"Capitalism? What is that?" Sean was confused when hearing about capitalism.
"Let's start from the beginning first before we dive into capitalism" Bruce stopped eating and stood up in front of the group to begin his lecture.
"Let me ask you guys something. Why is it that you guys became bandits?"
"Because we are poor" One of the bandits answered
"Right, it's because you are poor. But you could have done something else that's not illegal to earn an income correct?"
"Yes, that's true, but we couldn't make much money since we weren't talented in cultivation" Another bandit answered. In this world, it's difficult to make ends meet without strength. After all, someone could easily kill you and steal your wealth. No one would bat an eye because it's how the world works.
"Very good. You guys became bandits because you were poor due to the circumstances that you were born with. To generate wealth, you resorted to banditry" The group nodded as everything Bruce said made sense.
"So, the question you should be asking yourself isn't how to be the best bandit. Instead, it should be how to make the most money" Everyone's eyes whined after Bruce pointed out the fundamental problem.
"You guys wouldn't become bandits if you guys were born in a more fortunate situation, correct?"
"Yes teacher, that's right" All of the bandits are in their early 20's except for Sean. They had never harmed anyone after becoming bandits, physically at least. Clearly, becoming bandits was something they had to do to provide for their families.
"The question you guys should be asking yourself is how to make the most money!" The group gasped after hearing Bruce's exclamation.
"To make the most money, you need to learn about capitalism. It is an economic system that prioritizes profit and efficiency. If you are more efficient than your competitor, you make more profit. If your competitors grew too big, they would crush you and you can no longer make money. It is essentially a principle that promotes wealth accumulation"
The group got confused as Bruce was explaining capitalism to them. Seeing the blank faces in the group, Bruce decided to give them examples to better understand capitalism.
"Let's go over an example so that you guys can understand capitalism." Bruce grabbed some water as his throat was getting dry from lecturing the bandits.
"Take today for example, how much money did you obtain from that black-hearted merchant before I spoke up?"
"Teacher, we obtained 120 gold coins worth of merchandise" Sean finally spoke up in the lecture.
"Good, now how much did you guys earn after I extorted their entire wealth"
"Teacher, after cleaning up the secret treasure house of the two men, we obtained 10,459 gold coins worth of assets" Sean slowly calculated their income today and was shocked when the amount was more than he could ever imagine.
"So, you approximately increased your income by 100-fold just by being more efficient than your fellow bandit competitors!" Bruce slammed the table to highlight the point.
"Had you not been more efficient today, you would have to wait for more victims to come on the road. As bad luck would have it before I met you guys, a restaurant owner in a nearby town had already informed his customers to not go near that road."
"As more towns hear about you guys, fewer and fewer people would travel on the road. By my estimate, within a couple of weeks, no one would walk on that road and you guys would be starving for food!" The light bulbs started to work in everyone's head as Bruce explained their predicaments.
"But couldn't we just camp on other roads and steal from new people?" Sean asked as he planned to do just that if his group is not making any money on a specific road.
"You idiot! What happens if you meet your competitors on the new road? What if your competitors have cultivators beyond Soul Manifestation? Your entire group would be dead right there."
Bruce harshly criticized Sean for coming up with such an idiotic idea. Though, that was how most low-level bandits operate. Sean got depressed after being criticized by Bruce and realizing he could have gotten everyone killed.
"Sean, don't feel too bad. Your idea wasn't bad, but it lacked preparation. Write this down in your notes. In this world, information is everything! It is even more valuable than the gold coins you guys just obtained" The group didn't seem to believe what Bruce just said so he continued to explain.
"With information, you can determine the best action to take. The best example would be the black-hearted merchant case once again. We found dirt on him, so we were able to force him to hand over his entire wealth to us."
His personal information was used against him. In the case of Sean's suggestion, it would be a fine idea if he had information on the new road and what kind of cultivators and bandits are on that road" The group started to see the meaning behind Bruce's remark.
"If the road is walked by weaklings under Soul Manifestation realm and no bandits are there, then you guys can move onto that road and make a living. If not, you'd die if some strong cultivator finds you hiding in the bushes waiting to rob someone." Seeing that everyone understood the importance of information, Bruce moved on to efficiency.
"Now another element that you guys are missing is efficiency. Lucky for us today, your only customer is a very rich man"
"If it were any other day, you'd be making on average 1 or 3 gold coins a day. To make more money, you need to be more efficient. You need to be able to identify an opportunity to generate wealth and push for it till the end." Sean now understood the basics of capitalism as he thought deeply about Bruce's example.
"You guys were about to let the bodyguard go without robbing him. That's inefficiency! The bodyguard of the man also happened to be quite wealthy wouldn't you say, Sean?"
"Yes teacher, that bodyguard had about 2100 gold coins in his private stash house" Sean replied, and everyone immediately understood what Bruce meant by efficiency.
"Due to the principles of capitalism, you guys just generated wealth over a period of 30 years in 2 hours!" The group finally grasped the significance of their actions today. They never have to work again for 30 years!
"Unfortunately for you all, this world operates on strength. Just like the merchant today, someone stronger than you all can obtain all your wealth by having a bigger fist" To bring everyone back down, Bruce hit them with reality.
"So, my suggestion for all of you is to not save the money you just earned and hope that no one stronger than you all shows up. Instead, why not invest that money on yourself to make yourself stronger"
"Plenty of elixirs and pills are in this world that can increase your strengths. This brings me to the final point of the lecture, capital!" Bruce had begun to finish up the lecture once and for all.
"Your collective strength is your capital. Without capital, you are restricted when making money. If everyone in the group was at Soul Manifestation stage, then the group is collectively a huge threat, even a Divine King expert would have to acknowledge all of you"
"If the group increases its capital, you will have more 'customers' to generate income and become even richer" Bruce finally concluded the lecture and sat down to finish his snack.
"Teacher, you opened our eyes to the true art of banditry. Thank you!" Sean began tearing up after the lecture finished. He had learned so much from the lecture that he came up with various plans to increase the group's wealth.
"Fate has put us together today. It is my responsibility to guide all of you to a brighter future" Bruce smiled as he enjoyed the candy apple in his hand.
"Teacher, I promise you that the lesson you taught us today will be put to good use" One of the bandits in the group solemnly swore to Bruce.
"Very good" Bruce was happy at the group's enthusiasm to make more money.
"Teacher, please come back to see us in the future. I promise you that we won't let you down" Sean bowed in front of Bruce.
"En, don't push yourselves too hard. Making good money and retiring early is already fine. No need to be greedy" Bruce didn't want Sean to reach for something he couldn't achieve.
"No teacher, I will become someone famous in the future and preach your teachings to the public to honor you!" Sean spoke with a sharp determination in his eyes.
"Oh, and what is it you're trying to become?" Bruce asked curiously
"Teacher, I will become the God of Wealth!" Sean answered with great conviction.
"..."
"Say What?"