With how things look inside the Duchy, they might have to face the bandits prowling around, waiting for vulnerable caravans and merchants making their way into the Duchy.
If it was the territory of a barony then he might not have any apprehension. But the territory of a duchy is much more dangerous. A duchy usually has a higher level of resources, both quality and quantity.
While it meant more opportunity, it also meant the inhabitants in the duchy, including the bandits, were more powerful on average compared to the inhabitants of a barony or a county. Though it doesn't mean that every cultivator at Genesis Condensing or above, it means that there are more high-level experts inside the barony.
These included Genesis Source and above. While the higher-ups of a barony are the only Genesis Source experts in their territory, a duchy would have a few hundred such experts, with some of the older ones having more than one thousand Genesis Source experts.
Not to mention there are also the cultivators above Genesis Source. The Duke himself is a Genesis Sea expert, the highest major realm in the Genesis Grand realm. Along with several other experts inside the duchy capital city, which also include the higher-ups of the Adventure Guild.
This shows how dangerous the duchy is to a group of their level. While he would prefer to avoid the duchy, unfortunately, it is the fastest way to the core of the Birak Kingdom. The other way would take nearly 2 years or so because one has to circumnavigate the greatest obstacle to the core of the kingdom, the Baraki Range.
The range is home to a countless number of powerful beasts, some even rumored to possess the same strength as the King himself. Of course, it is just rumors but the fact it is home to some very powerful beasts is that, a fact.
There are many people that had died in the ranges, all searching for natural treasures. While it is a place of danger, it is a place of opportunity as long as one has the courage, strength, and luck to survive it.
They could technically climb the range but they just attempted suicide. Naturally, they pick the least dangerous but still dangerous option, as the not-dangerous option just takes too long.
He could only make the best preparation he could as there was nothing else he could do. As he thought about their travel options some more, a soft sensation on his arms disturbed his thought.
A look at the soft object revealed that Ina had pressed her breast to his arm, likely to get his attention and do some 'night exercise'. He wouldn't deny a clear invitation like that. After making sure the children had gone to bed, he pounced on Ina, the rest of the women followed him closely, leading to a very 'fun night.
-x-
By the morning, he woke up, feeling refreshed despite how much 'exercise' he did. As for his lovers and slave, they are all currently unconscious, unable to handle him at full force despite all of them taking turns to tire him out.
Because of their exhaustion, he decided to let them sleep some more. The same for his siblings. He didn't want them to get any more suspicious about his 'activity' though the older four already knew what they were doing behind the door.
Due to how dangerous traveling to the Huz Capital City is, he needed to increase his strength. While he cannot improve his cultivation realm, he could comprehend another one of the Cultivation Arts while mastering another Path.
He had already comprehended the Dark Night Scripture and mastered the Law of Darkness. He had two other options left, one that he could master in a short amount of time, the Law of Ice and Law of Lightning.
After giving it some thought, he decided to comprehend the Imperious Lightning Scripture, the Cultivation Art related to Law of Lightning in his possession. With that plan, he headed out, leaving a note to the rest of his family about his destination and reason.
-x-
He reached a relatively peaceful mountain peak. To make sure he was not disturbed during his cultivation, he took out the nearby wild beasts, killing some of them and scaring the rest. He only kills the Genesis Core and above though, as they are worth a lot and the materials gathered from the bodies would give them some extra money.
Besides, seeing him as the strongest beast residing in the peak would scare the other beasts away. When the rest began to run away at the sight of him, he began to make some preparations, after all, he didn't want to be disturbed during his cultivation.
Making a rather weak formation, he sighed to himself, "Maybe I can take some time to learn formation?" he thought out loud to himself.
He decided to shelve it for later as he had other things to think about, namely, learning the Imperious Lightning Scripture. He took out the corresponding tablet, before reading about the Art and the insight.
After he finished reading it, he began to circulate the Art, able to produce weak electricity with ease. However, to comprehend the art, and through it, master the Law of Lightning. He took out several resources with strong lightning energy.
He then began to meditate, absorbing the lightning energy. Unfortunately, he had to disperse the energy, only allowing himself to create and replenish lightning qi. If he accidentally absorbed enough energy, he might accidentally form his Genesis Core, something he didn't want to happen.
He could technically learn and comprehend the Cultivation Art without using the specific resources as this would let him master the related Paths without possibly increasing his cultivation realm. But the length it would take him to do just that is just too long and he needed to increase his strength in a short time.
He began to absorb the energy and discard it, repeating the process until he began to comprehend the Imperious Lightning Scripture. As he comprehended the scripture, his mastery of Law of Lightning began to increase, slowly reaching the initial Elementary Understanding.
Surprisingly, it didn't take long for him to master the Law of Lightning. By the time he fully comprehends the initial part of the Imperious Lightning Scripture, his mastery has also reached the Elementary Understanding.
He opened his eyes, experimenting with electricity coming out of his finger. He then creates a spear made out of lightning before throwing it. Surprised by how easy it was for him to manipulate lightning, at least compared to the other Path.
"Maybe because I already mastered so many Paths my comprehension level had also increased. It made sense," he came up with the most likely conclusion. Still, with the Law of Lightning already reaching the Elementary Understanding, then maybe he could master the Law of Ice too?