Under the Oak Tree - Chapter 406 - 167

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

When I woke up after a pretty crappy death, what greeted me was one of those famous fantasy worlds! I didn’t expect anything like becoming the strongest with a common job, or rising to the top with the weakest class…All I wanted was to live a slow farming life, but the world just wouldn’t leave me alone! And so I equally backstabbed good people and bad people alike, becoming a villain with a true sense of equality and just when I was about to retire and enjoy a proper life on a farm…“Master!”My former disciple at the evil organisation, currently the hero of justice came looking for me. Can’t you all just leave me alone?

Traversing to another world, Lin En is captured right from the start. The captor is the antagonist princess from the original work, intending to control him by using him for hypnosis experiments. In a critical moment, Lin En comes up with a quick-witted plan, feigning the success of the experiment and deceiving her with his acting skills. But this was only a temporary measure. Because in the original story, her ending is very tragic, and none of her associates meet good ends. Hence, Lin En must pretend to be under the hypnosis while secretly being ready to flee at any moment. But gradually things start to take an unexpected turn. ... The Princess’s Diary [The experiment was a success!] [As the sole specimen, I’ve decided to keep him by my side.] [Due to the curse mark on my face, I am loathed by the public, but he says I’m beautiful.] [I’m happy because people tell the truth when hypnotized.] [Alone with him, I impulsively kissed him.] [The feeling was strange and made me lose my composure, fortunately, he won’t retain any memory of it after the hypnosis is lifted.] [So, it’s okay to be a bit bolder, right?]

When Dirga signs a mysterious contract, his world is turned upside down. Shadows stretch, reality bends, and he’s thrown into a brutal game where power means survival — and the cost is everything.Guided by a devil with a smile too wide and a past too deep, Dirga must train body, mind, and soul in a realm where death is never far and every choice echoes beyond comprehension.Armed with evolving powers and a weapon tied to his very will, he steps into a world ruled by chaos, facing monsters, trials, and truths that were never meant to be uncovered.But in a game designed by devils, with rules no one fully understands — how far can conviction carry a man who fights not to conquer… but to protect?