The Missions Association was a Pagoda shaped building with multiple levels, each level accessible to only certain members.
Apparently, one needed to finish missions from here and receive the mission rewards in order to progressively upgrade their membership level.
But Tang Yue was ushered in and taken directly to the topmost floor, bypassing all these normal rules and regulations.
Since the Labyrinth exploration was a special occasion, none of the common rules applied this time around.
The snake excitedly looked around and climbed the spiral wooden staircase heading straight to the 40th floor, one of the higher-level floors.
The 40th floor was unexpectedly a bit more crowded than usual and several elves were standing around discussing something seriously.
Hmm… Tang Yue picked up Little Blue into her hands and walked over to the elf at the reception desk.
The elf respectfully bowed and handed her a small jade slip.
Tang Yue slipped some mana into the jade slip and was immediately able to comprehend its contents.
It mainly informed her about the location and time of arrival.
More importantly, it also informed her about something really weird.
This labyrinth exploration was apparently a team event!
The snake smiled lightly and flickered her long forked tongue in and out.
"Guess we will be meeting our friends soon huh?"
She tossed the jade slip into one of her recently acquired spatial rings and returned back to the palace.
All her preparations were already completed and she was stocked full on various potions and equipment pieces.
Moreover, she wasn't able to find Marvin as well.
So the snake locked herself in her chamber and focused on her fire essence cultivation for the next few days.
She wanted to be prepared as best as she could before entering the Labyrinth.
Besides, she was not really worried about finding Marvin and kicking him till he puked his mother's breast milk out.
She had a strong feeling that she will be meeting Marvin or Charlotte or even both of them really soon!
Tang Yue chuckled and busied herself with her cultivation.
Xander was also not around and the next few days went by relatively quickly and uneventfully.
On the day of the Labyrinth opening, Tang Yue promptly headed out alone without taking Little Blue along with her.
Xander had warned her that it would be dangerous for her to participate in this event, so she decided not to bring along Little Blue who was still very small.
The ancient labyrinth was located deep within the eastern forests bordering Eldoria.
And more specifically, most of the labyrinth was hidden within a gigantic mountain range.
The typically calm and serene eastern forests were suddenly buzzing alive with several people from different races heading towards the entrance spots.
When Tang Yue had last visited these forests, the marsh, the trees, and the sky were abundant with ferocious beasts.
But now, she couldn't even hear the faintest growl in the distance.
The entire forest had been thoroughly combed clean of the residing beasts, probably by the numerous groups of experts from all the nine countries.
Because of this, Tang Yue flicked her robe and traveled through the forests with great ease.
She could even spot a few groups headed in the same direction ahead of her and behind her during the way.
Within the span of a few hours, she quickly reached the mountainous terrain and joined the group which was already assembled there.
Because of her low cultivation base, she was one of the last few to arrive.
As she huffed and panted and blended into the crowd, Tang Yue couldn't help but gasp at the sight of such a huge gathering.
Everyone ranging from fairies to orcs to elves and dwarves was present. There were also other spirit beasts like herself in the crowd.
Of course, she could easily spot these colored skin anomalies in the midst of the pale-skinned, noble, and lofty looking elves.
It looked like including her 15 or so serpentine spirit beasts were present.
There were about a dozen fox spirit beasts and the rest were all higher beings like fairies, orcs, and dwarves.
The majority were still the elves.
Most of them from the northern and the southern royal families, the major noble elven clans, and a fraction of them seemed to be commoners.
As Tang Yue calmly observed her surroundings, solemn tolling bells sounded from a distance and a group of elves flew through the air, with dignified and serious expressions on their faces.
Each one of them was followed by a dozen other elves.
Everyone who had assembled looked up and watched this set of people with awe.
These were the five royal princes of the Eldorian elven establishment, with Xander at the head of the group, the several clan leaders of the major elven clans, and the three princes and two princesses from the southern elven kingdom.
Every single one of them was well known and extremely powerful.
Xander, of course, was the single legitimate Demi-God in the group, but the others were not that behind and at least had a foot or arm in the Demi-God realm.
Everyone's eyes shone with determination and resoluteness because this single trip could bridge the gap, which might as well be a never-ending chasm, between themselves and the untouchable supreme Crown Prince of Eldoria, Xander.
The elven elders and the royal princes joined the assembly as well and stood at the front.
Standing at the head of the entire assembly, Xander looked absolutely terrifying.
His aura and his cultivation base were not hidden and clouded like usual and the man was emanating a frightening killing intent.
He was clearly more powerful than he had been in the past.
If anyone had any doubts about how powerful he was, his mere presence answered all their unasked questions.
His silver locks fluttered in the wind and his crimson eyes surveyed the crowd sternly.
"Greetings." The man opened his mouth, his voice thundering through the crowd and instantly silencing all the chatter.