As these thoughts plagued Albert's mind, he couldn't help but shudder again. He grabbed the guest list subconsciously and wanted to see who else from the Jenkins family was attending the event. Apart from Barbara, there was another name on the list-Maria Jenkins. Maria Jenkins?

Albert read the familiar name in shock. "So, Mia was actually from the Jenkins family? Alas, what a pity!"

Although Albert wasn't interested in matters regarding the entertainment circle, he once read Maria's novel. He was not a fanatic, but he had to admit that Mia had a talent for writing.

Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected that Mia would be here tonight, let alone the fact that her fate would be sealed by Barbara. Albert shook his head and sighed wistfully.

He was a pill alchemist who had climbed the ranks through sheer will. He never had a powerful family to back him up. Thus, he could never understand what went on in the Jenkins family. Albert sighed again, feeling bad for what Maria would have to face tonight.

After the auction of the Sun Pill's elixir formula, Barbara returned to her seat with a complacent smile on her face.

As soon as she sat down, she couldn't wait to speak to Maria. "Maria, our item was sold at a one hundred million dollars. Mrs. Jenkins and the other senior members of the Jenkins family will be very pleased when we go back tomorrow. Aren't you happy?" Obviously, she was provoking Maria on purpose.

She suspected that a bumpkin like Maria wouldn't understand the unspoken rules of the charity auction. Basically, if the final price of the item was under a hundred million dollars, it meant that their family would only get one quota for the exam.

But even if Maria knew about the rules, she wouldn't have a choice but to accept her fate. In any case, Barbara was in a good mood. She Looked forward to passing the examination of the Pill Alchemist Association and becoming an official member in the coming month. Thinking of this, Barbara smirked as she waited for Maria's answer.

“That item has nothing to do with me. Why should I be happy about it?” Maria replied indifferently.

Although she was a bit disappointed by Maria's response, Barbara refused to Let it ruin her good mood. And how could she say that their item had nothing to do with her? Did she have anything to do with any other item in the auction tonight? Impossible! Barbara sneered in her heart.

Just then, the host climbed onstage and spoke again. "Up next is the last item for the first half of the charity auction. It's also from the Jenkins family, provided by the pill alchemist, Maria Jenkins.”

From the Jenkins family? From Maria? Barbara was dumbfounded. What the hell was happening? How could this be possible? Even if the Jenkins family had other treasures to auction off, they never would've given them to Maria! Could this be Canaan's doing?

No, the key to the family's private storage room was with her grandmother. Even if Canaan wanted to help Maria, Mrs. Jenkins would never let him have access to the family's private storage room. Then where did Maria get an item for the auction?

At the invitation of the hostess, Maria elegantly made her way down to the stage. The DJ even played special music for her, and Maria received the same treatment as Barbara.

Tonight, the Jenkins family would be remembered by the other clans because two of their young pill alchemists had come onstage, one after another, to explain their auction items personally.

This was a very rare honor, and it just went to show that the Jenkins family had some sort of special connection with the organizers. Maria's and Barbara's special treatment got people questioning if the Jenkins family was related to the Pill Alchemist Association or the Broome University.

“Miss Jenkins, please give a brief introduction of your item,” The hostess addressed her with a polite smile.

Truth be told, the hostess felt a bit strange about the whole situation. Just now, they only had let Barbara come onstage because Fred himself had ordered it, and Fred was the representative of the Pill Alchemist Association. The reason why she let Maria come onstage Was because someone even more powerful than Fred had given her the order!

The hostess looked at Maria meaningfully, trying to commit all of Maria's features to memory. After all, she had to keep this beautiful girl in mind, because whoever backed her was far more powerful than whoever backed Barbara!

“May I have a piece of paper and a pen, please?" Maria requested politely.

The hostess was stunned for a moment, and when she came to her senses, she asked, “What kind of paper and pen do you need?" She thought that Maria was going to perform something on the spot, like painting or doing some calligraphy. Many celebrities resorted to such stunts. At charity galas, they would improvise something on the spot and then auctioned off the work.

This was common practice in the entertainment circle. If Maria played the same trick at an event that was held by the ancient martial world and Broome University, no matter how popular she was in the entertainment circle, she wouldn't be able to pull it off.

"Anything would do, as long as the paper is blank and the pen has ink," Maria answered casually.