Lu Li was different from Half a Smoke. While he was consuming Deadly Gold Underpant's skills and special effects, he hadn't given up on defeating his opponent. The two players had different ways of doing things, but if Lu Li could tell the audience that he still intended to win, they would think he had gone mad.
However, even he himself knew that the possibility of that happening was close to zero.
Blocking was one of the most fundamental means by which a Thief was able to deal with physical attacks. A Thief that couldn't block a Warrior's attacks had no hope of winning. Or, from the other perspective, a Warrior that could break a Thief's defense could be called a Thief killer.
Lu Li was a blocking master. His blocking technique had been analyzed by his peers and studied from like a textbook.