Mr. Barnes huffed with a touch of scorn.

His most recent female student, Barbara, had ties to that family.

Over time, he had trained Barbara to be a healer, reaping benefits from the Jenkins' connections.

Still, the Jenkins family was on the decline in Broome. Nobody in the martial arts community was keen on associating with them, especially since Mr. Barnes had learned through Barbara that the Jenkins family's resources were dwindling.

"Looks like there's still some talent in the Jenkins family.

Impressive! No wonder this person keeps a low profile. After all, the Jenkins family is declining now." Mr. Barnes thought for a while and lost his interest.

Jaxon picked up on some hints.

“So, the Jenkins family is struggling?" Jaxon inquired.

“They had their days of glory, but not anymore. They've lost their shine." Mr. Barnes gloated.

“Oh, I understand now!" Jaxon acknowledged.

Jaxon's worries faded away, replaced by a sense of triumph.

He was, after all, related to Mr. Barnes from the Association of Healthcare Professionals. Besides, with his late wife hailing from the Barnes family from the world of martial arts, he felt no fear facing Maria.

Maria, who hailed from the Jenkins family, a family losing its shine in the martial arts world, was of little concern to Jaxon. He wasn't worried about crossing her.

After learning about Maria's family background, Jaxon expressed his thanks to Mr. Barnes over the phone and ended the call.

He returned to the patio, walking tall and proud, and gave Maria a smug look as the latter removed the acupuncture needles.

"You'll need another session tomorrow, and then you should be well on your way to recovery," Maria remarked.

She then turned to Marilyn and Jaxon as if she had just recalled their presence and asked, "Did you follow what I have been doing?"

As expected, Marilyn hadn't understood a thing.

Maria had been working on three specific points, channeling an unseen energy into Michael to heal the illness. There was no sign of anything wrong on the surface.

“Dad, what did Mr. Barnes say?" Marilyn whispered to Jaxon.

Jaxon couldn't hide his smugness.

"The Jenkins family? Oh, I'm aware of them. But do you know of the Barnes family? Hahaha..."

Maria's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Oh? So?" Maria's voice was rather calm.