He stepped back and, upon noticing Yi Chen's provocative punch, the Sailor King immediately seized the opportunity, launching a fierce attack toward Yi Chen's head.
Yi Chen quickly retracted his hands, covering his head to block.
At this point, the Sailor King changed his target, attacking Yi Chen's side waist and front body.
In boxing matches, scoring can be achieved by hitting the opponent's head or body with enough force using the knuckle part of the glove; thus, Sailor King's attacks were strategic.
On the other side, when Sailor King attacked his side waist and stomach, Yi Chen stopped blocking and chose to strike at Sailor King's head.
When the Sailor King attacked below the head and above the waistline, his head was inevitably undefended, making it the perfect time for Yi Chen to strike. However, this had a downside as it meant he would lose more points, given that the area below the head and above the waistline had two scoring spots and was easy to hit. But Yi Chen wasn't aiming for points; he wanted to knock out the Sailor King, and if he could get the Sailor King down on the ground unable to rise, then he would win the match.
Both fighters continuously exchanged blows, each attacking with full force.
Feeling his head being struck by heavy blows repeatedly, the Sailor King was starting to falter; his vision was blurring, his head was pounding, and he felt like he was about to be knocked out.
Without a second thought, he rushed over and embraced Yi Chen, preventing further attacks.
This was a tactical move; when being overpowered or at a disadvantage, embracing the opponent could prevent losing and gaining points.
Sure enough, seeing them wrapped up together, the referee came over to pull them apart.
This round, the Sailor King felt he scored more minor points; just by enduring a little over a minute longer, he would win this round.
Boxing matches are decided by major points, each round being a major point; if major points are equal, then minor points are compared, and whoever has more minor points wins. It is worth noting that being knocked down results in the loss of a major point, which is equivalent to a round, so it is crucial.
The gamblers betting on Sailor King were thrilled, as Sailor King's recent fierce attack was spectacular, rapidly putting points on the board! Although Yi Chen also scored points, his were definitely lower than Sailor King's.
Thus, they cheered enthusiastically for Sailor King.
"Sailor King, bold and unbeatable!"
"Sailor King, bold and unbeatable!"
"Sailor King, bold and unbeatable!"
However, what the spectators didn't realize was the agony of the actual participants. The gamblers who bet on Sailor King had no idea how seriously he was hurt. If not for that tactical embrace, he would have been knocked down by Master Yi Chen already.
While their morale was boosted, those who bet on Master Yi Chen winning were not so happy; the current major score was four to three. If Yi Chen lost this round, the scores would tie again, which was very frustrating.
"Master Yi Chen, come on! Quickly KO Sailor King!" shouted the gamblers who bet on Master Yi Chen winning.
Standing in the back and watching the match, Lin Yifan, looking at the situation of the two fighters on the ring, couldn't help but smile, "It seems like the monk is going to win."
Although he spoke softly, a gambler betting on Sailor King in front of him overheard it and immediately became upset, turning around to scold him, "Are you blind? With so many points scored by Sailor King, how could he possibly lose?"
"Some things are not as they appear on the surface; you'll know whether I'm right or wrong in a moment," Lin Yifan replied calmly.
"Hmph! I think you are saying this just because you bet on Master Yi Chen winning," the gambler snorted, clearly not believing Lin Yifan.
"Believe it or not," Lin Yifan said, crossing his arms and continuing to watch the match.
"I just don't believe Sailor King can lose," said the gambler, turning back to watch the fight.
After being separated by the referee, Master Yi Chen and Sailor King stood on opposite sides, keeping their distance.
At this point, Master Yi Chen was reinvigorated, while Sailor King was somewhat groggy, appearing to have little fighting spirit left.
The next moment, as the referee gave the instruction, Yi Chen stopped defending and took the initiative to attack. This round, he was risking losing points to seriously injure the Sailor King.
Punch after punch was thrown, Yi Chen exerted all his Brute Force, continuously attacking the Sailor King's head, intensifying the Sailor King's injuries.
The Sailor King, in turn, kept using his hands to protect his head to avoid being struck. However, even with defense, his head still suffered considerable concussions.
Seeing how passive the Sailor King was, the gamblers who had bet on the Sailor King winning thought this was the Sailor King's strategy and were not worried.
They continued to cheer for the Sailor King, hoping to give him some Mental Divine Power.
"Sailor King, hold on! There are just forty seconds left, you must hold on!"
"Sailor King, you're the strongest, I believe in you. Hold on! Hold on!"
On the other side, seeing Master Yi Chen only targeting the Sailor King's head, the gamblers who bet on Master Yi Chen winning were puzzled. If the opponent was defending, punching more wouldn't score any points, would it?
Thus, unable to watch any longer, they started shouting advice:
"Master Yi Chen! Hit his side waist!"
"Master Yi Chen! Hit his stomach!"
But Master Yi Chen paid no attention and continued to focus on hitting the Sailor King's head.
Watching the Sailor King being beaten to the point of being unable to fight back, Lin Yifan felt that the Sailor King wouldn't last a few more seconds and might be knocked down this round.
Yi Chen put all his strength into each punch, each containing immense power and felt incredibly heavy.
By then, the Sailor King was already unable to counterattack; he had been too heavily injured earlier and shouldn't have taken those punches from Yi Chen just for the sake of scoring.
Now, his head spinning, his whole body was barely functioning.
At that moment, he tried using the hugging move again to buy some time and relieve some pressure; thus, while protecting his head, he rushed forward.
But this time, Yi Chen didn't give him another chance.
Seeing him coming, Yi Chen dodged to the side, avoiding his embrace; then he rushed forward again, delivering a fierce punch to his left cheek.
The powerful blow almost knocked the Sailor King to the ground.
At that moment, he barely managed to prop his body up, not letting himself fall,
As they saw the Sailor King swaying, the gamblers who bet on the Sailor King winning finally realized the Sailor King's situation, that he indeed could no longer hold on.
"Sailor King, come on! There are only ten more seconds! You must hold on!"
"Sailor King, come on!"
"Sailor King, come on!"
Every gambler who bet on the Sailor King winning was shouting for him, because it was all their money at stake; if he went down, they would lose everything.