"After all these years, you've actually been here the whole time." Zhang Fan looked astonished.
"Is that so strange?" God of Wine smiled faintly, his expression bitter. "Ever since we lost that battle, our Seven-man group fell apart. I came here alone. It's been rather peaceful and carefree."
Hearing this, Zhang Fan's expression darkened. He sighed and said, "I shouldn't have started that war."
"It wasn't your fault. Even among the Celestials, the two ideologies were constantly clashing. Perhaps that's human nature." God of Wine picked up his large gourd and took a drink, then smiled bitterly. "It seems that even members of the same race can come into conflict for all kinds of reasons."
"That's right. Weren't we the same back then?" I said with a bitter smile.
God of Wine glanced at me and said, "You should know that we Celestials are divided into two factions. We're the Benevolent Faction. We hope to protect you. But the King Faction wants to enslave you."
"But over the years, as Hook Master's power grew stronger and stronger, the King Faction's actions became more and more insane. I apologize for the harm they caused you."
I waved my hand and shook my head. "There's no need. Those things weren't your fault."
"But we once stood with them."
"But you paid an unprecedented price as well."
God of Wine nodded, tears in his eyes. "That's right. We were hunted by our own kind, and countless people died. We called ourselves Celestials, noble beyond compare. But what did that amount to?"
"We had wars too—wars where our own kind slaughtered one another. I killed I don't even know how many people, all for the sake of an ideal."
Zhang Fan's expression suddenly turned extremely solemn. He said coldly, "The strong prey on the