On the Xianzhou, the term "Outworlders" was used to distinguish outsiders from the locals.
Anyone who came to the Xianzhou from another world could be called an Outworlder.
The term likely dated back to the earlier days of the Ancient Kingdom. Its arrogant people called all barbarians beyond the reach of its civilizing influence Outworlders, considering their civilizations unenlightened.
The Xianzhou natives retained this term, but after so many years, many no longer understood what it meant. To them, Outworlders simply meant foreigners.
Strictly speaking, however, the term's origins were steeped in discrimination.
The Xianzhou Alliance was not the isolated, conceited Ancient Kingdom of old. The Xianzhou now traveled the Sea of Stars and encountered all sorts of civilizations, from powers as mighty as the Interastral Peace Corporation to those too weak to manage interstellar travel.
The Xianzhou Alliance insisted on dealing with all civilizations as equals, excluding the utterly wicked Denizens of Abundance, of course.
In that context, calling these foreigners Outworlders was somewhat inappropriate.
The speaker might think nothing of it, but the listener might find it deeply unpleasant-
What do you mean, beyond your civilizing influence? Why should we submit to your influence? How is our civilization unenlightened? Is your civilization somehow superior to ours?
It was practically an invitation to hostility.
As such, the Xianzhou authorities had taken notice of the issue in recent years and begun avoiding the term in official contexts wherever possible.
On the Xianzhou Luofu in particular, where trade was frequent, officials referred to outsiders as honored foreign guests or travelers staying temporarily.
That, however, was only at the official level.
The people of the Xianzhou could not change overnight. After all, they had been using the term for thousands of years.
Someone like Sushang would still instinctively think of the term