It wasn't as easy as it seemed though. Those two might have had benevolent hearts and a high sense of duty but that wasn't enough. Finding the cave in which the right person was? It wasn't that simple. The fact was that if they entered the wrong cave, they would be facing a rival. Would they have to fight? Would they be able to flee? They didn't know. In the end, they stopped at the third cavern and began to discuss. It was nice and everything to try to find and help the champions of Hae-Hyuk but how could they be sure to find one of them? They could not. As such, they didn't know what to do. They didn't want to gamble with their lives for one thing.

The cavern they were facing was one that shouldn't be empty as there was no longer a bridge in front of it. In the end, they decided to go back to the cavern that had been in front of their own bridge. They would eventually meet up with one of the kids later on as less and less people would be alive.

...

And time went by.

Enough time passed that all the bridges were taken except one. Jin was sitting in his own cavern, waiting for things to start. Meanwhile, Min-Su was still stuck facing one of the elemental monsters. And he was at his wit's end. There were still two others with him and he was lacking in spiritual energy now. He would be the next to fall if this went on.

Then, something unexpected happened. Or rather, appeared. It was heard first, even beyond the noise made by the fight and the surroundings. It was a very creepy laughter. The three cultivators turned around at the same time just like the elemental giant did. The four beings watched as a fifth one appeared. It had a humanoid shape but it was nothing human for sure. This thing seemed to be made of a constantly flowing dark liquid into which floated many mouths and eyes. It was disgusting. The first feeling it gave however wasn't disgust, it was horror.

The three cultivators retreated a few steps as if by instinct while the giant began to roar. It proceeded to pounce on the newcomer who stood still and kept laughing. The punch filled with magma and heated rocks arrived quickly but it didn't try to dodge. It let it hit. There was loud 'bang' sound before the punched area flew into pieces all over the place, spraying black substances, rocks and lava around.

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However, this wasn't the end.

The black goo seemed to be stuck to the elemental's fist and it seemed to grow onto it little by little. The giant was screaming as he shook his arm trying to take the goo away. It didn't work and the goo kept on growing over his arm. Then, eyes and jaws began to pop out from it and the laughter rang once more. The three, including Min-Su, didn't think anymore and just dashed away. Whatever that thing was, it was terrifying and they didn't want to tangle with it.

Min-Su, who had been lacking spiritual energy by now, took the risk and gobbled a pill. It recovered his spiritual energy instantly. That being said, he would have to survive on this quantity until the end, it wasn't going to be easy. He had no other option. And his two comrades in pain did the same. They no longer even glanced at each other as they focused on fleeing. Whatever the goo was, it was far more dangerous than the golem. It was too dangerous.

Minutes later, they reached the end of the area but there were no bridges on sight. Min-su did not wait for them and ran to the left. The one at the rightest rushed right. The poor chap that had been in the middle only had two options and they both involved fighting one of the other two. He decided to go right. The fellow with the armor seemed harder to kill because he had the armor. It would be a tough fight either ways but he believed the one without armor would be slightly easier.

Those two rushed and miraculously found the last bridge. They ended up fighting to the death there and it was the one who had dashed first that won. He lost an arm and an ear in the process as well as earning a lot of fractures. He would obviously be unable to keep fighting for the victory but as long as he crossed the bridge, he would survive the death mist. That's what he believed for that was what he was told.

He sighed in relief as he began to walk on the bridge. Then, he got the surprise of his life. He ended up facing a sentient tiger man at the end of the bridge. That being had its arms crossed and a wide grin. It held two daggers red from blood. As he glanced down, he noticed that there were many bloodstains. Did this guy stay here precisely to ambush rivals?!

Even if he had been in top form, he would have likely not been a match for an expert from a sentient beast clan. Those were monsters. And now, in this state? He could only dream of it. No, he couldn't even dream of it. His imagination wasn't that great. He couldn't think of a scenario where he won.

He sighed as he asked the being in front of him: "Please, make it quick"

The grinning tiger did not even answer as he simply took two steps back and left the bridge. Then, the both of them could see the bridge disappearing. As soon as it turned into particles, the injured cultivator began to feel a pressure unlike anything he ever felt. It was only for a second though. The next second, he was nothing more than splashed gore at the deep end of the abyss.

He didn't have the time to cry or scream or anything.

As for the tiger man, he was disappointed. It was far less interesting than he had hoped. He spat down at the abyss as he turned around and walked towards the cavern behind him.