If he couldn't outpace the opponent, then he would use other strengths to close the gap between them.
Zhou Tian saw everything clearly at the time. As for how to keep the magpies from escaping, Zhou Tian had already devised a plan. Based on the situation then, it was never going to be easy for the magpies to escape from Zhou Tian's grasp right from the start.
In fact, as soon as the magpies prepared to flee, Zhou Tian didn't wait for them to get far before he used some tactics to prevent their escape.
As for the tactics Zhou Tian used to stop the magpies at that time, they were quite simple.
It was only in terms of speed that Zhou Tian was inferior to the magpies; regarding strength, he was certainly superior. Therefore, given the circumstances, Zhou Tian didn't need to do anything extra. All he had to do was find a way to hinder the magpies' flight, so their speed couldn't be fully utilized, and capturing them would then become extremely easy.