Published at 24th of January 2026 7:04 am

Chapter 3795: Antithesis of Prosperity

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Rui felt the urge to defend Martial Artists, but he knew better than to pretend that they were entirely positive for human civilization. He heaved a deep breath, lowering his gaze to the table as his ethereal eyes wandered about in thought.

"Do you remember what I said about the most important quality of a state?" She raised an eyebrow, gazing at him with wisdom in her auburn eyes.

"...Consolidation of power," Rui remarked. "A state that has not consolidated all military and Martial power is..."

His ethereal eyes widened with realization. "...is unable to generate prosperity."

His expression grew severe as he understood the heart of the problem with Panamic Civilization.

"It seems you have comprehended the fundamental flaw of Panamic Civilization," the Shepherd spoke with a wise tone that contrasted with her youthful voice. "States in our continent and civilization are unable to enforce law and order upon Martial Artists. Thus, they have not consolidated power. And if they have not consolidated power, then that means that they cannot generate prosperity."

Her auburn eyes grew more severe. "A state that is unable to enforce law and order cannot create prosperity. Only within law and order can the framework of incentives that create prosperity occur. And because Martial Artists are above the law, it means that our civilization is incapable of truly creating law and order. Martial Artists. No, perhaps pathwalkers as a whole... are impediments to the prosperity of the common man. As long as they are above the law, we will remain a relatively primitive civilization compared to what we could be."

Rui’s ethereal eyes grew profoundly immersed in the depths of the true meaning of her words. His expression hardened as the weight of her answer to his question bore down on him.

She heaved a soft sigh at his silence as she studied the Void Prince with an evaluating expression. To his credit, he didn’t lash out at her blatant declaration that Martial Artists were the biggest hurdle to true prosperity, even if he clearly did not like it.

If he were unable to control his emotions, then she would have withdrawn from the tentative agreement they had forged. She had no interest in serving a man who could not accept an irrefutable truth because of how unpleasant it was.

"If Martial Artists are such an impediment to Martial Art, then... why is the Kandrian Empire so prosperous?"

His voice was sincere while the depths of his ethereal eyes reflected curiosity. He didn’t ask the question to try to refute her insights, but rather to inquire about an apparent contradiction to improve his understanding of the truth. A glint of approval emerged in her auburn eyes at his attitude.

"The prosperity of the Kandrian Empire is not a credit to its Martial Artists," she replied. "Nor is it proof that Martial Artists do not impede prosperity. The prosperity of the Kandrian Empire is simply due to the brilliance of your father. He formed good, strong personal relationships with each of the Martial Sages of the Kandrian Empire. He developed a personal rapport of trust and friendship with them. He used his relationship with them, along with several incentives and disincentives, to prevent them from disrupting law and order too much. His capacity to generate harmony through his political maneuvering and even his personal charisma. But in truth, even he was never able to fully overcome the hurdle that Martial Artists are to prosperity."

Rui frowned. "The Kandrian Empire is very prosperous."

She shook her head. "You say that because you do not know what actual prosperity looks like. Thankfully, we have a good example here."

"Here?" Rui raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Her tone grew stronger as she stood up, walking outside her tent. "Here."

She raised her arms wide, gesturing to the ruins of the esoterified primordial civilization. "This civilization achieved a level of prosperity that is unfathomable even to me. A crime rate that was virtually zero. Extraordinarily high human development indices. Most likely, very high happiness indexes as well, based on partially translated administrative surveys. And a civilization where the state was both subservient to the will of the people and simultaneously was able to maintain absolute law and order. It was a civilization that allowed its people to self-actualize and become the best version of themselves."

Rui followed her outside as he directed a sweeping gaze across the ruins with a serious expression, before shifting his gaze to the woman before him. Her auburn eyes blended with the fading orange of the twilight sky and the setting sun. An expression of wonder and yearning emerged on her face as she directed a deep gaze at the ruins of the primordial civilization.

"When Martial Artists are above the law, the incentives for investment in infrastructure, for development, for industry and manufacturing are greatly reduced," she spoke with a serious voice as she directed a deep gaze at the ruins of the primordial civilization around her. "Why would any sane person try to build a factory in a city with great Martial presence when the risks that they might destroy that infrastructure in a simple battle are not low? Why would you ever bother building anything when Martial Artists are allowed to destroy anything and get away with it with a tap on the wrist?"

She turned back towards him with a deep gaze.

"And when people do not bother seeking to build anything greater, then why would the average person bother trying to educate themselves? There is a reason that the average literacy rate in the Panama Continent is barely sixty percent on average, and even lower beyond basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. The Kandrian Empire is an anomaly at eighty percent, but that, too, is a result of your father. With insufficient literacy and education, any prosperity that we have developed has been largely due to our esoteric matter. Without it, we would have been far more primitive than we currently are. Forget about satellites, we would not have built a single damn factory without the miracles of esoteric matter."

Rui’s expression hardened at those words as she fully highlighted the burden and the price of Martial Art.

Indeed, it gave them great individual combat powerhouses.

But because they could not be made to truly exist within a framework of law and order, they deprived Panamic Civilization of true prosperity.

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