Magika no Kenshi to Shoukan Maou - Volume 11 Chapter 1—Long Stagnation and Harem’s Everyday(Part 1-4)

Shi Jin once read a book. It was supposed to be about satisfying the desire for vengeance.

He, since childhood, had followed the Foreigner to practice the Defying Heaven Art, entering the most secretive special forces and becoming a fearsome assassin that made others tremble at the mere mention of his name. After a single failure, he took early retirement, but he ended up as the personal bodyguard for a rich heiress, a school beauty. Accidentally provoking some mysterious Cultivators, he gradually unveiled a hidden world of Cultivation beyond the mortal realm...

Doctor Xiao, the head of the Imperial Hospital known for his virtuous conduct both in medicine and virtues, gets embroiled in the case of the Concubine's false pregnancy and is beheaded.Male members aged twelve and above are exiled, while the women and children receive the Empress Dowager's grace and return to their ancestral home in Shu City.Unexpectedly, the clan members who had always been sheltered by Doctor Xiao refused to allow this group of women and children to enter, seized their ancestral property, and expelled them from the clan.A group of pampered women suddenly lacking anything, Xiao Chunnuan, who never showed off and only loved reading and making medicine, becomes the backbone of the entire family.She teaches her family to wash clothes and cook to survive;Teaches her sisters to dig wild vegetables and prepare herbs;Teaches her little brother about business and martial arts for physical strength; even if they can't take the imperial examination forthe next three generations, they must learn to read and write;She works hard to earn money while also aiding her exiled relatives;Her grandmother finds a marriage for Chunnuan, but it results in the Clan Leader's daughter coming to stir trouble.A kind person is bullied while a good horse is ridden, old grievances and new hates are accounted together, Xiao Chunnuan is never someone to hold back, whether in literary or martial battles, she can respond to the challenge!

In this world, orphans or just anyone without any hope for this world can apply to become a “walking target”. Their sole purpose is to be a practicing dummy for the students of the sect who train to become “Demon Hunters”. These students need “walking targets” to test their training on living, walking beings of flesh and blood.
In exchange, they will be provided with food & shelter.
Their existence value is lower than a slave, but if they manage to survive a few years they can receive a life long pension.

Xiao Han is such a “walking target”. One time he witnessed a powerful Demon Hunter disposing a demon. When the demon died, a fragment of the demon that managed to escape entered Xiao Han’s heart. No one saw that, and even Xiao Han himself only felt some discomfort for an instant.

But that thing in his heart soon gave Xiao Han visions, and the first one is of a cultivation method which allows Xiao Han to absorb damage to enhance his body. A perfect cultivation method for a “walking target”.

- Description from Novelupdates