He isn't your typical hero. Honestly, if you saw Yang Cheng walking down a rain-slicked street in a blue hoodie, you’d probably mistake him for just another stressed-out college kid. He’s shy. He’s arguably a bit of a mess. But in the neon-soaked world of To Be Hero X, Yang Cheng has become one of the most polarizing and deeply human characters to ever grace a donghua screen.
The buzz around him isn't just about flashy fights. It’s about the "Trust Value" system—a brutal social credit mechanic where your literal superpowers depend on how much the public likes you. For another view, consider: this related article.
Who Is Yang Cheng, Really?
Before the masks and the fame, Yang Cheng was an orphan. He grew up in the shadow of the original E-Soul, a legendary hero who saved his life when he was just a kid. Most people have a "Trust Value" of at least something. Yang? He had zero. For twenty-odd years, not a single person—not a teacher, not a peer—invested a grain of trust in him.
He lived his life as a "nobody," working as a children's show actor. He literally wore a cheap, knock-off E-Soul suit for a living. Talk about tragic irony. Similar analysis regarding this has been published by Entertainment Weekly.
Things changed when he saved a child named Pomelo. He wasn't trying to be a superstar; he was just a guy in a costume doing the right thing. But the public saw it. They saw a "New E-Soul" that looked cooler and felt fresher than the aging original. Suddenly, the Trust Value that belonged to the legend started flowing into Yang Cheng.
The E-Soul Identity Crisis
Here is where it gets messy. Most heroes in this universe, like Lin Ling (the guy who becomes Nice), eventually find a way to be themselves. Yang Cheng? He went the other direction.
He didn't just step into the role; he got swallowed by it.
His height literally changed from 175cm to 185cm as he aged from 27 to 30, purely because the public’s "Trust" expected E-Soul to be a towering, perfect specimen. It’s body horror disguised as a power-up. He started losing the ability to distinguish between Yang Cheng and the mask.
Why the "Hero X" Connection Matters
There is a massive amount of speculation regarding how Yang Cheng relates to the top-ranked "Hero X." For the uninitiated, Hero X is the Rank 1 enigma—an ordinary office worker who can manipulate reality and space just by snapping his fingers.
While some fans theorize that every hero is just a precursor to the "Ultimate Hero," Yang Cheng serves as the dark mirror.
While Hero X seems to maintain a boring day job despite being basically a god, Yang Cheng is terrified of his "boring" self. He despises being Yang Cheng. To him, being a hero isn't a job; it’s a life raft. If the public stops believing in E-Soul, Yang Cheng feels like he will literally cease to exist.
The Moment Everything Broke
You can't talk about this guy without mentioning Shang Chao.
During a high-stakes incident, Yang Cheng hesitated. Just for a second. That split-second of self-doubt caused his powers to flicker—because Trust Value is tied to mental stability. Because of that hesitation, Shang Chao died.
It destroyed him.
Instead of owning the failure, he was manipulated by "Uncle Rock" (the CEO of Mighty Glory) into believing the original E-Soul was the villain. This wasn't just a plot twist; it was a character assassination of his own soul. He chose to kill his idol to "avenge" a friend, essentially murdering the only person he ever wanted to be like.
Is He a Hero or a Villain?
It’s complicated.
Yang Cheng represents the "downside" of the Trust system. If you spend your whole life being told you are worthless because nobody "trusts" you, you don't become a paragon of virtue. You become desperate. You become easy to manipulate.
Some fans hate him for his choices. Others see him as the most realistic portrayal of trauma in the series. He didn't have a mentor like "Firm Man" to keep him grounded. He just had a corporate shark and a mountain of public expectations.
What You Can Learn from Yang Cheng's Arc
If you’re watching To Be Hero X or just following the lore, Yang’s story is a warning.
- Identity isn't external: Seeking validation through "Trust Value" or social media likes is a bottomless pit.
- Trauma needs a voice: Yang never talked about his past, which allowed Uncle Rock to weaponize it.
- Action over Aesthetics: The series explicitly shows that being a "real" hero happens when the mask is off, not when the cameras are on.
Yang Cheng’s journey from a zero-trust orphan to the Rank 9 E-Soul is a masterclass in tragic writing. He won the fight, he got the power, and he climbed the rankings. But in the process, he lost the man in the blue hoodie. And in a world obsessed with Hero X and top-ten rankings, that might be the biggest tragedy of all.
For anyone looking to dive deeper into the series, pay close attention to the background details in the Mighty Glory office scenes—the cracks in the "perfect" hero image are usually hidden right in plain sight. Keep an eye on the official bilibili or Crunchyroll updates for the final arcs to see if Yang ever finds his way back to himself.
