Once in a while, a great martial artist will have knowledge of training grounds. These training grounds are usually locations of harsh environments, truly testing one's survival skills and inner will. Those who survive come out enlightened by their training, and those who don't survive, well....
The most legendary of training places is said to be located deep within the Chinese moutains. The location is a carefully guarded secret, known only to a handful of people. It is known to some as "Jhusenkyou."
Jhusenkyou is rumored to be a HUGE valley, brimming with 100 pools. Many things have died at Jhusenkyou. Each pool is said to have its own tragic legend associated with it....and its own curse.
The curses are said to take effect when one falls into one of the pools. To put it bluntly, the thing that falls into a pool comes out in the physical form of whatever died in that pool. Say, for example, if a lizard died in the pool, you would come out looking like a lizard...
But the situation CAN be mitigated. Simply splash the cursed person with hot water, and that person will turn back to his or her original form. Unfortunately, a splash of cold water tends to cause the curse to come into effect again.
Several people are said to have trained at Jhusenkyou and survived...but there is really no way to tell unless they are splashed with water. It is said that one of the survivors of Jhusenkou exists here in this world! Of course, it would be quite improper to go around splashing people with water...