated with Shiheng’s earlier service. Hogg gratefully accepted an Emperor’s Blood Jade from Shiheng as a gift for Lin Feng. After the banquet, Shiheng and Kelin Xiaoman bade the family farewell and departed to travel the Yulan Continent 77.

Death and remembrance

By Shiheng’s later reunion with Hillman, Hogg and Nalan Ruoshui had died. Hillman mourned Hogg as a dear friend who had died young and met a tragic end, shedding tears despite his otherwise contented account of his own life. Shiheng kept silent about the possibility of their future rebirth; the reunion does not establish that either had returned to life 196.

Hogg remained a strong presence in Shiheng’s memories. When the adult Lin Feng later came to see Shiheng off before his journey to the Hell Plane, his inherited aristocratic air reminded Shiheng of Hogg and their shared life-and-death struggles, evoking the familiarity of meeting an old friend’s son 217.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and strongly built, with a narrow waist, broad back, and straight bearing 7 9 15.
• Demeanor: Composed and aristocratic, retaining the reserved manner of a fallen noble 12 15.
• Family resemblance: The adult Lin Feng retains something of Hogg’s aristocratic air, which Shiheng recognizes when they meet before his departure for the Hell Plane 217.

Personality

Hogg is calm, courteous, and dependable. Nalan Ruoshui admires his ability to remain composed in danger and stand at the front to protect others, as well as his lack of noble arrogance. His restraint also makes him hesitant to confess his affection, even when their companions recognize it 15.

Restoring the Basik Family is his strongest personal fixation. His determination to preserve its legacy becomes the emotional foundation of his Berserk technique. After receiving his earldom, he regards the territory as both an achievement and a responsibility, particularly because Wu Mountain Town is his family’s ancestral home 28 31.

His loyalty is practical and costly: he risks his life searching for missing companions, helps Hillman pursue revenge, and conceals the Nalan sisters despite the enormous reward offered for them. He is also cautious enough to abandon an unsafe route and conceal sensitive information from military authorities 25 29 41 42 43.

His affection for his family reveals a more openly emotional side. Years without children cause him visible disappointment, and his wife’s childbirth leaves him unusually frantic. Upon learning that mother and son are safe, he responds with trembling joy, tenderness toward Lindana, and extraordinary care when holding their newborn 68 75 76.

He shares personal good fortune with his subjects through tax relief at his wedding and his son’s one-month celebration. These measures deepen the townspeople’s support for him and gratitude toward the Basik Family 45 77.

Abilities & Skills

Divine Beast Bloodline

Hogg inherits an initially faint divine beast bloodline from the Basik Family 27 28.

• Gives him strength and reflexes beyond ordinary warriors of the same level, even before its later awakening 11.
• Provides the bodily toughness that lets him barely survive the Swift Raptor’s otherwise lethal tail strike 17.
• Initially falls below the concentration needed to transform into a Divine Beast Warrior 27.
• Awakens in part through the Berserk Secret Method and contributes to his advancement into the late sixth level 28.

Berserk Secret Method

Taught by Shiheng, this method releases latent power through intense emotion. Hogg learns to activate it through his desire to restore his family’s prosperity 27 28.

• Raises his combat strength from late sixth level to mid-seventh level 28.
• Allows him to channel a trace of his inherited divine beast power 28.
• Requires demanding mental control and comprehension; among the companions studying it during this period, only Hogg and Kelan Kai succeed 28.

Swordsmanship and Close Combat

Hogg fights with a heavy iron sword or refined-iron longsword and can also deliver powerful unarmed strikes 10 11 25.

• Meets a fifth-level Bloodthirsty War Boar head-on with heavy sword attacks 10.
• Shatters two Red Blood Crocodile fangs with a backhand punch to its lower jaw 11.
• Engages two fifth-level Man Snakes simultaneously, though prolonged combat exhausts him 11.
• Exploits an exposed weak point to stab the sixth-level Shadow Leopard’s belly during a coordinated attack 25.

Leadership and Tactical Judgment

Hogg regularly coordinates the expedition party and takes responsibility for its safety 9 11 26.

• Prioritizes food, water, shelter, and reconnaissance before beginning the clearing mission 9.
• Recognizes when exhaustion makes withdrawal necessary 11.
• Assigns magical support and frontline roles against the Black Iron Demon Bear and Red-Patterned Tigers 26.
• Redirects the injured group to secluded Wu Mountain Town rather than risk entering an unstable Feng Lai City 42.
• Recognizes the importance of uninterrupted enlightenment and protects Shiheng’s opportunities both during his wedding celebration and after Lin Feng’s birth 45 76.

Battle Qi Cultivation

With Shiheng’s advice on cultivation and battle qi circulation, Hogg reaches the seventh-level peak. His battle qi becomes substantially more concentrated than that of ordinary warriors at the same rank. Shiheng’s explanations also resolve difficulties that had troubled him for years, leaving him only one step from the eighth level 66 68.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Heavy iron sword / refined-iron longsword — His documented melee weapon during the mountain expedition; its blade is notched by the fighting before the Shadow Leopard encounter 10 25.
• Earl’s insignia — Received with his noble title and territorial grant 31.
• Basik Family’s old residence — His base in Wu Mountain Town, used to shelter Shiheng and conceal the Nalan sisters under guard 42 43 44.
• Emperor’s Blood Jade — Accepted from Shiheng on behalf of Lin Feng at the child’s one-month celebration. The gift can nourish the body, strengthen the physique, widen the meridians, and gradually increase spiritual power through long-term wear 77.

Relationships

• Nalan Ruoshui / Lindana / Lina — Wife and former expedition companion. Their initially unspoken attraction deepens after he shields her from the Swift Raptor; he later shelters her after her family’s destruction. After more than a decade of marriage, she gives birth to their son, Lin Feng. Both are mourned by Hillman in the later story 15 17 42 45 75 76 196.
• Lin Feng Basik — Son, born after Hogg and Lindana spend more than a decade hoping for a child. Hogg personally names him and celebrates his one-month birthday with three years of tax reductions or exemptions for Wu Mountain Town. As an adult, Lin Feng’s aristocratic bearing reminds Shiheng of his father 76 77 217.
• Shiheng — Close friend, fellow soldier, and teacher of the Berserk Secret Method. Each saves the other during different crises; Hogg later protects his recovery and enlightenment. He proudly attends Shiheng’s engagement celebration, benefits from his further cultivation guidance, and gratefully accepts his assistance to Lindana and gift for Lin Feng. Shiheng continues to remember him fondly after his death 7 26 28 41 45 63 66 68 76 77 217.
• Hillman — Longtime comrade and chosen right hand in his territory. Hogg helps him avenge his family, and the two later marry the Nalan sisters on the same day. They continue cultivating together under Shiheng’s guidance. Long after Hogg’s death, Hillman still mourns him deeply 7 31 41 45 68 196.
• Kelan Kai — Fellow frontline warrior and the other successful learner of Shiheng’s Berserk method. Kelan Kai attempts to shield the fallen Hogg from the Black Iron Demon Bear 26 28.
• Kelin Xiaoman — Expedition companion whose healing supports Hogg during the Red-Blue Bee battle. He later joins the search for her and Shiheng. Hogg travels to the Klan capital for their engagement celebration, and she is present with Shiheng when Lin Feng is born 14 25 66 76.
• Nalan Xue / Lindajin — Nalan Ruoshui’s sister and later Hillman’s wife. Hogg helps carry her to safety and conceals her at his residence 42 43 45.

Notable Quotes

“Count me in when you go.”
— Offering to help Hillman avenge his father 12.

“Silly boy, what matters is that you’re back. As long as you two are safe, it was all worth it.”
— Reassuring Shiheng after the search party’s ordeal 26.

“From this day forward, his name will be Lin Feng Basik.”
— Naming his newborn son 76.

Trivia

• Shiheng recognizes Hogg as the original protagonist’s father. Chapter 7’s title explicitly pairs Hogg Baruch with Hogg Baruch, and the narration acknowledges the changed names 7.
• His mid-seventh-level Berserk strength is explicitly described as a height his original-world counterpart never reached 28.
• By Lin Feng’s one-month celebration, the narration emphasizes that Hogg’s strength, earldom, and family prosperity differ substantially from his original-story circumstances 77.