At this moment, the martial arts expo had not yet begun, but outside it was already packed with people. If it weren't for Matthew Smith entering through the internal security passage as a staff member, he wouldn't have been able to get in at all.

"It's still early, go look around on your own first."

As soon as they got out of the car, Matthew Smith's phone rang.

"You go ahead."

Brian Smith waved his hand at him and walked toward the martial arts hall by himself.

He was a native of Xingcheng and had been to the Xingcheng Martial Arts Hall countless times, so of course he didn't need anyone to accompany him.

The Xingcheng Martial Arts Hall was built in the 9506th year of Kaiyuan, and has stood for over three hundred years, making it one of the earliest martial arts halls established in Daxuan.

Otherwise, with Xingcheng's status, it wouldn't have been chosen to host the martial arts expo.

Brian Smith walked into the martial arts hall at a leisurely pace. In the spacious lobby stood statues of famous martial artists and grandmasters from Xingcheng over the past three hundred years.

There were also some manuscripts and personal belongings they had left behind, displayed in the exhibition hall.

Since the expo hadn't started yet, there were only a few staff members in the lobby arranging decorations.

Matthew Smith was somewhat well-known in Xingcheng, and most of these staff members also recognized Brian Smith. Even though the expo was about to begin, they had no intention of driving him away.

"Now, it's time to test my theory."

After glancing around, Brian Smith headed toward the exhibition hall.

As he entered, a staff member who was wiping down an exhibit sign looked up: "Ethan White, did you come with your dad?"

"Yeah, my dad's busy, so I'm just wandering around on my own."

Brian Smith greeted him with a smile.

"I've got work to do, so I won't keep you company. The exhibition hall has a lot of items from the main martial arts hall these past two days, so be careful and don't touch anything."

The staff member gave him a reminder.

"Don't worry, Brother Harris."

Brian Smith nodded.

The reason he had dragged his father here so early was because once the martial arts expo started, all the exhibition halls would be locked, and even he wouldn't be able to touch anything.

"By the way, Brother Harris, is there an exhibition hall for Mr. Gu here?"

After walking a few steps, Brian Smith asked casually.

"Mr. Gu's exhibition hall is separate. Before the expo starts, it's not open to outsiders. Even the cleaning and organizing is done by people from the Magic City. We can't go near it."

Brother Harris shook his head.

"Then I won't bother you, Brother Harris."

Brian Smith frowned slightly and walked deeper into the exhibition hall.

He planned to first find a boxing master to test his idea, and then deal with the rest.

The exhibition hall was lined on both sides; near the outer side were the booths of Xingcheng's martial arts masters. Brian Smith was too familiar with these and skipped them directly.

A few minutes later, he finally stopped in front of a display, his gaze fixed on the portrait placed there:

[Benjamin Martinez, male, Han ethnicity, birthplace unknown, 9480–9510 of the Kaiyuan era... Mr. Wang was upright and honest throughout his life, hating evil as if it were a personal enemy. His external martial arts skills reached the pinnacle, especially skilled in the ancient school of Xinyi Boxing, Dragon-Tiger Grappling, Dragon Roar Iron Shirt, Hentian Fist, Iron Palm, Bajiquan, Liuhe Spear...]

"This is... Bajiquan?!"

Brian Smith's pupils contracted.

Bajiquan was the boxing style from his previous life—how could it exist in this world too?!

"Benjamin Martinez, Benjamin Martinez..."

Brian Smith muttered the name a few times, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, and reached out to pick up the manuscript left by this boxing master from the display.

He needed to be sure.

There were already overlaps between this world and his previous life, such as Daoist Laozi, Buddha Shakyamuni, Pengzu, Chen Tuan, Zhang Sanfeng—so one more Bajiquan didn't seem so strange.

Yet Brian Smith's heart couldn't help but pound wildly.

Swish—

He gently opened it, and at the first line, Brian Smith's heart was shaken as if a huge wave had crashed down!

Chinese characters!

And in traditional script!

At this moment, he was absolutely certain that this Benjamin Martinez really came from the previous life in his dreams!

Because, Xuanwen and Chinese characters are two completely different writing systems.

[This is not the world I belong to. In this world, there is no Great Qing, no Great Ming, no Qin Emperor or Han Wu!]

[Why did I come to this world? How do I get back?]

[Master Li, father, mother, Ping'er... Heavens, you have taken everything from me!]

...

On the yellowed pages, Brian Smith saw a man's unease and fear upon first arriving in another world, and finally his frenzied outpouring.

"Benjamin Martinez is different from me. He suddenly arrived in Daxuan three hundred years ago!"

Page after page, Brian Smith's questions were not answered; instead, he only had more and more doubts.

Why was he able to come to this world?

How many transmigrators like Benjamin Martinez are there?

"Hoo!"

Brian Smith let out a long breath, his eyes fixed on the manuscript in his hands. In his vision, the data panel appeared once again:

[Benjamin Martinez (9480–9510)]

Buzz—

Almost instantly, the panel shattered with a roar.

Countless fragments of light streaked wildly across Brian Smith's vision, gradually outlining a vast canvas of stars.

Under Brian Smith's gaze, those countless stars all drew closer and closer to him.

"Does that chasm still exist?"