The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

Chen Hao looked over.

The school gate. It's huge. Huge. More than twice the size of the original Pengcheng University gate. The four large characters "Pengcheng Gaowu" above the gate are gilded.

The font is not the traditional regular script or running script, but a very new design with sharp, angular strokes, like swords or knives.

But they didn't go through the main entrance.

"The main gate will definitely be blocked." Chen Siyao turned the car into a side road. "Let's take the teachers' entrance."

At the end of the path was an inconspicuous iron gate. A figure stood beside the gate.

Chen Hao paused for a moment.

not human.

There are three AI robots. Humanoid. Approaching the height of an adult male. All matte black, with hydraulic rods and wires protruding from the joints instead of bones. The nameplate on their chest reads "Pengcheng High-Level Security - Gatekeeper Type - III".

Each robot carries a weapon on its back...

gun.

It wasn't formed from spiritual energy. It was a real firearm. The barrel was short and thick, and the caliber was quite large. Chen Hao couldn't recognize the model number, but he could sense that the thing was quite powerful.

When the robot is "alive", the gun is locked and adjusts its orientation as the robot moves.

Chen Hao walked to the door.

The nearest robot turned its head. Its face... if you could call it a face, was a black screen. The screen lit up.

A blue scanning line swept from the top of Chen Hao's head to the bottom of his feet.

"Identity verification in progress..." came a mechanical voice. Standard Mandarin.

Three seconds later, a line of text popped up on the screen.

"Chen Hao. Honorary Principal of Pengcheng Martial Arts Academy. Status Level: Highest Authority."

"Certification successful. Welcome, Principal Chen Hao."

The robot bowed slightly, as if to greet you. "This is your first time entering Pengcheng Martial Arts Academy. Please let me know if you need directions, introductions, or to notify the school."

"Need not."

Chen Hao stepped into the room. Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing followed behind him. The robot glanced at them again, and the words "Chen Siyao - Special Admission Student - This School Student" and "Yang Wanqing - Special Admission Student - This School Student" popped up on the screen respectively.

"Please proceed to the dormitory area to complete the check-in procedures..."

"We know." Chen Siyao pulled Yang Wanqing and quickly followed Chen Hao.

Once inside, Chen Hao realized what Chen Siyao meant by "don't be too surprised."

The campus is completely different from the original Pengcheng University. The original teaching buildings are still there, but the exterior walls have all been re-covered and inlaid with dark blue metal panels.

Each building had a hemispherical structure installed on its roof... Chen Hao recognized it as a spacecraft receiver. Enclosed sky bridges connected the buildings. Made of glass, people were moving inside them.

The road surface was dark gray, so clean you could see your reflection. Streetlights... no, those weren't streetlights. They were slender metal pillars, their tops flashing blue light. Surveillance cameras? Or something else?

Trees lined both sides of the road. They weren't rare or precious varieties, nor were they ordinary banyan trees, but they grew exceptionally well, their leaves a glossy green. They were a species unique to Penglai.

After walking for a while, Chen Hao saw a...

car?

It wasn't an ordinary car. The wheels were suspended, the body was streamlined, and the outer shell was made of some kind of composite material he had never seen before. There was a transparent cover on the roof, and the inside was empty.

"That's a driverless school bus," Chen Siyao explained. "Students can sit down by scanning their faces."

Yang Wanqing added, "It can even fly! The low-altitude kind! So cool!"

Chen Hao didn't speak. He turned his gaze away from the car and looked ahead.

He saw a... aircraft.

To be precise, there were many flying machines. They hovered at different heights above the campus, varying in size, some large enough for four or five people to stand on, others small enough for only one person to stand on.

The nozzles at the bottom emitted a pale blue light. Occasionally, students would emerge from one of the buildings, jump onto a flying vehicle, and soar towards another building.

"That's for commuting within the campus," Chen Siyao said. "Pengcheng High School doesn't allow students to ride bicycles; it's too slow. The flying vehicle goes directly from Building A to Building B in ten seconds."

Chen Hao recalled his school days. Walking. It took fifteen minutes to get from the dormitory to the classroom.

"Times have changed," he said.

"Yeah," Chen Siyao laughed, "Could you have imagined this when you were in school?"

"……cannot."

The sound of a loudspeaker came from the direction of the square. It was muffled. I couldn't make out what was being said, but I could sense the clamor of voices. Fourteen thousand students gathered together; it must have been quite a scene.

"It should be the principal preparing to speak." Chen Siyao glanced at her phone. "The ceremony starts at nine o'clock, and it's probably about to begin now."

"Um."

Chen Hao continued walking. The campus was larger than he had imagined. After walking for five minutes, he still hadn't seen the core buildings of the teaching area.

Students passing by saw him... a stranger, not wearing a school uniform, yet with an extremely strong aura... and all cast curious glances at him.

Several bold individuals tried to approach and strike up a conversation, but were deterred by Chen Hao's aura of unapproachability.

Chen Siyao followed beside him, lowering her voice: "Brother, why don't you go to the office first? Qingqing and I will go to complete the enrollment procedures."

"OK."

"The office is in Section A of the main building, on the 12th floor, the one on the far east side. The door sign says 'Honorary Principal's Office'."

"..."

"I had someone save it for you."

Chen Hao didn't say anything. He turned to leave.

"Brother," Chen Siyao called out to him.

"Um?"

Are you shopping alone?

"Um."

Do you want me to come with you?

"No need. You can go about your business."

Chen Siyao nodded. She knew her brother was used to being alone.

Chen Hao followed the signs. He passed a flower bed. Next to the flower bed was a service robot.

It's smaller than the gatekeeper type and has a more rounded shape. Its head is a sphere with two antenna-like antennae extending from the top. It's using its robotic arm at the bottom to pick up fallen leaves from the ground.

Chen Hao stopped in front of it.

"I need a flying vehicle to get to the school office."

The robot's spherical head turned. Facial recognition. The two antennas trembled slightly.

"Instructions received. Identity verification passed. Principal Chen Hao." The small screen on the robot's head... which originally displayed two round eyes... has curved into a crescent shape, that's its "smiling face".

"Connecting you to the campus low-altitude aircraft dispatch center. The aircraft is expected to arrive at the designated location in one minute and thirty seconds. Please wait here."

Thanks.

"Serving you is my duty." The robot blinked its smiling face. "Please let me know if you have any other needs."

Chen Hao stood by the flower bed and waited. Less than two minutes later, an aircraft flew in from a distance, slowed down along a pre-set route, and hovered in front of him.

Pedal type. Single-person. When you step on it, your foot sinks slightly and then stays stable. The aircraft automatically detects your weight and adjusts its altitude for balance.