Talent Fusion, Control Wind and Thunder!

The furnace icon on the system screen lit up.

Rhine suddenly had the feeling that he could strip away the talents he had already acquired and toss them into the furnace.

He could either discard them entirely, turning them into Dao Charm to nourish his other talents.

Or he could fuse several similar talents together to create a new one.

"First, I'll fuse away the talents that are useless to me."

Rhine swept his gaze across the list and selected several talents.

Twin Axe Chain, obtained from Malfoy, was too useless. Get rid of it.

Skilled in Martial Arts, obtained from Hermione, had been very useful to Rhine before, allowing him to fully unleash the power of Bronze Skin and Iron Bones.

But after this period of time, thanks to the learning and comprehension abilities granted by the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart, Skilled in Martial Arts had already been absorbed by the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart and no longer provided Rhine with any boost.

The same went for Mount Mastery.

Rhine decisively fused away all three talents.

The next moment, the three talents in the rewards panel slowly vanished, while the furnace icon lit up in response.

Then, several new lines of information appeared on Rhine's system screen.

You have fused the talents Skilled in Martial Arts, Mount Mastery, and Twin Axe Chain.

Because the three talents were of relatively low grade, you have obtained one wisp of Dao Charm.

Current Dao Charm: One wisp.

Rhine raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

"These three talents only produced one wisp of Dao Charm together. That means not every talent can be refined into Dao Charm."

"The more extraordinary the talent, the more Dao Charm it produces? That makes sense. How could talents like Skilled in Martial Arts and Twin Axe Chain compare with Bronze Skin and Iron Bones, Innate Divine Strength, or the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart?"

"It seems that in the future, I can't just focus on the number of talents. I'll have to pay attention to their quality as well. Whenever there's a chance to obtain an extraordinary talent, I can't let it slip away."

"Even if I can't use it, refining it into Dao Charm would still be worthwhile."

Once the three utterly useless talents disappeared, Rhine turned his attention to several talents with similar properties.

According to the system, if he fused them together, he might be able to create a stronger talent.

However, no matter what, the strongest original talent would be retained, so he would not suffer any catastrophic losses.

After thinking for a moment, Rhine's gaze settled on Wind Riding, Soaring Wind Dance, and Wing-Beating Wind and Thunder.

All three were related to speed, flight, and wind. Among them, Wing-Beating Wind and Thunder was undoubtedly the strongest.

Even if the fusion failed, losing the other two talents would not have much impact and would barely reduce Rhine's strength.

But if he could create an even stronger talent, Rhine would make an absolute killing.

Rhine immediately made his decision.

"Fuse Wind Riding, Soaring Wind Dance, and Wing-Beating Wind and Thunder."

In the rewards panel, the three talents instantly began to blur.

The furnace became brighter than before.

Moments later, the three talents vanished, replaced in the rewards panel by a new talent.

Control Wind and Thunder. With a thought, the wind stirred; with a thought, thunder rose. Wind and thunder gathered in your hands, allowing you to summon storms from flat ground. In the air or on rainy days, you may further invoke the power of wind and thunder from Above the Nine Heavens, greatly increasing its might.

Rhine took a deep breath, immediately feeling a qualitative transformation.

Previously, whether it was Wind Riding or Wing-Beating Wind and Thunder, he had still needed to rely on the wind in the air. It was rather passive.

But now, this talent, Control Wind and Thunder—the word "control" alone made all the difference.

He stretched out his left hand.

In an instant, a fierce gale rose in the corridor.

He then raised his right hand, and fine arcs of electricity wound around his palm. Even the air carried the scorched odor of ionization.

A moment later, Rhine stopped, his eyes shining brightly.

Exchanging three talents for Control Wind and Thunder had not weakened its power but increased it. He had definitely struck gold.

The power of this talent even surpassed Control Fire at Will.

If he could obtain spells related to wind or lightning—or, failing that, find a few wind- and lightning-related charms—their power would definitely surpass the bootleg version of Fire God Paves the Way he had used before.

Especially on a rainy day. If he ran into the Voldemort from Diagon Alley again, Rhine would make him understand what it meant to—shatter darkness with thunder!

Having tasted success, Rhine looked toward the rewards panel again.

"Spirit Beast Affinity, Spirit Beast Cultivation, and Metallurgy and Silver Refining overlap somewhat, in essence, with the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart's ability to understand all things."

"System, fuse these four talents for me!"

The next moment, all four talents blurred at once.

The furnace on the screen shone once more.

Then, Spirit Beast Affinity, Spirit Beast Cultivation, and Metallurgy and Silver Refining disappeared, leaving only the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart behind.

Rhine's expression darkened.

"?"

"Damn, did it fail?"

He had still suffered some losses. His abilities in alchemy and magical creature cultivation would be affected.

But soon, a strange look appeared in Rhine's eyes as he saw that the description behind the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart had gained additional information.

Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart. Understand all things and discern their essence. Having fused the lifelong knowledge of the Beast Taming Sect and Artifact Forging Sect, it is especially outstanding in these two paths.

Rhine immediately relaxed.

Thank goodness. Although it had not produced a talent stronger than the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart, those talents had been completely absorbed by it during the fusion process. They had not vanished for nothing and could still shine through him.

At this point, Rhine's gaze swept over the much simpler rewards panel once again.

Control Fire at Will was tied to Rhine's self-created version of Fire God Paves the Way and was also crucial to subjects such as Potions and alchemy, so he still had to keep it for now.

Conceal Qi and Hide Mechanism, Night Vision, and Feast on Wind and Drink Dew had no similar counterparts and were temporarily irreplaceable.

Exceptional Chess Path might be useful socially. It had no counterpart either, and even if he fused it away, it likely would not yield much Dao Charm, so Rhine intended to keep it.

The Five-Colored Stone Cultivation Method and Flying Tiger Military Strategy were not talents, but cultivation methods, so they simply could not be fused.

That left Bronze Skin and Iron Bones, Innate Divine Strength, and Lotus Body Protection.

Looking at those three talents, Rhine's eyes filled with indecision.

One strengthened physical defense, one strengthened physical power, and one protected the soul. Rhine felt that if these three talents were fused, perhaps an incredibly powerful talent combining the essence of all three would emerge. That would be the deal of all deals.

But if he lost something, no matter which one it was, Rhine would be heartbroken.

After struggling for a long time, Rhine steeled himself.

"Even if I lose something, it'll still be enough to deal with Hogwarts during the first few years."

"There are even other ways to replace the effects of any lost talents. The Shield Charm and Occlumency can make do."

"But if I can truly fuse a stronger talent, that'll be a qualitative transformation. Under normal circumstances, who knows when I'd get a talent compatible with all three that has even stronger effects?"

"I'm gambling!"

Rhine immediately gritted his teeth.

"System, fuse Bronze Skin and Iron Bones, Innate Divine Strength, and Lotus Body Protection."

The moment his words fell, all three talents blurred at once.

At the same time, an unprecedentedly brilliant light burst from the furnace icon.

This time, Rhine waited a full five minutes.

Yet those five minutes made every second feel agonizingly long.

At last, a dazzling golden light flashed from the furnace icon.

Then, a brand-new talent appeared in the rewards panel.

Rhine stared fixedly at the newly appeared talent, even holding his breath.

And when he saw its name and description clearly, Rhine's mind went blank for an instant.

"This..."

"This is?!"