Embodiment was a critical skill in any Martial Art, you could be an overwhelmingly powerful Martial artist, one who had not learnt the Embodiment skill of their respective Martial art, two stages above one who had and yet you would lose to the other Martial artist simply because he had learned Embodiment.
The lower level of the Embodiment was the physique as shown in Noah's past while the lowest level was the Body Building Exercise. Its role in the life of a Martial artist was to help them strengthen their body but its main role was actually to prepare the body for the Embodiment!
The skill, Embodiment, was the fine tuning of the Martial artist's body to fully express the essence of a Martial art. It was always different for every martial art, it could fine tune a Martial artist's body to be lighter if he/she possessed a Speed type martial art or increase his/her body defenses if it was a Defense type martial art.
Like Battlesoul masters, there were also categories to Martial arts. This meant a martial art always focused on either of the four aspects of strength; Brute force, Defense, Speed or Stealth. Of course, this was just the limit of ground level martial arts, top level martial arts like Noah's former Berserk Tiger martial art was one which integrated both brute force and defense. And to top it off, his current Azure Dragon Art was even worse integrating brute force, defense and speed into its moves. This was why if Noah had trained in the Berserk Tiger Art, he would have had an easier time with its Embodiment skill because then the skill would only need to fine tune his body with its target being strength and defense but with the Azure Dragon Art in play, fine tuning with the target of three aspects of Martial arts. It was unfortunate that the creator of the Azure Dragon Art seemed to disdain the Physique series skill and omitted its creation, meaning Noah could not use the Embodiment's weaker version, leading to the increased strain on his body. It was a surprise he could recover in merely five days.
That's right. The teenager had only woken up after five days of healing, which was honestly quick. He decisively attributed that to the Dragon bloodline inside him. Squeezing his hand into a fist, Noah let out a sigh as he felt a wave of weakness engulf his entire body. Looking closely one could even see his fingers shaking.
"You're awake." A voice to his side made the teenager stop his tests and face the tired looking Owen.
"Hmm." Noah responded, shifting his position on the bed so he could sit straight. "From your expression, I guess the Auction House is fixed?"
"Yeah, the workers really worked day and night for this one." Stifling a yawn, the Family head circulated his Essence to drive away his fatigue, albeit temporarily and only for a short amount of time. "And I've been up all night supervising them and trying to prevent any information leak."
"Thank you for keeping this under wraps. That and the Gravity manual, without that Battle Art I'd probably be six feet under at the moment." Noah said. He knew the reason the man was so tired was because he had to oversee the information lock on his transformation into a half-dragon.
Owen shook his head as he released a wry laugh. "I should be the one thanking you instead. Without you, I and my family would be dead at the moment considering I could never win against such a lineup." He paused for a while, hesitating before sighing softly. "And I totally understand if you don't wish to take my kids with you."
The transmigrator scoffed, glancing deeply at the man before him. "Do I look like someone who would go back on his words?"
Hearing this, the Family Head sighed in relief as a smile emerged on his lips. "Thank you very much. Oh and I have one more thing to ask."
"What?"
Glancing at the teenager, Owen paused for a bit before finally speaking. "If you can befriend them."
"Hmm?"
"When I talk to you I get the feeling I'm speaking to a peer. Heck, I feel like I'm talking to someone way more experienced than me!" For the first time, the man looked deeply into Noah's silver eyes and spoke. "But I feel like such maturity is too much for a child, hell it's too much for anyone below 40. I wish for you to befriend my children and live a normal life, at least until you get to Star City. I don't know what happened to a child like you to create such a driven personality but I want to live my life knowing I tried to fix something so you can interpret this as me trying to get you closer to my kids but I don't care as long as you can fulfill this wish of mine."
The transmigrator stayed quiet for a while, allowing those words sink deeply within him. In truth, he hadn't had much of a childhood. Even if for some time in his life he had managed to ward off his family's control, he still wasn't allowed to do things normal kids could. His childhood couldn't necessary be described as normal. For once, some selfishness appeared within Noah. A selfish wish he had to live his life normally, with friends and loved ones but it was a selfish wish that he quickly buried. 'Those kinds of things are impossible without power.' But it still existed. 'If I can gain enough power, maybe, maybe I can finally live like that.' Looking at the earnest face of Owen, a rare smile appeared on his face. "Sure. I'll try."
The man smiled back as he felt like a rock placed upon his heart had finally been lifted. "Good. You haven't healed up completely so rest some more. You and those brats can set off by next week." With that said, he left the office heading to his office to arrange the trip.
The next week Noah was already more than healed up. He stood beside the siblings as he watched the citizens of Lyre send them off. The two smiled as they waved the city and their dad goodbye before heading into the forest. Their destination? Soaring Star Academy!