Iron wasn't as hard to get as one would think. It was located in many caves, including the salt cavern, around the area. However, the scarcity of the ore would definitely pose a small problem. Getting a large amount of iron which was enough for a pair of claws would take god knows how long.
However, if Yin wanted to mold the iron he gathered, he would need to first smelt it. And so, he spent the first week learning the art of clay-making. How making pots and bricks worked. He learned that making pots by hand was quite easy, all you had to do was adjust the thickness level slightly less than your thumb and the pots wouldn't explode when hardened in fire.
However, bricks - which Yin wanted to use to make a real furnace for smelting iron ore - seemed to be much more difficult to master. Each time he put the bricks into the campfire, they would explode without even coming close to fully hardening.
He first tried to take a different approach, making holes in the brick to ensure enough air flow in them. When that failed, he decided to create the furnace with semi-hard bricks. He thought that as he used the furnace, it would automatically heat the bricks from the inside. Turns out, it worked!
Now that he had a fully functioning furnace, all he had to do was get iron. Yin knew that this would be the time-tasking part of the plan. He went to the salt cavern in search for traces of iron. As it turned out, the ore was indeed very rare. He couldn't find much, and even if he did, his makeshift pickaxe made of stone and some rope would barely be able to mine it. He probably went through four stone pickaxes while gathering it all in total.
After about three weeks, he finally had enough iron to start smelting; and that he did. It took him a couple days to finish it all. Smelting the iron in a pot, making a molding for the iron to go in, sharpening the blades, and finally making a flawless weapon with no blemishes or anything of the sort. The perfect set of razor sharp; durable claws.
They had brace knuckle-like handles to him, and were quite comfortable on the fingers. Yin liked them, as they felt comfortable to move around and fight with.
During this time he spent creating his weapon, Yin also fought more powerful beasts in order to train for his fight with the Crowned Head Tiger; some even in the weaker formation rank. He realized that his new and improved body - which still baffled him - was far stronger than he originally thought. He could take down said weaker formation beasts without receiving any serious injuries. Although this made him more confident; he knew that a formation rank and rampage rank were not comparable; but it did not matter. He was going to win no matter what.
He was now ready as can be for this fight. And so, Yin yielded the poison dyed claws, put a black cloak on his back, and set out to find and kill the King of The Jungle.
He ran miles upon miles; checking each and every area he came across. It took him more than a couple of days, but he was prepared for it. He set up small camps to rest at night, and had food readily available in the form of meat jerky. There was no way he wasn't going to find this tiger.
When he stepped out of that tree, he was prepared to never come back. He promised himself two years to take down a formation rank beast before venturing into the New World, however a rampage ranked beast was easily qualifying enough for him. This was it, the final fight of his life in his own world; for he was to forget everything he ever knew when journeying to the New World.
***
Two weeks later...
While running in search; he felt a slight, barely noticeable change in the atmosphere after coming to a new area. There was no way this could be noticed by anything else. He stopped immediately and started to walk slowly; closing his eyes to sense anything off or similar to the tiger. That's when he sensed it again for a second time; a slight hint of the deadly bloodlust that could only belong to the Crowned Head Tiger. It was clearly hunting right now.
Following a trace of bloodlust, Yin led himself to the edge of a huge cliff-face that was over 400 feet tall. Yin realized he was almost in line with the clouds for how high up he was. It was quite a mesmerizing sight, he nearly lost focus of his main goal for a second.
Looking at the bottom of the cliff, there looked to be a floor of jungle tree tops. He couldn't see the actual ground anywhere except for two separate areas of land that looked to be clear of trees.
In one area of land were a pack of three Dire Hound Wolves. Weaker formation ranked beasts who were still quite powerful, especially when grouped together. In the other plot of treeless land was a large gorilla. It looked like it was juiced up on steroids', having large boulders of muscles popping out at every part of its great body. This was the Diamond-back Gorilla, a weaker rampage ranked beast!
It had an actual impenetrable back made of real diamonds, and was a rare sight to see due to it being hunted so often. From Yin's point of view, the gorilla looked like it was attempting to ambush the wolves.
He panned his gaze, trying to locate where the Crowned Head Tiger was. It was no use, his eyes simply couldn't search while being so far away from the area. He instead closed his eyes and used his elite sense of smell.
…
'There!' His eyes flew open as he smelt a familiar poison. He now knew exactly where it was at. Between both the wolves and the gorilla was the tiger, lurking in the shadows as it almost mathematically calculated each untraceable step it took.
Yin's heart started to beat at the sight of the beast, however unlike last time, this wasn't due to fear, but excitement.
A wide grin appeared on his face. He wanted to go down there this instant and initiate a fight with the beast, however, he restrained himself. This was not the correct moment. In-fact, he could turn this situation into a golden one.
In the area, there were not only multiple formation ranked beasts, but also a rampage beast! If Yin let them all fight; he knew that the tiger would significantly weaken. This was his best chance to strike, and so, he waited.
Once the wolves walked close enough, the diamond-back gorilla immediately charged at them. It was double their size, but it also made it a good bit slower; as it managed to only slam one of the wolves with its paw.
Still, that one wolf was immediately knocked unconscious, its eyes white and its mouth foaming. It wouldn't survive much longer. The Diamond-back gorilla was a force to be reckoned with.
The wolves backed up slowly before lunging at the gorilla in turns. Quickly rotating in and out trying not to get hit. The gorilla took no damage, but he also couldn't hit back either.
Eventually, a wolf tried to bite the gorillas back. A grave mistake. Its front teeth, including his snout; were all broken on impact.
As it whined in pain, it was grabbed by the gorilla and torn into two pieces. It was a gruesome sight.
The final wolf was not gonna go for it. He wasn't retarded. Once it saw its pack get crushed, even it knew that fighting wouldn't be wise. Its lack of confidence caused it to quickly run away deep into the jungle.
The gorilla didn't even try to chase it. Instead, it stood on the body of the torn wolf below its feet and pounded its chest loudly as it roared into the sky. The beats of it's chest sounded like the beat of loud drums which were loud to even Yin who was over 400 feet above.
Just then, the Crowned Head Tiger lunged out of the shadows.
Sensing its presence, the gorilla quickly held up its forearms in an attempt to arm itself, but to no success. The powerful claws of the tiger ripped the gorillas forearms to shreds, causing 4 inch cuts that seeped deep into the gorillas forearms. it immediately lowered its now limp forearms before turning its back to try and run. It thought that at least, its back would be protected.
It thought wrong.