At the very least, she was not suitable as the vanguard.
At present, among Wen Liang's two strongest identities, both Kiana and Cecilia were fully capable of handling operations in Penacony—but neither of them was quite the right fit.
With that in mind, Wen Liang opened the system shop.
He still had not had a chance to look through the newly unlocked section from Walter's side.
Constructive History Points: 222,909
A balance that was immensely pleasing to behold.
His gaze moved to the shop catalog.
Aside from the various Honkai-related items that had already been marked down by half, several new entries had indeed appeared.
Call of the Path: 30,000 pointsDescription: Can summon the Path corresponding to any identity to appear on the spot—but what it does after appearing? That depends on how you handle it.Special Note: If the current Aeon of that Path has already fallen, it will appear in Constructive History form.
Thirty thousand points.
Wen Liang's eyebrow twitched.
While that amount was no longer especially painful for him, the effect of the item…
Summon an Aeon of the corresponding Path to appear, but with no guarantee what it would do afterward?
A little underwhelming, though perhaps it could be useful in certain situations.
Still, Wen Liang was not particularly interested. Next.
The Traitor's Backstab: 30,000 pointsDescription: Depending on the identity's attributes, allows that identity to possess a decisive backstabbing move capable of altering the outcome when facing the Aeon of its corresponding Path.Special Note: Don't be ridiculous enough to think a backstab can actually kill an Aeon!
Backstabbing an Aeon?
A mere thirty thousand points for something that outrageous?
Wen Liang was a little stunned, but once he saw the special note afterward, it no longer seemed that surprising.
So it was just a forced stab, not an actual god-killing move.
That said, even so, the tactical value of the skill still seemed fairly high.
After all, he could gain power simply by constructing history. If one day he decided to create an identity specifically meant to play the turncoat, he might be able to make something huge happen.
Come to think of it, that idea really might work.
But for now, the more important matter was deciding who would go to Penacony and what the plan would be.
Then Wen Liang's gaze settled on the outrageously expensive item.
Identity CorrectionDescription: Performs adaptive corrections based on the identity's traits, unlocking or strengthening its unique abilities so that it fits more naturally into this world's system and can display the power it ought to possess.
Yes—Wen Liang had his eyes on Identity Correction again.
Ever since experiencing the fully maxed-out account of Cecilia, he could no longer go back to the miserable old days of grinding levels for starter characters.
And now, the price of Identity Correction was something he could actually afford.
Theresa (Erudition): 100,000 pointsFu Hua (Hunt): 200,000 pointsKallen (Preservation): 200,000 points
Wen Liang let his gaze linger on those three names.
One hundred thousand. Two hundred thousand. Two hundred thousand.
In the past, those were sums he would not even have dared imagine. But now, with 222,000 Constructive History Points sitting in his account, he had room to choose.
Still, Theresa's price had already been reduced to 100,000.
That made sense. Back when he had corrected Cecilia, it had still cost him 150,000 points—Theresa being even cheaper was not too surprising.
Then again, that also made sense in another way. He had indeed laid some groundwork for Cecilia back then, but it had been limited to Herta Space Station.
Theresa, on the other hand—he had been genuinely and painstakingly building her up the entire time.
But as things currently stood, Wen Liang was not planning to correct Theresa first.
Though she was the cheapest, in a place like Penacony Theresa would not be able to make full use of her strengths.
The same was true of Fu Hua.
He had only just fed the Xianzhou Alliance all that information about Yuanqiao and Fu Hua, and if he immediately revealed her in Penacony right after that…
It would feel like too much of a waste.
So it seemed only one option remained.
Wen Liang's gaze shifted to the final choice.
Kallen (Preservation): 200,000 points
Perhaps this time, Kallen should be the one to receive correction.
After excluding Theresa and Fu Hua, the cost of correcting any other unraised identity would exceed all the savings he currently had.
Moreover, in this Penacony operation, the IPC clearly placed enormous importance on the matter. Even that bastard Oswaldo would probably want to get involved.
If he used some other identity, brute-forcing his way through would be no problem at all—but if he used Preservation, then given the IPC's faith in that Path, it would make any actions he took much easier to justify.
And besides, Wen Liang had also remembered that backstab skill from earlier.
Perhaps it really was about time to prepare an identity meant to play the villain.
The office fell silent once more.
Wen Liang stared at the system panel for a moment, then finally made his decision.
Taking a deep breath, he pressed the confirmation button.
Are you sure you want to spend 200,000 points to perform Identity Correction on "Kallen"?
Confirm.
When Wen Liang opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a space wrapped in Imaginary energy.
And at that moment, he had already taken on Kallen's form.
She raised a hand and moved a little, testing out her new body.
Well then—putting that aside.
Based on his previous experience correcting Cecilia, he ought to have arrived within the Path Interstice of Preservation.
Only…
Why was the Path Interstice of Preservation this empty?
Looking at the desolate space before her, Kallen felt momentarily bewildered.
When she had entered the Interstices of Destruction and Abundance before, she had at least been able to sense a trace of local atmosphere.
Yaoshi had even gone so far as to decorate the place to receive her.
But now that she was at Qlipoth's place, was the old architect so lazy?
For some reason, Kallen felt an unmistakable sense of dissonance.
Still, there were more important things to confirm first.
Identity historical correction progress: 30%…Preservation authority elevation: 70%…Divine Key: Oath of Judah: 90%…100%
Oh?
So it was Judah.
Just like with Cecilia's correction last time, Kallen's correction also granted her a Divine Key.
Though to be honest, she had assumed Judah would have gone to Theresa.
Then again, once she remembered that Theresa's identity represented Erudition, it no longer seemed so strange.
Kallen raised her hand, palm upward.
Golden light began to gather in the void.
Slowly, it took shape, forming a massive cross.
Kallen lightly touched its cold metallic surface, and immediately a sense of weight pressed into her hand.
She gave it a tentative swing.
Sure enough, several chains—or perhaps lances of light—shot out along with the motion.
It looked like Judah's broad methods of attack were not all that different from its counterpart next door.
Divine Key, Oath of Judah: A Divine Key bearing the authority of Binding. Its material is formed from a portion of Qlipoth's cast-off shell. It has now fused deeply with the identity "Kallen," becoming the manifested carrier of her Preservation authority.
A new system panel appeared with that explanation.
Kallen was somewhat surprised.
Well now—that was quite the pedigree they had given this Divine Key.
Made from part of the old construction guy's own body? That was far higher-tier than Diamond's cornerstone.
If the people in the IPC found out, they would probably go mad with envy over this weapon.
After collecting herself, Kallen once more turned to the system panel, waiting for the correction to continue.
Preservation authority elevation: 96%…97%…98%…99%…Identity historical correction progress: 96%…97%…98%…99%…
Both progress bars stopped at 99%.
Kallen arched a brow.
What was this?
Had it gotten stuck?
She waited for a while, but the final 1% showed no sign of moving.
System prompt: Anomalous interference detected within the Path Interstice. Historical correction progress temporarily obstructed.
Kallen: ????
Don't screw around—she had paid for this. What kind of nonsense was it to freeze the progress bar now?
"Where's Qlipoth? Old construction man? Amber Lord?"
Kallen tried searching for Qlipoth's presence.
According to her previous correction experience, the final stage ought to involve the Aeon descending personally and bestowing the blessing.
Could it be that the last sliver of progress had stalled because Qlipoth had not shown up?
Kallen felt as though someone was deliberately trying to ruin her mood.
She looked around.
This Path Interstice of Preservation was indeed far too empty.
Not only was there not the slightest trace of Qlipoth himself—even the legendary outlines of walls or fortifications were nowhere to be seen.
And in that moment, the sense of wrongness in Kallen's heart grew stronger and stronger.
It was too quiet here.
So quiet that it did not resemble the origin of a Path at all. It felt more like a ruin that had been forgotten.
Kallen slowly closed her eyes, extending her senses outward.
The authority of Preservation flowed through her, attempting to establish resonance with this space.
Ordinarily, as a newly corrected Emanator of Preservation, she ought to be able to sense Qlipoth's existence—even if only as a faint trace.
But there was nothing.
As though no Amber Lord had ever existed here.
No.
Kallen's eyes snapped open.
Nihility.
The word exploded through her mind.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands.
The light of Preservation still flowed within her palms. The Oath of Judah floated quietly by her side, radiating its heavy presence.
And yet all of it felt completely out of place in this space.
Because this was not the Path Interstice of Preservation at all.
This was the Path Interstice of Nihility.
Kallen (Preservation?)
Kallen: A remnant shed by Qlipoth due to Nihility. After gaining humanity, her purpose became to stain Preservation with Nihility.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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