They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 542: Six Years Old... Again A teenage boy stood there.

He looked like... Arthur, no, a mini version of... a mini version of Arthur! Barely fourteen. Messy white hair, grass stains on his trousers, and that half distracted, cold expression he wore when his mind was running too fast for the rest of the world to keep up.

Then another figure appeared.

A little girl.

Nnenna's breath caught.

Because the girl looked almost exactly like her younger self.

No, not almost. It was her.

It was as if she had been pulled straight into the memory, not as an observer... but as the one living it.

She was small again. Six years old. Barefoot. Cheeks streaked with tears.

"Arthur!" her tiny voice broke, trembling. "They said I'm small! They said I'll never be strong like you!" He looked at her for a long second, then smiled in that way that was just for her.

"Con. I'll teach you something no one else knows." Her little self's heart leapt. "Really?" "Just you. Promise?" "Promise!" The wind tugged at her hair as he crouched down, guiding her arms and legs with patient hands. "It's not about being fast or strong. It's about surprise. Timing. It only works when you trust yourself." She giggled when he poked her nose for messing up the footwork.

When she finally nailed it, clumsy, but right, he clapped, spinning her around.

"See? Who says you're not strong?" Back to the arena.

Nnenna's eyes snapped open.

Stephanie was closing in fast, no mercy in her stride.

Arthur froze mid step as Nnenna moved.

No way... that footwork... He stood abruptly, his chair screeching back. "She... she knows it." His pulse spiked. It wasn't a daydream that day... she actually- Carl's eyes widened. "That's the move Arthur said stunned him." Somto's voice was low, almost dangerous. "The one he only taught his childhood best friend..." The crowd didn't even understand what they were seeing until Nnenna struck.

Her movement was fluid, impossible to read, a feint that turned into a spiral, her whole body becoming a whip of momentum. Stephanie's guard broke wide open, her balance destroyed.

A clean, sharp finish, and Stephanie hit the floor, hard.

Gasps erupted.

The livestream exploded @SilentBlade: "WHAT WAS THAT MOVE?!" @FistTheory: "Stephanie didn't even see it coming!!" @CliffWind: "I've never seen anything like it!" Judges leaned forward in shock.

Commander Olivia's brows rose. "That... isn't in year three martial arts curriculum. No... It's not in any curriculum i know of!" Master Tayo muttered, "Where in the world did she-" Arthur's gaze stayed locked on Nnenna. Earlier, she looked like she was remembering something...

The arena didn't know how to react at first. Noise swelled like a wave, cheers, stunned shouts, the frantic tapping of livestream chats, but then the mood fractured into a dozen different threads.

Master Instructor Tayo sat forward, hands clasped. "I've never seen that technique in my life," he murmured, voice tight with surprise.

Commander Olivia's mouth was a thin line; she leaned back, studying Nnenna as if the girl were suddenly a new kind of problem.

Madam Wolke covered her lips, eyes wide. Elder Onyedika simply watched, slow and thoughtful, as if turning the moment over in his head.

From the VIP tier, Damian Knox's expression looked dreadful as he turned to Nicholas. "It was one thing for that girl to defeat you but now even Stephanie isn't her match?! Have I wasted countless resources on you two?!," he said, convinced they had not done their best.

But Nicholas couldn't reply. He was still flushed with triumph one heartbeat ago; now the grin faded into a puzzled frown. He glanced toward Stephanie, who was on her feet, chest heaving, face gone hard. Fury and confusion fought across her features, she felt cheated and exposed in the sinstant.

Carl's reaction cin a rush: surprise, then recognition, then a hot, raw pride. He pushed forward on the barrier as if he wanted to be closer. That move... of course. Arthur mentioned it before, the thought hit him like a punch. He felt something warm and fierce rise in his chest.

But it was worry too.

Where did she get that? If Arthur didn't teach her that secret move, who did? Plus, she looked like she was lost in thought. What did she remember? He braced as people around him shouted, but his mind stayed pinned on the girl below.

Somto's eyes were darker than usual.

He didn't move, but the line of his m shoulders tightened Not now. It's not tyet. Please don't- His hands drifted toward the rail, fingers curled. He watched Nnenna like a man watching a child cross a tightrope. Live chat screamed in caps, the running commentary gone wild @ArenaLive: "WTF WAS THAT?!" @MartialFanatic: "That move, where's it from??" @NnennaStans: "SHE DEFEATED STEPHANIE KNOX. SHE DID IT OMG" @StephDieHard: "Ref, check the rules! That's dodgy!" Even the crowd split, a thunder of applause from some, a string of stunned murmurs from others. Old men in the stands leaned forward. Parents covered children's eyes for a second. Cameras zoomed. The arena felt ten degrees hotter.

Stephanie stumbled back from the hit, eyes wide. Pride curdled into anger and a hot, burning denial. How? she thought, teeth clenched.

Who taught her that?

The thought that someone had secretly passed on ssecret technique, a personal secret, made her blood run cold. She tried to force a smile, tried to rewrite the story in her head: I still outclass her. I still win. But inside, a small, terrible doubt lodged like a stone.

Elder Knox's face was the only calm one in the room. He did not approve nthering wtmethering of humiliation in the ring. He watched Stephanie With cool displeasure. Victory should be clean. Not spectacle. His eyes held something like sorrow for his grandchildren. Arthur didn't shout.

He didn't rush forward.

He just stopped, as if the air had shifted and only he noticed.

Something in his face broke, not much, but enough: no victory, no anger, only a sharp flicker of astonishment.