A Chance Encounter with Hermione, Young Deng Chanyu?

After bidding Ollivander farewell, Rhine left the wand shop.

Because Rhine had previously taken Hagrid to see the Dinosaur Fossil and then wasted quite a while at Gringotts, it was clearly getting late. Hagrid kept checking his pocket watch, his face full of worry. There were obviously still several young wizards waiting for him to guide them.

Rhine spoke up at that moment.

"Hagrid, go pick up the other young wizards. I can handle everything from here on my own."

Hagrid hesitated, but ultimately shook his head.

"No, how can I leave you alone in Diagon Alley?"

Rhine smiled.

"The most important things are already done. Trust me, buying books and clothes and the like is exactly what I'm good at."

"I also want to explore the magical world by myself. Once I leave and return to the Muggle world, a car will come pick me up within fifteen minutes. Go on, don't worry about me."

Only after Rhine reassured him again and again did Hagrid finally leave, looking back every few steps.

Rhine let out a quiet breath.

He was quite friendly toward Hagrid, but he did not enjoy being taken shopping like a child.

Besides, he wanted to wander around on his own. He might stumble across some other opportunities, such as making a few new connections.

Just after Rhine parted ways with Hagrid, he had barely taken a few steps through Diagon Alley when a small figure followed alongside him.

Then a crisp voice rang out, excited and puzzled.

"Rhine Snow?"

"Are you Rhine Snow?"

Rhine turned and saw a mass of thick, bushy brown hair. Beneath it were a pair of brown eyes staring at him in astonishment.

The moment he saw that hair, along with its owner's rabbit-like front teeth, Rhine immediately realized who she was.

"Hermione Granger?"

Hermione froze when he called her name, becoming even more puzzled.

"You know me?"

Rhine smiled faintly.

In any other world, he definitely would not have recognized Hermione's still rather ordinary appearance.

But this was the world of Harry Potter. The magical world was tiny, wasn't it?

A young Witch of this age, with this hair color, these eyes, and those front teeth—plus that unmistakable top-student aura—if she was not Hermione, he would eat his words!

"Of course I know you. You went to that... what was the name of the primary school again?"

Hermione immediately answered.

"Pudding Lane Primary School. You once came to our school to give a speech."

"I don't know whether you noticed, but I was the one who went onstage after you. Well, you probably didn't notice. You were very busy then and left right after your speech."

Rhine put on an expression of sudden realization.

"I remember that day now. No wonder I knew your name the moment I saw you."

"Then I have to correct you. I did leave quickly that day, but I still saw you go onstage. You left a very deep impression on me."

"You're an outstanding student, Miss Granger."

Hermione stood there blankly, not angered by the faintly condescending tone of appraisal in Rhine's words.

After all, although the boy before her was the same age as her, even someone as proud as Hermione did not think she could achieve what he had.

He was the world's most famous rising literary star!

Receiving such praise from Rhine, and discovering that he actually remembered her, Hermione was so flattered that she even began to stammer.

"Th-thank you..."

"I mean, is this your first time in Diagon Alley? Where is the professor guiding you?"

Rhine smiled.

"Hagrid was delayed for a long time because of me, and there are still several young wizards waiting for him to guide them. Besides, I enjoy shopping alone, so I had him go pick up the others."

"But since I've run into Miss Granger, and judging by the way you look, it seems you've been to Diagon Alley before. Would you be willing to walk around with me?"

"I still need to buy School Uniforms and textbooks, and preferably an Owl as well."

Hermione's mind was in a daze. Before she could react, she had already nodded and followed Rhine forward.

As they walked, she occasionally stole glances at Rhine, her heartbeat quickening in waves.

Rhine was also discreetly observing Hermione.

Don't misunderstand. Hermione was only eleven, and Rhine did not have those kinds of thoughts.

It was simply that after encountering Hermione, new information had appeared on his system panel.

You encountered Young Deng Chanyu, who had come to Zhaoge for leisure, on a street in Chaoge City.

Although the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had yet to truly rise, and Deng Chanyu was still young, she had already displayed the talent to one day strike down Immortal Gods with stones. She was truly no less formidable than any man.

This left Rhine feeling rather conflicted.

Young Deng Chanyu?

He remembered that Hermione seemed to become Minister of Magic in the future. He had thought the system, with its failing eyesight, might classify Hermione as Empress Jiang.

But on second thought, Hermione's personality really was somewhat similar to Deng Chanyu's.

She could stand on her own, excelled in both scholarly and martial pursuits, and was especially good at fighting.

Thinking of the descriptions in the original Harry Potter novels, Hermione carried more than a dozen hefty tomes year-round. When her bag landed on a table, it would make a loud thud, making Harry suspect its weight could crush someone to death.

At that time, Hermione did not even know spells like the Undetectable Extension Charm. She carried all that through sheer physical strength.

And in their third year, when she crawled through the Whomping Willow passage with Harry and Ron, Hermione could drag Harry inside with one hand.

No wonder that when she had a conflict with Malfoy once, one slap from Hermione left Malfoy with no chance to fight back, stunned on the spot. Even Harry, a gifted Seeker, had not seen how Hermione had struck.

Her talent for combat was completely maxed out!

Then even more information appeared on the system panel.

Reach Casual Acquaintance with Young Deng Chanyu to receive the reward: Skilled in Martial Arts. You can skillfully use the techniques of most weapons.

Reach Close Friendship with Young Deng Chanyu to receive the reward: Mount Mastery. You can control most mounts as easily as your own limbs, achieving perfect unity between rider and mount.

Reach Life-and-Death Friendship with Young Deng Chanyu to receive the reward: Five-Colored Stone Cultivation Method. Once mastered, Five-Colored Stones will never miss and can strike Immortal Gods black and blue.

The moment he saw these rewards, a flash of fervor crossed Rhine's eyes.

His gaze settled on the Skilled in Martial Arts talent.

This talent was certainly not as good as the Staff Mastery talent he would gain by reaching Close Friendship with Hagrid, but its requirements were low. Casual Acquaintance was enough.

As long as he mastered it, he could bring out the power of this Bronze Skin and Iron Bones physique and the wand in his hand.

Maybe he could not scatter an army of thousands, but surely he could take on a hundred men alone.

And then there was the Five-Colored Stone Cultivation Method. In Fengshen, Deng Chanyu had used that thing to knock countless Immortal Gods from their mounts, leaving those immortals black and blue and crying in misery.

Its killing power might have been a little lacking, unable to kill them outright, but that depended on who it was used against, didn't it?

If it could not kill the powerful figures of the Primordial world, could it not kill fragile wizards?

To Rhine, this was an excellent long-range method!