For a Soul Master to obtain a soul ring, a soul beast had to lose its life, whether hunted down by the Soul Master personally or through a voluntary sacrifice.
Earlier, the Snow Empress had briefly explained the characteristics and process of a Wisdom Soul Ring: after the sacrifice, Tian Meng and Huo Yuhao's immense spiritual power allowed soul beasts whose spiritual power had reached a certain level to retain their consciousness.
Generally speaking, spiritual power at the hundred-thousand-year soul beast level could be preserved rather than absorbed completely by Huo Yuhao.
But this process still caused irreversible harm to the soul beast. Although most of its power could be preserved as spiritual power, a considerable portion would separate out with the loss of its soul bone as its physical body perished and was reshaped.
The long-term benefits of becoming Huo Yuhao's Wisdom Soul Ring were not easy to see, but the short-term side effects were all too real.
Beyond their ingrained beliefs as soul beasts, this was the main reason the Ghost Shadow Snow Leopard and Titan Snow Demon King refused to accept the Snow Empress's plan. Their dignity as powerful soul beasts also made it impossible to entrust their lives to a human they had just met, even if the Snow Empress had chosen him.
Only Ice Bear King Xiaobai, that big fool who obeyed the Snow Empress in everything, was willing to trust her unconditionally.
Huo Yuhao also understood why they refused. Among the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts of the inner circle, only Xiaobai was nearing his next great tribulation. The others' fear of their tribulations was not yet so urgent that they would readily stake everything on this path.
Therefore, he had to adopt different approaches according to their different circumstances.
Huo Yuhao extended his right index