The fourth soul ring was definitely beyond the limit, and the third soul ring might have been as well. Coupled with the assassination attempt he experienced in his early years, it was not surprising that Tang San's soul power level had surpassed the original timeline, even without consuming the Eight Petal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Blazing Delicate Apricot.
Moreover, Tang San had been cultivating the Purple Demon Eye since childhood, giving him spiritual power far beyond that of ordinary soul masters at the same level. Even without the Autumn Dew Tear, his fourth soul ring might still bring some surprises to the audience.
Of course, even if there were still surprises, they wouldn't be as shocking as in the original story.
After all, Tang San was no longer the only contestant in this tournament to possess a ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring.
As for Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, although their soul power levels were five levels lower than in the original timeline, it was important to remember that in the original story, after consuming the Beautiful Silk Tulip and the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone, their soul power levels had directly increased by six and seven levels, respectively.
Not to mention that after consuming the immortal herbs, the medicinal power hidden within their bodies and their improved cultivation talent further accelerated their soul power cultivation speed.
This meant that if the immortal herbs were taken out of the equation, their soul power levels in the original timeline would have been significantly lower than they were now.
The reason for this change, of course, was the whale glue.
There was no need to explain Ning Rongrong's case. As for Zhu Zhuqing, even though she was suppressed and excluded by her elder sister, Zhu Zhuyun, she was still the second young miss of the Nether Civet family. The resources she was supposed to receive were not lacking.
Otherwise, if the younger generation couldn't even obtain the necessary cultivation resources due to suppression from the older generation, then the Star Luo Empire's imperial succession system simply wouldn't work.
Moreover, unless something unexpected happened, aside from their first soul rings, both of their second and third soul rings should have been beyond the limit.
Especially Ning Rongrong—if her level had reached four rings, she probably could have also obtained a ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring.
A mere head soul bone—considering the degree of love and indulgence Ning Fengzhi and "that cheap-boned guy" had for her, it might not have been a top-quality piece, but getting an ordinary ten-thousand-year head soul bone wouldn't have been difficult.
As for the remaining two members of the Shrek Seven Devils, Oscar and Ma Hongjun, Ma Hongjun might have had a chance to obtain an over-limit third soul ring, but for Oscar, it was basically impossible.
Before Flender led the Shrek group to join Liu Erlong, Shrek Academy was so short on funds that they even scammed students out of their registration fees: "Once registered, no refunds." This showed just how tight their finances were.
Forget whether Flender had the right connections—let's assume he did and knew about the benefits of whale glue—he still wouldn't have had the money to arrange it for Oscar.
Moreover, Oscar was just a student of Shrek Academy, not Flender's biological son.
You think Dai Mubai had money? Sure, but he wasn't exactly a philanthropist. And as a noble, Dai Mubai initially looked down on both Ma Hongjun and Oscar.
It wasn't just because they were commoners; the thing that really put Dai Mubai off was Ma Hongjun's frequent need to vent his "evil fire" and Oscar's rather perverted-sounding soul incantations.
They weren't even "plastic brothers" in his eyes. To Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun and Oscar weren't even his plastic brothers—they were at best plastic underlings. The idea that he would just give them whale glue for free? Impossible.
As for why Ma Hongjun had a chance to obtain an over-limit soul ring, that was because he reached the three-ring level much later than Oscar. According to the original timeline, by that time, Shrek Academy had already "revived" under Blue Tyrant Academy's banner.
Blue Tyrant Academy was nothing like the impoverished Shrek Academy. They could even afford to build mimicry cultivation fields, so nurturing a few geniuses with over-limit soul rings was naturally not an issue.
'Without the Yearning Heartbroken Red concealing her aura, this rabbit actually dares to participate in the Soul Master Tournament?'
Suddenly, Mu Yang realized a crucial point.
As a transformed soul beast, who gave Xiao Wu the courage to enter the Soul Master Tournament?
There was no way this rabbit could be foolish enough to think that no Title Douluo would pay attention to the tournament, right? And forget Title Douluo—even an ordinary Soul Douluo who had reached Rank 80 or above had a high chance of seeing through her identity as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form.
In the original story, Dugu Bo encountered her but failed to see through it? That was pure blindness on Dugu Bo's part!
Of course, it wasn't that Soul Douluo or Title Douluo could directly identify a transformed soul beast with their naked eyes—it was done through spiritual power.
But without reason, Soul Douluo or Title Douluo wouldn't randomly use their spiritual power to probe other soul masters.
To identify a transformed soul beast, one had to first sense that their aura was different from that of a normal soul master, and only then use spiritual power to investigate further.
In other words, Dugu Bo in the original story wasn't truly blind. He was probably too focused on showing off in front of the weaklings of Shrek Academy, which made him overlook the unusual nature of Xiao Wu's aura.
'No, something's off. This rabbit might be dumb, but Tang Hao is definitely not.
Could it be that Tang Hao had already planned everything, preparing for his son to follow in his footsteps—sacrificing his wife for boundless soul power?'
Mu Yang speculated inwardly.
Thinking about it, a golden light flickered in Mu Yang's eyes as he looked ahead at Xiao Wu, whose hair was tied in a scorpion braid.
Immortal Herb: Autumn Water Tear. Consuming it grants Fiery Golden Eyes, capable of seeing through countless mysterious objects.
Though this Fiery Golden Eyes was a downgraded version of a downgraded version, it could indeed see through transformed soul beasts that lacked special concealment techniques—unless their soul power cultivation had already entered the mature stage.
"Hm?"
The next moment, Mu Yang let out a soft murmur of surprise.
Under his Fiery Golden Eyes, Xiao Wu showed no abnormalities—she was still a human soul master.
What the hell? Could this Xiao Wu be fake?!
"Mu Yang, what's wrong?"
Hearing his murmur, Mu Xiyue, who was walking ahead of him, turned back and asked.
'Aunt, the girl with the scorpion braid up ahead—her aura feels a little off. Did you sense anything?'
Mu Yang transmitted his voice to her.
Receiving his transmission, Mu Xiyue focused her gaze on Xiao Wu ahead.
A moment later, Mu Xiyue shook her head and said, "I don't see anything unusual."
"Then maybe I just sensed it wrong."
Mu Yang slightly raised an eyebrow, then casually dismissed it.
As expected, this dumb rabbit wasn't entirely dumb. If she dared to enter the Soul Master Tournament, she must have been well-prepared.
Of course, Xiao Wu's aura-concealing method must have an upper limit.
It might work against ordinary Title Douluo, but when facing the continent's top powerhouses, it was likely ineffective. At the very least, it wouldn't fool Qian Daoliu, who was just half a step away from becoming a god. Unless Xiao Wu's concealment method involved divine power.
However, if even Mu Xiyue—who had been forewarned and whose spiritual power far surpassed that of an ordinary Title Douluo—couldn't see through Xiao Wu's identity as a transformed soul beast, then Title Douluo below Rank 95 definitely wouldn't be able to either. Even those above Rank 95 might not necessarily see through it.
Uh… If that's the case, will the Soul Master Tournament end up being a lot less exciting?