Ancient Method Practitioner ≈ Poor ≈ Not worth robbing = Hillbilly; this equation was basically accepted in the eyes of Modern Cultivators.
The reason is simple, using Earth's sociological terms, it's due to the gap in productivity. Ancient emperors possessed the wealth of the world, yet their material conditions couldn't match that of modern ordinary households, because the production level at that time was just so. That's the greatness of productivity.
