No one exercises just for the soreness. I hope - I don't know what goes on in body-building gyms. You're over-simplifying for some reason, but it's not really complicated regardless.

Let me put it this way. If I were to run even 3 miles tomorrow, or get a good workout in the weight center, I'm going to have some soreness. If I don't, it means that I didn't work enough and will see little gain. It's a different story after a couple of weeks of that ... unless I suddenly increase the intensity. Wind sprints, or maximum lift sets, in which case again you expect to be sore. It's part of the process - call it a benchmark, by-product, or consequence if you object to "goal", but it's something that will happen with the strenuous work, and part of what you're striving for.