Ben was in a jovial mood. As he walked to the borders of the camp he whistled, further displaying how happy he was. He greeted many people along the way, something he rarely every did. Even going as far as to help lift up a person he had bumped into. This kind behavior was not something the proud and clever Ben usually had, but today was a special occasion.

Ben finally had the chance to stuff it to a noble, the kind who had enslaved him and made his life miserable. All of his loved ones were tortured or killed by them.

He had been saving the incado grass so he could sell it, but he felt that this outcome was definitely more pleasing. Money is money. Vengeance, cures the soul, or so he thought.

He arrived to the boundary of the camp. It had been roughly a day since he had stuffed the boy with the herb. So he should be waking up around this time. Not to mention it almost time to sell the brat. As soon as he arrived however, he once again met an unexpected circumstance.

The boy was calmly sitting cross legged. A serene look on his face. Like nothing ever happened.

Ben looked to the other brat, a little girl he had captured, “When did that boy wake up? Why is he acting like this?” This is not how a person under the influence of incado grass behaves. They normally toss and turn, shiver or sometimes even scream.

Even if they wake up, they would still be hallucinating. The boy should be spooked, cowering in fear. He should at least be showing some signs of discomfort. Yet he appeared perfectly fine! Ben was absolutely sure what he fed the boy was incado grass. Even the little girls in chains showed a fearful expression when he took it out.

The little girl remained quiet. Her face showing indifference. As if Ben didn't exist. Ben was angered by her disobedience. He was about to do something about it as well, when he heard a snicker coming from behind him.

“Not what you were expecting was it, buddy” Bastian laughed. He was enjoying this

“I'm not your buddy, you brat”

"Whatever you say, guy.”

“I'm not your guy!”

Ben was fuming with rage.

This insolent brat! I will kill him!

Ben decided to relax, so his mind can properly process what was in front of him. After calming himself down, Ben started to rationalize. He needed to understand what happened.

He wanted to ask, but he felt he would lose a lot of face if he did so. Ben took pride in his intelligence. You could even say that he was famous for it around here. Normally it was people asking him questions.

“You want to know how I'm fine right.” Bastian started teasing Ben, the same way Ben teased him when he had known the boy was awake yesterday during the meeting.

Ben immediately understood what the boy was doing. It made him even angrier, yet there was nothing he could do. He didn't understand how the boy had done it.

He had searched the boy and knew he couldn't have hidden an antidote. Not to mention he had to have known that he was going to be fed incado grass. Which was impossible.

He also knew that the boy had no storage treasure. On the sovereign continent there were many tools that could do miraculous things. Some objects had a massive space inside them that could be used to store things.

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These storage tools were usually in the form of rings and amulets. They were very expensive, so it was impossible for mere low ranking mercenaries to possess one, let alone a newcomer like Ben.

The boy had no such objects on his body, so Ben was left speechless. He also knew the girl had nothing on her. She came from a tribe that looked down upon the usage of such things. Her body also had nothing on it. He had made sure of that. Even the old dress she was wearing had been given to her by Ben.

No matter what Ben thought of, it just would not click.

“Alright then, let me tell you how I did it.” Bastian had enjoyed seeing Ben suffer but it was time to put the plan he and the little girl had come up with to action. “I am a Mark Bearer.”

“Impossible!” Ben instantly rebuked what Bastian had said. Mark bearers. A new breed of cultivators that appeared from nowhere a decade ago. They had a dragon tattoo on their bodies, and it was widely known that this mark gave them extraordinary abilities.

Many of them had rampaged across the Sovereign Continent, upsetting the natural order. Due to the incredible abilities that these monsters had, they easily took over many kingdoms and empires.

One isn't born a Mark Bearer, but one is chosen. Very few know what caused this phenomenon to occur. Rumor had it those with the mark were the chosen descendants of an ancient and powerful immortal, looking for a successor to his legacy.

Whatever the case, normal people feared Mark Bearers. This was because anyone who became the enemy of a Mark Bearer was doomed. These monsters were not only very talented and powerful, they also formed their own organizations. Odds are if you anger one Mark Bearer, you will anger a lot more.

It was also widely known that their Marks had an imposing presence, and that they could curse your soul. This curse would destroy your soul upon death, removing you from the cycle of reincarnation. Some people even claimed that this curse lasted for nine generations!

Mark Bearers are usually people with immense talent and potential, it would not make sense that this boy was one, his own family had abandoned him. Not to mention he was alone without any guards or protection.

That's when it hit him, this was the only explanation he had that could explain why the boy could resist incado grass. Mark Bearers were monsters that defied reasoning. Ben started to break out in a cold sweat.

“It’s impossible for you to be one! You have no cultivation talent!”

Bastian grinned. He had been waiting for this, “Who said I had no cultivation now? I never said I've always had the mark now have I? Besides, is cultivation the only talent?”

Ben: “!!!”

He was right! If he was kicked out of his family before he had the Mark, then that would mean the mark could have fixed his talent issue. Improving talent? Such a thing was not impossible for these monsters. They had defied logic many times in the past few years.

Incado grass was a soul herb, it attacked your soul, just because you can't cultivate doesn't mean you have a weak soul.

Before Ben could say anything else, Bastian revealed his chest, his smooth white skin was so beautiful it made even the girl jealous. Bastian was a very attractive boy. He was sure to become a ladies man in the future.

That's when it happened! A tattoo of a golden coiling dragon suddenly appeared on Bastian's chest! The dragon was incredibly defined. Each scale was dazzling, its big eyes appeared as if they looked down on everything, making one feel insignificant.

Even though it was merely a tattoo, it gave one the impression that it was real. That it was alive.

The longer Ben looked at it, the harder he found it to breathe, and the more difficult it was to remain standing. It was as if a massive weight was bearing down on him, as if he was carrying a mountain on his shoulders.

The tattoo was so overbearing, it made one feel as if it was a crime not to prostrate to it. Like if one did not kowtow before the tattoo, tribulation lightning would strike from the heavens!

This feeling was rooted deep within Ben. The tattoo not only affected his body, but it also affected his soul!

Ben started thinking about the rumors of a Mark Bearer's abilities. The fact that Bastian was a Mark Bearer was now clear.

Ben started feeling distressed for the way he had treated the boy. He felt so bad, he wouldn't be surprised if his intestines were now green from regret. Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret.

Just when Ben was about to prostrate himself and beg for forgiveness, Bastian covered himself and spoke up.

“Ben, would you like being my Soul Sworn?”

Author’s note: If you enjoyed the story, please vote! Thank you for reading :)