Chang Haojie didn't know who had saved him, only that he needed to escape quickly. In his panic, he didn't know his location. When he was in the air, his clothes had already been torn to shreds by the sparrows, and the map he carried was also torn apart. The map was gone.
However, even if he had the map, Chang Haojie couldn't change the current situation. The sky was filled with a dense mass of birds. If these birds attacked him again, Chang Haojie's fate would undoubtedly be grim. He had no time to look at the map or discern directions, so he could only flee blindly, heading wherever there was open space.
Just then, a loud explosion echoed from the distant mountains. Chang Haojie looked back but saw nothing. However, the flock of birds had already re-identified their target and was flying towards him.
Seeing the countless birds heading straight for him, Chang Haojie was stunned. He had never imagined he would encounter such a situation. Even though he had landed, he was still under attack.
To survive, Chang Haojie continued to flee. Suddenly, the ground was covered by a shadow. The peacock had fixed its gaze on Chang Haojie, extending its claws and seizing both the fleeing Chang Haojie and Hua Jingran.
"Crackling," the sound of bones breaking emanated from Chang Haojie and Hua Jingran. Hua Jingran, who had been unconscious, woke up in extreme pain but then fainted again. Chang Haojie was also in agony, with several broken ribs, making it unbearable.
The peacock flapped its wings and returned to the sky, its magnificent tail feathers shimmering with iridescent light under the sun.
At that moment, a large paraglider flew in from the distant sky. Shen Feng was seated on the paraglider, and before he even arrived, the attack had begun.
"Furious Wind," Shen Feng roared, and countless wind blades shot towards the peacock.
The peacock sensed danger and immediately summoned its flock to protect itself.
Three thousand wind blades took shape and shot out into the distance. Shen Feng, with his sharp eyes, had already spotted Chang Haojie and Hua Jingran being held captive. For their safety, he had to give his all.
The mutated sparrows flew into the air, blocking the path between Shen Feng and the peacock. But before the sharp wind blades, these birds were merely fodder to be slaughtered. One by one, the birds were pierced by the invisible wind blades and fell to the ground. Shen Feng estimated that there were at least fifty to sixty thousand mutated birds in the sky. With such numbers, it wouldn't be easy to eliminate them all.
However, Shen Feng's goal wasn't to annihilate all the mutated birds but to rescue Chang Haojie. Shen Feng's initial objective was simple: to bring Chang Haojie and Hua Jingran back to Yuzhou. He couldn't possibly stand by and watch these two teenagers elope; they knew nothing and would suffer greatly if left to fend for themselves.
But now, Chang Haojie and Hua Jingran had been captured by the mutated bird king. In this situation, he had to kill the peacock first.
The paraglider steadily approached the peacock. The peacock wasn't particularly skilled at flying, and under these circumstances, Shen Feng used the strong winds to accelerate his approach to the peacock.
Birds continuously plummeted downwards. Shen Feng didn't pause, condensing more and more wind blades around him, which shot out in all directions, preventing the birds from getting close.
However, seeing that escape was impossible, the peacock surprisingly turned around and lunged at Shen Feng, intending to confront him in the sky.
Shen Feng was no longer the same as before. Previously, when fighting in the sky, Shen Feng lacked experience. Now, fighting mutated birds again, Shen Feng had gained insights. To achieve victory, the first step was to disrupt the opponent's rhythm.
Immediately, Shen Feng swiftly unleashed his ability: "Vast East Wind." With this move, the strong winds blew, causing all the birds to sway precariously. Even the massive peacock shook its body, clearly unable to maintain its stability under these conditions.
"Eye of the Hurricane," Shen Feng unleashed another move. A whirlwind centered around the paraglider appeared, sweeping up countless surrounding birds. These birds had never experienced a whirlwind; after all, tornadoes couldn't penetrate deep into the heartland of China. The birds immediately folded their wings, losing their bearings within the vortex.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Feng condensed a hundred wind blades and targeted the unstable peacock in the sky.
"Pfft," "Pfft"... The wind blades continuously penetrated the peacock's abdomen, directly shredding its internal organs.
A rain of blood fell from the sky. The peacock let out a mournful cry, dropped the two youths in its claws, and flew away into the distance.
Birds were quite resilient. Anyone who had killed a chicken knew that if the trachea wasn't severed, the chicken could still live for a while. The peacock was in a similar state. Although its internal organs were shredded, it hadn't died yet.
Shen Feng didn't have time to pursue the bird king. Although the bird king was important, nothing was more important than his family.
Shen Feng quickly maneuvered the paraglider closer to the two individuals in the air, caught Chang Haojie and Hua Jingran, and without delay, continued his journey towards Yuzhou.
Chang Haojie was in excruciating pain. Seeing his brother-in-law appear, tears couldn't help but stream down his face. "Brother-in-law, I was wrong. I regret not listening to you."
Chang Haojie hadn't expected such a situation. He thought eloping was no big deal, but when he actually acted on it, he almost caused Hua Jingran's death.
Most importantly, Shen Feng had warned Chang Haojie that the skies were no longer safe because the birds had begun to mutate. However, Chang Haojie clearly hadn't taken it to heart at the time, leading to the current predicament, which was truly lamentable.
Shen Feng's expression was calm. "Let's go back first. Your sister will handle your affairs. As for then, you'd better not talk back to her."
As Shen Feng flew, he began to ascend. When the paraglider reached an altitude of three hundred meters, many mutated birds found it difficult to get close. After mutating, the birds' bodies had grown larger, and larger bodies meant increased weight. With increased weight, it wasn't easy for them to fly very high.
Moreover, after the peacock fled, the bird flock in the area lost its leader and, unsure of what to do, returned to the forest, no longer pursuing the paraglider.
With its internal organs destroyed, the peacock would certainly not survive. The peacock had flown away to escape, but it was estimated that it would die soon. Shen Feng wasn't worried about this problem.
When Shen Feng brought Chang Haojie and Hua Jingran back to Yuzhou, Chang Jianyi in the Wind God Palace had been waiting anxiously for a long time. When she saw her brother, covered in blood and in a pitiful state, appear before her, she rushed forward with concern, embracing him and saying, "How could you be so foolish? Why did you leave?"
Chang Haojie was in a terrible state. Not only was his hair disheveled, but blood seeped from all over his body, and his clothes were tattered. His right arm hung limply across his chest, clearly broken. Recalling Chang Haojie's appearance before, although he wasn't a once-in-a-century young hero, he was a dashing noble. His current miserable condition caused his sister, Chang Jianyi, great heartache.
Chang Haojie lowered his head and said, "I like Hua Jingran. Sister, you disagreed with whatever I said, so I had no choice but to resort to this. I know I was wrong, but I won't change my mind."
As it stood, Chang Haojie was in a dire situation and knew that his elopement was wrong and had caused his sister trouble. However, even in this situation, he hadn't changed his original intention; he still liked Hua Jingran.
"What's so good about this girl? You can find girls prettier than her, and smarter than her. Why must you like this girl?" Chang Jianyi asked, holding her brother.
Chang Haojie remained silent for a moment and then said, "Because when I was bored, she was by my side. She didn't have many friends either. We relied on each other for survival."
Upon hearing this, Chang Jianyi could only shake her head helplessly. She hadn't expected her brother to give such a reason. If it were for such a reason, it would be entirely inconsequential. Chang Haojie probably didn't even know the meaning of "relying on each other for survival," yet he used this idiom to describe it, which was quite frustrating.
Shen Feng, carrying the equally miserable Hua Jingran, walked over and said, "This child isn't doing well either. Several of her bones are broken, and she's unconscious. It will take a long time for her to recover."
Chang Jianyi looked at the unconscious Hua Jingran with a helpless expression and shook her head. "Send her to the hospital for treatment. Also, give her an evolution serum. In any case, let her become an evolved person first. If her strength is too low, she won't even be able to protect herself."
When Chang Haojie heard his sister say this, his expression became one of disbelief, as if he hadn't expected his sister's attitude to change.
"Sister, do you agree to us now?" Chang Haojie quickly asked.
Chang Jianyi said indifferently, "I haven't agreed. In any case, our family cannot marry a mediocre girl. She must prove herself to be exceptionally outstanding in the future. Otherwise, I still won't agree. As for you now, as long as you don't do anything outrageous, I won't obstruct you any further."
Shen Feng also said, "Actually, I'm planning to select outstanding youths from the orphanage to become my students, with the reward being ability potions. So, after Hua Jingran recovers, tell her to study hard and perform exceptionally well in next month's exam. As long as she scores first place, she can become an evolved person."
Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi were both helpless with the stubborn Chang Haojie. After this incident, they both understood the extent of Chang Haojie's stubbornness. For this young man, it was too difficult to make him give up Hua Jingran and choose someone else. It was better to respect his choice.
Upon hearing his sister and brother-in-law's words, Chang Haojie's eyes welled up with tears of excitement. He immediately said, "I will never leave Yuzhou again. I will perform well and strive to help my sister and brother-in-law overcome difficulties."
From afar, Zhang Xixi finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this conversation. She knew that now that Chang Haojie had found his own partner, Chang Jianyi would no longer try to matchmake her. She could live a more relaxed life from now on.
However, thinking about her own lifelong commitment, Zhang Xixi felt a bit troubled. At this moment, she suddenly began to miss her brother. If her brother were here, he certainly wouldn't let her marry someone she didn't like, would he?
"Brother, haven't you finished your mission on the grasslands yet? It's been almost two years. Why is it so slow?" Zhang Xixi silently thought.
Shen Feng suddenly remembered something and said to Chang Haojie, "Once your injuries have healed, you must accompany me to visit two families. Two pilots died today while saving you. You must be present; otherwise, it wouldn't be appropriate."
Shen Feng recalled seeing the helicopter crash diagonally into the forest from a great distance, followed by an explosion and a towering inferno. The ground was a deep pit, and perhaps the remains of these two were burned to ashes. Their families would surely be heartbroken upon learning of this incident. Therefore, for Chang Haojie to not visit them personally would be inexcusable.
Chang Haojie nodded quickly, indicating that he would definitely go to visit.
The matter seemed to have come to a conclusion, but Shen Feng also took this opportunity to discover a hidden crisis. That is, there might be more dangers hidden within the Daba Mountains, namely the mutated bird flocks. If left unchecked, these mutated bird flocks would surely threaten other people in Yuzhou. In that case, farming would be unstable, let alone living safely.
"We need to find time to clear out the mutated bird flocks," Shen Feng thought to himself.