Linley

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Linley comes from Wushan Town and belongs to a Dragonblood Warrior lineage more than five thousand years old. By his father Hogg’s generation, the Baruch Clan had declined to a dilapidated ancestral home, a missing clan war saber, and two young sons. After Hogg’s death, Linley became clan head 35 38.

Doehring Cowart taught Linley magic from within the Coiling Dragon Ring and protected him from childhood. After Doehring burned his soul casting Meteor Fall at Hess City, Linley spent nearly a year repeatedly probing the apparently empty ring. A surviving trace of Doehring’s spirit eventually awakened while Linley and Bebe faced death in the dragon burial ground 2 3 59.

Appearance

By his reunion with Delia, Linley is taller and more strongly built than she remembers, with broad shoulders and stern features 42.

• Human form: Black hair, later worn long; frequently dresses in black warrior robes or plain, fitted clothing rather than elaborate noble attire 35 48 56.
• Dragonform: Black or bluish-black scales, bone spikes, dragon claws, and a powerful tail. Dark golden eyes are described during his battle with Haydson 2 50.
• Growth over time: Hardly appears to age during the decade following his wedding, though his eyes acquire greater depth 66.

Personality

Linley treats his promises as binding obligations. Although he accepts only one gold coin as an escort deposit, he refuses to abandon Jenny and Keane when assassins pursue them. He distinguishes protecting their lives from taking over their family’s political struggle 13 14 17.

His loyalty often becomes self-sacrifice. He orders Bebe to escape from Mo Ers while he stays behind, and later holds off the Blade Demons so his companions can retreat. Doehring repeatedly challenges his habit of facing danger alone and carrying every consequence himself 2 38 88.

He is disciplined and willing to reconsider his methods. His routine combines sword drills, magical cultivation, and meditation; after Hayward exposes his vulnerability to spiritual attacks, he accepts that his reputation and bloodline do not make him unrivaled 6 10 57.

Linley initially suppresses his feelings for Delia because he believes his unfinished vengeance would burden her. He eventually rejects that reasoning, confesses his love, and marries her. Even as his authority grows, he prefers cultivation to ceremony or kingship, leaving the Baruch throne to Wharton 59 65 66.

Abilities & Skills

Dragonblood Warrior Transformation

Linley draws on his inherited bloodline to transform into a scaled dragonman, greatly increasing his physical strength, speed, and defense 2 33.

• At the eighth level in human form, his transformation grants ninth-level combat strength 2.
• At the ninth level in human form, Dragonform grants Initial Saint Realm power and natural flight 33.
• Dragonblood Battle Qi accelerates recovery, but does not instantly mend severe fractures; his broken chest bones still require time to heal after his breakthrough 9 33 34.
• His transformed strength eventually reaches the peak Saint Realm, though this remains below the power of a Lowgod Eight-Winged Angel 74 75.

Heavy Swordsmanship

Linley develops his heavy-sword technique through repeated drills, controlled strikes against stone, and combat with magical beasts 5 6 10.

• Rushing Thunder: Makes Edgeless move lightly before releasing accumulated physical strength and battle-qi at impact 6.
• Force of heaven and earth: Extends his swordsmanship beyond bodily strength by drawing upon his surroundings 20.
• Control training: Maneuvers the heavy sword among narrow stone pillars while avoiding Bebe, improving precision without breaking the obstacles 6.
• Early limitation: Rushing Thunder does not guarantee penetration of a ninth-level magical beast’s defenses 6 7.

Earth Pulsation

Linley synchronizes his attacks with the earth’s rhythm, transmitting successive vibrations through a struck target 24 29.

• Triple Tremor: Sends three vibrations through a sword strike; it wounds Steller but cannot overcome the difference in their strength 24 27.
• Hundredfold Waves: Layers repeated pulses into a single attack, overwhelming defenses and damaging internal organs 29 73.
• Transmission through weapons: Sends ten layers along Mackenzie’s spear shaft, numbing his arms and nearly disarming him 34.
• Concentrated strike: Compresses sixty-four layers into the blow that destroys the Flame Monarch’s weapon and core 82.
• Power limitation: His understanding initially exceeds his available battle-qi, restricting what his techniques can accomplish against stronger Saints 29 51.

Pulsing Defense

Linley weaves Dragonblood Battle Qi into rapidly vibrating defensive layers rather than relying on a rigid shield 49.

• Disperses incoming force through successive, high-frequency vibrations 49.
• Withstands a Six-Winged Angel’s Holy Light Impact 73.
• Doehring considers its underlying conception superior to Haydson’s defense, which relies on accumulated power 49.

Wind Magic and the Laws of Wind

Linley’s wind cultivation develops from mobility magic and airflow perception into swordsmanship capable of cutting space 34 63 88.

• Wind Shadow Technique: Increases speed and produces multiple afterimages 31 34.
• Airflow perception: Locates Mackenzie inside his Flame Pseudo-Domain by detecting displaced air rather than relying on misleading elemental auras 34.
• Tempos of the Wind: Explores the relationship between speed and slowness until the two become harmonious 63 72.
• Blade of Dimension: Forms an invisible spatial cutting edge, first used while cornered and unarmed against the Abyssal Blade Demon Lord 88.
• Divine development: His comprehension of the Profound Truths of Velocity evolves into Dimension’s cutting edge as he becomes a Wind Element Lowgod 90.

Wind-Earth Fusion

Linley combines wind’s offensive sharpness with earth’s stability and protection, treating their union as the broader path of his Dragonblood Warrior cultivation 72.

• Uses Wind-Earth Fusion against the Flame Monarch 82.
• His Saint Realm spiritual breakthrough makes the fusion richer and more complete 81.
• After becoming an Earth Element Lowgod, combines wind and earth power to withstand Gula’s attacks, though he and Bebe remain badly outmatched 103.

Magic and Spiritual Techniques

Linley cultivates both earth and wind magic alongside his warrior abilities 6 33 34.

• Eightfold Gravity Spell: Uses intensified gravity to hinder opponents; Steller can dispel it 27.
• Spiritual probing: Extends his awareness across his surroundings, including while sculpting 31.
• Soul resistance: Breaks Heidens’s Fate Law restraints through killing intent after being overwhelmed by painful memories 93.
• Limitations: His warrior breakthroughs do not automatically advance his magical cultivation. Hayward’s spiritual storm also exposes the danger posed by stronger spiritual attacks 33 57.

Flat Blade Sculpting

Linley practices stone sculpture with the Flat Blade and explains that truly beginning the Flat Blade Style requires earth-element magical ability 31.

Equipment & Items

• Edgeless / Black Jade Heavy Sword — His principal heavy sword, used for Rushing Thunder and Earth Pulsation. The text describes it as a 3,600-jin weapon 5 6 82.
• Purple Blood Soft Sword — A flexible divine artifact worn at his waist and used extensively in wind-based swordsmanship. Its baleful aura once overwhelms him with murderous intent, forcing Doehring to protect his soul and suppress it 9 34.
• Coiling Dragon Ring — Houses Doehring’s surviving spirit before his return. An unexplained power within it preserves his final trace of true spirit after Meteor Fall 2 3.
• Interspatial ring — Stores supplies such as medicine, clean clothing, and personal letters 4 29.
• War God Token — Grants access to Prince Yulin’s castle after Linley secures the War God’s protection for those who might suffer retaliation 40.
• Dragon crystal — Holds while considering how to answer the Eight-Winged Angel’s challenge; described as a source of the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline 74.

Relationships

• Doehring Cowart — Teacher and closest elder. Guides Linley’s magic and swordsmanship, rescues and heals him, and later remains in Yulan to protect his family while he travels 35 49 64 97.
• Bebe — Companion regarded as closer than a brother. They communicate through their souls, repeatedly refuse to abandon one another, and travel together into Gebados 2 69 98.
• Delia — Former Ernst Institute acquaintance and eventual wife. Supports his cultivation while insisting that he respect her decisions rather than act in her place 42 43 59 65.
• Wharton Baruch — Younger brother. Linley reunites with him after years apart, supports his marriage to Nina, and entrusts him with ruling the Baruch Kingdom 34 35 66.
• Taylor and Sasha — Children he leaves behind during the ten-year Necropolis expedition 78 79.
• Hogg Baruch — Deceased father and previous generation of the Baruch family. Linley remembers his final letter and associates his struggle against the Radiant Church with a debt owed to both parents 38 93.
• Jenny — Former escort client who waits for his promised return and later joins his household. She subsequently assists with administration in the Chaotic Territory 13 29 33 56.
• Haeru — Contracted magical beast and traveling companion. Protects the group’s perimeter and carries Jenny away from the angels’ battle formation 10 15 32.
• Reynolds — Close friend addressed as “Fourth Bro.” Linley avenges his apparent death, discovers him alive aboard a slave ship, and frees him 39 40.
• Yale — Friend whose intelligence reveals Yulin’s responsibility for abandoning Reynolds. His Dawson Chamber of Commerce network also supports the Baruch Clan 40 52.
• Barker and his brothers — Trusted companions and fellow Ultimate Warriors. Help defend and administer Linley’s territory; Barker joins him in the Necropolis 35 56 78.
• Desri — Senior cultivator who helps Linley reconsider the relationship between magic and swordsmanship. Agrees to establish a pure faith in the light after the old Radiant Church falls 57 70.
• Beirut — Powerful patron who watches over Linley, supports Bebe’s development, and invites them into the Necropolis of the Gods 69 78 97.
• Gula — Peak Midgod opponent who overwhelms Linley in Gebados but spares him, demanding a rematch once Linley becomes a Midgod 103.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Dragon Graveyard and Northern Training

Linley and Bebe enter a dragon burial ground and are attacked by Mo Ers, who detects Linley’s dragon blood and demands the Coiling Dragon Ring. Linley’s Dragonform cannot close the gap between them. As the dragon prepares a killing blow, Doehring’s voice emerges from the ring; by their subsequent reunion, Doehring has acquired a divine body 2 3 4.

Continuing north under Doehring’s guidance, Linley develops Rushing Thunder, takes Haeru as a contracted companion, and improves his physical cultivation. His attempt to investigate Purple Blood also reveals that possessing a divine weapon does not mean he can safely control its hidden power 6 9 10.

Jenny’s Escort and Yunfeng Seclusion

Linley accepts Jenny’s request to escort her, Keane, and Lambert to Chier County City. He protects the siblings through successive assassination attempts but resists becoming responsible for every aspect of their inheritance dispute 13 14 15 17.

After learning of Wharton’s achievements, he leaves to seek his brother, promising Jenny that he will return within five years. He later establishes a secluded estate near Yunfeng Town, spends four years training there, and leaves before the deadline to honor the appointment 20 29 34.

During this period, his conflict with the Radiant Church intensifies. Steller nearly kills him before a mysterious intervention saves him. A later attack by six angels leaves Linley and Bebe badly injured, but Linley breaks through to the ninth level during recovery 27 32 33.

Return to the Baruch Family

After narrowly defeating Mackenzie in a spar, Linley reaches Chiyan City and reunites with Hiri, Hillman, and Wharton. As clan head, he petitions the emperor for Wharton’s marriage to Nina and refuses to accept a decision that would force her against her wishes 34 35.

Wharton loses his duel with Blumer but does not lose Nina. Linley remains involved in the family’s preparations and witnesses their wedding. When Planar Overseer Hodan invites him to the Infernal Realm, he refuses to leave before fulfilling his obligations in Yulan 36 37 38.

Reynolds and the Chiyan Investigations

News of Reynolds’s supposed death drives Linley into mourning. Yale’s information exposes Prince Yulin’s refusal to open Nier City’s gates, and Linley first obtains the War God’s protection for the witnesses and Dunstan Clan before killing Yulin. He subsequently discovers Reynolds alive and frees him with hundreds of other captives 39 40.

Reunited with Delia, Linley helps investigate missing merchant ships and a Radiant Church operation beneath Chiyan City. Their work recovers surviving captives, shipping tags, and records implicating the River Affairs Bureau 42 43.

Haydson’s Challenge

Haydson’s challenge prompts Linley to develop Pulsing Defense. Their battle at Tujiao Mountain ends with both injured: Linley concedes that Haydson won, while the spectators celebrate the contest as a draw. Haydson acknowledges that Linley’s understanding of the Laws exceeds what his current human-form strength can fully support 49 50 51.

Founding the Baruch Kingdom

Linley moves into the Chaotic Territory with his companions, leaving Wharton to maintain the clan’s position in the O’Brien Empire. Encounters with Miller, Desri, and Hayward broaden his understanding of wind, magic, and spiritual combat 52 56 57.

He confesses his love to Delia and later marries her. Over the following decade, he subdues or allies with the powers surrounding the Baruch Mountain Range, unifying them into the Baruch Kingdom. Rather than claim the throne, he leaves kingship to Wharton and concentrates on cultivation 59 65 66.

The kingdom remains a target of the Radiant and Dark Churches. Linley recognizes their mineral-vein dispute as a test of whether Doehring will violate continental rules by intervening in mortal warfare. He also asks Desri to prepare a replacement Church that practices faith without sacrifices or consuming human souls 67 68 70.

Necropolis of the Gods

Beirut invites Linley into the Necropolis for ten years. Linley enters its Saint Realm route with Bebe and Barker, while Doehring takes the separate Deity Level route 78 79.

Inside, Linley advances his spiritual energy and human-form cultivation, defeats the Flame Monarch, and helps his companions survive increasingly dangerous floors. When the Blade Demons threaten their escape, he stays behind and develops the Blade of Dimension at the brink of death 81 82 84 88.

After returning to Yulan, he enters the planar chamber beneath Dragonblood Castle and independently becomes a Wind Element Lowgod 89 90.

Holy Island and Gebados

Linley and Doehring resolve to strike Holy Island before Heidens can summon a god. During the assault, Doehring fights the Eight-Winged Divine Angel while Linley advances through the angel army. Heidens traps his soul with Fate Law, but Linley breaks the restraint and counterattacks 91 93.

Linley later leaves Yulan with Bebe, while Doehring stays to guard Baruch and his family. In Gebados, Linley survives hostile prisoners, dangerous terrain, and Ghost Mist, then passes the trial to become an ordinary fiend 97 98 103.

Gula’s attack forces his Earth Element breakthrough but demonstrates how far he remains below a peak Midgod. When a rift to Yulan becomes a battlefield crowded with exiles, Linley searches for a way home without throwing himself into a fight his dual-Lowgod strength cannot survive 103 105.

Notable Quotes

“But I gave my word.” 14

“Wind is the sword, and earth is the shield. The merging of wind and earth is the true great path of a Dragonblood Warrior.” 72

“Wharton is steadier than I am. He’s suited to that chair. I have my own path to follow.” 66