A Stirring in the Humanistic Network

Who created prosperity?

The question left the Imperial Academy students slightly stunned. Then they furrowed their brows and pondered it, clearly having never considered such a question before.

Fang Ziyan, on the other hand, answered without hesitation, "There is no need to think about it. Those who create prosperity are the farmers in the fields, the craftsmen at street corners, and the peddlers hawking goods along the roads."

His words surprised those around him, and their reactions immediately diverged. Some fell into deep thought, while others were about to refute him.

But then Qiu Yan's single word—"Correct"—startled them out of their thoughts, and they turned toward him.

Qiu Yan looked at Fang Ziyan. This old acquaintance of his had once been arrogant and overbearing, somewhat unscrupulous in his actions. Qiu Yan's essay had shaken his consciousness; if he had not sunk into ruin, then he ought to have transformed.

Looking at him now, Qiu Yan could see that his temperament had changed somewhat. There was a little more weathered sorrow between his brows.

As the saying goes, rivers and mountains may change, but one's nature is hard to alter. A change in a person's understanding and temperament does not necessarily mean their true heart has changed. Yet from that answer alone, this man could be said to have shed his mortal frame and exchanged his bones. Perhaps he may become one cornerstone of the Human Path.

With that thought, Qiu Yan said, "The people you mentioned create wealth and set it into circulation. That is how prosperity comes about, and why outsiders would wish to seize it. The Rouluo tribes seize people for precisely this reason. Rather than create wealth themselves, they leave that task to others, then achieve their ends through plunder."

"When I was traveling to study, I