The soul trial, the last trial of the first section of the trial of heaven, is similar to the gravity trial. Every participant will be subject to harmful soul fluctuations. The participants must defend with their divine sense instead of their bodies like the gravity trial. In this trial, only those with a mark or those who can remain until the last 30% will survive. For those without a mark, they have to somehow survive to the end or die. If you have a mark you will lose one of it to survive, your mark will grant you access to the next section of the trial instead of dying. The soul trial especially tells true and fake sovereigns apart. Not all sovereigns achieve this level of power on their own. Some of them, the true sovereigns walk step by step to condense their seed of power, they are also rewarded with each achievement along the way with a boost to their soul or bodies. When sovereigns die their seed of power is left behind because it is nigh indestructible, someone of sufficient strength can then fuse with this seed of power to become a sovereign, albeit a fake one. They are fake because they can't stand up against a true sovereign but they are more than powerful enough to defeat some Titans of law. Fake sovereigns lack the necessary soul strength or body strength to fully wield the seed of power. Fake sovereigns have to come to the trial for various reasons but it is expected that it is the majority of them that will die during the trial of heaven. New true sovereigns are rare as compared to fake ones, that's why the number of sovereigns doesn't reduce in the High Heaven realm. Even though it is disadvantageous to use the seed of power of another to become a sovereign, power is power. For example in the Titan trials, one of the top rewards available will be the seed of power, and a titan at the end of his lifespan will choose it if only to live longer, the life span of a sovereign is at least 10 times that of a titan.
A fake sovereign can train his soul up to the level of a real sovereign using soul-enhancing treasures, highly improbable but not impossible. But one can't become an origin god with that seed of power. Unless he has a treasure like an origin essence, the highest reward given in the trial of heaven to sovereigns and grand gods. This is one of the reasons why some fake sovereigns must come to the trial of heaven, it is also the reason why Gehald is trying his hardest.
Only the best of the best get the origin essence, so Gehald has to prove himself during the trial. While some have given up, some remain determined to give it their all, maybe for different reasons. While one will say no to a mark, the ones with 6 marks must have one more to complete their perfect pass. It is this dynamic that will prevent most of the participants of the trial from getting a mark.
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As time went by Gehald managed to fully comprehend the laws of death. Suddenly a silver of origin essence enters his divine sense through his origin passage and strengthens his soul. This silver of origin essence improved his soul by 5%, this amount is because the law of death is a type of supreme law, even so, this silver cannot compare to a bead of origin essence he could get. His powerful soul filled him with more confidence for the soul trial. Even though all sovereigns possess a seed of power, the amount of power used depends on the strength of the body and soul. That's why sovereigns no matter how powerful cannot compare to an origin god, origin gods wield multiple seeds of power.
After years of rest, the will of the realm descended to inform them of the rules, her words are like a hammer beating on the wills of some, either strengthening it or breaking it. When she is done, the barrier comes down and the test begins. Gehald's mind is hit with a sudden painful sensation that he quickly suppresses. If he doesn't defend against the harmful soul fluctuations he will die. Even elementals without souls, have their core being attacked. If they don't have a strong enough divine sense then they too will be wiped out of existence. Since most if not all elementals are true sovereigns most of them will survive this round. The ones that have free time are the grand gods because their souls have been strengthened by divinity.
Just like the gravity trial the intensity of the attack increases over time. And with time the sovereigns reaffirm their will because a strong will is a cornerstone to survive this trial. The key to this trial is an active defense against the harmful soul fluctuations, but it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain this defense with the searing pain of the mind. Because the soul is a weak point to anyone except origin gods and celestial gods who have immortal souls, but even to them soul damage is painful. Soul damage is more painful than damage to the body because it is direct damage to the consciousness.
Soon people start to drop like flies while others are teleported out. Gehald steels his will because he knows that if he can't survive this much he wouldn't be able to complete his grand plan for perfection, there is great pain waiting for him in his plan. He watched as about 55% of the sovereigns died within the 6 months of the soul trial before he finally earned his last mark and was teleported out to the next section of the trial.