Sure enough, with his speed, the sentient black tiger didn't take that long to exit the area and find a bridge. He wasn't the only one targeting this bridge apparently though but that was perfectly fine by him. He could secure a bridge and kill another rival while at it.

moments later and one less champion alive, the tigerman was walking on the bridge. As he reached the last step before reaching the opposite ground, he had an idea and laughed. He decided to stay right there, waiting on the bridge. He would take the final step as soon as he saw someone else trying to cross it. It would take down another opponent without him having to lift a finger this time. A very smart plan.

...

Many more champions were exiting through the icy region only to discover that there were no longer any bridges over there for them to cross. They had no choice but to run along the abyss, trying to reach a bridge from the other areas. Many of them were already filled with despair, thinking that if there weren't any bridges left here, there would likely not be any elsewhere either. They looked all over the place and whenever they crossed someone else's path, they ended up fighting. Whoever had reached this place couldn't be left alive. Who knew how many bridges were left?

Isla's champions managed to exit their respective area. The one that had been injured had been lucky to get to the icy area while the other benefitted from another champion who created an opportunity to escape the sand elemental he faced back there.

In the end, due to the time he had wasted with the elemental and then the direction change he was forced to undertake, the second champion ended up meeting the first one at the edge of the sand and icy regions. There was still a bridge over there. Just because the champions from the icy region were trying to get to the desert one didn't mean they would have reached it in a few steps. In the end, the both of them were fortunate.

However, there was only one bridge for the both of them. They didn't want to fight but they both knew that it was possible that this was the last bridge. Friendship? Comradeship? Team Spirit? Screw those things. The injured champion sighed as he was well aware of his fate if a battle broke out between them. He decided to take a gamble and declared: "I take the heavens as my witness, I shall now seal my cultivation until I have crossed a bridge"

Then, he used some peculiar hand seals and spiritual energy manipulation techniques combination to place a seal on his energy. This was akin to giving up life. He wouldn't be able to cross the bridge there and, due to his cultivation, he wouldn't be able to reach another one.

The second cultivator felt a lot of complicated emotions. Since there was an oath, the man in front of him was effectively giving up. Or so he thought. It wasn't the case. The injured cultivator told him: "You know that only one of us can cross the bridge because it should disappear after one being crossed it, right?"

The second didn't want to waste too much time but as they were so close to the bridge, he wasn't scared of missing the window to cross it. He decided to discuss with his comrade one last time. He nodded. And the next words of the injured comrade stunned him: "It will disappear after someone has crossed it. But two people can walk on it at the same time. What if you carried me over there? Wouldn't we both be able to cross?"

The second frowned. In theory, it wasn't impossible but was it? He couldn't be sure. They asked many questions when they discussed things with Isla but it never occurred to them to ask about this. What were the odds of them meeting up each other in such a situation? Low, too low!

The second wasn't convinced however. He didn't want to take such a huge gamble with his life. He shook his head sideways as he admitted to it: "It's too dangerous"

The first expected it but tried to grab onto his last chance of survival: "I can't harm you. Just toss me aside if you see the slightest problem with the bridge, I'm dead anyways otherwise"

The second pondered for a moment... He nodded. It was unsightly and shameful to only agree after being told such things but he couldn't care less. His life was many times more valuable than his face. He picked the other champion on his back and took a small step on the bridge.

Nothing happened.

He took another step effectively putting his entire weight on it. And once again, nothing happened. After that, he cautiously walked forward, one step at a time, expecting the unexpected and ready for anything and everything. But they ended up crossing the entire bridge safely. As they reached the opposite side and looked back, they saw the bridge disappearing and both heaved a sigh filled with relief. Life and death had been too close for comfort.

Anyways, now that they were here, they could look for the two champions they came here to help. They would help them once and retire from the competition. That's what they were told to do and thought would happen. They didn't go inside the cavern in front of their bridge but began to walk away from it, circling the mountain. They would find the cavern where one of those champions were and go in there to assist him.

After all, while there was a limit on the number of bridges, there weren't any limits to the number of people who could enter an open entrance like those from these caverns. They only had to find the ones they were looking for. And so, they walked together, next to one another, in a relaxed manner.