"Stop them," the Heavenly Wolf Khan yelled, but his words were less effective than he had hoped. The Heaven Cardinal would not give up his advantage, and the court's second team was in the midst of sealing Soul Revenance. Meanwhile, Star Manifestation hesitated about leaving their companion behind.

"Do it," the Khan yelled.

Star Manifestation clenched their teeth, then prepared to leave the Khan alone to face the cardinal. However, it was already too late. Someone had already reached Grand Dao's cage, which suddenly vibrated, pushing the attacker back and revealing the Karma Root Monarch.

"How is it?" a voice suddenly echoed in this dimension, followed by its owner — Trinity Venerable — slowly manifesting. Accompanying him was the Slaughter Ancestor, already in battle mode, holding a red spear.

"The karmic link has been established," the Karma Root Monarch nodded.

"Excellent." Trinity Venerable nodded. With this karmic link, their team was now a viable contender for control.

"Did you detect the distribution of [authority]?"

"At least 70% belonged to him," Karma Root Monarch replied. "The court, or Suiji, has 20%, and the cardinal controls the rest."

"In that case, let's target the weakest link." Trinity Venerable finally focused on everybody else present. The court had successfully sealed the Soul Revenance, something he was still skeptical of. The Khan's group had stopped fighting, watching the newcomers with weary eyes.

"I wasn't careful enough," the Heavenly Wolf Khan thought. He knew people were watching and probably planning on taking advantage of their situation. So, he left methods to track anyone who entered the Highest Firmament; he also destroyed the spatial path their team had created. It took the court one hundred years to reach the top, so the Khan figured that even if those who came afterward would take less time, it was still enough for them to sense something. Sadly, his calculations were wrong. These people had long used the court's ascension to create their own separate, quick spatial path to reach the top.

"How about we work together to kill the cardinal?" Trinity Venerable suggested.

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to work with you?" the Khan retorted. Their group was immune to the Anti-Dao Matter, but the same cannot be said for those Primordial Beings. In other words, the cardinal was the antithesis of these intruders.

"I must say, as much as your faith in your emperor is a source of power, it also blinds you."

The Khan frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"Haven't you realized he's been analyzing your Light Origin to create a counter with the Anti-Dao Matter?" Trinity Venerable asked.

The Heaven Cardinal's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained neutral. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Wolf Khan's expression became severe. He had felt that something was wrong; the cardinal did not seem to be losing, but rather waiting for something. He had thought the latter was preparing a last desperate attempt, but now, he was suspicious.

"There is no way he could analyze his majesty's power, right?" the Myriad Gourd Empress asked through their communication channel.

"We are using an imitation of a weakened version, so yes, it's very possible," the Yin-Yang Origin Dragon acknowledged.

"So, what do we do? Do we work with these people?"

No one gave her an answer. In fact, they didn't have to. While everybody was discussing their next move, the Heaven Cardinal suddenly acted. The colorful cloud inside the cage suddenly vibrated, and with this subtle action, the cardinal's aura began to rise. However, the moment he made his move, seven potent attacks — all enhanced by True Saint Artifacts — hit him simultaneously. It was so devastating that one of the few remaining observers — Wang Wei and the Primordial Heaven Sword Saint — wondered if he was still alive.

"He's not dead," the Karma Root Monarch yelled, as she was the first to sense the cardinal's lingering karmic presence.

"Don't stop," Trinity Venerable said, unsurprised by the revelation. Most of their attacks were weakened — maybe even rendered useless — by the Anti-Dao Matter, meaning the Infinite Divine Court was doing the most damage.

"Who put you in charge?" the Myriad Gourd Empress snapped, but her actions did not stop.

"Slaughter, prepare yourself."

The Slaughter Ancestor's eyes lit up. If he could kill a [Cardinal], his cultivation would take a significant path forward. Under normal circumstances, that's impossible, but as fate would have it, the perfect opportunity had presented itself. A cardinal who had betrayed its master and thus lost its immortality was right in front of him. Life will never present a better opportunity than this. Holding his spear, the Slaughter Ancestor began to gather power, ready to strike at the perfect moment.

Meanwhile, the Heaven Cardinal was not feeling well. All the people attacking him are top second-step powerhouses; some can be considered the peak of their realms. The Anti-Matter Cube is still useful for the expeditioners — to some degree — but it does not completely eradicate their powers. And there are still the four people from the court.

"Damn it, damn it, I was so close," he thought. After so many years of being looked down on by other Tribunal Lords, after so many years of mockery, of being called "Grand Dao's lapdog," he was so close to attaining his freedom and preserving his strength. But at the last moment, everything began to fall apart.

"Why did that fucking Beyonder choose this time to enact his plan? Why didn't Grand Dao do a better job at stopping him? Why is everybody blocking my way? Damn, damn, damn it, I was so close," the Heaven Cardinal thought. His eyes turned red, laced with a hidden madness. For a moment, he thought of doing something rash, but the fear of death immediately clarified his thought.

"It's not over, so I can't die yet," the cardinal thought. "There is still hope for the future. As long as I can leave this place, I can convince Grand Dao that I didn't betray it. Yes, I just had a lapse of judgment, and my actions were not selfish — I just wanted to ensure these people did not get their hands on this branch."

With renewed vigor, the Heaven Cardinal's mind began to operate desperately to find an exit strategy. It didn't take him long to come up with something: division. Without hesitation, he divided his authority into 20 pieces before scattering them throughout the 27th Heaven.

Everyone paused, looking suspiciously at these 20 pieces of golden lights. Then, they looked at each other, their eyes squinted, and their breathing was even shallower than before. The tension in the area intensified. The Heaven Cardinal did not immediately move, waiting for an opportunity. However, the smirk on the corner of his face betrayed his emotions. Thirty seconds passed, and someone finally moved.

Trinity Venerable raised his hand and attacked — and his target was the Heaven Cardinal. He ignored the dispersed authority around him, focusing on the task at hand. His allies glanced at each other before following him. The Slaughter Ancestor was still gathering power, his ultimate attack with one hand while the other bombarded the cardinal with ordinary attacks.

"Damn it, you forced me," the Heaven Cardinal roared.

"Stop him," Trinity Venerable and the Heavenly Wolf Khan yelled simultaneously. But it was too late. There was no hesitation. No regret. No remorse. The Heaven Cardinal exploded, generating a terrifying power that collapses space, time, matter, and numerous other concepts.

"Ignore the explosion. Focus on the pieces of his soul that he scattered," the Trinity Venerable yelled, and the Karma Root Monarch and Slaughter Ancestor followed. The former used a karmic web to gather all those escaping soul particles. Meanwhile, the Slaughter Ancestor targeted the cardinal's soul imprint — imprints, since most of them were fakes used as distractions.

The expeditioners had the luxury to ignore the damage, but the court did not. As such, the Heavenly Wolf Khan ordered his people to protect themselves first. But even without their help, the expeditioners successfully captured all of the Heaven Cardinals' souls and imprint — except for one. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Damn it," Trinity Venerable cursed as he watched one of them about to disappear into the aether. But then, just as it was about to succeed, a formation closed on the imprint before slowly turning into a sealing cube.

"I should have expected you to show up," Trinity Venerable said with a somber face.

"You should have," the Erudite Duchess nodded. With one swift motion, she put the imprint and the Anti-Matter Cube into a shared dimension accessible by the main body and the other projections.

Everybody stared at each other, resulting in a new, even more intense pressure building. The situation had become even more complex. One enemy was gone, but one share of authority has been divided and scattered across the battlefield, making it easily available.

"You know, we are technically still allies bonded by a contract," Trinity Venerable stated. "We can still work together to survive this ordeal. And after dealing with outside forces, we can talk about our disagreement."

The duchess frowned. Siding up with the expeditioners would balance out the situation, but once the court is eliminated, it will be her time. More importantly, Death Reverence is also manipulating things from the shadows. But, does she even have a choice?