*if mc_level < 1
	A month has gone by, yet you still failed to advance past the mortal limits. Disappointed in your results, the sect expels you for your uselessness.

	*goto_scene game_over
*if mc_sect_position = "outer"
	You have successfully advanced past the mortal limits, achieving Houtian. Satisfied with your efforts, Elder Rin has sent you your Sect Badge and a note.

	[i]Keep on working hard. What matters is not the starting point, but the finishing line. To reward you for your efforts, I've put a couple interesting artifacts for you to buy. You can check them out in the store for disciples.[/i]
	
	*set event_sect_artifactchoosing 2
*elseif (quests_1)
	You have successfully advanced past the mortal limits, achieving Houtian. Satisfied with your efforts, Elder Rin has sent you a note.

	[i]Good job. No one will be able to question your status of an Inner Disciple now. To reward you for your efforts, I've put a couple interesting artifacts for you to buy. You can check them out in the store for disciples.[/i]
	
	*set event_sect_artifactchoosing 2

*set quests_1 false
Today is the day of the official Disciple Acceptance Ceremony, where you will swear oaths and hear the speech of the Sect Master himself. 

You dress yourself in your best, tightly-ironed clothes and set off towards the Training Grounds, where the ceremony will take place.

*page_break To Training Grounds
You arrive early, but the field is already full of people. 'Full' meaning [i]dozens of thousands[/i]. It becomes clear why the ceremony is hosted here, as the Training Grounds might be the only place capable of accommodating the entirety of the sect at once.

Most of the Martial Artists here wear robes display the pins of either outer or inner disciples. But, once in a while, your gaze catches men and women dressed in bright red robes, who are abstracted from the general crowd and form their own groups instead. 

[i]Core Disciples[/i].

You sit down in an empty space amongst the new disciples and wait for the ceremony to start.
*page_break Start Of The Ceremony
"Attention."

A quiet voice enters your ears. The crowd nearby should've hidden it in its chaotic hum, but the voice somehow manages to disregard the surrounding you noise. And, judging by the new-found silence, same thing happened to the rest of the people too.

You look up and see three experts standing the sky, freer from the gravity then any bird could ever be. One of them, an old, ancient man with a lengthy white beard that reaches up to his waist and a kind, warm despite his wrinkles face, stands at the front. The other two, one being Elder Rin whom you recognize, remain behind him as a clear hierarchical gesture.

"I'm happy to see so many new faces here this year." — the old man, whom you assume to be the Sect Master, chuckles — "Means that my Heavenly Ascension Sect stays strong and this old man hasn't led it to ruin, haha!"

He then coughs and clear his throat.

"All of you, the newcomers, have spent the last month on our mountain and I hope you found it to be to your satisfaction. Happy disciples, happy sect, haha!"

"In a minute, all of you will swear oaths forever binding you to our sect and will become full-fledged members of our extensive family. Of course, as you still have loyalty both to yourself and to your clans, the oaths won't be too strict — but they are still a necessity none of you, I hope, will take lightly."

"Before that, however, I wish for you to truly consider whether or not this life is for you. You had a month to decide and in this time you should've seen plenty of how both the Sect and the Martial World function. If this not something you want, then better back out now while you still can." 

"You should also understand that, while many of you come from noble backgrounds and have protectors laying in you shadows, once you become a Sect Disciple, this protection will be waived. No matter who you are or where you from." — as he says this, his eyes dart to both you and Tang Ruo — "Such as the tradition of the Jianghu: the path of Martial Arts should be carved by your own fist. If any guardian is found to be disregarding this rule, the offender's whole clan is to be exterminated with the whole power of the sect." 

You hear collective gasps from the people around you. Many of them, perhaps, have heard of the rule but never of such strict punishments. You realize, however, that such a penalty is surely not feasible: forget the Great Clans, who would dare touch the Imperial Family?

Still though, it's a certain fact that experts of the Xiantian and above do not interfere in matters of the juniors: you shouldn't expect Uncle Tao to come to your rescue either.

"Your statuses as scions also won't matter here. The sect treats its disciples based on their contributions, not their birth." 

"So, does anybody want out of the sect?"

Unsurprisingly, no one speaks up. Such an act would be considered a shame so great, the Martial Artist who would do so won't be able to appear in public without attracting venomous ridicule. 

"Great, great!" — the Sect Master exclaims — "The more people, the merrier! Haha!"

"Very well, let's proceed with the oaths then."

The whole aura of the Sect Master changes: if before, he appeared easy-going, friendly, casual even, now he's as serious as can be.

[b]On my name, on my ancestors, on the Heavens, I, Chu Aiguo, swear to never betray the sect!

New disciples around you erupt in boisterous yell.

*page_break I Swear!
[b]On my name, on my ancestors, on the Heavens, I, Chu Aiguo, swear to help my juniors and respect my seniors!
*page_break I Swear!
[b][b]On my name, on my ancestors, on the Heavens, I, Chu Aiguo, swear to protect the sect from any aggression!
*page_break I Swear!
The process goes on and on, with multiple other oaths sworn. Of course, these oaths are merely words and, in the long run, could be disregarded: what would reputation matter if you wield the strength of Shangtian? For now, though, you will have to abide by them.

"Welcome, juniors!" — says the Sect Master once the process of oath-swearing is done.

"JUNIORS GREET SENIOR AIGUO!" — the crows shouts in response.

The Sect Master happily strokes his majestic beard.

"I've also been given some delightful news. We've had some exceptional disciples this year, with a couple of them being so talented that they were given statuses of Inner Disciples outright. Let's give them a moment to shine."

*gosub_scene cslib_string find history "prologue_reached_houtian"
*if cslib_ret > 0
	"The champion of the entry tourney. An exceptional talent with unheard of before purity of blood, someone who managed to become a Houtian before entering the sect: ${mc_surname} ${mc_name}! Give ${pronoun_2} some cheers"
	
	The Sect Master snaps his fingers and, suddenly, a ray of brilliant light descends upon you, illuminating your figure amidst all others.
	
	"Time to [i]shine[/i], get it? Haha." — cackles the Sect Master.
	
	After a minute, he transfers the ray of light to Tang Ruo.
	
	"The second Inner Disciple is Tang Ruo, an extraordinary swordsman with an affinity that hasn't been seen for thousands of years. Let us all clap!"
*else
	"The champion of the entry tourney, an extraordinary swordsman with an affinity that hasn't been seen for thousands of years, Tang Ruo!"
	
	The Sect Master snaps his fingers and, suddenly, a ray of brilliant light descends upon the Prince, illuminating his figure amidst all others.
	
	"Time to [i]shine[/i], get it? Haha." — cackles the Sect Master.
	
	After a minute, he transfers the ray of light to you.
	
	"The second Inner Disciple is ${mc_surname} ${mc_name}, An exceptional talent with unheard of before purity of blood. Let us all clap!"
	
Just when you think the show is done — there were only two Inner Disciples chosen, after all — Chu Aiguo continues.

"The third Inner Disciple is Ai!"

*if characters_9_opinion <= 100
	— he declares — "The possessor of a phenomenal Sacred Yin Physique!"
	
	Ai?! A Heavenly Physique?!

	You remember ${ai_pronoun_2}. The plain commoner ${ai_pronoun_4} who has fancied getting in your way, lecturing you about commoners this and commoners that.

	*gosub_scene cslib_string find history "ai_group_beating"
	*if cslib_ret > 0
		You are also pretty sure that ${ai_pronoun_1} doesn't like you. Not after what you did to ${ai_pronoun_2} after the tourney.

		As if hearing your thoughts, Ai turns around and glares at you.

	It's surprising, to say the least, that a person without any background has become an Inner Disciple right from the gate. You haven't heard anything about ${ai_pronoun_2} physique though: you should probably check it out in the library. 
*else
	*set characters_9_opinion 50
	Ai? Who's that?

	Chu Aiguo points his ray of light onto the third Inner Disciple, a
	*set ai_pronoun_1 "she"
	*set ai_pronoun_2 "her"
	*set ai_pronoun_3 "hers"
	*set ai_pronoun_4 "woman"
	${ai_pronoun_4} of plain looks. 
	
	"$!{ai_pronoun_1} possesses a phenomenal	
	*if ai_pronoun_1 = "he"
		Sacred Yang Physique!"
	*else
		Sacred Yin Physique!" 
	— declares the Sect Master.
	
	A Heavenly Physique?!
	
	Just from appearance alone, you never would've guessed that someone like ${ai_pronoun_2} would be born with such a constitution. It's actually the first time you are hearing the name of it: you should probably check it out in the library.

"These three, alongside some others, would be the leaders during Danger Zone Expedition in four months. You will learn details of it later, for now: go and train!" — the Sect Master concludes the ceremony.

All the disciples bow in unison, the Sect Master and the Elders return their farewells with nods before flying away.

*page_break Crowd Disperses
*goto_scene free_roam